Crypto costs and losses in Poland: how PIT-38 works in 2026

Polish virtual-currency taxation does not report a conventional tax loss when annual acquisition and disposal costs exceed virtual-currency revenue. The Ministry of Finance states that income is floored at PLN 0 and the excess costs increase the virtual-currency costs reported in the following tax year. This distinction matters: the amount cannot be offset against salary, share gains or derivatives as a current-year loss, but it must still be declared and preserved. For transactions during 2025, the taxpayer files PIT-38 between 15 February and 30 April 2026 even if there were acquisition costs and no taxable disposal revenue.

Polish virtual-currency disposal never creates a tax loss

The official Polish tax portal gives the formula: income equals virtual-currency disposal revenue minus deductible costs. If revenue is below costs, taxable income is PLN 0. It expressly says that a “loss” never arises from paid disposal of virtual currency. Instead, the unused cost excess moves into the following year's virtual-currency cost calculation.

This system is not FIFO profit matching by sale. It is an annual aggregation of qualifying virtual-currency revenue, current documented costs and previously unclaimed costs. A transaction ledger is still needed to prove what each payment was and prevent duplicate cost claims.

The Poland crypto tax guide covers the complete income categories.

Which crypto costs are deductible?

The Ministry of Finance lists documented expenses directly incurred to acquire virtual currency and documented costs connected with its disposal, including expenditure paid to intermediaries in the sale. All qualifying costs incurred in the year are declared regardless of whether a sale occurs in the same year.

Documentation is central. Preserve invoices, exchange statements, bank transfers, transaction hashes, PLN conversions and fee details. An exchange's total “spent” amount does not prove that it was a direct acquisition cost if it includes leverage collateral, loan interest or internal movements.

The official portal excludes financing costs such as loans and credit, costs associated with exchanging one virtual currency for another, mining equipment and electricity used for mining from the virtual-currency disposal cost pool. Those amounts should not be inserted merely to reduce the 19% base. A genuine business may have other accounting questions, but that does not change the statutory private virtual-currency cost line automatically.

• record acquisition price and directly connected exchange commission;
• convert foreign-currency expenditure to PLN under the applicable rule;
• keep current-year and prior unclaimed costs separate;
• exclude own-wallet transfers and refundable collateral;
• do not claim mining hardware, electricity or financing in this cost pool;
• retain evidence until the costs have been fully used and the assessment period expires.

What creates Polish virtual-currency revenue?

Official guidance defines paid disposal as exchanging virtual currency for legal tender, goods, services or a property right other than virtual currency, or using virtual currency to settle another obligation. Selling BTC for PLN or EUR, purchasing a computer with ETH and paying an invoice with a stablecoin can therefore create revenue.

A virtual-currency-for-virtual-currency exchange is generally outside paid disposal at that stage. That does not mean history can be discarded. The PLN acquisition costs and units remain relevant when value is later realised outside virtual currency. Software should keep the swap and fees in the audit trail without inventing current revenue.

Classification of the received and surrendered assets matters. A token representing a security, derivative or other property right may not satisfy the statutory virtual-currency definition. NFTs, tokenised shares and perpetual contracts should not be pooled with BTC and qualifying payment tokens solely because the exchange calls all of them “crypto.”

Staking, mining, lending and rewards can create separate questions before later disposal. The Poland DeFi guide explains why a receipt should not be erased when the token later enters the PIT-38 disposal pool.

How the excess-cost carryforward works

The tax portal instructs taxpayers to show costs incurred in the current year, costs brought forward from earlier years and costs not deducted by year-end in their respective PIT-38 areas. The unused excess increases virtual-currency disposal costs in the next year and is treated like current costs there.

Two-year example

In 2025, a taxpayer has PLN 25,000 of qualifying acquisition costs and no paid disposal revenue. The 2025 PIT-38 filed in 2026 shows those costs; taxable virtual-currency income is PLN 0. In 2026, the taxpayer has PLN 40,000 revenue and PLN 5,000 new qualifying costs. Before other adjustments, total available costs are PLN 30,000 and income is PLN 10,000. The prior PLN 25,000 is not a separate loss offset and must not also remain for 2027.

If 2026 revenue were only PLN 20,000, income would be PLN 0 and the remaining PLN 10,000 cost excess would continue into the next year. A roll-forward schedule prevents duplicated or lost costs.

1. start with prior-year unclaimed cost confirmed by the filed PIT-38;
2. add current-year documented qualifying costs;
3. calculate current paid-disposal revenue;
4. floor virtual-currency income at PLN 0;
5. carry only the unused excess cost to the next year;
6. reconcile the closing amount to the return.

PIT-38 reporting and deadline

The official portal requires PIT-38 even when the taxpayer only incurred acquisition costs and earned no disposal revenue. For tax year 2025 the filing window is 15 February through 30 April 2026. The return can be filed through Twój e-PIT, e-Urząd Skarbowy, e-Deklaracje or on paper.

Crypto exchanges are not generally required to provide Polish PIT-8C or PIT-11 information for these trades, so the taxpayer must consolidate all sources. The Poland exchange-report guide explains imports, and the PIT-38 filing guide explains the transfer of annual totals.

A compliant report shows PLN revenue, current costs, prior unclaimed costs and closing excess separately. It must not label the closing excess “capital loss,” offset it against stocks or deduct personal allowances from the crypto schedule.

Frequently asked questions

Official Polish sources

• Polish Ministry of Finance: paid disposal of virtual currencies, costs and excess-cost carryforward
• Polish Ministry of Finance: current PIT-38 form and instructions
• Polish Ministry of Finance: Twój e-PIT filing service

Reviewed 1 September 2026. The article follows the Ministry of Finance's official virtual-currency cost model.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. For individual tax advice, consult a licensed tax professional.