Relief for the start of ZUS in the Polish JDG in 2026

The start-up relief exempts you from social insurance related to your business activities for six months. It does not exempt you from health insurance premiums and does not require a separate "DRA application". Use is subject to meeting the conditions and proper registration for health insurance.

What's included

During the relief period, the entrepreneur does not pay business contributions:

• pension,
• pension,
• sickness,
• accident,
• to the Labor Fund.

Pays the health insurance premium and submits monthly settlement documents according to the rules applicable to the payer.

The lack of social contributions also means the lack of benefits in this respect, for example sickness benefits from business activity. The relief period does not build pension capital from JDG.

How to count six months

The relief lasts for six full calendar months. If the business begins on the first day of the month, that month is counted as six. If the start takes place during a month, the partial month is not included - the relief may then cover part of it and the next six full months.

Suspension of activities does not stop the running of the six-month period.

Conditions

An individual who:

1. resumes activity for the first time or again after at least 60 months from the last suspension or termination,
2. does not perform for the former employer the activities that she performed for him as a full-time employee in the current or previous calendar year.

It is not enough that the client was once an employer. What also matters is the compliance of the activities and the indicated period. On the other hand, changing the job title won't help if the services are actually the same.

There is no blanket exemption for all "liberal professions".

Report to ZUS

An entrepreneur who receives relief applies only to health insurance on the ZUS ZZA form, most often with the insurance code 05 40 or 05 42 with the appropriate right to a retirement or disability pension.

The notification is generally submitted within 7 days of the obligation arising. It may be submitted together with the CEIDG application.

ZUS DRA is a settlement document, not an application for relief. ZUS reports ZUA to social and health insurance, so it is not an ordinary form for a person benefiting from a start-up relief.

Health insurance

Health care depends on the form of taxation:

• scale - 9% of income, with a monthly minimum,
• linear - 4.9% of income, with a monthly minimum,
• lump sum - threshold amount depending on income,
• tax card - amount calculated according to a separate basis.

The amount of PLN 14,100 for the flat-rate pension in 2026 is the limit for the tax settlement of the premium paid, and not the maximum premium to be paid.

What's the relief

After the relief ends, you must deregister the relief code and report to social security and health insurance with the appropriate code.

If an entrepreneur meets the conditions for preferential contributions, he or she may pay social contributions for 24 full calendar months on a basis not lower than 30% of the minimum wage. This is a separate preference - it requires proper reporting and has its own former employer condition.The starting discount is not obligatory. You can resign from it and be covered by social insurance from the beginning, but returning to the unused part after resignation is not optional.

The Labor Fund after the relief

The Labor Fund does not depend on "income greater than 2.5 times the minimum wage." The obligation is related to the basis for calculating pension and disability pension contributions and additional exemptions, including those related to age and the period of return from parental leave.

If the preferential basis is lower than the minimum wage, a contribution to the Labor Fund from the activity itself is generally not due.

The most common errors

1. Treating a DRA as an application for relief.
2. Submitting a ZUA instead of a ZZA without conscious resignation.
3. Health care omission.
4. Counting six months without the rule of full months.
5. Providing the same services to a former employer.
6. Assumption that suspension stops relief.
7. No code changes after the discount ends.

Sources

• Entrepreneurs' Law - ELI, Art. 18
• Act on the social security system - ELI

Do you need to register your company with ZUS?

Oxyok provides accounting for Polish JDGs from registration - from PLN 49 + VAT per month.

Write to Paweł or see Oxyok accounting.

The material is of a general nature. The code and filing date depend on the entrepreneur's insurance situation.