A Gift From Your Parents and Tax: How to Avoid Paying It

Let me start with the most common misunderstanding, because it costs people more grief than the tax itself. The 36,120 PLN limit, which I’ll get to in a moment, does NOT mean that above that amount the taxman will take part of your money. Your parents can transfer you 50 thousand, 200 thousand or more, and there still won’t be any tax. On one condition: that you take care of two formalities. It sounds trivial, and it is — until you make the most popular mistake, namely handing over the money in an envelope. I’ll show you step by step how to set it up so you can sleep soundly.

Why parents are a special group

The law divides donors into tax groups, and that determines how much you’ll pay. Parents fall into the happiest one, colloquially called group “0,” that is, the closest family. Besides parents it includes, among others, a spouse, children, grandchildren, grandparents, siblings, and also a stepchild, stepfather and stepmother. It’s precisely this group that can benefit from full exemption from inheritance and gift tax, regardless of the amount.

Note one detail, because it’s sometimes a surprise. In-laws do not belong to group “0,” even though they are in tax group I. The Ministry of Finance lists them in group I, but they’re not in the catalogue of closest family covered by the exemption. In practice this has a simple effect: if parents want to help their child’s marriage, it’s safest for the transfer to go to their own child, not to a son-in-law or daughter-in-law. I’ll come back to this difference at the end, because it’s easy to trip up on.

How much you can receive without any reporting

Here comes a number worth remembering. In 2026 the limit is 36,120 PLN per person over a period of 5 years. The key words are “per person.” Gifts from your father you count separately, gifts from your mother separately. There’s no such thing as a “parents combined” limit. So if dad transfers you 30 thousand and mum another 30 thousand, each of these amounts fits within its own limit and neither has to be reported.

If the sum of gifts from a single parent over the five-year period doesn’t exceed 36,120 PLN, you don’t have to file the SD-Z2 form. The Ministry of Finance puts it as: no reporting is made when the total value of acquisitions from the same person over 5 years, added to the latest acquisition, doesn’t exceed that amount. In plain terms: as long as you don’t cross the threshold with a given parent, the taxman doesn’t want any paperwork from you.

A large gift and tax: relax, it’s still zero

I’ll repeat it, because it’s the heart of the whole matter. Exceeding 36,120 PLN doesn’t switch on the tax. It only switches on the reporting obligation. If a gift from a single parent is larger than the limit, it can still be fully exempt — only now you have to nail down two things: file SD-Z2 and document that the money actually came in to you.

And here comes a condition you can’t get around. The Ministry of Finance indicates that for a cash gift, the exemption requires filing SD-Z2 on time and documenting the inflow of funds to a payment account, a bank account, a SKOK (credit union) account, or by postal money order. A lack of reporting or a lack of documented inflow simply switches off the exemption. This isn’t a formality you can skip “because they’re family, after all.”

How to hand over the money safely

The simplest and most reliable scheme looks like this: the parent makes a transfer from their account to the child’s account. In the transfer title it’s worth writing plainly what it’s about, for example “Gift for daughter Anna Kowalska” or “Gift from father Jan Kowalski to son Piotr Kowalski.” There’s no magic wording. The point is simply that the documents make it clear who gave money to whom and on what basis.

And now the mistake I see most often, the one that can wreck the exemption for a larger amount. Parents give cash “in hand,” the child deposits the money themselves into their own account and assumes everything’s fine. Unfortunately, after the 2023 NSA (Supreme Administrative Court) resolution and under the tax office’s current practice, this variant can be risky, because it doesn’t properly document the donor’s transfer of the gift. The authorities and courts look at whether the flow of money from parent to child can be traced. A cash-deposit machine doesn’t prove that.

Do you need to draw up a gift agreement

For an ordinary transfer between parent and child, a written agreement isn’t always necessary, but it’s often worth having. Especially for larger amounts, for money toward a down payment, buying a flat or building a house, and also when both parents chip in. Such a document tidies up the situation and can be helpful if anyone ever asks about the details.

A simple agreement should contain a few elements:

• the details of the donor and the recipient,
• the amount of the gift,
• a statement that the funds are transferred without repayment,
• the purpose, if the parties wish to state it,
• the date and the parties’ signatures,
• the number of the account the money will go to.

But remember the limit. The agreement doesn’t replace the SD-Z2 report when reporting is required, and it doesn’t replace the transfer. For tax purposes, what matters most is a trace of the money’s transfer consistent with the conditions of the exemption. The agreement is a nice addition, not a substitute ticket.

The SD-Z2 form: when and how to file it

You file the SD-Z2 form when a gift from a single member of your closest family exceeds the 36,120 PLN limit, counted together with gifts from the last 5 years. The deadline is 6 months from the day the tax obligation arises. For an ordinary cash gift, it’s safest in practice to assume the deadline starts running from the day the transfer comes in, that is, from the moment the money is booked to your account.

The form itself is available online. You can file it through the e-Tax Office (e-Urząd Skarbowy) or e-Deklaracje, and if you prefer paper, at the office or by post. After filing online, keep the official confirmation of receipt, the UPO. It’s your proof that the report went in on time, and it’s worth as much as the transfer confirmation.

Element	When it applies	What for
Transfer to the recipient’s account	Always	Documents who gave money to whom
Limit of 36,120 PLN per person / 5 years	Reporting threshold	Below it you don’t file SD-Z2
The SD-Z2 form	After exceeding the limit	A condition for keeping the exemption
The 6-month deadline	After exceeding the limit	Being late can void the exemption

When both parents chip in

If both mum and dad hand over money, the clearest variant is two separate transfers, for example 50,000 PLN from the mother and 50,000 PLN from the father. Then you assess the 36,120 PLN limit separately for each donor. If the gift from each parent exceeds the threshold, you file two SD-Z2 reports: one for the gift from the mother, the other for the gift from the father. It sounds like more paperwork, but it’s clear in return.

