{"id":5358,"date":"2026-09-01T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/?p=5358"},"modified":"2026-10-13T10:35:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:35:57","slug":"incentive-programs-and-the-proposed-changes-to-the-lump-sum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/incentive-programs-and-the-proposed-changes-to-the-lump-sum\/","title":{"rendered":"Incentive programs and the proposed changes to the lump sum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span dir=\"auto\">In recent days, a draft tax amendment has been widely discussed, which, among other things, significantly limits the availability of the lump sum tax on recorded income. According to the draft, the revenue limit entitling individuals to this form of taxation would be reduced from the current \u20ac2 million to \u20ac250,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">However, this isn&#8217;t the only change. The bill also envisages a new taxation mechanism for income above a certain threshold. According to the proposal, the current flat-rate tax rates would apply up to \u20ac300,000, while the excess would be subject to a 17% tax rate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">The very idea of \u200b\u200bchanging the lump sum limit is already controversial. However, in our opinion, it&#8217;s worth noting its potentially less than obvious impact on participants in incentive programs, which we wrote about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/program-motywacyjny-w-pit\/\"><span dir=\"auto\">here<\/span><\/a><span dir=\"auto\"> .<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span dir=\"auto\">An incentive program does not always mean regular income<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">As we pointed out in the previous post, in the case of many share programs or programs based on equity instruments, the moment of taxation does not fall at the moment of granting the rights, but only at the stage of their implementation or sale of shares.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">From the program participant&#8217;s perspective, this often means they don&#8217;t receive any income for several years. Then, a single event occurs, most often related to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li><span dir=\"auto\">selling the company to an investor,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"auto\">the company&#8217;s entry into the stock exchange,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"auto\">redemption of shares by the fund,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span dir=\"auto\">or another so-called liquidity event organized by the company.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">In practice, program participants often don&#8217;t have complete freedom to decide when to sell. In fact, sometimes the opportunity to sell shares or other rights only arises at a time specified by the company.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span dir=\"auto\">One event can generate a very high amount of revenue<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">The problem is that the sale of shares or the exercise of rights under an incentive program often leads to the creation of one-off income of significant value.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">For those collaborating with a company in a B2B model, the consequences can be particularly severe. For many years, an entrepreneur may generate standard business income within the lump sum limits, only to then generate significant additional income in a single tax year due to the implementation of an incentive program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Of course, the effects depend on the specific structure of the program and the tax classification of a given benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span dir=\"auto\">Until now, the 3% lump sum was a very attractive solution for many participants of incentive programs<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">In the individual tax ruling obtained in our client&#8217;s case (interpretation dated April 10, 2026, file reference number 0112-KDIL2-1.4011.240.2026.2.JK), the Director of the National Tax Information Office confirmed that the mere granting of RSUs does not generate income. Income arises only upon the free receipt of shares and is classified as business income, which is subject to taxation at a rate of 3%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Importantly, this is not an isolated position. Similar rulings have been issued for other clients of ours. It could therefore be argued that the tax authorities currently have a fairly established approach towards flat-rate taxpayers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span dir=\"auto\">New lump sum limit increases risk<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Currently, the revenue limit for receiving the lump sum is the equivalent of \u20ac2 million. The bill proposes reducing this to just \u20ac250,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">From the point of view of participants in incentive programs, this means that even a single transaction made under the program may lead to exceeding the limit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">As a result, people who run a relatively small business on a daily basis may lose the opportunity to use the lump sum tax solely due to the occurrence of a one-off capital event, often independent of their business decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Additionally, another question arises: If the value of the shares received is classified as a business activity and subject to a lump sum tax, then in the case of large incentive programs or significant liquidity events, the planned threshold of \u20ac300,000 may also be exceeded, and thus the surplus may be subject to the new 17% lump sum tax rate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span dir=\"auto\">The qualification of income is of particular importance<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Therefore, it becomes even more important to correctly determine the source of income.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">As we pointed out in the previous post, not every program defined by a company as an &#8220;incentive program&#8221; meets the statutory requirements for applying Article 24, Section 11 of the Personal Income Tax Act. If these conditions are not met, the revenue may be classified as an entirely different source than capital gains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">It is in such situations that the question arises as to whether the income obtained in connection with the implementation of the program will not at the same time affect the entrepreneur&#8217;s ability to continue to benefit from the lump sum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Paradoxically, the qualification that taxpayers have been striving for in recent years and which often allowed for the application of a 3% flat rate may, in the light of the proposed changes, require a business and tax reassessment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span dir=\"auto\">What is particularly disturbing?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">From the perspective of participants in incentive programs, it is also important that the proposed regulations will apply to income earned from 1 January 2027.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">This means that persons who received shares, stocks or other property rights free of charge this year as part of the incentive program may lose their right to the lump sum payment in the coming year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">In such cases, a one-off event may affect not only the settlement of the program itself, but also the current business taxation model.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span dir=\"auto\">How can we help?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Given the announced changes to the lump sum, proper analysis of incentive programs and the tax implications of their implementation is particularly important. This applies particularly to those working with B2B companies, who may be unaware that receiving property rights free of charge on a one-time basis may affect not only the tax treatment of the benefit itself but also the possibility of continuing to use the lump sum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">In the case of incentive programs, structural details that may seem insignificant at first glance are often crucial. These details can determine the timing of taxation, the source of income, and, consequently, the eligibility for preferential tax treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Moreover, in light of the proposed changes, it is worth analysing not only the incentive programme itself, but also the potential impact of the programme&#8217;s implementation on the entrepreneur&#8217;s status as a lump sum taxpayer and the amount of effective taxation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span dir=\"auto\">Therefore, it is worth carrying out such an analysis before a liquidity event occurs, when it is possible to properly plan further actions and limit unfavorable tax consequences.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can a&nbsp;one-time receipt of shares under RSUs deprive an entrepreneur of the right to&nbsp;preferential taxation?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[322,323],"tags":[377,370,378,371],"ppma_author":[95,99],"class_list":["post-5358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-blog","tag-availability-of-the-lump-sum-tax-on-recorded-revenue","tag-incentive-plans","tag-lump-sum-tax-on-recorded-revenue","tag-rsus"],"acf":[],"authors":[{"term_id":95,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"arkadiusz_lagowski","display_name":"Arkadiusz \u0141agowski","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DSC_2314-scaled-e1751961533543.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/DSC_2314-scaled-e1751961533543.jpg"},"author_category":"1","first_name":"Arkadiusz","last_name":"\u0141agowski","user_url":"https:\/\/pl.linkedin.com\/in\/arkadiusz-%C5%82agowski","job_title":"Doradca Podatkowy, Partner","description":"Tel.: +48 500 150 818"},{"term_id":99,"user_id":10,"is_guest":0,"slug":"anna-nowakowska","display_name":"Anna Nowakowska","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/anna-nowakowska-strona-e1752242394385.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/anna-nowakowska-strona-e1752242394385.jpg"},"author_category":"1","first_name":"Anna","last_name":"Nowakowska","user_url":"https:\/\/pl.linkedin.com\/in\/anna-nowakowska-doradcapodatkowy","job_title":"Doradca Podatkowy, Mened\u017cer ds. podatk\u00f3w dochodowych","description":"Tel.: +48 690 800 132"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5358"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5359,"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5358\/revisions\/5359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5358"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clpodatki.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}