Suspending your business as a sole proprietor (jdg, CEiDG) may be necessary for various reasons: temporary problems, repurposing your business, switching to an employment contract, personal reasons, childcare, illness, and others. This article explains the procedure and conditions for suspending your business as a sole proprietor in Poland, the period for which you can suspend it, and how to resume it.

A sole proprietor registered for joint business activities in the Central Register of Information on Business Activity (Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalności Gospodarczej, CEiDG) has the right to suspend their business activities (zawieszenie działalności gospodarczej).

What are the conditions for suspending business activities?

1. The sole proprietor must not have employees, meaning they must not be employers.

2. The date of suspension may be the same as the one in the submitted application, a future date, or a past date. In the latter case, it is necessary to verify that the current business does not affect the possibility of suspension.

3. The suspension period cannot be shorter than 30 days.

4. During the suspension, you cannot:

• conduct business activities,
• receive current income.

5. During the suspension, you may engage in certain activities that will enable you to maintain a source of income and continue to operate after the resumption of your activities, including:

• collect accounts receivable incurred prior to the suspension,
• receive financial income from activities conducted prior to the suspension,
• sell your fixed assets and equipment,
• pay off liabilities incurred prior to the suspension,
• engage in activities necessary to maintain income,
• provide sources of income,
• appoint or dismiss a manager.

6. During the suspension of your activities, you are obligated to:

• participate in all administrative, judicial, and tax proceedings concerning your company,
• fulfill statutory obligations,
• participate in audits,
• submit annual financial statements,
• maintain accounting records,
• pay public law obligations (e.g., property tax, vehicle tax, environmental fees).

The following link to the official business portal provides detailed information on the conditions for suspending your activities as a sole proprietor.

Below we provide answers to common questions and useful links.

How do I apply for suspension of my activities as a sole proprietor (jdg)?

You should submit an application for suspension of your activities to the CEiDG (Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalności Gospodarczej, CEiDG). The CEIDG will forward this information to the ZUS (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych) or KRUS (Kasa Rolniczego Ubezpieczenia Społecznego), the relevant head of the tax office, and the GUS (Główny Urząd Statystyczny).

How do I submit an application for suspension of my activities as a sole proprietor (jdg)?

An application (wniosek o zawieszenie działalności gospodarczej) can be submitted:

• In person or through a representative, during a visit to the office (urzędy dzielnicowe mst. Warsaw, urzędy miast, or gmin),
• In paper form, by mail. The paper application must be signed by the applicant, with the signature verified by a notary,
• Electronically: online through the Biznes.gov.pl portal, on the CEiDG portal.

After verification, your submitted application will be accepted and your business will be suspended or, if necessary, sent for correction.

For what period can you suspend your business?

You can suspend your business for any period of at least 30 days.

Is there a limit to the number of times you can suspend your business?

There is no limit.

Do I need to pay PIT and VAT taxes and ZUS insurance contributions?

No. During the suspension of your business and if you are not receiving income or incurring expenses, you do not need to pay taxes or insurance contributions.

How does suspending your business work while caring for children work?

Social Insurance.

If you suspend your business due to childcare, you are entitled to pension and disability insurance coverage. In this case, your contributions are fully paid from the state budget through the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). The basis for calculating pension and disability insurance contributions is 60% of the projected average monthly salary for the given calendar year (the same as for standard business contributions).

To qualify for insurance coverage during a business interruption, you must have operated your business for at least six months in the period immediately preceding the interruption and have been insured (mandatory or voluntary) under a pension and disability insurance program.

You can exercise your right to suspend your activity and be insured under the pension and disability insurance program in a lump sum or in up to five installments. This benefit is provided for the following periods:

• up to 3 years, but no longer than the end of the calendar year in which the child turns 6,
• up to 6 years – if the child requires personal care due to a health condition confirmed by a disability certificate or the degree of disability, but no longer than until the child reaches 18 years of age.

Health insurance. Individuals insured under compulsory pension insurance and disability insurance for providing personal care to a child who are not covered by compulsory health insurance are subject to compulsory health insurance. Contributions are calculated based on the amount of the special care allowance provided in accordance with the provisions on family benefits.

Do I need to file reports, particularly for PIT and VAT taxes and ZUS insurance contributions?

During the suspension of business, you do not need to file returns for the accounting periods affected by the suspension.

Suspension of business and VAT registration.

Suspension of business for at least six months may result in deletion from the VAT register. After the suspension period ends, re-registration is possible without the need to submit a registration application.

Are there any requirements for resuming business activity?

Business can be resumed at any time.

Suspension of activities and tax incentives for start-up entrepreneurs.

If you suspend your activities during the period of tax incentives for start-up entrepreneurs, the suspension period does not interrupt the six-month period, meaning it is included in the period during which you can take advantage of the incentives.

The following link provides a detailed procedure for suspending activities as a sole proprietor.

The conditions for resuming business activities are available at the link below.

It is important to note that there are specific aspects to the suspension of activities for sole proprietors depending on the taxation system of the activity. In particular, special conditions for suspension apply to tax card taxation and for farmers. In these cases, please refer to the detailed information provided in the links above in this article.

How to suspend the activities of a company in Poland is covered in our next article.