Tax consequences of buying out a car under an operating lease in 2025

Paweł Gorzelec
Jul 29
2 min read

Updated: Jul 30

A passenger car operational lease typically ends with the option to purchase the vehicle. This seemingly simple decision, however, can have varying tax consequences, depending on whether the vehicle is purchased for business or private use.

Buying a car for your company

Buying a car after the lease ends is treated as a new economic event, independent of the lease agreement itself. This means it must be accounted for appropriately for personal income tax (PIT) and VAT purposes.

PIT – general rules

🔹 Car value up to PLN 10,000 – You can include the expense as a one-off expense in the month the vehicle is put into use, or enter the car into the fixed assets register and make a depreciation write-off (one-off or systematic).

🔹 Car value above PLN 10,000 – Mandatory inclusion in the fixed assets register, – Straight-line depreciation – with a tax cost limit: 👉 up to PLN 150,000 – in the case of ordinary passenger cars, 👉 up to PLN 225,000 – for electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles.

VAT – deductions

✔️ 50% VAT – if the vehicle is used in a mixed manner (business and private),

✔️ 100% VAT – with full company use and mileage records.

Settlement example:

👉 Option 1 – 100% VAT deduction A car with a net value of PLN 9,000 + PLN 2,070 VAT (gross PLN 11,070). VAT: full deduction of PLN 2,070, the expense of PLN 9,000 can be included in costs as a one-off expense or depreciated.

👉 Option 2 – 50% VAT deduction VAT deduction: PLN 1,035 Initial value of the car: PLN 9,000 + PLN 1,035 = PLN 10,035 Depreciation: e.g. PLN 167.25 per month (20% per year).

📌 Sale of a car purchased for a company This results in the obligation to settle the output VAT and – in some cases – to correct the input VAT (if the sale takes place during the correction period with a 50% deduction).