Renting Out Property in Poland While Living in the UK

This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. How the rules apply depends on your individual circumstances, contracts, documents and deadlines. If you need advice or representation, the matter should be assessed by a qualified Polish lawyer. Twoja Sprawa helps you organise the documents for that assessment.

Do you own a flat, house or share of a property in Poland — inherited, bought earlier, or held as an investment — while living permanently in the UK? If you're renting it out to tenants in Poland, you generally need to declare the income in both countries at the same time: in Poland as income from Polish-sourced property, and in the UK as "foreign income" on your Self Assessment. This isn't an either/or choice — it's two parallel obligations linked only by the UK-Poland double taxation treaty. Here's what that means in practice if you're managing a Polish rental remotely from the UK.

Key points

Who this guide is for

Contents

Two tax systems, one income stream

The starting point is straightforward, even though it's often overlooked by people who left Poland years ago: a property located in Poland generates income taxable in Poland, regardless of where the owner lives. Polish PIT law explicitly classifies income from a Polish-located property as domestic-source income, taxable in Poland even for someone with no Polish residence (so-called limited tax liability for non-residents).

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At the same time, if you're a UK tax resident (because your centre of vital interests is in the UK, or you spend most of the year there), the UK tax system requires you to declare your worldwide income, including the Polish rental, on your annual Self Assessment as "foreign income." There's no "it's a different country" exemption here — HMRC expects disclosure of foreign rental income in the same way the Polish tax office expects a return on income from property located in Poland.

The result: the same rental income lands on two tax returns, in two countries, calculated under two different methods. What connects the two systems and prevents the same amount being taxed twice is the 2006 UK-Poland Double Taxation Convention, as modified by the multilateral instrument (MLI).

Poland's flat-rate rental tax: rates, threshold, filing

Private rental income in Poland (outside of a formally registered business) is generally taxed under the flat-rate scheme (ryczałt od przychodów ewidencjonowanych):

Annual rental income Flat-rate tax
Up to PLN 100,000 8.5%
Excess over PLN 100,000 12.5%
Married couples taxing the whole income jointly under one spouse (declaration filed) Threshold raised to PLN 200,000

Source: Act on Flat-Rate Income Tax on Certain Revenues Earned by Individuals, art. 12(1)(4) and (13), Journal of Laws 2025 item 843.

A defining feature of the flat-rate scheme: tax is calculated on gross revenue, not net income — you cannot deduct costs (renovations, depreciation, agency fees) the way you would under general (progressive) rules. This simplifies the return, but means high property running costs will not reduce your taxable base.

As a non-resident of Poland renting out a Polish property, you are subject to limited tax liability in Poland and generally must still declare this income there — under the same flat-rate scheme — regardless of where you live. In practice, this usually means obtaining a Polish tax identification number (NIP) and filing an annual PIT-28 return (the flat-rate scheme return) with the Polish tax office responsible for non-residents.

UK side: foreign income and Self Assessment

If you became a UK tax resident after leaving Poland, you must report income from your Polish rental on your UK Self Assessment as "foreign income" — on the dedicated foreign pages of the return. This applies to the whole rental income (converted to GBP), regardless of whether the money is actually transferred to a UK account or stays in a Polish account.

Importantly, this works the opposite way round to the situation where you're renting out a property located in the UK while living abroad. That scenario is governed by a separate regime — the Non-Resident Landlords Scheme (NRLS) — under which the letting agent or the tenant may be required to withhold tax at source from rent above GBP 100/week, unless the landlord obtains HMRC approval to receive rent without deduction (form NRL1). This distinction matters: NRLS applies to a property in the UK rented out by someone outside the UK — it does not apply to your situation (property in Poland, you in the UK) — but the two schemes are frequently confused.

Double taxation relief

The 2006 UK-Poland Double Taxation Convention (as modified by the MLI) is designed to prevent the same rental income being taxed in full in both Poland and the UK. In practice, the mechanism generally works by allowing you to credit the tax paid in Poland (the flat-rate ryczałt) against the UK tax due on the same income — up to the amount of UK tax that would otherwise be payable on that income.

This means you are not expected to pay the full rate twice — but it doesn't happen automatically. Claiming the relief requires:

The precise mechanics of applying the treaty to property income — including any MLI modifications — should be confirmed with a UK tax adviser or accountant familiar with the synthesised treaty text.

Tax residence — why it matters here

How precisely you handle this income depends heavily on your tax residence status — not on your nationality or registered address:

If both countries treat you as their tax resident at the same time (which can happen in the year you relocate), the UK-Poland treaty applies a hierarchical tie-breaker test: 1) permanent home, 2) centre of vital interests, 3) habitual abode, 4) nationality, 5) agreement between the two tax authorities. For more on establishing tax residence after a move, see the related guide linked below.

