[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"advice-en-car-wash-playbook":3},{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"body":7,"datePublished":8,"dateModified":8},"car-wash-playbook","Car wash 2026: PKD, 23% VAT, ryczałt and cash register","How to open a car wash or mobile cleaning in 2026: PKD codes 95.31.B and 95.31.C, VAT and exemption up to PLN 240,000, 8.5% ryczałt and when a cash register is required.","\u003Cp>A car wash, mobile car cleaning or a comprehensive car detailing studio in 2026 is activity registered under PKD codes 95.31.B or 95.31.C, taxed with VAT at the basic rate of 23% (unless the firm uses the turnover-based exemption) and settled on ryczałt at 8.5%. The most common doubts concern the cash register: every car wash serving private customers — touchless, hand or mobile — must have one from the first such service.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>The business model determines the formalities\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The industry covers several very different ventures:\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>touchless or automatic car wash\u003C\u002Fstrong> — the customer operates the machine themselves and pays in the automat; high outlays on bays, water treatment and wastewater discharge,\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>hand car wash\u003C\u002Fstrong> — service performed on site by employees,\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>mobile washing and cleaning\u003C\u002Fstrong> — travel to the customer, e.g. at a company car park; low fixed costs,\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>specialist detailing\u003C\u002Fstrong> — paint correction, protective coatings, films, interior restoration; high value of a single service.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>For a stationary car wash, the technical and environmental issues are key: discharge of wastewater containing detergents and petroleum substances, a contract with the water utility and, in the case of construction, building permits. These requirements are worth checking at the municipality before signing the land lease.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>PKD 2025 codes\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Washing of vehicles appears in PKD 2025 in two subclasses:\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>95.31.B\u003C\u002Fstrong> — body and paint repair and maintenance of motor vehicles; includes, among others, washing and polishing,\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>95.31.C\u003C\u002Fstrong> — a new PKD 2025 subclass for comprehensive car detailing; covers protective films, paint-protection coatings, paint restoration, cleaning and protecting the interior and washing of vehicles.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>A typical car wash can indicate 95.31.B as the main code, and a detailing studio — 95.31.C. If car-care products are sold at the point, it is worth adding a retail trade code. Motorcycle washing belongs to the separate subclass 95.32.Z. The general rules for choosing codes are described in our article \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fadvice\u002Fpkd-codes-how-to-choose\">how to choose PKD codes\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>VAT: 23% rate and the turnover-based exemption\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Car washing and cleaning services do not have a reduced rate — a firm that is an active payer charges 23% VAT. The industry, however, is not excluded from the turnover-based exemption, so up to PLN 240,000 of annual sales (the 2026 limit) you can operate without VAT. In the first year of activity, the limit is counted proportionally to the period of running the firm.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>What to choose? A car wash serving mainly private drivers benefits from the exemption, as its prices contain no tax. With large investments in bays and the handling of company fleets, registration as an active payer allows VAT to be recovered on purchases of equipment, chemicals and water, and lets business customers be issued invoices with deductible VAT.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Income tax and ZUS\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>On ryczałt, car washing and detailing services are settled at the 8.5% rate on revenue, applicable to service activity. Sale of car-care products is trade, taxed at 3%; with both revenue sources, the records must clearly separate them.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Ryczałt pays off with low costs, e.g. in mobile washing. A touchless car wash with high depreciation, electricity and service costs usually pays less on the flat tax or the scale, as tax there is calculated on income. At the start, contributions can be reduced thanks to start-up relief and the preferential ZUS — details in our article on \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fadvice\u002Fwhat-is-zus-in-poland\">ZUS in Poland\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Cash register — where the line runs\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The rules on cash-register exemptions list car washing and cleaning services (PKWiU 45.20.30.0) among activities recorded regardless of turnover — whether the car is washed by an employee or the customer uses an automat accepting payment in coins, notes or by card. In practice this means:\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ctable>\u003Cthead>\u003Ctr>\u003Cth>Type of activity\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>Cash register\u003C\u002Fth>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Fthead>\u003Ctbody>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Touchless or automatic car wash with a payment automat\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>from the first transaction\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Hand car wash, payment to the employee\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>from the first service to a private person\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Mobile washing for firms, by invoice\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>sales to firms do not count towards the limit\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Ftbody>\u003C\u002Ftable>\u003Cp>The PLN 20,000 limit, which in many sectors allows starting without a cash register, does not apply to car washing and cleaning services for private persons. Only online cash registers connected to the Central Register of Cash Registers may be purchased.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Example: a hand car wash with a detailing point\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Col>\u003Cli>The owner leases a hall with a separator and water connection and registers JDG with the main code 95.31.C and additional codes 95.31.B and retail trade.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>He chooses the flat tax because of high equipment costs and registers as an active VAT payer, as he serves fleets of leasing companies.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>He installs an online cash register before the first service to a private customer — for car washing the PLN 20,000 limit does not apply.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>He hires two employees on an employment contract and registers them with ZUS within 7 days of hire.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>From 2026, invoices for firms are issued in KSeF.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Ch2>Most common mistakes\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>Launching a car wash — including a hand or mobile one — without a cash register, in the belief that the PLN 20,000 limit applies.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Settling the sale of car-care products and services at one ryczałt rate.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>No contracts with seasonal workers in periods of peak traffic.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Failure to check wastewater requirements before investing.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Ch2>How Good Balance can help\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>As part of \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Flegal\u002Fprivate-entrepreneurship\">support for sole proprietorships\u003C\u002Fa>, we register the firm with the correct PKD codes, compare the profitability of ryczałt and flat tax for a specific car-wash model, help decide on VAT and the cash register and then run ongoing settlements and HR.\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-10-09"]