Tax on receiving borrowed money or valuable gifts in Poland.

 Borrowing money from friends and relatives, as well as receiving a fashionable smartphone or adornment as a gift. They are subject to a tax charge of 0.5% to 20% depending on the amount and degree of kinship with the donor. Such legal provisions have been in force in Poland for a long time and apply to all tax residents, including foreigners.

 There are heavy penalties for non-compliance.

 According to the law, if you borrow more than PLN 1,000 (approximately EUR 210) from a private person, you must notify the tax office within 14 days. This must be done by means of a PCC-3 form, to which you must attach proof of the actual receipt of the funds - for example, a printout from your bank account. You will also have to pay a tax of 0.5 per cent of the amount of the loan received, says the president of the Polish Institute of Civic Cooperation, Maksym Wolosewicz.

 Fortunately, there are a few exceptions to this rule. If you borrow from your immediate family (wife, husband, parents, children, brothers or grandmothers), you do not have to pay tax, but only up to the amount of PLN 9637 (All amounts add up over the last five years). If you ask for more debt, pay tax on the amount in excess.

What happens if you do not inform the Tax Office about the credit you have received?

You will face a multiple tax increase for withholding such information. In other words, you will have to give the state not 0.5% of the money received, but 20%.

By Gifts, legislators mean money, real estate, valuables, various property rights, etc. Therefore, a ticket or iPhone received from your boyfriend/girlfriend in the last five years is also classified as a taxable item.

Fortunately, there are exceptions to this rule. Gifts from close relatives (husband, wife, parents, children) are saved from deductions. In any case, the gifted is obliged to notify the tax administration within six months, otherwise they will not avoid sanctions, emphasizes expert Ewelina Wojciechowska, Ph.D., of the Polish Institute of Civic Cooperation. At the same time, donations of up to PLN 10434 (for a total of five years) from close relatives are exempt from the declaration.

What about gifts from distant relatives?

If you have received a gift from your mother-in-law, son-in-law or cousin, you have to pay tax on the amount above PLN 7877 at a rate of 7 to 12% of the amount received. If gifts from an unauthorized person, be prepared to fork out between 12 and 20% depending on the amount (if you have collectively received more than £7877 from that person in the last five years).

It's not all that sad. It's a different matter altogether if you didn't receive a gift but 'bought' one, albeit for a purely nominal price - in which case you won't have to pay tax.