Sometimes parents have joint marital property and the money goes out of a joint account. Then too it’s worth clearly describing who the donor is and in what share. The simplest is to prepare a short agreement stating that both make the gift, for example in equal halves. That way no one later has to guess whose money it was and in what proportion.

A gift for a flat or a down payment

This is probably the most common reason parents reach for a transfer of this size at all. They want to help their child buy a flat and chip in toward the down payment. In tax terms the safest path is simple, and I stick to it in conversations with clients: the parents transfer the money to the child’s account, the child reports the gift on SD-Z2 if the limit was exceeded, and then pays the seller, the developer or the bank from their own account.

There are cases in which courts have held that transferring a gift straight to the recipient’s creditor, for example a property seller, can also meet the exemption condition, provided it is actually made for the benefit of the recipient. An example is the NSA judgment of 9 April 2025, ref. III FSK 977/23. Even so, for the ordinary taxpayer the simpler variant is safer: first the transfer to the child’s account, then payment from the child’s account. It lets you avoid a dispute with the office, and a dispute with the taxman is the last thing you want when buying a flat.

What you risk for being late or not reporting

I’ll say it without mincing words, because it’s the essence of the risk. If a gift exceeds the limit and you don’t report it on time, you can lose the right to full exemption. Then the gift is taxed under the rules for tax group I. The Ministry of Finance also adds a heavier-calibre warning: a gift revealed only in the course of verification activities, proceedings, a tax audit or a customs-and-tax inspection, with the tax unpaid, may be subject to a punitive rate of 20%. That really hurts.

There’s one piece of good news. From 7 January 2026 more favourable rules apply for reinstating the deadline. If someone failed to file the report on time through no fault of their own, for example due to illness, they can apply to have the deadline reinstated and keep the exemption. This applies to acquisitions from 7 January 2026 and to situations where the six-month deadline had not passed by that day. Treat it, however, as a lifeline, not a standard procedure. Keeping an eye on the deadline is cheaper and less stressful than explaining to the office why the report arrived late.

A quick checklist before the transfer

If your parents want to give you money and you don’t want to pay tax, go through these points one by one:

1. Establish exactly who is giving the money: mum, dad or both.
2. Add up the gifts from that person over the last 5 years.
3. Make the transfer from the parent’s account to the recipient’s account.
4. In the title write plainly: “gift” plus who to whom.
5. For a larger amount, prepare a simple gift agreement.
6. If the sum from one parent exceeds 36,120 PLN, file SD-Z2 within 6 months.
7. Keep the transfer confirmation, the agreement and the UPO, if the report went online.

Najczęściej zadawane pytania

Do you always pay tax on a gift above 36,120 PLN?

No. The 36,120 PLN limit isn’t a tax threshold, only a reporting-obligation threshold. A gift from a parent can be fully exempt even for a very large amount. After exceeding the limit, however, you have to file the SD-Z2 form within 6 months and document the inflow of money, ideally by transfer to the recipient’s account. If these two conditions are met, there will be no tax.

How do you count the limit when both parents give money?

You count the limit separately for each parent, not jointly. That means you sum the gifts from the mother separately and from the father separately over the 5-year period. The clearest is to make two separate transfers. If the gift from each parent exceeds 36,120 PLN, you file two SD-Z2 reports, one for each donor. When the money comes from a joint account, it’s worth recording in the agreement who the donor is and in what share.

Can my parents give me cash for me to deposit into my own account?

It can be risky and is better avoided, especially for larger amounts. After the 2023 NSA resolution and under the tax office’s current practice, the recipient depositing cash themselves may not properly document the donor’s transfer of the gift. The office wants to see the flow of money from parent to child. The safest is to make an ordinary transfer from the parent’s account to the child’s account.

From when does the 6-month deadline for SD-Z2 count?

The deadline runs from the day the tax obligation arises. For an ordinary cash gift, it’s safest in practice to assume it counts from the day the money comes in, that is, from the booking of the transfer. Six months is plenty of time, but it’s easy to forget about it once the excitement of buying a flat dies down. It’s best to report the gift right after the transfer and get it off your plate.

Is a gift from in-laws also tax-free?

Not necessarily. In-laws are in tax group I, but they don’t belong to group “0,” so they aren’t covered by the same full exemption as parents. That’s an important difference. In practice, if parents want to support their child’s marriage, it’s safest for them to give the money to their own child, not to a son-in-law or daughter-in-law. Then they benefit from the rules for the closest family.

To finish

A money gift from parents can be entirely untaxed, even if we’re talking about a large amount. The condition is simple, though formal: a documented transfer to an account, the SD-Z2 form after exceeding the 36,120 PLN limit per person, and the 6-month deadline. That’s all it takes for the taxman to have nothing to latch onto.

I’d fit the safest model into one sentence: a transfer from the parent straight to the child’s account, a clear “gift” title, the confirmation kept and the report on time. With this scheme, money from parents shouldn’t generate any tax, whether it goes toward a down payment, buying a flat, building a house, or repaying obligations. The rest is just order in your documents.

Dane wg stanu na May 2026

Author: Tomek Musiałowski — economist, personal finance specialist, agent of a mortgage credit intermediary (KNF entry: RHA0018910). Educational text; not individual financial advice.