Poland's opposition and coalition clash over tax threshold as millions enter top bracket

Political proposals emerge

Opposition Law and Justice (PiS) candidate for prime minister Przemysław Czarnek unveiled a plan last weekend to lift Poland’s second personal income tax threshold from 120,000 to 180,000 złoty per year, and to 360,000 złoty for jointly filing married couples. The change would take effect on 1 January 2028.

We will raise the second threshold to 180 thousand złoty.

Coalition member Poland 2050, through Minister of Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, has long advocated a more modest increase to 140,000 złoty. She called the current system “hugely unfair.”

The Polish tax system is hugely unfair and we must do something about it.

The current tax bracket squeeze

The 32% rate kicks in on annual income above 120,000 złoty, a level unchanged since 2022 when it was raised from 85,528 złoty. In 2025, an average gross salary of 8,903.56 złoty meant the threshold was worth just 1.2 times the national average, compared to 3.5 times when first set in 2009. The number of taxpayers entering the top bracket jumped by almost 25% last year to 2.411 million, according to finance ministry data.

Who would benefit

PiS says about 2.5 million taxpayers would see a tax cut. But InFakt chief tax advisor Piotr Juszczyk calculated that anyone earning up to about 11,900 złoty gross per month gains nothing, they already stay below the current threshold. The first benefits appear only above that, and the full annual saving of 12,000 złoty goes to those earning from about 17,700 złoty upward. For jointly filing spouses, the maximum gain rises to 24,000 złoty. Business Insider noted this means less than 20% of society stands to see any gain, concentrated among the richest.

The proposal sounds broad but in practice is narrowly targeted, though that group will grow year by year.

Coalition friction

Finance Minister Andrzej Domański of the Civic Coalition stated he had never received an official proposal from Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.

This proposal exists so far only in the media.

Pełczyńska-Nałęcz countered that she had raised the issue and that summoning coalition talks is the prime minister’s prerogative. She warned that if the democratic side does not act, PiS will capture the middle-class vote, calling it this election’s “500 plus” moment.

Expert calls for systemic fix

Juszczyk argued the real problem is the absence of a gradual progression. He proposed adding a 20% rate for income between 120,000 and 180,000 złoty, with the 32% rate applying only above that. Without structural change, wage growth will keep pushing more workers into the top bracket.

Poland's tax scale today has no gentle slope. It has a wall.