A fiscal cash register (kasa fiskalna) is used to record sales to consumers — i.e. people who are not buying as part of a business — and to flat-rate farmers (rolnicy ryczałtowi). Not every entrepreneur is required to have one — the regulations provide subject-based, object-based and turnover-based exemptions, but the list of "blacklisted" industries in which the device is required from the first sale is long. Below we explain how to check your obligation and when it is worth deciding on a cash register voluntarily.
Who needs a cash register and who does not
The obligation stems from Article 111 of the VAT Act, and the detailed catalogue of exclusions is set out in the current Minister of Finance regulation on exemptions from recording with cash registers. The rule is simple: if you sell goods or services to a consumer, as a rule you record this transaction in the cash register. Exceptions include:
- sales exclusively to businesses (B2B) — documented by invoices, no cash register required,
- activity covered by an object-based exemption (e.g. some financial services, rental under an invoice),
- consumer turnover not exceeding the limit of PLN 20,000 per year (turnover-based exemption).
However, the turnover-based exemption does not apply to the industries listed in § 4 of the regulation — there a cash register is required regardless of the volume of sales.
The PLN 20,000 limit — how to calculate it
For an entrepreneur continuing their activity, the limit is PLN 20,000 of consumer turnover generated in the previous tax year. If the business starts during the year, the limit is calculated in proportion to the number of days of sales (the period from the start of activity to 31 December).
Example: an entrepreneur starts activity on 15 May 2026 and runs it until the end of the year (231 days). Proportionally: PLN 20,000 × (231/365) ≈ PLN 12,657. Once this amount is exceeded, the obligation to fiscalise arises after two full months — counted from the end of the month in which the threshold was crossed.
Only consumer sales and sales to flat-rate farmers count towards the limit. B2B sales do not affect the obligation to fiscalise.
When a cash register is mandatory from the first sale
The regulation lists activities in which the turnover-based exemption cannot be used. This most often concerns:
- supplies of LPG, motor fuels, tobacco products and alcoholic beverages,
- supplies of car parts, accessories and engines,
- sale of audio-visual, photographic and precious-metal goods,
- provision of hairdressing, beauty and cosmetology services,
- catering and food-service activities,
- passenger transport services (taxis, road transport),
- medical care provided by doctors and dentists (with exceptions for blind persons with a significant or moderate degree of disability),
- legal services and tax consulting,
- admission to discos, amusement parks, dance halls and circus performances,
- vehicle repairs, tyre changes and technical inspections.
In these industries, fiscalisation takes place before the first sale to a consumer.
Object-based exemptions — when the revenue structure saves the day
The second route is an object-based exemption. It covers, for example, mail-order sales (provided payment is made in full to a bank account and the subject of the payment is documented), services provided solely through automated machines, notarial acts, and specific educational and religious services.
If an entrepreneur runs mixed activity — part covered by the object-based exemption, part not — they are entitled to the exemption if the share of exempt turnover in total consumer turnover for the previous year exceeded 80%. The threshold is not calculated on all income but only on turnover with consumers and flat-rate farmers.
Types of cash registers: online, virtual, legacy
Since 2019, Poland has been gradually introducing online cash registers — they transmit data to the Central Repository of Cash Registers run by the Head of KAS (National Revenue Administration). The replacement of older types has covered, in turn: the fuel industry, car workshops and vehicle inspection stations, catering services, hairdressing, cosmetology, construction services, doctors and dentists, and finally all other taxpayers.
For selected industries (e.g. passenger and luggage transport by car, including taxis, and some services provided outside the registered office), virtual cash registers are allowed — in the form of software instead of a physical device. Every newly purchased device should be an online or a virtual cash register meeting the criteria of the Minister of Finance regulation.
Cash register purchase relief
An entrepreneur who starts recording sales may deduct from VAT (or receive a refund from the head of the tax office) part of the cost of the cash register. The refund is 90% of the net purchase price, no more than PLN 700 per registered device. Conditions:
- starting recording within the deadline requiring fiscalisation,
- filing an application with the device details before starting recording — in the manner and within the deadlines indicated in the regulation,
- holding proof of full payment for the device.
A VAT taxpayer accounts for the relief in the JPK_V7 return; a VAT-exempt taxpayer applies for a refund to a bank account. If the cash register is given up within 3 years, the relief must be refunded.
Cash register start-up procedure, step by step
- Purchase of an approved online or virtual cash register.
- Notification to the tax office of the intention to use the device — online cash registers are registered automatically after the first fiscal daily report; virtual cash registers require a separate filing.
- Fiscalisation — assignment of a registration number, entering VAT rates, training of operators.
- Starting recording and issuing receipts to customers.
- Storing daily fiscal reports and the sales archive within statutory deadlines.
- Claiming the PLN 700 relief — if applicable.
Consequences of lacking a cash register
Failure to record sales with a cash register when the obligation has arisen results in:
- loss of the right to 90% of input VAT in the VAT settlement for the period up to the start of recording,
- fiscal penal sanctions against the persons managing the taxpayer,
- the risk of the tax authority estimating the sales.
Simply establishing that undocumented sales went to consumers is usually enough to challenge the settlements.
Voluntary fiscalisation — when it makes sense
Even if the PLN 20,000 limit has not been exceeded, it is worth considering a cash register if:
- you plan rapid sales growth and want to avoid unexpectedly exceeding the threshold,
- customers expect a receipt (catering, services provided on site),
- you want to use the PLN 700 relief immediately after starting the business.
How Good Balance can help
We will choose the right type of cash register (online or virtual), handle the fiscalisation procedure and the settlement of the PLN 700 relief, and then book daily reports as part of ongoing support. See our offer: simplified accounting and invoice and VAT services. Related article: what is VAT in Poland.