Personal Investment Accounts (OKI) – new tax rules for savings and investments in Poland

From a tax perspective, the OKI introduces a model that differs from the standard taxation of investments. Income derived from assets held within an OKI will not be subject to the so-called “Belka tax” (Polish capital gains tax). At the same time, assets held in an OKI will generally be subject to a tax on the value of assets, although the Act provides exemptions from this tax for certain categories of assets and up to specified limits.

Personal Investment Account (OKI) – combining saving and investing

A OKI may be held by an adult individual. The account will allow for the accumulation of both investment assets, such as shares, bonds, and units in investment funds, as well as selected savings-related assets.

Unlike Individual Retirement Account (Indywidualne Konto Emerytalne) and Individual Retirement Security Account (Indywidualne Konto Zabezpieczenia Emerytalnego), funds will not need to be maintained until the account holder reaches a specific age. One individual may hold more than one OKI, although tax preference limits will be assessed on a cumulative basis.

Personal Investment Account (OKI) – Polish capital gains tax, so called the “belka tax”, will not apply

One of the key features of the OKI is the exemption from capital gains tax on income earned from assets held within the account. This means that assets held in a OKI will not be subject to the standard 19% capital gains tax. This also applies to assets that do not qualify for an exemption from the tax on the value of assets.

In return for the exclusion of the capital gains tax, the OKI Act introduces a separate mechanism: namely the tax on the value of assets. Therefore, the OKI does not operate as an exemption from capital gains tax up to a certain threshold; rather, it replaces the capital gains tax regime with taxation based on the value of assets.

Exemption from the tax on the value of assets within OKI

The OKI Act provides an exemption from the tax on the value of assets for specific categories of assets. For investment assets, the exemption limit is PLN 100,000, while for certain savings-related assets the limit is PLN 25,000. These limits do not, however, allow tax exemption to be applied to a combined value of PLN 125,000. The total average value of assets eligible for exemption cannot exceed PLN 100,000.

For amounts exceeding the statutory thresholds, a taxation mechanism based on the value of assets applies.

Which assets held in OKI qualify for tax exemption?

An important feature of the OKI structure is the catalogue assets qualifying for tax exemptions. Merely placing an asset within an OKI does not automatically make it eligible for an exemption from the tax on the value of assets. The full exemption limit will apply to specific instruments defined in the OKI Act that support the domestic capital market, including certain shares, bonds, treasury bills, and covered bonds. Certain investment fund units and ETFs may also qualify, provided they satisfy statutory requirements concerning the composition of their underlying assets.

Tax on the value of assets – calculation rules

The tax base for the asset value tax will consist of the aggregate average value of assets accumulated across all OKIs held by a taxpayer during the tax year. The average asset value will be calculated as the sum of daily valuations of the assets held in OKIs during the tax year, increased by the total amount of contributions made by the taxpayer during the year, and divided by the number of days in the tax year during which the taxpayer held an OKI.

The tax on the value of assets will be calculated on the appropriately determined value of assets held in OKIs, taking statutory exemptions into consideration.

The tax rate will equal 19% of the National Bank of Poland (NBP) reference rate applicable on 31 October of the year preceding the tax year, but not less than 0.1%. For 2027, the rate will be 0.85%. Unlike the capital gains tax, i.e. “Belka tax”, the tax base will not be the investor’s profit but rather the value of assets subject to taxation (not benefiting from the exemption).

*This example assumes full use of the exemption limit for assets qualifying under the Act.

It should be noted that although this mechanism may appear beneficial, it will not be attractive for all investors. A taxpayer who ends the year with an investment loss may still be required to pay tax despite having earned no actual profit, solely because of the value of the assets held. Under the current capital gains tax regime, no tax would arise in the absence of taxable income.

Obligations of financial institutions maintaining OKIs

The new regulations impose several reporting obligations on financial institutions operating OKIs, both toward tax authorities and taxpayers. 

Most importantly, the financial institution will be required to prepare and submit electronically to the competent Head of the Tax Office an individual information report concerning OKIs for a given tax year. 

The report must be submitted by the end of February of the year following the tax year. If the institution ceases operations before that date, the information must be submitted no later than on the day its activities end. 

The scope of the information to be submitted will include, in particular:

• identification details of the financial institution and the taxpayer,
• information identifying each OKI held by the taxpayer during the tax year,
• data necessary to calculate the tax on the value of assets, including the average value of assets held in each OKI, broken down into assets covered by the exemption and assets not eligible for the exemption, information necessary to prepare and make available a tax return through the e-Tax Office system (e-Urząd Skarbowy).

OKI-related taxation will be settled in a separate tax return. Based on information received from financial institutions, the Head of the National Revenue Administration (KAS) will prepare a pre-filled form available through the e-Tax Office.

Additionally, financial institutions will be obliged to inform taxpayers about the submission of information or corrections after the statutory deadline. In such cases, the information or correction must be provided to the taxpayer within 14 days of being submitted to the tax authority. 

Obligations of taxpayers holding OKI

Taxpayers’ obligations will focus primarily on filing an annual return and paying the tax on the value of assets held within OKIs.

Taxpayers will be required to file, through their e-Tax Office account, a return reporting the average value of OKI assets and the amount of tax due for the relevant tax year.

The filing period will run from 15 March to 31 May of the year following the tax year.

Within the same deadline, i.e. by 31 May, the taxpayer will be required to pay the tax resulting from the tax return filed.

A significant facilitation for taxpayers will be the availability in the e-Tax Office of both information submitted by financial institutions and pre-filled tax returns prepared on the basis of data already held by the tax administration. Nevertheless, taxpayers remain responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their filings and the timely payment of the tax. 

OKI in a cross-border context – potential tax challenges

The OKI Act provides that investors are subject to the tax on the value of assets regardless of their country of residence, and that the value of OKI assets is taxable irrespective of the jurisdiction in which investments are made using OKI assets.

The introduction of OKIs raises significant questions in the context of cross-border investments, both for Polish tax residents holding foreign assets within OKIs and for tax residents of other countries investing in Poland through OKIs.

Particularly important will be the classification of the tax on the value of assets under double tax treaties (DTTs). The new levy’s structure differs from a traditional income tax because the tax base is the value of assets rather than income earned from a particular source.

At this stage, it is not clear yet how the new tax should be classified under DTTs and which treaty provisions will apply. In practice, this may give rise to questions concerning income characterization and the appropriate tax settlement methodology.

Classification conflicts between jurisdictions may potentially arise if DTTs parties classify the same source of income differently for tax purposes. Consequently, investors holding foreign assets within OKIs that generate dividends or interest may face a risk that foreign withholding tax cannot be credited against the Polish tax on the value of assets. The significance of these issues will only become assessed as the practice of tax authorities, case law, and cross-border OKI-related tax settlements develop

FAQ – frequently asked questions regarding OKIs