Transport industry in Poland: the key tax and accounting challenges

Transport industry in Poland: the key tax and accounting challenges
The transport industry in Poland remains one of the more important segments of the economy. At the same time, it is also one of the areas where the scale of tax, payroll and operational risk is particularly high. For transport business owners, daily challenges no longer end with organising transport services. Today, VAT settlements, cost recording, driver payroll, road tolls, licensing obligations, the SENT system, and preparing the business for technical and regulatory changes are equally important. In 2026, additional attention should be paid in particular to the changes to e-TOLL from 1 February 2026, the phased implementation of the National e-Invoicing System (KSeF) in Poland, and the continued tachograph-related obligations in certain types of transport.

In practice, this means that a transport company may complete a large number of orders while still losing margin due to errors in documentation, incorrect service settlement, poor allocation of vehicle-related costs, or an inadequate accounting model. In the TSL sector, business stability is increasingly determined not only by the number of contracts, but above all by the quality of financial and administrative processes.

Why running a transport company in Poland is more demanding today than it was a few years ago

A few years ago, many transport companies focused mainly on winning contracts, maintaining their fleet and ensuring timely delivery. Today, that approach is no longer enough. Businesses must now control several interconnected areas at the same time.

These most often include:

tax settlements in Poland and abroad,
fuel, road toll and fleet operating costs,
drivers’ working time and payroll calculation methods,
compliance of documentation with the requirements of public authorities and inspection bodies,
readiness for changes resulting from Polish and EU law.

That is why accounting for a transport company in Poland can no longer be treated merely as administrative back-office support. In practice, it becomes a tool for managing costs, risk and business profitability.

Accounting for a transport company in Poland – what it really covers

Accounting for a transport company in Poland involves much more than the standard booking of income and expenses. It requires an understanding of the operational specifics of the business, as well as combining financial data with data from transport operations, drivers’ working time records, fleet documents and cross-border settlements.

The key areas include:

vehicle operating costs,
settlement of fuel, servicing, spare parts and insurance,
recording of road toll charges,
driver settlements and HR and payroll documentation,
multi-currency invoices and exchange differences,
VAT settlements in domestic, intra-EU and international transport,
recovery of foreign VAT,
preparation of documentation for inspections and administrative proceedings.

Well-managed accounting not only helps ensure compliance with Polish regulations, but also answers questions that are crucial from a management perspective: which routes are profitable, which vehicles generate the highest costs, whether the employment model is efficient, and where the company is actually losing margin.

Costs in a transport company – what puts the greatest pressure on the budget

One of the largest cost segments in the TSL sector continues to be fleet-related expenditure. This is also where errors often arise which may not always be formally visible at first, but over time make it difficult to analyse profitability reliably.

The main cost categories include:

fuel,
road tolls,
vehicle leasing or rental,
servicing and repairs,
spare parts,
insurance,
depreciation of means of transport.

In 2026, changes to the e-TOLL system are also particularly important. From 1 January 2026, new electronic toll rates apply to heavy vehicles, and from 1 February 2026, the toll road network was expanded. These changes apply to motor vehicles and combinations of vehicles with a maximum authorised mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes, as well as buses.

From a business perspective, this means that transport profitability calculations must be updated on an ongoing basis. If road tolls, fuel and fleet maintenance costs are not regularly allocated to routes, vehicles and contracts, the company may generate turnover without any real control over margin.

Driver payroll in a transport company – where most errors occur

In transport companies, driver payroll is particularly complex because it combines issues related to labour law, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), working time records and tachograph data.

The most important areas here are:

drivers’ working time,
wages and allowances,
overtime and on-call duty,
settlement of night work,
consistency between tachograph data and HR documentation,
accuracy of payroll lists and social contribution bases.

It is worth remembering that from 2 February 2022, the rules for determining the basis for social insurance contributions changed for drivers carrying out official duties in international road transport. This means that payroll for this group of employees requires a specialist approach and should not be handled according to models used for typical service businesses.

