In organizational practice, employees, especially salespeople, incur dozens of small business expenses: fuel, travel, accommodations, meetings with contractors, and training. Some of these expenses are paid with a company card, others with the employee's personal funds, and the documentation varies: sometimes an invoice for the company, sometimes a personal invoice, sometimes only a receipt without a Tax Identification Number (NIP), and in extreme cases, nothing more than a bank transfer confirmation because the proof of purchase has been lost. This raises a practical, yet financially significant, question: can the company deduct such a documented expense from its tax-deductible costs?
The Director of the National Tax Information Service addressed the issue in an individual tax ruling issued on January 5, 2026 (reference number 0111-KDIB2-1.4010.534.2025.1.DKG), recognizing the applicant's position as correct. The ruling aligns with a well-established and taxpayer-favorable interpretation, while also clarifying several issues that still raise questions in everyday accounting practice.
Facts: invoice expense report
The company has implemented an internal expense settlement policy based on a dedicated financial and accounting system. Employees create an expense report, complete transaction details (expense type and description, vendor, business justification), and attach a document confirming the expense (a scan or photo of a paper document).
However, the key was to list four categories of documents that an employee can use to document an expense:
- an invoice or accounting note issued in the name of the employee;
- a receipt without employee data and without the company's Tax Identification Number;
- confirmation of payment together with the employee's statement - when the source document has been lost or destroyed and the payment was made with a personal card or from a private account;
- the employee's statement itself - when the document is missing and the expense was paid in cash.
The company assumed in advance that all the expenses in question were actual and definitive, related to the business activity and did not fall within the scope of Article 16, Section 1 of the CIT Act.
Are expenses tax deductible?
Pursuant to Article 15, Section 1 of the CIT Act, tax-deductible costs are costs incurred to earn revenue from a source of revenue or to maintain or secure that source, excluding the expenses listed in Article 16, Section 1. In the issued interpretation, the authority indicated six conditions that must be met by each expense:
- was incurred by the taxpayer and ultimately burdens his assets;
- is definitive, i.e. its value has not been returned to the taxpayer in any way;
- is related to the conducted business activity;
- serves to obtain, maintain or secure income;
- has been properly documented;
- is not included in the catalogue of Article 16 paragraph 1 of the CIT Act.
In the realm of employee expense reimbursement, the first two conditions are sometimes raised as problematic. The authority resolved these doubts: since the company reimburses the employee for the amount incurred and does not receive any external reimbursement, it bears the economic burden of the expense. Therefore, the conditions of taxpayer-incurrence and finality are met.
How to document the cost?
The most important part of the ruling concerns the fifth requirement, namely proper documentation. The CIT Act does not contain its own rules for documenting economic events. Instead, it refers to the Accounting Act.
From this structure, the authority derived a thesis that is the practical key to the entire interpretation: an accounting document appropriate for recording a cost in the accounting records is also appropriate for income tax purposes. In other words, if a document meets accounting standards and accurately reflects a business transaction, it is also sufficient for corporate income tax purposes.
Four Categories of Documents - Why They Were All Accepted
A receipt without a Tax Identification Number (NIP), a payment confirmation from a terminal, or a bank statement are not invoices, but they can serve as accounting evidence: external, third-party evidence, or, in the case of a declaration, internal evidence prepared in accordance with accounting principles. The Accounting Act also allows for substitute evidence, issued until the external source evidence is received, which aptly describes the situation of a lost document. It is also worth noting that the authority confirmed the admissibility of electronic documents.
What the interpretation does not determine
The interpretation is favorable, but it cannot be read too broadly.
First, the authority failed to assess whether specific expenses constituted tax-deductible costs. The company assumed that the requirements of Article 15, Section 1, were met and that the expense was not listed in Article 16, Section 1. This assumption was based on the factual circumstances, not the subject of the ruling. Therefore, the interpretation addresses the question of documentation, not the classification of the expense itself. Classic items from Article 16 (e.g., representation costs) still require separate analysis, regardless of the document confirming them.
Secondly, accepting "soft" evidence, such as declarations and payment confirmations, does not exempt the taxpayer from the requirement of reliability. An employee declaration is a solution for exceptional situations (such as lost or destroyed documents), not a standard method of documentation. In any event, the taxpayer bears the burden of demonstrating the connection between the expense and the income.
Third, documentation for VAT and CIT purposes must be separated. A receipt without the buyer's Tax Identification Number (NIP) may be sufficient for CIT purposes, but it does not entitle the taxpayer to deduct input tax under general rules. Documentation for one tax does not determine the consequences for the other. The tax rate for the second tax year is reduced to 20% for profits distributed by resolution in the following year, after the loss of this status. However, the tax rate will be adjusted to the higher rate later.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of July 10, 2026.
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