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White list of VAT payers and payments for services exempt from VAT
- Paweł Gorzelec
- Aug 28
- 2 min read
For several years, businesses have been using the so-called VAT whitelist. This official register contains details of registered VAT payers, including company name, business address, Tax Identification Number (NIP), VAT registration date, and company bank accounts. The account number is particularly important, as making a payment to an account other than the one indicated on the list carries tax consequences – the expense cannot be included in tax-deductible costs.
In practice, this problem is increasingly common among entrepreneurs who pay for VAT-exempt activities. Do the same rules apply to them?
Payment to another account and the ZAW-NR obligation
According to tax regulations, if a business pays a transaction exceeding PLN 15,000 to an account not listed as a VAT payer, they cannot deduct this expense from their tax-deductible costs. This applies to situations where the seller is an entity registered as an active VAT payer.
It is worth emphasizing that the obligation applies not only to transactions subject to VAT, but also to payments for activities exempt from VAT, provided that the service provider is registered as an active VAT payer.
An example from practice – a doctor on B2B
In one tax ruling, a company employing doctors inquired whether payments to a doctor's private account (not disclosed in the whitelist) could be included as expenses. The doctor was registered as an active VAT payer but performed only VAT-exempt medical services.
The company believed that since the services were exempt, it was not required to submit a ZAW-NR notification. However, the tax authorities disagreed – they concluded that the mere fact that the contractor was registered as an active VAT payer meant that payment to an account outside the white list without submitting a ZAW-NR notification was illegal.
Consequences and how to avoid them
Failure to submit a ZAW-NR report within 7 days of the transfer means the expense will be excluded from tax deductions or will require increased revenue. The only way to protect the entrepreneur's interests is to submit a ZAW-NR report to the appropriate tax office.
Similar rules apply to both CIT taxpayers and sole proprietors filing PIT tax returns.
What should an entrepreneur do?
Always check the contractor on the whitelist before paying.
Verify whether he is registered as an active VAT payer, even if he provides VAT-exempt services.
In the event of a transfer to an account not on the list, immediately submit a ZAW-NR notification.
Summary: Even payments for VAT-exempt activities may result in tax consequences if the contractor is an active VAT payer and the entrepreneur makes a transfer to an account not listed on the white list. Due diligence and timely submission of the ZAW-NR will help avoid tax problems.
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