NOTE: translated from Polish!
On 14 October 2025, the Council of Ministers adopted a bill amending the Inheritance and Donation Tax Act, which provides for the simplification of procedures and the protection of heirs against the loss of tax exemptions.
The draft of the new regulations in the field of inheritance and gift tax provides for significant changes aimed at making it easier for taxpayers to use tax exemptions and clarifying the rules for tax liability.
One of the key proposals is to introduce the possibility of reinstating the deadline for filing a notice of acquisition of property, regardless of the type of title of its acquisition. This change includes not only the exemption granted to the immediate family, but also the exemption concerning the acquisition of the business of a deceased entrepreneur, for whom the submission of the application in due time is a condition for benefiting from the tax preference.
According to the draft regulations, if the taxpayer proves that the failure to comply with the deadline occurred through no fault of his/her own, the tax authority will be able to restore the deadline, and thus the taxpayer will retain the right to tax exemption. Importantly, if the tax office refuses to reinstate the deadline and then the administrative court agrees with the taxpayer, it will be possible to revoke the tax decision and discontinue the proceedings – this solution does not work in the current legal situation.
The amendment also introduces a clarification of the moment when the tax obligation arises when the inheritance is acquired, which is beneficial for taxpayers. After the amendment of Article 6(1)(1) of the Inheritance and Donation Tax Act, this obligation will arise only at the moment of:
- the court’s decision on the acquisition of the inheritance becomes final,
- registration of the certificate of succession, or
- European Certificate of Succession.
The introduction of a deadline reinstatement mechanism should be seen as a step towards increasing the protection of taxpayers’ rights. The existing regulations were characterized by excessive formalization, which in practice led to the loss of the right to exemption for reasons not attributable to the taxpayer. The proposed amendment thus fills a systemic gap
and implements the constitutional principle of citizens’ trust in the state (contained in Article 8 § 1 of the Constitution) and the law established by it.
Clarifying the moment when the tax obligation arises in the case of inheritance will also increase the legal certainty of the heirs and simplify the application of the regulations in practice, which will certainly have a positive impact on the relations between taxpayers and tax authorities.