CIT 8 – old rules, new deadlines for tax returns

The Kowalski and Nowak family have already submitted their tax returns, or at least they should have done so by the end of April. Now is the time for some Polish entrepreneurs and organizational units which, by June 30, 2021, are obliged to settle accounts with the tax office for the previous tax year. What exactly is CIT 8 and what has changed compared to 2020?

CIT 8 – what is it, who is affected and how to submit it?

CIT 8 is an annual tax form that must be submitted by entrepreneurs with organizational units without legal personality. The CIT declaration 8 includes general data on revenues and costs in the previous tax year, as well as information on whether and in what amount the entity will pay the corporate income tax.

CIT 8, i.e. a tax declaration of the amount of income earned or loss, are required to submit:

• Limited liability companies
• Joint stock companies
• Limited partnerships
• Associations
• Cooperatives
• Capital companies in organization
• Housing communities
• Companies without legal personality having their registered office or management board outside the country, if under the tax regulations in this country – they have the status of a legal person and are subject to normal income taxation there.

Natural persons running a business as a sole proprietorship – are not required to submit a CIT 8 tax return.

The CIT 8 form may only be submitted in electronic form and must be signed with a qualified signature (not to be confused with a trusted profile). A narrow group of entrepreneurs and non-governmental organizations can submit a CIT 8 declaration in paper form. The condition is, however, the achievement of tax-exempt income and the lack of employment of employees and / or contractors.

By when must CIT 8 for 2020 be submitted?

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, which destabilized and disrupted the functioning of many companies, which had to deal with a number of additional problems – the deadline for submitting CIT 8 for 2020 was extended to June 30, 2021.

In previous years, entrepreneurs were required to submit a CIT return for 8 – up to 3 months from the end of the tax year. If it coincided with the calendar year, then this date was March 31 of the following year.

In the light of the new deadline, all entities for which the tax year ended between December 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021 – the new deadline for the submission of CIT 8, as well as the payment / adjustment of the due tax – is June 30, 2021.