From the business owner’s perspective, the problem is that an error in driver settlements rarely remains only a payroll issue. In most cases, it also affects:

exposure to ZUS risk,
the correctness of tax settlements,
preparedness for inspections by the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) or the Road Transport Inspection (ITD),
the credibility of employee documentation.

For companies needing specialised support in this area, this is often the point where professional Poland payroll services become essential.

VAT in a transport company – the key rules and risks

One of the most complex issues in the transport sector remains VAT in Poland and in cross-border transport services. It is not enough to establish that the transport service was performed. It is also necessary to correctly determine:

the place of supply of the service,
the status of the customer,
the nature of the service,
the territorial scope of the transport,
the required documentation.

In cross-border services, the place of supply is especially important, and the settlement method depends, among other things, on whether the service is provided to a taxable person and where that person is established.

In practice, for transport companies this means that every transaction should be assessed not only operationally, but also from a tax perspective. Misclassification of a service may lead to:

the need to correct the invoice,
additional VAT due,
disputes with the customer,
tax risk during an inspection.

Domestic, intra-EU and international transport are not settled in the same way

In business practice, there is often a simplified assumption that domestic transport always means 23% VAT, while international transport always means 0% VAT. In reality, the situation is more complex, because the status of the purchaser, the place of supply and the completeness of the documents are all highly relevant. Preferential taxation or settlement outside Poland does not result solely from the fact that a border was crossed.

From the entrepreneur’s perspective, the key issue is therefore not memorising one rule, but implementing a procedure that makes it possible each time to determine:

who is the purchaser of the service,
where the place of taxation is located,
which documents must be collected,
who should account for VAT and in which country.

Foreign VAT refunds – when a transport company can recover tax

For companies performing international transport, foreign VAT refunds are also particularly important, especially in relation to expenditure on fuel, road tolls or certain maintenance services incurred in other EU countries. A business may apply for a refund of foreign VAT by submitting the VAT-REF form electronically via the e-Deklaracje system.

In practice, the success of VAT recovery depends on:

complete invoices and supporting documents,
correct allocation of expenses,
meeting deadlines,
knowledge of procedural requirements.

That is why foreign VAT recovery should be treated not as an additional formality, but as an element of liquidity management and cost optimisation.

The tax regime of a transport company – what affects profitability

In a transport business, the choice of income tax regime should not be a one-off decision made only when the business is established. As costs rise, the fleet grows and the business model changes, the existing solution may turn out to be no longer efficient.

In practice, entrepreneurs most often consider:

lump-sum tax on recorded revenue,
flat-rate tax,
taxation under the progressive tax scale.

A lump-sum tax regime remains a simplified form of taxation, but it does not allow tax-deductible costs to be taken into account. This may be disadvantageous where the transport company incurs high costs for fuel, leasing, servicing and employment.

That is why, in transport businesses, the choice of tax regime should result from a real analysis of:

the level of costs,
the revenue structure,
investment plans,
the type of services provided,
the scale of activity in Poland and abroad.

Where this analysis becomes complex, professional tax advisory in Poland may help determine the most efficient model.

Licences and formal obligations in the transport sector

In transport companies, risk is not limited to taxes alone. The formal conditions for carrying out business activity are equally important. If an entrepreneur wants to carry out international road haulage of goods for profit, they must hold an authorisation to pursue the occupation of road transport operator, a Community licence, and a certified true copy of the licence for each vehicle.

This means that every decision concerning:

fleet expansion,
entering the international market,
changing the business model,
using new vehicles

should be preceded by checking whether the company still operates fully within the scope of the licences and authorisations it holds.

SENT and e-TOLL in a transport company – the key obligations and risks

The SENT system remains one of the most important control tools for the transport of specific goods and in selected transport models. The Electronic Platform of Treasury and Customs Services (PUESC) indicates that the monitoring of transport and trade is carried out using the SENT ICT system.

