Payment of ZUS contributions

In order to settle the social security contributions correctly, it is not enough that you submit a declaration and other settlement documents. You must pay all your social security and health insurance contributions in time. 

As an entrepreneur, you pay contributions to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS):

• social security (old-age pensions, disability, sickness - voluntarily and accident insurance)
• health insurance
• Labour Fund (FP) - you do not pay contributions to the FP if you pay preferential contributions (from 30% of the minimum wage) and this is the only title for you to obligatory old-age and disability insurance.

If you have employees, you also pay contributions:

• Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund (GGŚP)

Important! If you run a non-agricultural business and employ people only on the basis of a contract of mandate, you do not have to pay contributions to the Labour Fund and Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund for them.

Additionally, if you hire employees in special conditions or with special character who were born after December 31, 1948, you pay contributions to the Bridge Pension Fund.

Amount of contributions per entrepreneur

The amount of your contributions depends on the declared base (the amount on which you calculate the appropriate contribution percentage). The tables show the minimum rates you pay as an entrepreneur. You can, of course, pay higher contributions and have higher benefits in the future.

Relief for starting a business

If you are entitled to a relief for starting a business, you will not be covered by social insurance for 6 months. You pay only the health insurance contribution (in 2019 it is PLN 342.32).

Due to the fact that you are not covered by social insurance during the period when you take advantage of the relief for starting a business, you are not entitled to benefits from sickness insurance (e.g. sickness benefit), accident insurance (e.g. rehabilitation benefit). The period during which you do not pay your old-age pension contributions will also not be taken into account when determining your pension entitlement and will not increase the amount of your old-age pension.

Preferential social security contributions for 24 months of activity

You calculate contributions from at least 30 % of the minimum wage. You can pay them for 24 calendar months.

Please note that the above amounts are supplemented by the health insurance contribution, which in 2019 amounts to PLN 342.32 (the contribution from the lowest base).  

Standard social contributions (minimum)

The accident insurance contribution rate is variable and depends on the number of insured persons and the industry in which the company operates. From 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019, it shall be between 0.67 and 3.33%. The table presents the amount of contribution according to the interest rate of 1.67% (i.e. 50% of the highest interest rate determined for a given contribution year for groups of activity), applicable to payers of contributions reporting for accident insurance in the previous calendar year on average (monthly) not more than 9 persons.

Please note that the above amounts are supplemented by the health insurance contribution, which in 2019 amounts to PLN 342.32 (the contribution from the lowest base).  

The health insurance contribution is 9% of the basis for the contribution. The basis for the health insurance contribution assessment (i.e. the amount from which the contribution is calculated) is the declared amount, but not lower than 75% of the average monthly remuneration in the enterprise sector in the fourth quarter of the previous year. In 2018, this amount was PLN 3554.93 (75% of the average monthly salary).

Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) contributions per employee

The amount of contributions you pay for an employee depends on the employee's salary (although some elements of remuneration are excluded from the contribution assessment basis).

• how the basis for assessment of contributions for employees is determined

Interest rates of contributions paid per employee:

• for old-age pension - 19.52% of the base
• for disability insurance - 8.00% of the base
• for sickness insurance - 2.45% of the base
• for accident insurance - from 0.67 to 3.33% of the base

Please note that the accident insurance contribution varies from payer to payer.

Who finances the contributions for employees

The rules for financing the contributions are set out in the table below:

Example of an employee's contribution settlement

If your employee is on parental leave or on maternity leave, the old-age and disability pension contributions are financed entirely by the state budget.

When the social security contributions have to be paid

You pay your contributions at the same time as you submit your tax return:

• by the 10th day of the following month - if you pay contributions solely for yourself
• by the 15th day of the following month -  if you pay contributions for yourself and for the person you cooperate with or for the employees you employ
• by the 15th day of the following month - you are a partner in a civil law partnership, registered partnership, limited partnership, professional partnership, limited liability company and you pay contributions solely for yourself (the company hires employees or other persons subject to insurance on this account).

If the 10th or 15th day of a month falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the last day of the period for the payment of contributions and the submission of documents shall be the day following the public holiday or public holidays.

Where to pay social security contributions

You pay for yourself and all the insured by one transfer to your individual Contribution Account Number (NRS). You will receive this number from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) by post immediately after you have set up your account of a contribution payer. If you do not receive information from ZUS about your account number or if you lose a letter from ZUS, you can check your number in the search engine at www.eskladka.pl

• check the number of contribution account in ZUS

Information on the account number can also be obtained from any ZUS office or from the Call Centre at 022 560 16 00.

You send only one transfer for:

• social security insurance
• health insurance
• Labour Fund
• Fund of Guaranteed Employee Benefits 
• Bridging Pension Fund

Contribution Account Number (NRS) you receive from ZUS will include ZUS number - 60000002026 as well as your individual unique number. On the basis of this number ZUS will record and settle payments on your account.

You do not provide any additional information on the transfer, e.g: NIP, REGON or PESEL. The only information you should enter on the transfer is the amount of the contribution, the sender and recipient of the payment and the number of the contribution account. You do not enter what period the payment is for.

Contributions are paid by bank transfer. The date of payment shall be the date on which the contributions are debited from the payer's bank account. If you are a micro-entrepreneur (you have less than 10 employees and an annual turnover of less than EUR 2 million), you can also pay contributions by postal order.

You pay your contributions by bank transfer (banks provide special electronic forms for ZUS payment). The date of payment shall be the date on which the contributions are debited from the payer's bank account. If you are a micro-entrepreneur (you employ fewer than 10 people and have an annual turnover of less than EUR 2 million or the balance sheet total does not exceed the PLN equivalent of EUR 2 million), you can also pay your contributions by postal order.

