Transfer Pricing in Poland – Documentation Requirements 2026

Transfer pricing remains one of the most significant areas of tax audits in Poland. Related parties conducting intra-group transactions must demonstrate that the terms of these transactions correspond to arm’s length conditions – that is, conditions that would have been established between unrelated parties. The year 2026 brings a continuation of existing requirements while introducing updates to the safe harbour mechanism for financial transactions and new TPR reporting structures.

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of transfer pricing documentation obligations applicable in Poland in 2026, with particular focus on documentation thresholds, deadlines, required documentation elements, and available exemptions and simplifications.

Legal Framework

Transfer pricing regulations in Poland are primarily contained in Chapter 1a of the Corporate Income Tax Act (Articles 11a-11t of the CIT Act) and correspondingly in the Personal Income Tax Act (Articles 23m-23zf of the PIT Act). These provisions implement OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines and comply with European Union directives on anti-avoidance measures.

Key legal instruments also include ordinances of the Minister of Finance specifying the detailed scope of transfer pricing documentation and TPR (Transfer Pricing Information) form templates. From 1 January 2026, the updated Announcement of the Minister of Finance and Economy dated 10 December 2025 applies, setting out parameters for the safe harbour mechanism for financial transactions.

Entities Subject to Documentation Obligations

Definition of Related Parties

Related parties are defined as entities where one entity exerts significant influence over another, or entities that are subject to significant influence by the same other entity or the same natural person. Significant influence means holding directly or indirectly at least 25% of shares in capital, voting rights in supervisory, management or constituent bodies, or shares in profits. The relationship may also arise from an entity’s actual ability to influence key business decisions of another entity.

Controlled Transactions

A controlled transaction is any commercial activity conducted between related parties whose terms have been established or imposed as a result of the relationship. This includes in particular goods transactions (sale and purchase of goods), financial transactions (loans, guarantees, sureties, cash pooling), service transactions (management services, advisory services, licenses), and other transactions (transfer of intangibles, restructurings).

Documentation Thresholds for 2026

The obligation to prepare local transfer pricing documentation arises upon exceeding the value thresholds for homogeneous controlled transactions in a given tax year. These thresholds vary depending on the type of transaction and the characteristics of the counterparty.

Standard Thresholds

Transaction value is determined based on net amounts (excluding VAT) from accounting documents. For financial transactions, the value is the principal amount of a loan or credit, the guarantee sum, or the value of bond issuance, respectively.

Thresholds for Transactions with Tax Haven Entities

For controlled transactions with entities based in jurisdictions applying harmful tax competition (so-called tax havens), significantly lower documentation thresholds apply.

The list of countries and territories applying harmful tax competition is published by the Minister of Finance by way of ordinance and is subject to periodic updates. The latest update occurred in March 2025.

Compliance Deadlines

The regulations precisely define deadlines for fulfilling individual documentation obligations. For taxpayers whose tax year coincides with the calendar year, the deadlines are as follows:

For transactions carried out in 2025, these deadlines fall on 31 October 2026 (Local File), 30 November 2026 (TPR), and 31 December 2026 (Master File), respectively.

Elements of Local Transfer Pricing Documentation

Local transfer pricing documentation (Local File) must contain specific elements enabling demonstration of the arm’s length nature of the controlled transaction. Documentation is prepared in electronic form and should include the following components:

Description of the Related Party

Documentation must contain a detailed description of the entity’s organisational and management structure, including functions performed, assets employed, and risks assumed in the context of controlled transactions. A description of the competitive environment and market position of the entity must also be presented.

Description of the Controlled Transaction

Each controlled transaction requires a detailed description covering the subject matter of the transaction, transaction value together with the calculation method, agreements governing the transaction, and the method of determining the transfer price. The description should include a functional analysis indicating functions performed by the parties to the transaction, assets employed, and risks assumed.

Transfer Pricing Analysis

A mandatory element of documentation is a benchmarking analysis or conformity analysis. A benchmarking analysis involves comparing the conditions of the controlled transaction with conditions of comparable transactions concluded by unrelated parties. A conformity analysis is used in cases where preparation of a benchmarking analysis is not possible or appropriate. The analysis should indicate the transfer pricing verification method and justification for its selection.

Regulations require updating the benchmarking analysis at least once every three years, unless changes in economic conditions require earlier updating. Significant changes in the economic environment, such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the armed conflict in Ukraine, or high inflation, may justify the need for earlier updating.

Transfer Pricing Information (TPR)

Regardless of the obligation to prepare documentation, related parties must file electronic transfer pricing information (TPR-C form for CIT taxpayers or TPR-P for PIT taxpayers). From 11 December 2025, updated TPR-C(6) and TPR-P(6) forms apply.

TPR information includes identification data of the entity, information about related parties and controlled transactions carried out, financial indicators of the entity, and information about transfer pricing verification methods applied. Entities benefiting from exemptions from the documentation obligation file TPR information in a limited scope, indicating only the transaction value.

The TPR form also contains a statement that local transfer pricing documentation has been prepared in accordance with the actual state of affairs and that transfer prices covered by this documentation are established at arm’s length. Information is filed electronically via the e-Deklaracje system or a dedicated web application provided by the Ministry of Finance.

Group Documentation (Master File)

The obligation to prepare group transfer pricing documentation applies to entities belonging to capital groups whose consolidated revenues in the previous financial year exceeded PLN 200,000,000. Group documentation contains information about the capital group structure, business activities conducted, intangibles, intra-group financial transactions, and the group’s transfer pricing policy.