Simply owning and renting out property in Poland does not by itself make you a Polish tax resident — what matters is your actual centre of vital interests and the number of days you spend there, not property ownership.

Managing a rental remotely

Managing a rental from several hundred or several thousand kilometres away means planning for things you'd otherwise handle in person:

Occasional lease vs standard lease

Polish law distinguishes an ordinary lease from the so-called occasional lease (najem okazjonalny) — a specific form of residential lease agreement that gives the landlord stronger protection in an eviction dispute (partly through a notarised statement by the tenant submitting to enforcement). For a landlord based in the UK managing the rental remotely, the occasional lease is often worth considering precisely because limited on-the-ground access increases the risk of a drawn-out dispute with a problem tenant.

Tenant rights, the eviction procedure, and tenant protection more broadly are beyond the scope of this guide, which focuses on tax and the logistics of renting out from abroad. If you're looking for information on tenant rights or the difference between an ordinary and an occasional lease from the perspective of a landlord based in Poland day-to-day, that is a separate topic (in Polish).

Documents you will need

Common risks and mistakes

  1. Only declaring the rental in one country. The most common mistake: the owner files the flat-rate return in Poland and considers the matter closed, without declaring the same income as foreign income on their UK Self Assessment — despite being a UK tax resident.
  2. Confusing the Non-Resident Landlords Scheme with the general foreign-income reporting duty. NRLS applies to a UK property rented out by someone outside the UK — it does not apply to a Polish property rented out by a UK resident.
  3. No documentation of Polish tax paid. Without proof of ryczałt payment, it becomes difficult to claim double taxation relief in the UK — creating a real risk of paying full tax twice.
  4. Understating income through informal arrangements with the tenant. Accepting rent in cash "off the books" makes it harder to establish the correct taxable base and creates exposure to a dispute with the tax authority.
  5. No plan for emergencies or tenant disputes when managing remotely — without a trusted person on the ground, responding to an issue can take weeks, straining the tenant relationship and increasing the risk of rent arrears.
  6. Assuming that simply owning a property in Poland makes you a Polish tax resident. It doesn't — residence depends on your centre of vital interests and days present, not property ownership alone.

Checklist

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay tax in Poland if I live permanently in the UK and am UK tax resident there? Generally, yes. Income from a property located in Poland is taxable in Poland under Polish law regardless of where the owner lives — this follows from the limited tax liability rule for non-residents. Your UK residence governs your UK filing; it does not remove the Polish obligation.

Will I be taxed twice on the same income? You shouldn't be — the UK-Poland double taxation treaty provides a relief mechanism (foreign tax credit) allowing you to offset the tax paid in Poland against the UK tax due on the same income. This requires correct documentation and a claim on your Self Assessment — the mechanism does not apply automatically without being claimed.

What is the flat-rate tax on rental income in Poland? 8.5% of annual revenue up to PLN 100,000, and 12.5% on the excess (PLN 200,000 threshold for married couples electing joint taxation under one spouse). Tax is calculated on gross revenue, with no deduction of costs.

Do I need a Polish tax ID (NIP) to declare rental income while living in the UK? In practice, usually yes — filing the flat-rate return (PIT-28) requires a Polish tax identification.

How is my situation different from the Non-Resident Landlords Scheme in the UK? NRLS covers the reverse scenario — a property located in the UK, rented out by someone living outside the UK, where the agent or tenant withholds tax at source. In your case (property in Poland, you in the UK), a different mechanism applies — the Polish flat-rate tax plus the foreign income declaration in the UK.

Is it worth using an occasional lease instead of a standard lease? It can offer additional protection to the landlord, particularly when managing the property remotely, where responding quickly to a tenant problem is harder — but it comes with extra formalities (a notarised statement, notification to the tax office). The decision depends on your circumstances and should be assessed by a lawyer.

Does simply owning property in Poland affect my tax residence? Not automatically. Tax residence is determined by your centre of vital interests and the number of days spent in a given country, not by owning or renting out a property.

What happens if I don't declare the Polish rental income in the UK at all? This creates a compliance risk relative to a UK resident's obligation to report worldwide income — the specific consequences depend on the circumstances and require assessment by a tax adviser; this guide does not replace that consultation.

Deadlines

The Polish PIT-28 return (flat-rate rental tax) is due within the statutory deadline falling early in the calendar year following the year the income was earned. The UK Self Assessment for a given tax year (6 April–5 April) is typically due by 31 January of the following year for online filing. We recommend planning both deadlines well in advance, since the documentation of tax paid in Poland is needed to claim UK relief — and gathering proof of payment takes time.

If your Polish rental tax situation needs individual assessment, you can request a free initial assessment — we can help you organise the documents ahead of a consultation with a tax adviser.

Related guides

Przeczytaj po polsku: Wynajem nieruchomości w Polsce podczas zamieszkania w Wielkiej Brytanii

Sources

Information verified on: 11 July 2026.

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