For entrepreneurs, however, the most important point is that the issue is not only the reporting obligation itself. In practice, what is also needed is:

clear allocation of responsibility for the notification,
control of data accuracy,
fast updating of information,
efficient information flow between operations, administration and accounting.

In companies handling a large number of orders, the lack of such a procedure quickly leads to errors that later have not only administrative consequences, but also financial ones.

Tachographs and drivers’ working time

In 2026, tachographs also remain an important issue. The Chief Inspectorate of Road Transport (GITD) explains that from 1 July 2026, the tachograph obligation will also cover certain vans up to 3.5 tonnes used in international carriage of goods and cabotage operations. At the same time, GITD reminds carriers of the earlier deadlines for replacing certain types of tachographs in line with EU requirements.

For a transport company, this means the need to plan well in advance:

replacement of devices,
servicing deadlines,
the investment budget,
vehicle downtime,
updates to procedures and training.

This is a very good example of how technical, operational and accounting issues are closely interconnected in the TSL sector.

National e-Invoicing System (KSeF) in a transport company

For transport companies, the National e-Invoicing System (KSeF) in Poland does not simply mean a new way of issuing invoices. In practice, it changes the way the entire sales process and document flow are organised. In a sector where invoices are often issued based on operational data, transport orders, service completion confirmations or transport documents, consistency of data between the operations department, administration and accounting becomes particularly important.

In practice, a transport company should first organise in particular:

the timing of invoice issuance after the service is performed,
the scope of data transferred from operations to accounting,
the rules for verifying invoice accuracy before sending them to the system,
the circulation of corrections, duplicates and supplementary documents,
the allocation of responsibility between persons issuing, approving and booking documents.

In transport companies, this is especially important because errors in source data may affect not only the invoice itself, but also VAT settlements, the consistency of documentation and the speed of period-end closing. For this reason, implementing KSeF should be treated not as a purely technical project, but as a review and streamlining of the invoicing process across the whole organisation.

Accounting for a transport company – why specialisation is necessary

In the transport sector, standard accounting support is often not enough. The issue is not only booking invoices, but also the ability to understand the realities of the industry and combine tax knowledge with operational practice.

That is why many companies in the TSL sector choose to work with a partner that understands the specifics of the industry.

getsix® provides accounting services in Poland for transport companies, including in particular:

accounting and tax support,
HR and payroll support,
settlement of drivers’ working time,
cost reporting,
support in ensuring compliance of settlements and documentation.

For business owners, this provides clear business value. Well-managed accounting for a transport company helps not only to meet statutory obligations, but also to:

control costs more effectively,
identify loss-making areas more quickly,
reduce the risk of errors,
improve the quality of management reporting,
increase financial predictability.

Accounting office for a transport company – what to look for when choosing one

In the TSL sector, the most valuable support is the kind that does not stop at settling the past, but helps manage risk on an ongoing basis. A good accounting office for a transport company should support the client not only when a problem arises, but also when it needs to be anticipated in advance.

From the point of view of a transport company, the most important factors are usually:

experience in the transport sector,
knowledge of driver settlements and international transport,
ability to work with operational data,
transparent communication,
the ability to scale support as the business grows.

In practice, the needs of a small transport company will be different from those of a large international operator, but the common denominator remains the need to combine accounting, tax, payroll and operational processes.

What should be organised first in a transport company

If an entrepreneur wants to reduce risk and improve control over the business, it is worth starting by organising a few basic areas.

1. The service settlement model

The company should check whether it correctly distinguishes between domestic, intra-EU and international services, and whether it correctly determines the place of taxation.

2. Cost recording

Costs should be allocated as precisely as possible to routes, vehicles, drivers or contracts.

3. Driver payroll

The correctness of payroll settlements, working time records and document consistency should be verified.

4. Operational and transport documentation

It is worth checking whether documents are complete, up to date and easy to match with accounting settlements.

5. Procedures for SENT, e-TOLL and technical changes

These are areas that are easy to overlook, but can generate significant organisational and financial risk.