The monument relief lets you deduct half of the expenses on maintaining a historic property: payments to the repair fund of a housing community or cooperative, and conservation, restoration and construction works. It can be used by owners and co-owners of a monument taxed under the scale, flat tax (podatek liniowy) or ryczałt (lump-sum tax on recorded revenue). It also applies to those who only own a flat in a historic tenement.
Who can benefit
The basic condition is ownership or co-ownership of an immovable monument at the time the expense is incurred. The form of taxation matters less than with other reliefs — the deduction is available under:
- the tax scale (PIT-37 or PIT-36),
- 19% flat tax (PIT-36L),
- ryczałt (PIT-28).
This is one of the few reliefs available to entrepreneurs on flat tax. A tenant of premises in a historic building cannot use the relief, even if under the lease they undertook to carry out repairs.
Register or inventory of monuments — this changes the scope of the relief
Before planning expenses it is worth checking the building's status. Since 2023 the distinction looks like this:
| Expense | Monument in the register of monuments | Monument only in the inventory of monuments |
|---|---|---|
| Payments to the community or cooperative repair fund | yes, 50% of payments | yes, 50% of payments |
| Conservation, restoration, construction works | yes, 50% of expenses gross | no (exception: expenses incurred up to the end of 2022 under acquired rights) |
| Purchase of a monument | only expenses from 2022 under acquired rights | no |
The register of monuments is kept by the voivodeship monument conservator; entry is by a decision. The inventory (voivodeship and commune) is a broader list of items of historic value. Information about a building's status can be obtained from the conservator's office or the commune office.
Flat owner in a tenement: the repair fund
The simplest and most often overlooked variant. If the housing community or cooperative has set up a repair fund for a building entered in the register or inventory of monuments, the flat owner deducts 50% of their payments in a given year. They only need:
- proof of payments or a certificate from the administrator of the sum of payments in the tax year;
- confirmation of ownership at the time of each payment.
Payments are deducted for the year in which they were paid. A conservator's permit is not needed here.
Example. A developer on flat tax has a flat in a tenement entered in the register of monuments. In 2026 she paid PLN 300 a month to the repair fund, PLN 3,600 in total. She deducts PLN 1,800 from income, and at the 19% rate her tax falls by PLN 342.
Building owner: works on a monument from the register
For a stand-alone renovation of a building entered in the register, the conditions are stricter. You need:
- a written permit from the voivodeship monument conservator to carry out works — before they begin;
- a certificate from the conservator that the works were carried out in line with the permit;
- invoices from an active VAT payer — receipts and bills from VAT-exempt contractors are not enough.
Up to 50% of expenses gross may be deducted, if that VAT has not been deducted in the VAT settlement. The relief does not cover works going beyond the scope of the permit or carried out in breach of it.
The timing of the deduction depends on the certificate, not on the invoice dates: the expenses are settled in the first return filed after it is received. If works end in autumn 2026 and the certificate arrives in March 2027, before the 2026 return is filed, the relief can be entered already in that return.
Example. An entrepreneur on the scale with income of PLN 200,000 spent PLN 120,000 gross in 2026 on façade renovation of a historic house, under a conservator's permit. After receiving the certificate they deduct PLN 60,000. The tax base falls to PLN 140,000, still above the PLN 120,000 threshold, so the full relief "works" at the 32% rate: tax is PLN 19,200 lower.
When income is too low: six years to settle
With a large renovation, the relief amount may exceed income or revenue for the given year, or there may be a loss in the year of renovation. The unused part is then carried forward to the six subsequent tax years immediately following the year for which the deduction was available. It is worth keeping a simple table: how much was deducted in each year and how much remains.
Limits and traps
- Double deduction — the same expense cannot be deducted in two returns (e.g. in PIT-28 and PIT-37) or under two reliefs, e.g. the monument relief and the thermo-modernisation relief.
- Reimbursement of expenses — a grant or compensation covering the expenses rules out the relief, and a reimbursement received after the deduction must be added back to income in the year of its receipt.
- Ownership at the time of the expense — works commissioned before acquiring the property do not give the new owner any relief.
- Spouses — under joint property they may split the relief in any proportion, regardless of in whose name the invoice was issued.
The relief is reported in the PIT/O annex to the annual return. A comparison of forms of taxation in terms of available reliefs can be found in the articles on the flat tax and general rules.
How Good Balance can help
We check whether expenses on a historic property qualify for the relief, draw up a settlement plan for the following years and prepare returns with the PIT/O annex. For non-standard works or doubts about the scope of the permit, we prepare an application for an individual tax interpretation before the contractor issues the first invoice.