Fiscal cash register – what is it?
Let’s start with the basics. Although for many years the fiscal cash register was rightly associated with a device that printed receipts, this state of affairs has long since become obsolete. As a general rule, the fiscal cash register is still used to store information about a store’s or company’s inventory and to record sales of goods and services, but the way it does this has changed significantly over the years.
Currently, four types of cash registers are used. Two of them are inevitably going to become obsolete – these are traditional cash registers with a paper copy record and cash registers with an electronic copy record, so we will not devote more time to them.
Important!
Traditional cash registers and those with electronic recording are being phased out of the market. If you are reading this text because you want to set up a fiscal cash register in your business, these two types can safely be skipped.
Looking to bring your business in line with market conditions, use online or virtual cash registers. The latter type of cash register, however, is not a physical device, but software that allows you to manage your assortment.
Who is covered by the obligation to have a cash register?
In principle, the obligation to have a cash register applies to all taxpayers who sell goods or services:
- Individuals not engaged in business (individual customers),
- flat-rate farmers, i.e., farmers who supply agricultural products from their own agricultural activities or provide agricultural services while enjoying VAT exemption.
In some cases this obligation is absolute, in others it only takes effect when the company’s turnover exceeds PLN 20,000 per year. Still other companies may benefit from an exemption.
Who must have a fiscal cash register?
The updated Finance Minister’s Decree of December 17, 2024 is now in effect. On exemptions from the obligation to keep records of sales using cash registers. This document describes in detail which companies must use a fiscal cash register, and which are exempt from this obligation.
The ordinance lists the activities in which exemptions from the obligation to record sales do not apply. It is about selling specific categories of goods and services. We list them below.
Goods covered by the absolute obligation to record on a fiscal cash register
- LPG,
- internal combustion engine parts,
- Engines for powering vehicles and motorcycles,
- motor vehicle bodies,
- tobacco products,
- alcoholic beverages,
- perfumes and eau de toilette,
- computers,
- electronic and optical products,
- photographic equipment (excluding parts and accessories),
- precious metal products,
- products involving precious metals,
- stored and unrecorded digital and analog data carriers,
- motor fuels,
- fuel additives,
- products classified under CN standards 2404 and 8543 40 00,
- products containing ethyl alcohol pow. 50%,
- Coal, briquettes and solid fuels,
- goods using self-service devices accepting payment in coins, banknotes or cashless.
Services covered by the absolute obligation to record on a fiscal cash register
- Transportation of persons and their hand luggage by cabs,
- Repair of motor vehicles and mopeds,
- tax consulting,
- services provided by stationary catering establishments (including seasonal ones),
- Hairdressing, beauty and cosmetology services.
The full list of goods and services for the sale of which the use of a fiscal cash register is absolute can be found in Section 4 of the Ordinance.
Cash register exemption, or who can do business without a cash register?
The cash register exemptions provided for in the aforementioned MF Ordinance are valid until December 31, 2027. After that date, changes may or may not happen. These exemptions apply to:
- Some of the categories of goods or services (we list them later in the article),
- Situations where the turnover from sales to non-business individuals does not exceed PLN 20,000 per year,
Taxpayers who are starting a business and anticipate that the percentage of exempted sales in total sales will exceed 80% for the first six months of operation.
Fiscal cash register vs turnover limit
Many companies are required to launch a fiscal cash register only when the company’s turnover exceeds PLN 20,000 per year. An entrepreneur must procure a fiscal cash register within two months of the last day of the month in which he exceeded the turnover limit. In other words – the exemption from the obligation to record transactions through a fiscal cash register expires after two months following the month in which the limit was exceeded.
Example:
Mr. Janusz began providing services in January – he does furniture restoration. On April 7, his turnover exceeded PLN 20,000, which means he should think about a fiscal cash register. Fortunately, he has some time to do so – the deadline is not until June 30.
In this context, therefore, entrepreneurs whose turnover will exceed PLN 20,000 in the first days of the month are in the best position – the earlier in the month this happens, the more time they will have to implement a fiscal cash register in the company.
It is worth remembering that sales of real estate, fixed assets, or legal and intangible assets should not be included in the turnover limit.
Important!
The PLN 20,000 turnover limit applies until December 31, 2027 (see Regulation, § 3.1). It has been extended (it was previously in effect until December 31, 2024.
Changes to the current turnover limit will be implemented no earlier than January 1, 2028, although it is possible that the Finance Ministry will decide to leave the amount unchanged.
Operating without a cash register above the exemption limit
According to the provisions of the aforementioned Ordinance, some taxpayers may operate without a cash register even after exceeding a turnover of PLN 20,000. Here are some of the activities that are exempt from recording.
