After the final instalment of an operating lease, the entrepreneur chooses whether the car goes into the firm's assets or into private assets. A buyout to the firm gives a cost (one-off or through depreciation) and deduction of part of the VAT, but a later sale is firm revenue. A private buyout does not give costs, yet a sale within 6 years will still be taxed as a sale in business activity.
The buyout is a separate transaction
The buyout invoice is not another leasing instalment. From the tax point of view, the entrepreneur buys a used car from the lessor at the price set out in the contract, usually small compared to the car's original value. Three consequences follow:
- the "firm or private" decision is made at this specific invoice — the way the instalments were settled does not predetermine it;
- the passenger-car value limits in costs are counted anew, from the buyout price;
- new deadlines start running from the buyout: 6 years for income tax and 60 months of VAT adjustment.
The general rules for settling a car in business activity (mixed use, flat allowance, charges) are described in a separate article on the passenger car in JDG (sole proprietorship). Here we focus solely on the moment of buyout and its effects over the following years.
Option 1: the car stays in the firm
Cost of buyout
If the buyout price does not exceed PLN 10,000 net, it can be charged to costs as a one-off. Above that amount, the car is entered in the fixed-asset register and depreciated. The individual 30-month rate for used means of transport requires showing that, before acquisition, the car was used by an entity other than the taxpayer for at least 6 months — in a buyout of a car driven by the entrepreneur themselves, this condition is usually not met, so the schedule rate applies.
Limit on the buyout price
Write-downs on a passenger car are a cost only up to a value limit. In 2026 it is PLN 225,000 for electric and hydrogen cars, PLN 150,000 for combustion cars with CO2 emissions below 50 g/km and PLN 100,000 for emissions equal to or above 50 g/km. Since the buyout price is usually low, the limit rarely restricts this cost.
VAT and running costs
Under mixed use, 50% of the VAT on the buyout invoice and on running expenses is deducted, and 75% of expenditure on using the car (net plus the non-deducted VAT) goes into costs. Full deduction requires using the car exclusively in the business, keeping a mileage record and filing VAT-26.
Option 2: buyout into private assets
The invoice may be issued with the firm's NIP, and the car can still go into private assets — what decides is whether the expense is entered in the books. In a private buyout:
- there is no cost of buyout or depreciation,
- VAT on the buyout invoice is not deducted,
- fuel, servicing, tyres and insurance are not firm costs.
This option makes sense mainly when the car will really serve the family for many years and is not needed in the business.
The 6-year trap on sale of a car bought out privately
The PIT Act treats as income from business activity the sale of movable property that was used in the firm on the basis of a leasing contract (Article 14(2)(19)), even if it was withdrawn from the business before the sale. The exception from the general "six months and no tax" rule does not apply until 6 years have passed between the first day of the month following withdrawal and the day of sale (Article 10(2)(4)).
In practice this means that the sale price — without reduction for the buyout cost, which was not settled in the firm — is taxed according to the form of taxation of the business:
| Form of taxation | Tax on the sale price during the 6-year period |
|---|---|
| Tax scale | 12% or 32% (plus health contribution on income) |
| Flat tax (podatek liniowy) | 19% |
| Ryczałt | 3% of revenue |
Example. An entrepreneur on flat tax bought out a car privately for PLN 8,000 in March 2026 and sells it to a neighbour in 2027 for PLN 70,000. The entire PLN 70,000 is revenue from business activity, so the tax will be around PLN 13,300. If they had bought the car into the firm, they could have settled the buyout cost and deducted part of the VAT, and the revenue from the later sale would still have been firm revenue.
Conclusion: a private buyout does not protect against tax on a quick sale. It pays off rather when the car will stay in the family for longer than 6 years.
Sale of a car bought out into the firm
- VAT: an active VAT payer issues an invoice with 23% VAT on the full price, even when only half of the tax was deducted on buyout.
- Positive adjustment: if the sale takes place within 60 months of the buyout, the VAT Act treats the car as having been used exclusively in business until the end of the adjustment period. This gives the right to adjust — that is, to deduct additionally — part of the VAT from the buyout invoice (Article 90b of the VAT Act).
- Income tax: the sale price is revenue, and the undepreciated part of the value is a cost. Under ryczałt the rate is 3%.
- Buyer: when buying from an active VAT payer with an invoice, no civil-law transactions tax is paid. When buying from a private person, 2% PCC would be due.
Checklist before signing the buyout
- Will the car still be used in the business, and if so — exclusively or mixed?
- Is a sale planned within 6 years? If so, a private buyout is usually not worthwhile.
- What is the buyout price: up to PLN 10,000 (one-off cost) or more (fixed asset)?
- What are the CO2 emissions — the PLN 100,000 or PLN 150,000 limit depends on this.
- Is the firm an active VAT payer, and will the way the car is used change (VAT-26)?
- Does the accounting office know which decision you have taken, before the invoice reaches the books?
If you are considering selling the car to the lessor and leasing it again, it is worth reading about sale-and-leaseback.
How Good Balance can help
Before buyout we calculate both options on data from your firm, and once the decision has been made we correctly record the invoice, fixed asset and VAT. We provide full accounting and simplified accounting for entrepreneurs who use leasing.