What it costs to run a Polish company.

People expect one annual filing. A Polish company has obligations to the court register, the tax office and the social insurance institution, and the monthly ones are what catch people out.

Social insurance is the heaviest recurring obligation, filed and paid monthly for every person employed. Payroll tax runs alongside it. The annual financial statements and the corporate tax return sit on top, and the statements have to be approved before they are filed, which is a governance step rather than an accounting one.

None of it pauses because a quarter was quiet. A company that did not trade still files, and the management board carries responsibility for it.

The standard corporate rate is 19%, and that is the figure every summary prints. For a new subsidiary it is usually the wrong one.

A 9% rate applies to income other than capital gains where you are a small taxpayer, meaning your previous year's revenue including VAT was at or below the equivalent of two million euro, and it also applies to companies in their first year of activity. A new Polish subsidiary of a foreign group will normally meet that test.

Two caveats worth knowing before you model it. Capital gains are always taxed at 19% regardless, and the 9% rate is not available to a company formed through certain transformations or contributions, which is precisely how some groups set up subsidiaries. Check which you are before assuming the lower rate.

Poland's recurring cost sits in the monthly rhythm rather than in any single annual fee. Social insurance and payroll declarations every month, full accounting records kept to a prescribed standard, and financial statements prepared and approved annually. That is a bookkeeping engagement rather than an occasional filing.

There are four ways to keep a company in Poland running, and which one fits depends on whether it has employees.

You can file the financial statements yourself with the National Court Register and the returns with the tax office. That suits a founder with no staff and the time to track each deadline.

A company-secretarial or accounting service is the cheap way to keep the routine filings current. It suits a company with no employees.

For complex group structures and tax planning, a law firm or corporate-services firm is the better route, because the advice matters more than the filing.

For companies that will employ people in Poland, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed clients get one system from your first EOR hire to your own entity, a designated person who has done this before and pricing with no hidden costs. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in Poland.

If the company employs nobody, use a company-secretarial service. It will cost you less than we would.