Every year more and more businesses are opened in Poland and the flow of entrepreneurs is growing rapidly. However, as the trend shows, not all of them will be able to overcome all the difficulties and achieve the desired success. Despite their efforts and resilience, some of them have to face a decision that may seem difficult but is the right one - to close their business.
If you are facing the question of closing your sole proprietorship (JDG) in Poland, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will look at three ways to liquidate a sole proprietorship, and share all the nuances involved in closing a company. Let's go!
Reminder about registering an IE in Poland
Before we consider how to close a sole proprietorship in Poland, let's remember how to open it. Firstly you are entered in the CEIDG register and then in the ZUS tax register. We told you more about opening a JDG in Poland in our article.
CAUTION: In this article we will consider the case of complete liquidation of a sole proprietorship. Do not confuse complete liquidation of a business with suspension of business activities or with reorganization of a sole proprietorship into other forms of business, e.g. Spółka cywilna.
Why is it necessary to officially close a sole proprietorship?
Running a business involves not only making a profit, but also certain obligations to the state, including bookkeeping and, most importantly, paying taxes. If you decide to simply cease activity and do not officially liquidate the sole proprietorship, your enterprise will be considered active in state registers, which means that you will still be obliged to pay taxes and file reports.
The process of complete liquidation of a sole proprietorship (JDG) in 2023
Today there are several valid ways to liquidate a sole proprietorship (JDG) on your own in Poland:
→ Method 1. Online via the state portal Biznes.gov.pl. First, you will need to authorise yourself on the website using the Trusted Profile (Profil Zaufany), which we have already written about earlier. After that, go to the «Zmień dane w CEIDG» page and select «Rozpocznuj». Fill in all the necessary fields in the application and submit it. It is important to note that if the sole proprietorship was registered by power of attorney, it can also be closed by the person who has the relevant power of attorney.
→ Method 2. Offline in Urząd or Gmina. The same as when opening a sole proprietorship on your own, you need to go there with an identity document. Then take the CEIDG-1 form or download it (you can download it here) and print it out in advance and fill it in. After that, sign the form and give it to the employee of the state institution.
→ Method 3. Remotely by post. In essence, this method is identical to the second method, however, instead of going to the Urząd, the completed form must be mailed to the address of the Urząd or Gmina. Moreover, the form must be notarised and signed.
Where to check if JDG has been liquidated?
Then write that if you have done everything correctly and filled in the form without a single mistake, you will be removed from CEIDG within 1-2 days. And if you made any mistakes in the form, you will be given a full week to correct them and resubmit the form. IMPORTANT: even after your sole proprietorship is liquidated, your data from the registry will not disappear, they will be stored there until the set time. This is done so that you can restore the sole proprietorship.
And you can check whether your sole proprietorship has been liquidated on this site by simply entering your data.
Important nuances related with closing a sole proprietorship
Normally, once you have been successfully removed from the CEIDG register, the information about the liquidation of your sole proprietorship (JDG) is transferred to the ZUS. In fact, most of the administrative formalities of closing a business are taken care of by the state system and you do not need to do anything. However, there are a few important nuances to note:
If you have been taxed in the form of a tax card, you will need to file a tax return in the form PIT-16Z with the tax office yourself.
If you had employees during your business activity, it is mandatory to dismiss them before closing the sole proprietorship. Moreover, after dismissing the employees, you will have to deregister them from the ZUS, as you paid social taxes for them. You can deregister your employees from the ZUS by submitting a special form.
Is it necessary to pay taxes when closing a sole proprietorship?
Taxation - it is the difficult question that worries many people when closing a sole proprietorship. What to do, do you have to pay taxes for the last month? To begin with, you need to remember what form of taxation you chose for entrepreneurial activity you will have to pay taxes for the previous month of work of your IE. When liquidating the firm, there should not remain any debts to the state.
Summary
Now, if unfortunately you have to liquidate the firm, you know how to do it. In fact, this procedure is no more complicated than opening a sole proprietorship. Let us summarize the main points of this article and bring out the main points:
If you are no longer engaged in entrepreneurial activity, you cannot simply forget about a sole proprietorship - you must liquidate it.
Today, it is possible to liquidate a sole proprietorship by three methods, including online, offline and remotely by submitting an application by post.
It is necessary to pay taxes for the last month of work.
