A gardening firm — mowing, lawn care, hedge trimming, laying out beds — is, under the regulations, a service activity related to the management of green areas. In 2026 it is registered under PKD code 81.30.Z, these services have the reduced VAT rate of 8%, and on ryczałt 8.5% of revenue is usually paid. The devil is in the details: a garden design, the sale of plants or the construction of a fence are different tax categories.
What exactly a "gardening service" covers
According to the description in PKD 2025, subclass 81.30.Z covers the planting, care and maintenance of parks and gardens — both at private houses and multi-family buildings and at business or public premises. Many firms expand their offer over time, so even at registration it is worth adding further codes, e.g. for:
- sale of plants, seeds and gardening materials (retail trade),
- design services in landscape architecture,
- construction works, e.g. paving or installing fences,
- cleaning of outdoor areas and snow removal.
PKD codes do not determine tax rates — these are decided by the actual nature of the service and its PKWiU classification. The code should, however, be chosen so that the description of the activity in CEIDG matches reality. We cover the general rules for choosing codes in our article how to choose PKD codes.
VAT: 8%, 23% or exemption
Services related to the management of green areas (PKWiU 81.30) are listed in the VAT Act in Annex no. 3, i.e. in the list of services with the reduced rate — currently 8%. This covers typical works: mowing, fertilising, cutting, planting and ongoing maintenance of green areas.
The 8% rate does not automatically cover everything a gardening firm does for a client:
| Activity | How to treat it |
|---|---|
| Lawn care, pruning, planting | green-areas service — 8% |
| Garden design performed as a separate service | design service — as a rule 23% |
| Sale of plants without a planting service | supply of goods — rate depends on the type of plant |
| Paving, building a fence, irrigation system | construction or assembly works — separate rate analysis |
If the client orders a comprehensive garden job, it is worth setting out the individual components in the contract and on the invoice or agreeing with the accountant in advance whether the whole is a single complex supply.
Many gardeners at the start use the turnover-based exemption — in 2026 up to PLN 240,000 of sales per year. It makes sense with private clients who do not deduct VAT. When serving firms, housing communities or property managers, registration as an active payer allows VAT to be deducted on purchases of mowers, fuel and materials, and for a business client VAT on the invoice is neutral.
Income tax: ryczałt or general rules
Green-area maintenance services do not have a separate ryczałt rate, so they are subject to the general rate for service activity — 8.5% of revenue. Other parts of the activity may have different rates:
- trade in plants and materials — 3%,
- architectural and engineering services (PKWiU section 71), which include landscape design — 14%,
- construction works — 5.5%.
With several rates, the revenue register must clearly show which revenue is subject to which rate. If this is not clear, all revenues subject to lower rates are taxed at 8.5%.
Ryczałt pays off when costs are low. A firm that buys expensive equipment (a ride-on mower, chipper, trailer) and hires seasonal workers may pay less on the tax scale or flat tax. We compare the forms in our article on ryczałt and its rates.
Cash register and seasonality
Gardening services are not among those that must be recorded on a cash register from the first zloty. Up to PLN 20,000 of annual sales to private individuals (in the first year — proportionally to the period of activity), a cash register is not required. Services for firms, communities and municipalities documented by invoices do not count towards this limit. Once the limit is exceeded, the exemption expires two months after the end of the month in which it was exceeded.
Seasonality leads some firms to consider suspending activity in winter. A suspension must last at least 30 days and relieves one from paying social contributions, but during that time services cannot be provided. Firms that clear snow in winter usually prefer to operate year-round.
Example: starting a gardening firm in March
- The owner registers JDG in CEIDG with the main code 81.30.Z and additional codes for the sale of plants and cleaning of areas.
- He chooses ryczałt and start-up relief at ZUS (6 months without social contributions, health only).
- He serves private clients, so he stays with the VAT exemption; he watches the PLN 240,000 limit.
- From April to October he issues receipts and records revenue separately for services (8.5%) and the sale of seedlings (3%).
- When in October he signs a contract with a large housing community requiring invoices with VAT, he analyses with the accountant moving to active VAT from the following month.
Seasonal workers and associates
At the peak of the season, most gardening firms need extra hands. The most common choice is mandate contracts (umowa zlecenie), which in 2026 require at least PLN 31.40 gross per hour and a record of hours. For longer, regular cooperation under the owner's direction, an employment contract (umowa o pracę) is safer — including a fixed-term one, with a limit of 33 months and three contracts. Employing foreigners additionally requires checking the legal basis for work before it starts.
The owner who registers employees with ZUS becomes a contributions remitter and must file monthly settlement returns. This is the moment at which most sole proprietorships hand over HR and payroll to an accounting office.
Most common mistakes in the industry
- Applying 8% VAT to the whole invoice for creating a garden, including the design and construction works.
- Settling the sale of seedlings and services at one ryczałt rate without separation in the records.
- Cash settlements with private clients without monitoring the PLN 20,000 cash register limit.
- Working "off the books" with seasonal helpers instead of concluding even a short mandate contract.
How Good Balance can help
As part of support for sole proprietorships, we register the firm with the correct PKD codes, help split services by VAT and ryczałt rates and run ongoing settlements, including during periods of seasonal employment.