For detailed information on the Contribution Account Number and other business issues, contact your Contributor's Advisor.

• find an advisor

What happens with the amount paid into one account?

The Social Insurance Institution will divide your contribution into individual insurances and funds. It will be done on the basis of contributions for the last month, which you have entered in the settlement declaration, or those which ZUS has entered (if you are exempt from submitting declarations).

Your payment will be automatically, pro rataly distributed between all the insurance policies and funds you pay. This means that when you transfer money to your account, you do not specify what kind of contribution you want to pay and in what amount (e.g. only for health insurance).

First the arrears will be covered, then the current contributions. If you are in arrears, you will not be able to pay only the current contributions. If you join a voluntary sickness insurance scheme and you do not pay the contribution for the current month, the sickness insurance scheme will stop.

If you have contribution debts, you can take advantage of the ZUS installment scheme. Thanks to the instalment scheme you can pay your debt and do not lose your insurance cover (rights to short-term benefits, e.g. sickness benefit, care allowance). Contact the Social Insurance Institution regarding the instalment scheme. There are relief advisors in the branches who can help you prepare your application and other documents.

See:

• information on the e-contribution
• questions and answers concerning the e-contribution
• Simple payments to ZUS - guide (PDF)

What happens if I do not pay my contributions on time?

Be sure to pay your contributions on time. If you are in arrears you will lose your voluntary sickness insurance (if you joined it) and thus you will not be entitled to sickness, maternity, care and rehabilitation benefits.

Interest for late payment is due from the payer of the contributions from contributions that have not been paid on time.

In the event of not paying the contributions or paying them in an underestimated amount, the Social Insurance Institution may charge the payer of the contributions with an additional fee up to the amount of 100% of the unpaid contributions.

The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) will initiate enforcement proceedings, which may mean additional costs for you resulting from such proceedings.

How to calculate the interest

You will calculate the amount of default interest on a given day by multiplying the amount of the overdue contribution for a given month by the number of days of delay in its payment and by the binding annual interest rate for the overdue, and dividing the product received by 365 x 100.

Important!

The calculated amount of interest is rounded up to the nearest whole zloty (according to the mathematical principle). Interest for delay shall not be charged, if their amount does not exceed 6.60 PLN.

• calculate the interest rate of the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS)

If you need additional information on the new rules of paying contributions, please contact the Social Insurance Institution.

• ZUS Call Centre (tel.: 22 560 16 00)
• via a form
• Skype: zus_centrum_obslugi_tel
• E-mail: cot@zus.pl
• in each Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) (list of branches)

What to do about overpayment

If you have paid more than you should, you can apply for a refund. What happens to overpayment?

If you are arrears, the overpayment will reduce them and if you are not arrears, the Social Insurance Institution will add the overpayment to your current or future contributions.

If you want ZUS to return the overpayment - file an application for its return.

How to file an application for the return of an overpayment with ZUS

You can submit your application electronically via the ZUS Electronic Services Platform, by post or at a ZUS office.

• download application form (PDF)

When you receive a refund of the overpayment

ZUS shall return the overpayment within 30 days from the day on which:

• your application is received.
• receives a personal corrective report for the insured covered by the overpayment and a corrective settlement declaration

If you do not receive an overpayment within 30 days, you are entitled to interest.

How do I know if I have overpayment?

If the Social Insurance Institution finds an overpayment, it will send you a notice to that effect. Submit the corrective documents.

You can also check the status of your settlements with ZUS on the portal of ZUS Electronic Services Platform.

Important! The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) does not send any notification if the overpayment exceeds the amount of the reminder costs in the enforcement proceedings. If you are not sure that you have not exceeded the limit, after which you do not have to pay contributions (30 times rule) and you have not made unnecessary overpayment, you can apply to the Social Insurance Institution to determine whether the overpayment occurred. If it has occurred, you will receive a message. You can submit your application to the Social Insurance Institution both in paper form and electronically via the ZUS Electronic Services Platform.

Relief for the payment of contributions

If for justified reasons you have a problem with the payment of contributions, you can file an application with the Social Insurance Institution for:

1. deferment of the date of payment of contributions
2. distribution of the payment of contributions in instalments
3. write-off of contribution receivable
When applying for any of the above reliefs or for remissions, please note that:

Re 1

The deferral may only concern current or future contributions for which the payment deadline has not yet expired.

Re 2

If you are still self-employed, you will have to pay your current contributions.

If you are indebted to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) for enforcement costs, you must pay them or apply for their payment in instalments.

Re 3

The Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) may cancel receivables on account of contributions:

• in the case of total uncollectability
• due to the assets and family situation of the obliged person - on this basis only the contributions due for persons paying contributions for their own insurance may be redeemed

The law prohibits the redemption of the part of the contributions which is financed by the insured persons who are not the payers of the contributions.

Submission of a request for deferral, division into instalments or redemption of receivables due to contributions does not guarantee granting such reliefs or redemption. Nor does it constitute a statutory ground for suspending enforcement proceedings.

You can contact a relief and redemption advisor before applying for relief (deferring the payment of contributions, rescheduling your debt into instalments, or claiming debt relief). The advisor will explain to you what you can apply for, and if you file a claim for relief or remission of contributions, they will help you to complete and fill in the documents necessary to consider it. You can talk to an advisor by phone or make an appointment. A list of telephone numbers can be found at www.zus.pl

See also the ZUS website:

• how to obtain a deferral of the contribution payment deadline
• how to get the debt repayment distribution in instalments
• how to obtain debt write-off
• how to obtain relief from enforcement proceedings