Real estate tax: all individual tax rulings finally in one database

Good news! Individual tax rulings concerning local taxes and fees will soon become much more accessible. The amendment to the Tax Ordinance Act, signed by the President of Poland on 19 June 2026, provides that rulings issued by local government authorities – including those concerning the taxation of structures and facilities for real estate tax purposes – will be published in a single, central EUREKA database, which already contains individual rulings issued by the Head of the National Revenue Administration Information Centre (NRAIC).

For taxpayers, this change means both the end of the need to search through numerous local Public Information Bulletins (BIPs) to find interpretations of regulations applied by individual municipalities and the opportunity to make easier use of the existing interpretative output of local government authorities, for example when making decisions regarding new investments.

Bringing together such a large number of individual rulings in one place is particularly significant given that the new definitions of a building and a structure, in force since 1 January 2025, have given rise to numerous practical doubts throughout Poland regarding the classification of assets for real estate tax purposes.

The problem of dispersed tax rulings relating to local taxes

Individual rulings concerning local taxes and fees (including, among others, real estate tax, transport vehicle tax, and other local charges specified in the Local Taxes and Charges Act) are currently issued by the competent local government authorities:

• commune heads (wójt), 
• mayors, 
• city presidents, 
• district governors (starosta), 
• voivodship marshals. 

The problem, however, is that the rulings issued by these authorities are published in the Public Information Bulletins of individual municipal and city offices. With 2,479 municipalities currently operating in Poland, this creates a significant barrier to access to information and means there is no central database where taxpayers can easily review the practice adopted by local government authorities in areas relevant to them.

Such fragmentation of individual rulings concerning the provisions of the Local Taxes and Charges Act significantly hinders the verification and comparison of positions adopted by different municipalities in similar cases, for example regarding the classification of assets for real estate tax purposes.

What will the amendment signed by the President change with regard to individual real estate tax rulings?

Under the new regulations, authorities issuing individual rulings concerning local taxes and fees will be required to promptly submit those rulings to the Head of the National Revenue Administration Information Centre. This obligation will also cover information regarding the amendment, repeal, expiry or invalidation of such rulings.

This means that individual tax rulings issued by local government authorities will be published in a single central database rather than exclusively in the Public Information Bulletins of individual offices. This role will be fulfilled by the existing EUREKA system, which currently publishes individual rulings issued by the Head of NRAIC. 

Importantly, the new rules will apply not only to rulings concerning real estate tax or other local charges issued after the legislation enters into force, but also to certain earlier rulings. Specifically, the system will include individual rulings issued by local government authorities from 1 January 2025 onwards.

To spread the administrative burden over time, the legislator has introduced two deadlines for submitting documents to the Head of NRAIC:

• Rulings issued between 1 January and 30 June 2025 must be submitted to the Head of NRAIC no later than 31 October 2026.
• Rulings issued from 1 July 2025 until the day preceding the entry into force of the new legislation must be submitted to the Head of NRAIC by 31 December 2026. 

The Head of NRAIC will have until 31 March 2027 to publish the outstanding rulings in the EUREKA database.

Why is this amendment important for real estate taxpayers?

The legislative change allowing rulings concerning local taxes to be collected in a single database is particularly important for real estate taxpayers because the currently applicable definitions of a building and a structure continue to generate numerous practical uncertainties, especially in the context of properly classifying assets as structures.

The issuance of individual rulings therefore performs an important informational function. As locating such rulings will soon become significantly easier, the amendment may help taxpayers determine, for example, whether a particular asset should be treated as a building, a structure, or whether it is subject to real estate tax at all. The central database will also facilitate the identification of inconsistencies in the positions adopted by local government authorities.

Equally important will be the possibility of relying on an established interpretative practice. Access to individual rulings from numerous municipalities gathered in a single location may genuinely facilitate the preparation of taxpayers’ own applications for individual rulings, tax risk assessments, and the development of arguments for discussions or disputes with the competent local government authority concerning the taxation of premises or other real estate.

Thanks to the system collecting individual tax rulings issued by local government authorities, inconsistencies in the approaches adopted by cities and municipalities will be easier to identify, although still difficult to eliminate

The centralisation of publication of individual rulings issued by local government authorities is a solution that will significantly facilitate taxpayers’ searches for rulings relating to real estate taxation and help them verify how similar cases involving buildings and structures are resolved by different municipalities. It will also enable faster identification of inconsistencies in interpretative practice. Additionally, the centralisation of individual rulings within the EUREKA system should promote a more uniform application of local tax and charge regulations by tax authorities across the country.

The new solution will therefore increase access to knowledge concerning the approaches adopted by local government authorities to local tax regulations, but it is unlikely to eliminate disputes regarding the classification of various types of assets. The experience of experts providing advisory services to entities operating within the real estate sector indicates that interpretations of the provisions of the Local Taxes and Charges Act may differ substantially depending on the region of Poland.

With this in mind, in cases of uncertainty concerning the classification of assets for real estate tax purposes (or where assistance is required in preparing an application for an individual ruling), we encourage businesses to seek support from the tax advisers at RSM Poland.