The PLN 100,000 company car limit from 2026: what you really lose

Three limits instead of one

Until the end of 2025 there was a single threshold: PLN 150,000 for every passenger car that was not electric. From 1 January 2026 the limit on tax-deductible costs depends on CO2 emissions:

The legal basis is Art. 23(1)(4) and (47a) of the Polish Personal Income Tax (PIT) Act and Art. 16(1)(4) and (49a) of the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Act. Emissions are taken from CEPiK (Poland's central vehicle register), not from the dealer's brochure - check them before you sign, especially with hybrids. The limit applies to passenger cars; it does not cover lorries or machinery.

The limit is measured against net price plus non-deductible VAT

The first trap: you do not compare PLN 100,000 with the net price in the offer. You compare it with the car's value plus the VAT you do not deduct. With mixed use you deduct 50% of VAT, so the other half (11.5% of the net price) is added to the value.

So a car costing PLN 100,000 net is worth PLN 111,500 to the tax office and exceeds the limit. Only a car of up to about PLN 89,686 net fits in full. In practice, the new limit starts to hurt with a well-equipped compact car, not with a limousine.

Example: the same car, old and new limit

Assumptions for all examples in this article: operating lease, down payment 10%, 48 instalments, buyout 10%, interest 7%, tax 19%, VAT deducted at 50%. A combustion car costing PLN 150,000 net:

The instalment on the invoice is identical. You only see the difference in your income tax advance: from the same agreement, PLN 45,000 less goes into costs, and 19% of that amount is exactly PLN 8,550.00.

Why exactly PLN 45,000? In the instalments and the down payment you repay 90% of the car's value (the rest is the buyout). After applying the ratio, 90% of the limit goes into costs: PLN 135,000 under the old threshold and PLN 90,000 under the new one. In both cases you add PLN 24,675.36 of the interest part with non-deductible VAT, which the limit does not affect.

Tax shield: five prices, three drivetrains

Total tax shield over the whole agreement, with the same assumptions. The last column shows what it would be if there were no limit at all.

Three things this table shows:

• At PLN 90,000 net you barely feel the limit. The value for the limit is PLN 100,350.00, so a combustion car loses PLN 59.85 over the whole agreement. At PLN 100,000 net the loss is already PLN 1,966.50.
• In the combustion column the shield barely moves. A car costing PLN 300,000 gives PLN 26,476.64 of shield, and a car costing PLN 90,000 gives PLN 19,912.99. The PLN 6,563.65 difference comes only from higher interest. At that point only 29.9% of the repayment of the car's value is a deductible cost.
• An electric car costing PLN 300,000 is also cut - to 67.3% of the capital part - but it still gives PLN 47,851.64 of shield, PLN 21,375.00 more than a combustion car at the same price.

How much extra for a plug-in or an electric car does the higher limit pay back

The salesperson will tell you that "an electric car pays for itself through tax". Let's check, because the difference in the shield is a specific amount, not a slogan. At the same net price, a drivetrain with a higher limit gives you more shield by:

That is the upper bound of what the higher limit can "give back". But a more expensive car also means higher instalments, a higher buyout and more non-deductible VAT, so the extra price that breaks even is smaller than the shield difference alone. Reference point: a combustion car costing PLN 150,000 net has a real cost of PLN 170,137.04.

• A plug-in PLN 6,000 more expensive (PLN 156,000 net) has a real cost of PLN 169,076.52 - still lower. With PLN 7,000 extra it is already more expensive: PLN 170,324.77.
• An electric car PLN 10,000 more expensive (PLN 160,000 net) has a real cost of PLN 169,213.11 - still lower. With PLN 11,000 extra it is already more expensive: PLN 170,270.69.

Conclusion: for a car in this class, the higher limit justifies paying around PLN 6,000-10,000 net extra, not tens of thousands. The rest of the calculation is energy and fuel costs, servicing and the car's value after four years - the limit does not settle any of that.

The higher your tax rate, the more the change costs

The shield is the cost times your tax rate, so the loss grows with the rate. The same combustion car costing PLN 150,000 net, old limit versus new:

If you are taxed on the progressive scale and your income falls into the second bracket, the same change in the rules costs you exactly PLN 300.00 per instalment. At 12% - PLN 112.50. Before you compare your situation with an example from the internet, check what tax rate it assumes.

Agreements signed before 2026

This is where a costly misunderstanding is easy. Many business owners assumed that an agreement concluded in 2025 "takes the old limit with it" until it ends.

If you have a combustion car on an operating lease from 2024 or 2025, assume to be safe that instalments paid in 2026 and later are subject to the PLN 100,000 limit. The numbers in this article show the loss over a whole 48-month agreement; with an agreement already running, it only applies to the instalments that are left.

What to do about it before you sign

• Work out the ratio before you choose the trim level. Net price times 1.115, compared with the limit. Every PLN 10,000 above the threshold is spending whose capital part no longer gives you any tax shield.
• Check the emissions in the car's documents. The threshold is 50 g/km. A regular hybrid does not meet it, a plug-in usually does - but the data in CEPiK decides, not the name of the version.
• Compare the real cost, not the instalment. Two offers with an identical instalment can differ by several thousand zloty after tax if they are for cars in different thresholds.
• Do not confuse the limit with running costs. Fuel, servicing and insurance are settled separately - at 75% with mixed use. That is a different provision and a different calculation.

Work it out yourself

Read also

• Leasing or a loan for a company car? - why a lower lease instalment does not mean a lower cost, and where VAT payable upfront comes from.
• How to read a leasing offer - what the instalment, buyout and total payments in a lessor's proposal really mean.

All the numbers in this article were calculated with the engine that powers our calculators (js/finance.js). The values, rates and assumptions (10% down payment, 48 instalments, 10% buyout, 7% interest, 23% VAT deducted at 50%) are a worked example, not an offer or a tax ruling. The model is simplified - among other things, it leaves out the initial fee spread over time, the tax treatment of the buyout and the health insurance contribution. The description of the law reflects the position on the date of publication, and the question of agreements concluded before 2026 rests on the Ministry of Finance's position, which is not binding in an individual case. This text is educational and does not constitute tax or legal advice, nor an offer within the meaning of Art. 66 §1 of the Polish Civil Code. Before you decide, check the tax treatment with an accountant or tax adviser, because it depends on your form of taxation and how the vehicle is used.