More and more people want to earn money from their passion, talent, or small services but without the stress of registering a business, dealing with formalities, or paying social security contributions. This is exactly why unregistered business activity was introduced, an ideal solution for getting started, testing the market, or earning occasional extra income on your own terms.
It is a simple and legal way to start operating like an entrepreneur without registering in the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG), without excessive bureaucracy, and without the risk of incurring high costs at the very beginning. Thanks to this, you can freely check whether your business idea has potential, gain your first clients, and learn how the market works in practice.
In this article, we explain in simple terms who can run unregistered business activity, what limits apply, what you need to keep in mind, and how to stay compliant with regulations, also in light of the new KSeF rules. If you are considering taking your first steps towards running your own business, this is the right place to start.
You can run unregistered business activity if:
- you are a Polish citizen or a citizen of a European Union Member State,
- you have not conducted business activity in the last 60 months (unless the activity was suspended, in that case it is treated as not performed),
- your activity does not require licences, permits, or entry in a regulated activity register,
- your due revenue in a given quarter does not exceed 225% of the minimum wage. In 2026, this amount is PLN 10,813.50 gross (minimum wage PLN 4,806 × 225%),
- you do not intend to operate within a civil law partnership.
If your due revenue from unregistered activity exceeds the quarterly limit specified in the regulations, the activity becomes a regular business from the day the limit is exceeded. In such a situation, you must submit an application for entry into CEIDG within 7 days from the date of exceeding the limit.
Tax identification
When conducting unregistered activity, your tax identification number is generally your PESEL, except when:
- you register as a VAT taxpayer, or
- you are required to keep sales records using a fiscal cash register, in such cases, your tax identification number becomes your NIP.
If you are required to issue invoices using KSeF, your identifier will also be the NIP. The obligation to issue invoices in KSeF applies to B2B transactions. In B2C relations, you may issue an invoice in KSeF, but you are not required to do so.
Remember that invoices issued in KSeF, including simplified invoices issued through the system, must contain the issuer’s NIP. Additionally, until the end of 2026, in B2B relations invoices may still be issued outside KSeF (in paper or electronic form) if the total value of sales, including VAT, documented by such invoices does not exceed PLN 10,000 gross per month for a given taxpayer.
Income tax
In unregistered activity, your revenue is not treated as income from business activity, but as income from other sources under the Personal Income Tax (PIT) Act. This means that income tax applies only to the money actually received from clients, not what is “due”, but what has actually been paid to you.
Importantly, for income tax purposes you may deduct incurred and documented expenses, such as materials, purchases necessary to perform services, or tools. Ultimately, your income equals revenue minus costs, and this income is taxed according to the progressive tax scale (12% or 32%). If you earn other income taxed under the scale (e.g. from employment), all income is combined and tax is calculated on the total amount.
Unregistered activity is settled once per year in the PIT-36 tax return, in a designated section. You do not pay monthly advance payments, the tax is paid by 30 April of the following year.
VAT (Value Added Tax)
As a rule, in unregistered activity you can benefit from a VAT exemption due to the low level of sales. This means that although you perform activities subject to VAT (sale of goods or services), you do not have to register as an active VAT taxpayer. This is a major simplification and one of the biggest advantages of this form of activity.
However, there are situations where the exemption does not apply. If you sell goods or provide services that require mandatory VAT registration, you must register before making the first sale. This applies, among others, to:
- the sale of car and motorcycle parts and accessories,
- distance selling of cosmetics and personal care products (e.g. via an online store),
- consulting services (except agricultural advisory services),
- debt collection and factoring services.
The full list of exceptions can be found in Article 113(13) of the VAT Act, it specifies activities that exclude the possibility of applying the VAT exemption.
In practice, this means that most small-scale services and sales can operate without VAT, but it is worth verifying whether your industry requires mandatory registration.
Obligation to have a NIP number
In unregistered activity, you generally do not need your own NIP number, your PESEL serves as your tax identifier. This simplifies matters significantly and does not require additional formalities.
However, there are situations where obtaining a NIP becomes mandatory. You must have a NIP if:
- you register as a VAT taxpayer,
- you conduct sales that require a fiscal cash register,
- you issue invoices through KSeF in B2B relations (because KSeF invoices must include the issuer’s NIP).
In practice, this means that under unregistered activity rules you can operate without a NIP for quite a long time, until your activity requires issuing invoices with a NIP, using a cash register, or registering for VAT.
If you enter areas requiring a tax identification number, obtaining a NIP becomes necessary to legally document sales.
What about ZUS contributions?
In unregistered activity, you do not pay any ZUS social security contributions. This is one of the biggest advantages of this form of activity, you can legally earn income, test your business idea, and avoid fixed social security costs.
Unregistered activity is formally not considered business activity within the meaning of the Entrepreneurs’ Law. Therefore:
- there is no obligation to register in CEIDG,
- no obligation to pay social security contributions arises,
- ZUS has no basis to calculate contributions.
As you can see, unregistered activity is an excellent way to earn extra income, test a business idea, or develop a passion without fixed costs and unnecessary bureaucracy. Only after exceeding the revenue limit does the obligation to register a business and pay contributions arise.
If you are just considering starting unregistered activity or want to make sure what obligations apply in your situation, contact us. We will gladly explain everything, provide guidance, and walk you step by step through the rules so that you can operate legally and without stress.