Application for overpayment of tax – changes introduced from 1.10.2026

As of 1.10.2026, the Tax Ordinance Act (“Ordinance” or “OP“)¹ has been amended[1]; one of the areas of change is the provisions governing the issues of tax overpayment (i.e. from Article 72 to Article 80 of the OP and onwards).

Procedure, regulations applicable to the recovery of overpayment of tax

If you are planning to recover / apply for a tax refund – check the rules on how to do it and what regulations to apply. You can apply the provisions of the Tax Ordinance commented on below, unless another legal act provides for a separate, specific tax refund procedure. The Tax Ordinance does not always provide a legal basis (proper procedure) for applying for an overpayment. Such a separate procedure concerns, for example:

• VAT refund (i.e. the excess of input tax over the output tax) – then we apply the Value Added Tax Act²;
• withholding tax refund on cross-border transactions (“WHT”) in the so-called Pay&Refund procedure – if the remitter pays receivables subject to WHT in an amount exceeding PLN 2 million in a given year and has applied the domestic WHT rate to the surplus above the above-mentioned limit, then the taxpayer or remitter may subsequently apply for a refund of the difference between the applied domestic rate and the applicable preferential WHT rate or WHT exemption under the provisions of the Corporate Income Tax Act³.

Below we describe how you should change the way you proceed in the event of applying for an overpayment under the provisions of the Tax Ordinance. Examples of situations in which the Tax Ordinance procedure should be applied are described in another of our articles here.

Comparison of the most important differences – provisions of the Tax Ordinance before and after the amendment of 1.10.2026

Table

Date of submission of the correction of the tax return (tax settlement) after the deadline for submitting it/its submission	before 1.10.2026	from 1.10.2026
What provisions of the Tax Ordinance are applied	“Old” provisions of the Tax Ordinance (in force before 1.10.2026).	“New” provisions of the Tax Ordinance (in force from 1.10.2026).
Is it required to attach an application for determining an overpayment to the correction	Yes, a mandatory document.	No.
Is it required to submit a document explaining the reasons for the correction	No clear regulation. In practice, recommended to streamline tax proceedings.	It is mandatory if the overpayment resulting from the correction exceeds PLN 10 thousand (below this amount – voluntary). Lack of an imposed form and channel for providing explanations.
The fate of overpayment proceedings initiated by the taxpayer/remitter before the expiry of the limitation period	A decision on determining an overpayment on an application submitted before the  expiry of the limitation period may also be issued after the expiry of this period.	A decision on determining an overpayment on an application submitted before the expiry of the limitation period or in connection with a corrected tax return submitted after the expiry of the deadline for its submission but before the expiry of the limitation period, may also be issued after the expiry of this period.  Practical note – see below
Does the lack of correction of the tax return (tax return) exclude the application for a refund of the overpayment	In the light of case law – not in a situation where the taxpayer disputes the legitimacy of the tax collection by the tax payer or the amount of tax collected.	Introduction of editorial changes clearly indicating that it is possible to submit an application for an overpayment without correcting the tax return, if the applicant is not obliged to submit it  e.g. taxpayer’s application for WHT refund.
Date of initiation of the overpayment procedure (which sets the deadline for the examination of the case by the authority)	The date of delivery of the application for overpayment to the authority (in the case of electronic dispatch – the date of issue of the proof of delivery).	When the overpayment results from a corrected return submitted after the deadline for its submission – the date of submission of this correction. In other cases, the date of delivery of the application for overpayment to the tax authority.

Attention! The table is illustrative; The Tax Ordinance contains many other detailed regulations that require analysis before you initiate overpayment proceedings.

For example:

If the tax return is/has been submitted before the expiry of the statutory deadline for its submission, other, special provisions governing the rules of requesting an overpayment, the deadline for its refund, etc., different from those presented in the Table, shall apply .

How can we help?

• Assess the legitimacy of applying for a tax refund / overpayment, choose the right procedure – we have described a few practical examples of making corrections to tax returns / filing an application for determining an overpayment here.
• Prepare arguments and explanations for the tax authority – especially important in more complex and complicated cases.
• Assist in the course of the tax proceedings – the tax authority may ask additional questions, formulate requests for the presentation of documents, calculations, refuse to refund the overpayment, etc.
• Verify the deadline for issuing the decision and reimbursement of the overpayment appropriate for a given case and monitor whether the authority’s decision is issued on time, whether the reimbursement of the overpayment is not late.
• Assess whether and for what period the applicant is entitled to receive interest on the overpayment.

Authors: Agnieszka Czarnecka, Katarzyna Jaromińska

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1. Act of 29 May 2026 amending the Tax Ordinance and Certain Other Acts ↩︎
2. pursuant to Article 87 et seq. of the Value Added Tax Act ↩︎
3. in accordance with the procedure described in Article 28b of the Corporate Income Tax Act ↩︎