Revenue and expense ledger (P&L)

At the beginning of their journey, entrepreneurs are obliged to choose the form of record-keeping for the calculation of revenues, related costs and taxes. In the SME sector , general accounting, which involves keeping a Tax Revenue and Expenditure Ledger, remains the most popular.
Table of contents:

KPiR – what is it?


Important!

Limit of KPiR – how to calculate it?


Important!

What data do we enter in the Income and Expense Ledger?


Important!

The P&L in 2026 – a list of changes.


1. no more traditional Income and Expense Ledger – from 2026 only electronic

§ Section 3(3) of the new regulation, however, indicates two exceptions. Books may be kept without the use of programs if separate regulations exempt or exempt such an obligation. This includes:

  • clergy who opted out of the lump sum,
  • persons acting under agency contracts or contracts on commission terms.

2. farmers will not benefit from the simplified formula

The new regulations do not mention a simplified template for the PCR. Such a solution has so far been provided for farmers:

  • operating a farm without hiring employees,
  • members of agricultural production cooperatives,
  • agricultural workers, doing business personally or with family members in a joint household,
  • With an income of no more than PLN 10,000 per year.

As of 2026, this solution will cease to exist, and every farmer will be required to use a unified PKPiR template.

3. no duplicate statutory definitions

This is a minor change, under which the regulation will not repeat definitions already present in other legislation. Thus, the explanation of concepts such as income, fixed assets and intangible assets has disappeared from the document.

Instead, the definition of an accounting office has changed (it can be found in § 2 item 5 of the new regulation), and in items. 6 and 7 the definitions of the Personal Income Tax Law and the VAT Law have appeared.

4. the regulation cannot be abandoned

Taxpayers will no longer apply for an exemption from the regulation under special circumstances. In the new version of the regulations, this possibility has been removed. Exemptions granted before January 1, 2026 will remain in effect.

5. missing part of regulation for VAT-exempt taxpayers

The new regulation does not include regulations on the use of sales records kept for the ledger by VAT-exempt taxpayers who do not keep sales records.

The provisions contained in Section 7(4) of the previous regulation were removed not for lack of reasonableness, but because they are beyond the scope of the regulation, as the authors make clear in point. 5 of the Explanatory Memorandum.

6. no place to store the ledger and accounting evidence

The new iteration of the regulation does not indicate a specific place where books and accounting evidence should be kept, leaving taxpayers with the recommendation to follow Article 86 of the Tax Ordinance Law.

7. lack of separate books for multi-plant enterprises

Until now, multi-plant enterprises were required to keep a P&L for each plant separately. The new regulation abolishes this obligation, and with it the need to prepare evidence of transfers.

8. exclusion of daily statements of evidence

The catalog of accounting evidence will no longer include daily statements of evidence. Since the new regulation comes into effect, taxpayers will not have to show invoices in a separate statement – they will do so directly in the ledger.

With this change, it will be possible to effectively use JPK_PKPiR structures.

9. exclusion of the possibility of documenting purchases with receipts without a TIN

Certain company purchases made at retail units must be documented using a simplified invoice (receipt with TIN) starting in January 2026. There is an exception to this rule: purchases of fuel and oils made abroad will still be able to be documented with receipts, but only in paper form.

10. unification of deadlines for book entries

All entries in the ledger – both expenses and income – will be made no later than the 20th of each month following the month in which the expense was made or the income was received.

11. signature on the physical inventory only of the owner

Another minor change is the abolition of the obligation for the persons preparing the physical inventory to sign it. Starting in 2026, only the signature of the owner of the establishment (and partners, if applicable) will have to appear on the document.

Only the value of the inventory will have to be entered in the book.

12. no conditions for correctness of electronic ledger

The regulation lacked regulations specifying the conditions to which electronic ledgers must conform. These conditions have so far been specified in § 28 of the regulation.

13. changes to the regulations on the storage of certain invoices

Invoices and receipts documenting sales previously recorded using cash registers were covered by regulations related to storage. The new regulation abandons these regulations, pointing to the VAT law’s resolution of the issue.

14. changes in the correction of data from fiscal reports

If data from fiscal reports (daily or periodic) need to be corrected, the correction should be made on the basis of an internal proof. In the previous version of the regulations, the corrections had to be described on the back of the fiscal report.

15. new columns in the KPiR template

The appendix to the new regulation announces the addition of new columns to the income and expense ledger template:

  • Column No. 3 will contain the number identifying the invoice issued using KSeF,
  • Column No. 5 will contain the tax ID of the contractor.

Accounting evidence, or what do we enter in the P&L?


Important!

Obligation to keep a KPiR


However, there are groups that have no choice but to be legally obliged to keep a P&L – regardless of income. They are:

  • Individuals earning income from non-agricultural business activities, not taxed on a flat rate,
  • civil partnerships,
  • general partnerships,
  • partnerships.

Other duties related to maintaining a P&L.


Other records

Important!

Census of nature

Important!

Closing the Income and Expense Ledger at the end of the year


Consequences and penalties for unreliable record keeping


Infografika przedstawiająca kary i sankcje przewidziane w polskim prawie za nieprawidłowości w prowadzeniu księgi przychodów i rozchodów.

First: the estimated tax

Second: a fine for a fiscal offence

Third: punishment for a fiscal offence

Summary – the new Income and Expense Ledger


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