The short answer
You need a PIT-38 for 2025 if, during 2025, you:
- sold shares, ETFs, bonds, derivatives or other securities — at a profit or at a loss,
- redeemed units of an investment fund,
- sold crypto for money, goods or services — or simply bought crypto,
- still have unused crypto costs from earlier years,
- received foreign dividends or interest that no Polish payer taxed.
If none of that applies to you, you probably don't need to file. The rest of this guide explains each case — including the ones that surprise people.
What the law says
The obligation comes from art. 45(1a)(1) of the PIT Act. According to the Ministry of Finance brochure, PIT-38 is filed by taxpayers who in the tax year:
- had revenue from:
- selling securities, borrowed securities (short selling), derivatives, or shares in companies or a cooperative,
- taking up shares in exchange for a non-cash contribution,
- exercising rights attached to securities or derivatives,
- the redemption, buy-back or other cancellation of investment fund units;
- had revenue or costs from selling virtual currency (crypto).
Two words in that list do most of the work: revenue, and — for crypto only — costs.
Revenue decides, not profit
Revenue is simply what you received from a sale. Profit is revenue minus costs. The obligation is triggered by revenue.
So if you sold shares for 10,000 PLN that cost you 12,000 PLN, you have 10,000 PLN of revenue and a 2,000 PLN loss — and you must file.
You'd want to anyway. A loss that isn't on a filed return can't be deducted later. See Stock losses in PIT-38.
There's also no tax-free allowance in PIT-38. Every złoty of income is taxed at 19% — a 30 PLN gain is still a gain.
Crypto: buying alone is enough
For shares, buying is not a trigger. If you only bought shares or ETFs in 2025 and sold nothing, you had no revenue and there's nothing to file for them.
Crypto is different. The brochure says Part E is also filled in by taxpayers who:
- incurred costs in 2025 from crypto — for example, bought BTC for złoty — even if they had no crypto revenue that year,
- incurred crypto costs in earlier years that haven't been deducted yet — again, even with no revenue in 2025.
In practice: if you bought crypto with fiat in 2025, file. If you're carrying unused crypto costs from earlier years, file — every year, until they're used up. Skip one year and the chain breaks. More in How to carry crypto costs forward.
Swapping one crypto for another (BTC → ETH) is neither revenue nor a cost. If that's all you did and you have no costs to carry, there's nothing to file for crypto.
Situation by situation
| In 2025 you… | File PIT-38? | Where on the form |
|---|---|---|
| Sold shares or ETFs at a profit | Yes | Part C |
| Sold shares or ETFs at a loss | Yes | Part C, field 29 |
| Only bought shares or ETFs | No | — |
| Hold an accumulating ETF, sold nothing | No | — |
| Redeemed units of an investment fund | Yes | Part C |
| Bought crypto for złoty, sold nothing | Yes | Part E, field 37 |
| Only swapped crypto for crypto | No* | — |
| Have unused crypto costs from earlier years | Yes | Part E, field 38 |
| Sold crypto for złoty or spent it | Yes | Part E, field 36 |
| Got dividends or interest from abroad, not taxed by a Polish payer | Yes | Part G |
| Got dividends or interest in Poland, tax already withheld | No | — |
* Unless you also have crypto costs from earlier years to carry forward.
For foreign dividends and interest, see ETF income and dividends and Interest from a foreign savings account.
A Polish broker sent a PIT-8C — is that enough?
If your only investment income came through Polish institutions that sent you a PIT-8C, the tax office prepares your PIT-38 in Twój e-PIT. If you do nothing, it's accepted automatically on 30 April and counts as filed.
If you had anything else — a foreign broker, crypto, foreign dividends — auto-acceptance does not cover your obligation, and you must file a complete return yourself. See Twój e-PIT and PIT-8C.
Deadlines
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Filing window for 2025 | 15 February – 30 April 2026 |
| Filed before 15 February | Counts as filed on 15 February |
| Paper return sent by Poczta Polska | The postmark date counts |
| You're a non-resident leaving Poland before 30 April | File before you leave |
Which tax office
You enter the office in field 5 (Part A).
- You live in Poland: the office for your place of residence on the day you file. If you've moved abroad before filing, the office for your last residence in Poland.
- You don't live in Poland (non-resident): the office that handles the taxation of foreign persons.
When you file through Twój e-PIT, the office is filled in for you.
NIP or PESEL?
Your tax ID goes in field 1 — and it must be filled in. You use your PESEL if in 2025 you:
- didn't run a registered business,
- weren't registered for VAT,
- weren't a payer (for example, you didn't employ anyone and withhold their tax or social contributions).
Unregistered activity (działalność nierejestrowa) doesn't change that, as long as you weren't registered for VAT and didn't use a cash register. If any of those conditions isn't met, use your NIP.
How to file
- Twój e-PIT in the e-Urząd Skarbowy portal — available from 15 February 2026.
- e-Deklaracje or the "Deklaracje" tab in e-Urząd Skarbowy — the electronic form calculates the tax for you.
- On paper — at the tax office, through a customer service centre, or by post.
Keep the UPO (official confirmation of receipt) — it's your proof that an electronic return was filed.
What if you were supposed to file and didn't?
The brochure is blunt: a taxpayer who had to file and didn't faces liability under the Fiscal Penal Code. Beyond that, you lose things you're entitled to — a loss you can't deduct later, crypto costs that never get carried forward.
If you've missed a year, it's better to file late than not at all. If you filed and spotted a mistake, file a correction — it can also be done in Twój e-PIT.
Before you file
- Did you sell anything in 2025 — even at a loss?
- Did you buy any crypto for złoty, or are you carrying crypto costs from earlier years?
- Did you get any dividends or interest from abroad?
- Do you have a PIT-8C for everything — or do you need to add other income yourself?
- Is your tax ID in field 1 right — PESEL or NIP?
- Will you file between 15 February and 30 April 2026?
This article is educational and is based on the Ministry of Finance information brochure for the PIT-38 return for 2025 and on art. 45(1a)(1) of the PIT Act. It is not tax advice.