In 2024, owners of historic properties can benefit from historic property tax relief, allowing for the deduction of a portion of expenses incurred for their renovation or conservation. Find out who is eligible for this relief and under what conditions it applies.
Who is eligible for the relief?
Historic property tax relief is available to owners or co-owners of historic immovable properties who earn income taxed in one of the following forms:
✅ according to the tax scale (rates of 12% or 32%),
✅ flat tax (19% rate),
✅ lump-sum tax on registered income.
What does the relief entail?
The historic property tax relief allows for the deduction from the tax base of:
- 50% of expenses incurred for contributions to the renovation fund for historic properties listed in the register of historic monuments or the inventory of historic monuments,
- 50% of expenses incurred for conservation work, restoration work, and construction work on a historic property listed in the register of historic monuments,
- under acquired rights – expenses incurred for the acquisition of a historic property listed in the register of historic monuments (applies only to acquisitions in 2022), provided additional conditions are met:
- incurring renovation and conservation expenses for the acquired property,
- the deduction cannot exceed an amount corresponding to the product of PLN 500 and the number of square meters of usable area of the historic property,
- the deduction limit for all investments cannot exceed PLN 500,000.
What conditions must be met?
1. For contributions to the renovation fund:
- you must be the owner or co-owner of the historic property at the time of incurring the expense,
- you must have proof of payment or a certificate from the housing community/housing cooperative regarding the amount of payments made.
2. For conservation work, restoration work, or construction work:
- you must be the owner or co-owner of the historic property at the time of incurring the expense,
- you must have written permission from the provincial conservator of historic monuments to carry out the work,
- after completion of the work, you must obtain a certificate from the conservator of historic monuments confirming its execution,
- you must have an invoice from a VAT taxpayer who does not benefit from VAT exemption.
Rules for Deduction
- Contributions to the renovation fund can be deducted in the tax return for the tax year in which the payment was made.
- Expenses for conservation work, restoration work, or construction work can be deducted in the tax return for the year in which the invoice was issued – only after obtaining a certificate from the conservator of historic monuments.
- Expenses for the acquisition of a historic property (applies only to acquisitions in 2022) can be deducted in the tax return for the year in which you first incurred expenses for its renovation.
What if the income is lower than the eligible deduction?
If you show a loss in a given year or your income/revenue is lower than the deduction amount, you can utilize the relief in the subsequent 6 tax years.
Which tax return should be filed?
- PIT-37 – for income taxed according to the tax scale via a payer (e.g., employment contract, pension),
- PIT-36 – for income taxed according to the tax scale from business activities or other sources without a payer,
- PIT-36L – for income taxed with a flat tax,
- PIT-28 – for income taxed in the form of a lump-sum tax on registered income (e.g., business activity, rental, sublease, lease),
- PIT/O Appendix – information on deductions.
Historic property tax relief is an excellent opportunity to preserve historic properties in good condition while benefiting from tax advantages. If you are the owner of a historic property, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the exact conditions and deadlines for deductions to maximize the available opportunities.
