How much do I pay to ZUS in 2022 as an entrepreneur?

Social insurances

The rate of your contribution

The proportions of the contributions will remain the same as last year. You can see the rates in the table below.

Retirement pension	Disability pension	Sickness insurance1	Accident insurance2	Labour fund3	Fund of guaranteed employee benefits4
19,52%	8,00%	2,24%	1,67% (0,67-3,33%)	2,45%	0,10%

1. The sickness insurance is voluntary. Not obligatory, but in case of an incapacity for work longer than 30 days this insurance pays you the sickness benefits, A person is entitled to receive sickness benefits – maternity benefits as well – if it was insured by this sickness insurance for longer than 90 days before its incapacitation for work.
2. The rate of the accident insurance depends on the characteristics of the work one does. In case of sole entrepreneurs, who empoy 9 or less people covered by social insurances, are obliged to pay half of the highest rate. This is 1,67% starting from april 1^st, 2018.
3. An exempt from labour fund contribution is an entrepreneur that

• employs people based on mandate agreements only
• is a “new” entrepreneur and pays the social contributions after a preferential base
• has less than 5 years until reaching retirement age
• pays social insurances from a base lower than the minimal wage.

4.Only after employees

The base amount of the contribution

For sole entrepreneurs the base of the social contributions is the 60% of the statisticly forecasted income in the entrepreneurial sector

Lowered base of the social contributions are paid by those entitled to the so called “small ZUS”. That is 30% of the monthly minimal wage

Health insurance

Before Polski Ład

In 2021 the base of the health insurance was the 75% of the average wage of the entrepreneurial sector, measured in the 4th quarter of the previous year. The rate was 9% of this base.

The base amount of this contribution was 4.242,38 zł. 9% of it, 381,81 zł was monthly payable. From this payable amount 7,75% of the base amount was deductible from personal income tax.

Since Polski Ład

The contribution is not even partially deductible. Neither for employees not for the entrepreneurs. Regarding the formerly deductible nature of this contribution it was not considered as cost of the revenue earlier and this part of the law remained in the Art. 23rd, paragraph 1., point 58) of the Act on Personal Income Tax.

The changes made the amount of the contribution dependent on the monthly income of the entrepreneur. Due to the timely aspect of determining the monthly income of an entrepreneur, the deadline of the monthly payments was delayed until the 20th day of the following month in case of natural persons. This deadline will be on the 15th of the following month in case of enterprises with legal personality.

Te rate of the contribution depends on the type of taxation as well.

For those using the tax scale (17%/32%)

The amount payable monthly is 9% of the income, but non less than 270,90 zł, which is exactly 9% of the minimal wage.

For those using linear taxation (19%)

The amount payable monthly is 4,9% of the income, but non less than 270,90 zł

Yes, this one is less, but remember, that choosing linear taxation you resign from the first 30.000,- zł tax free amount, the possibility of preferential taxation of spouses, childcare benefits, etc.

Transitional provisions in January, 2022 in case of the tax scale and linear taxation.

Related to the introduction of Polski Ład the health insurance in January 2022 those using the general rules of taxation (scale 17/32%; linear 19%) will be calculated based on the rules of previous year, This means, that the base amount of the contribution will be the 75% of the average wage of the entrepreneurial sector, measured in the 4th quarter of 2021. In this case the base will be 4.665,78 zł instead of the January income. The rate of the contribution is 9% of the base, that means 419,92 zł amount.

For those using flat rate taxation of the income

In case of flat rate taxation (aka. ryczałt) the legislator defines 3 levels.

The base of the calculation is the average wage of the entrepreneurial sector, measured in the 4th quarter of 2021, that is 6.221,04 zł as announced by the statistical office on January 21st, 2021

Annual income	monthly contribution	annual contribution
below 60.000 zł	335,94 zł	4031,23 zł
between 60.000 zł and 300.000 zł	559,89 zł	6.718,72 zł
above 300.000 zł	1.007,81 zł	12.093,70 zł

The annual income here regards the income of the current year – first time year 2022. In practice everybody, who chooses flat rate taxation could use the lowest amount throughout the year. As per the written on the in information and service website for entrepreneurs, in case somebody paid healthcare contributions already in 2021, throughout 2022 has to pay the contribution according to her/his income in the previous year and has the opportunity to adjust the paid amounts until the deadline of filing PIT-28 declaration.

In case one starts a business in January, 2022 with flat rate taxation and the income from the business exceeds 60.000,- zł e.g. in November, 2022, then for November should pay the monthly amount already from the 2nd level and has to pay the difference between the 1st and 2nd level for the passed 10 months of the year as well. According to the table above this is (559,89 zł -335,94 zł )/month * 10 months = 2.239,50 zł . There were no discussions about calculating interests on ZUS payments, that were delayed in this way, just like about many other topics Polski Ład introduces.

to be continued…