Tax Residency and Agency Employment: When the Promise of a Higher Net Rate Conceals a Risk

Imagine a recruiter offering work in Poland under a umowa zlecenia and promising 34 zlotys per hour "in hand" instead of 28. To make this happen, they ask you to bring a Ukrainian tax residency certificate or sign a declaration stating that you are not a tax resident of Poland. Can this be legal? Yes, under very limited circumstances. Can the same offer conceal incorrect tax withholding and an agency scheme? Also yes - and very frequently. The difference depends on your actual situation, the type of contract and the documents involved - not on the recruiter's promises. So what do you need to understand to avoid falling into the trap of a dishonest employment agency?

What Tax Residency Is

Tax residency helps determine which country has the right to tax a person's income and under what rules. It is not citizenship, nor simply a registered address. Under Polish law, a person is a tax resident of Poland if they have their centre of personal or economic interests here, or if they reside in Poland for more than 183 days during the tax year. Satisfying either one of these conditions is sufficient.

This is why "the first 180 days without Polish taxes" is a false rule. The centre of interests may shift to Poland earlier. Indicators may include: renting accommodation, relocating a family, a child attending a Polish school, steady employment and other circumstances. Renting alone or schooling alone does not prove a change of residency - the full picture is assessed. If, under domestic rules, both Poland and Ukraine consider a person their own resident, the rules of the Polish-Ukrainian double taxation avoidance convention apply. The Polish Ministry of Finance explains these criteria.

A Ukrainian residency certificate is a document issued by the Ukrainian tax authority confirming a person's place of residence for tax purposes. It may be required in order to apply the convention. However, it is not a permit to "pay no taxes for 180 days" and does not guarantee that the circumstances have not changed since its issue. An employee's own declaration of non-residency does not substitute for an official certificate. The State Tax Service of Ukraine explains how to obtain the Ukrainian document.

When Polish PIT May Genuinely Not Be Withheld

Begin by checking what type of contract you have. Under a umowa o pracę - an employment contract with a Polish employer - Polish personal income tax (PIT) is withheld from the salary for work performed in Poland. A Ukrainian certificate and residence of fewer than 183 days do not in themselves change this.

Under a umowa zlecenia - a civil law contract for the provision of services with a Polish company - the situation is different. The Polish Ministry of Finance's explanatory note on income for 2025 for Ukrainian nationals describes the following case: the person is genuinely a resident of Ukraine, has provided an authentic certificate and does not have a stała placówka in Poland - a fixed establishment through which they conduct activities under this contract. In such a case, the income from the contract is taxed only in Ukraine, the Polish company does not withhold PIT and issues an IFT-1R information form. This is a lawful situation; however, the question of taxing this income in Ukraine is resolved under Ukrainian law.

If there is no Ukrainian certificate, a declaration alone stating "I am a non-resident" is insufficient for the agency to zero out the Polish PIT. In the situation described by the Ministry of Finance involving a umowa zlecenia where the person remains a non-resident, before the 183-day threshold is exceeded the Polish employment agency is required to withhold a 20% tax under the rules applicable to non-residents; after that period, the withholding method changes. If a certificate exists but the person has a stała placówka in Poland, different rules apply. Each case must be assessed according to the actual circumstances.

ZUS contributions - for social and health insurance - are a separate matter. A Ukrainian tax residency certificate does not in itself cancel mandatory contributions if they are due under a specific contract. The insurance rules depend on the type of contract and other circumstances.

What the Agency Scheme May Look Like

Imagine a person who has come to Poland and plans to work with an agency under a umowa zlecenia. The agency makes them an "attractive" offer at first glance: "Want to earn more in hand (e.g. 34 zlotys per hour instead of 28)? Get a Ukrainian tax residency certificate." The person is happy to do so - especially since it can even be done online - and starts work. At the outset, there may genuinely be grounds not to withhold Polish PIT. A few months later, however, the person brings their family over, enrols their child in a Polish school and in effect centres their life in Poland. This is reason to re-examine residency, even if 183 days have not yet elapsed. The agency, however, continues to apply zero Polish PIT despite being aware of these changes. 183 days pass - the agency still does not remit tax on behalf of the person in Poland.

A worse scenario involves a forged Ukrainian certificate. For example, the person is promised a high rate and offered a document that the Ukrainian tax authority never actually issued. The person agrees - because the money is needed. If the agency uses a forged document to refrain from withholding Polish PIT without justification, this goes beyond a tax violation. Forging a document and knowingly using it as authentic may fall within the scope of Article 270 of the Polish Criminal Code. Unfortunately, some agencies on the market - even certain large ones - resort to this brazen scheme. An agency's size, well-known name or registration in a register does not make such a document valid.

Yet another possible variant: on top of the certificate manipulation, a tax offence is added in the form of splitting the remuneration - part paid to a Polish account, part to a Ukrainian account, with the second payment not reflected in the documentation. The problem here lies in the concealed payment: if it constitutes remuneration for the same work, it cannot simply be excluded from the tax and insurance records. In this way, the agency may attempt to reduce both PIT and the ZUS contributions due - including the portion of contributions that it finances itself under the relevant contract.

What Risk the Worker Faces

A mistake in PIT withholding does not automatically mean the tax debt transfers to the worker. As a general rule, the agency - acting as a tax remitter (płatnik) - is responsible for tax that it was required to withhold but did not. If the tax was not withheld due to the fault of the worker themselves - for example, as a result of false data knowingly provided by them, and a forged certificate constitutes such data - the tax authority may also impose criminal liability on the worker.

It is probably unnecessary to explain that in all such cases of manipulation with tax residency and PIT underpayments, there is no point expecting to obtain a residence card.

Therefore, before signing, ask in writing to be shown the type of contract, the gross rate, the net calculation, the PIT withheld and the ZUS contributions. Keep your copy of the tax residency certificate (if you have one) and do not sign declarations about facts that do not correspond to your actual situation. If your circumstances have changed since relocation, notify the agency in writing and verify the method of taxation. Be particularly alert when someone promises you "zero tax", does not allow you to verify the origin of the certificate, or does not show the full remuneration in the documents.

Do you want to work without hidden conditions, insurance problems and opaque employment schemes? At Gremi Personal, the working conditions, contract and insurance registration are known before the collaboration begins.

We stand for a fair employment agency market in Poland!

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