Safe Harbour Mechanism – 2026 Update

The safe harbour mechanism constitutes a significant simplification in transfer pricing for certain types of transactions. If statutory conditions are met, the tax authority refrains from determining income (loss) in the scope covered by the simplification, and the taxpayer is exempt from the obligation to prepare local transfer pricing documentation for that transaction.

Safe Harbour for Financial Transactions

From 1 January 2026, the updated Announcement of the Minister of Finance and Economy applies, setting out safe harbour parameters for loans, credits, and bond issuances between related parties. A significant change is the expansion of the catalogue of permissible base rates for PLN-denominated transactions.

Base rates applicable from 2026:

For PLN transactions: WIBOR 3M, WIRON 3M Compound Rate, or POLSTR 3M Compound Rate (new from 2026). For USD transactions: 90-day Average SOFR. For EUR transactions: EURIBOR 3M. For CHF transactions: SARON 3M. For GBP transactions: SONIA 3M.

Margin:

The margin level remains unchanged compared to 2025: for the borrower, a maximum of 2.6 percentage points; for the lender, a minimum of 2.0 percentage points. In case of a negative base rate value, the margin constitutes the sum of the absolute value of the base rate and the specified margin.

Conditions for Using Safe Harbour

To benefit from the safe harbour mechanism for financial transactions, the following conditions must be met cumulatively: interest is variable and determined based on a base rate and margin compliant with the applicable announcement, the agreement does not provide for payment of fees other than interest related to providing financing (except handling fees up to 0.2% of the financing amount), the financing period does not exceed 5 years, the total principal value of loans granted or received from related parties does not exceed PLN 20,000,000 in a tax year, and the lender is not based in a jurisdiction applying harmful tax competition.

Safe Harbour for Low Value-Adding Services

The safe harbour simplification also covers low value-adding services, i.e., services of a routine nature supporting the group’s core activities. The condition for benefiting is applying a mark-up on costs ranging from 2% to 5% for the service recipient and from 2% to 5% for the service provider, provided that the services do not constitute the main business activity of the provider.

Exemptions from Documentation Obligation

The regulations provide for several exemptions from the obligation to prepare local transfer pricing documentation, even when documentation thresholds are exceeded.

Exemption for Domestic Transactions

The most important exemption applies to transactions carried out exclusively between Polish related parties that cumulatively meet the following conditions: none of the entities benefits from exemptions in special economic zones or from support decisions under the Polish Investment Zone, none incurred a tax loss in the given tax year, and the revenues and costs of the given transaction were fully recognised for tax purposes in Poland.

Exemption for Micro and Small Entrepreneurs

Entities with micro-entrepreneur or small entrepreneur status within the meaning of the Entrepreneurs’ Law Act are exempt from the obligation to prepare a benchmarking analysis or conformity analysis. However, they remain obligated to prepare the remaining elements of local transfer pricing documentation and to file TPR information.

Transfer Pricing Verification Methods

Polish regulations provide for five basic transfer pricing verification methods, consistent with OECD guidelines:

The Comparable Uncontrolled Price method (CUP) involves comparing the price applied in a controlled transaction with prices applied in comparable transactions by unrelated parties. The Resale Price Method is based on deducting an appropriate gross margin from the sale price of goods acquired from a related party. The Cost Plus Method involves determining the price based on direct and indirect costs plus a profit mark-up. The Transactional Net Margin Method (TNMM) involves examining the level of net profitability indicator from the controlled transaction. The Transactional Profit Split Method involves dividing total profits between transaction parties in proportion to their contributions.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Non-compliance with transfer pricing obligations carries significant consequences under both tax law and fiscal criminal law.

Tax Penalties

If the tax authority finds that transfer prices deviate from arm’s length conditions, it may reassess income. Reassessed income is subject to taxation at standard CIT rates (19% or 9% for small taxpayers), and in certain cases an additional penalty tax of 10% to 30% of the difference between declared and determined income may be imposed.

Fiscal Criminal Liability

Failure to prepare transfer pricing documentation or filing unreliable TPR information may result in fiscal criminal liability of responsible persons (board members, chief accountants). The fine may amount to up to 720 daily rates, the amount of which depends on the minimum wage.

Practical Recommendations

Foreign investors operating in Poland should implement comprehensive transfer pricing risk management procedures. Key recommendations include conducting detailed identification of all controlled transactions at the beginning of each tax year, implementing a transfer pricing policy defining the principles for establishing intra-group transaction conditions, ongoing collection of source documentation (agreements, invoices, calculations) throughout the year, regular reviews and updates of benchmarking analyses taking into account changes in market conditions, and ensuring adequate lead time for preparing documentation and TPR information before statutory deadlines.

For financial transactions, it is worth considering structuring intra-group loans in a manner enabling use of the safe harbour mechanism, which will allow for significant simplification of documentation obligations. It should be remembered that variable interest must be applied and other statutory conditions must be observed.

Summary

The year 2026 brings a continuation of rigorous documentation requirements in transfer pricing in Poland. Related parties must demonstrate particular diligence in identifying controlled transactions, timely preparing documentation, and reliably reporting in the TPR form. Changes to the safe harbour mechanism for financial transactions, including the expansion of the catalogue of permissible base rates to include POLSTR 3M, offer additional flexibility in structuring intra-group financing.

Professional transfer pricing advisory allows minimising the risk of disputes with tax authorities and ensures compliance with dynamically changing regulations. Foreign investors should treat compliance in transfer pricing as an integral element of tax risk management in Poland.