ZUS in Poland
The costs of running company are about to rise. Here is the amount of ZUS in Poland insurance contributions in 2018
The number of business activities is getting higher, same as the costs of conducting business activity. This year every businessman will have to pay for his insurance contributions ever a few hundred zlotys more. The deadline of the first payment is on Monday. On 31st March ZUS is running a new program, “ulga na start”, which is aimed at future businessmen.
The due date to pay ZUS in Poland contributions for January 2018 (natural persons, who pay ZUS only for themselves) is on February 12th, and for those, who also pay insurance contributions for their employees the date is February 15th. These transfers will be higher than in 2017. The health insurance contribution grew by 7.6% compared to last year and currently is PLN 319.94 per month. It's a big increase – for the past few years it used to grow two or three times slower.
The higher insurance contribution costs companies PLN 8.3 billion
The scale of the health insurance contribution increase can be illustrated by the growing number of people who are actually paying for it. According to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), at the end of the third quarter of 2017, 2,166 million businessmen, who were natural persons, paid health insurance contributions and this number is 235,000 higher than in 2012 at the same time.
The health contribution is obligatory for all businessmen throughout the year in the unchanged value, regardless of whether the man, opened the company in the middle of the month or was sick for half a month. Therefore, it is possible to estimate that a fixed monthly amount for insurance contributions transferred to ZUS in Poland from one-person companies would be about PLN 693 million (assuming, that each payer pays one type of health contribution, from one type of activity). During the year, it gives a huge amount of PLN 8.3 billion.
Increasing pay rises
A high average monthly wage in the enterprise sector (including profit payments) in the last three months of 2017 is the reason of the increase in the health insurance contribution. As noted by the Central Statistical Office, it is about PLN 4,739.91. 75% of this value - PLN 3 554.93 - is the minimum basis on which the owner of the company has to pay health insurance contribution every month in 2018.
The final amount of the ZUS in Poland transfer also depends on the values that shape social contributions (pension, disability, accident and additional health insurance contribution). In the case of business owners with more than two years of experience, it is 60% of the estimated average remuneration. This year, a business owner who pays full social insurance contributions and a health insurance contribution will pay PLN 715 more than a year ago (increase by 5.1%).
To calculate the social insurance contributions of those who own their own business for a short time, 30% of the minimum wage is accepted. Its value also increased. As a result, younger business owners will pay PLN 386 more due to social insurance contributions this year than last year. In comparison to 2017, it is a 6.6% increase.
No transfers to ZUS in Poland for a half year
Only those, who are not business owners yet can feel the lowering of ZUS in Poland contributions. On 31st March the Act on business law introduces program “ulga na start”. All new business owners do not have to pay obligatory social insurance contribution for the first half year of their business activity. The discount applies to natural persons, who start their business for the first time or for those who re-open it after at least 60 months since they suspended or closed their business activity. The discount doesn’t concern self-employed and do not free them from paying the health insurance contribution.
