IP Box under greater pressure: business substance and solidarity levy
The latest tax draft may materially change the way taxpayers use the IP Box regime. The proposed rules place greater emphasis on real business substance and may increase the effective tax burden for some taxpayers benefiting from this preference.
Under the assumptions published by the Polish Ministry of Finance and Economy, significant changes are planned for the IP Box regime. The key proposal is to make eligibility for the regime conditional on employing at least three individuals who are not related parties to the taxpayer. The explanatory notes indicate that this measure is intended to counteract the use of the preferential tax rate for income from copyrighted software in a manner considered contrary to the purpose of the rules.
The draft also provides for the inclusion of IP Box income in the solidarity levy base. At the same time, the proposal clarifies that losses from prior years attributable to the same source of income may reduce the levy base, while other tax deductions or reductions otherwise available for income tax purposes would not apply.
In practical terms, this means that IP Box may no longer be an attractive option for businesses operating with only minimal operational structure, in particular for some sole proprietors. At the same time, bringing IP Box income within the scope of the solidarity levy may increase the effective tax burden for higher-income taxpayers. These conclusions follow from the direction of the published draft, although the final outcome will depend on the wording of the enacted legislation.
As noted by Michał Chmiel, Senior Consultant in the CIT team at Thedy & Partners:
“IP Box is another tax area in which real business substance will become increasingly important. The changes proposed by the Ministry may fundamentally reshape what has so far been a very popular tax preference, particularly for sole proprietors.”
Taxpayers currently applying the IP Box regime should already assess whether their business model and organisational structure will allow them to continue using the preference safely once the planned changes come into force. Since the draft was still being updated on gov.pl in February 2026, the legislative process should be monitored closely.
If you are currently using IP Box and would like to assess the impact of the proposed changes, please contact us.