Supply of goods or provision of services, the object of which is:
- services related to agriculture and animal husbandry,
- services related to the collection, processing or treatment of waste (both hazardous and non-hazardous – recyclable and non-recyclable),
- Passenger transport – both rail and other land transport,
- Telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services referred to in Art. 2 pts. 25a, 25b and 26 of the Law,
- financial and insurance services,
- notarial activities,
- some education services.
Sales relating to specific activities:
- real estate delivery,
- delivery of goods by mail order system,
- Lease of land and the transfer of land for perpetual use,
- Delivery of goods using automatic sales devices (vending machines),
- air transportation ticket sales,
- Sales of fixed assets, intangible assets subject to depreciation,
- supply of agricultural products and provision of agricultural services by flat-rate farmers who enjoy tax exemption.
A full list of activities that do not require a cash register can be found in the appendix to the current Decree of the Minister of Finance.
Since when do you have to have a fiscal cash register?
If in your business activities you are carrying out or intend to carry out the activities listed in §4 of the Decree on the Administration. exemptions from the obligation to keep records of sales, you must install a fiscal cash register before you make your first transaction.
If your type of business includes an exemption from the obligation to have a cash register up to PLN 20,000 turnover, the launch of the cash register should take place within two months from the last day of the month in which the limit was exceeded.
Does the company have to purchase a fiscal cash register?
No – a company may or may not have its own fiscal cash register. Other options available include rental, lease and leasing. It is only mandatory to purchase an online version of the cash register.
Which fiscal cash register should I choose?
As of January 1, 2023, only online cash registers are available for sale – this has to do with the gradual phasing out of cash registers with a paper copy record (which can no longer be purchased as of September 2019) and cash registers with an electronic copy record (phased out on January 1, 2023).
If you already have an older-type fiscal cash register, no worries – you can use it until the end of its useful life. However, if you don’t have a cash register yet, you need to get an online cash register.
Online fiscal cash register
It is a device that sends data not only to external media, but also directly to the Central Cash Register Repository. The CRK, which is subordinate to the National Tax Administration, collects fiscal receipts, daily reports, cash register events and periodic inspection information.
Online cash registers are mandatory for:
- Companies that provide repair services for motor vehicles and mopeds (as well as repairing, fitting, retreading, reconditioning and replacing tires and wheels),
- Companies engaged in the sale of vehicle fuels: motor gasoline, diesel fuel and gases for internal combustion engines (LPG, CNG),
- Companies providing food services in stationary food service establishments,
- Companies providing short-term accommodation services,
- Companies that sell heating fuels: coal, briquette and other solid fuels made from coal, lignite, coke and semi-coke,
- Companies providing hairdressing, beauty, cosmetology, construction, medical, legal services, related to the operation of physical fitness facilities (admission only).
There is, of course, an exception to this rule – some taxpayers can use virtual cash registers, the de facto software for recording sales. For details on how virtual cash registers work and when they can be used, see the updated Regulation of the Minister of Finance on. cash registers having the form of software, published on June 25, 2025.
Virtual cash registers
Virtual cash registers are applications that can be installed on a company’s device – smartphone, tablet or computer. The technical requirement is that the device in question can be connected to a printer and print receipts.
The growing popularity of virtual cash registers is related to the fact that using them does not require the acquisition of a separate device – entrepreneurs successfully install virtual cash registers on equipment they already own. The downside of this solution is the need to pay a subscription. On the one hand, it gives you the opportunity to give up the virtual cash register at any time, on the other – if your company is required to use a fiscal cash register anyway – it generates monthly costs.
Important!
Each virtual cash register, before being put on sale, should be certified by the President of the General Office of Weights and Measures. This certification confirms that the software meets the general conditions set for fiscal cash registers, especially the security criteria.
Before you decide to purchase a subscription that allows you to use a virtual cash register, verify its certification. You will do this in the register of decisions of the General Office of Weights and Measures.
Virtual cash registers are not widely available. They can only be used by companies that provide specific services. The regulations on this issue are regulated by the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of May 29, 2020 on groups of taxpayers or types of activities for which it is possible to use cash registers having the form of software. We are talking about services:
- passenger transportation except for occasional transportation,
- Car rental with driver,
- Relocation-related services provided to households,
- road passenger transportation,
- passenger rail transportation,
- Maritime, coastal and water transport,
- air transportation,
- Hotel and accommodation-related (including for short-term accommodation and campgrounds),
- catering, catering,
- The sale of solid fuels for heating purposes,
- Car washing and cleaning, also unattended.
Above is an abbreviated list of services. The full catalog, including PKWiU codes, can be found in §1 of the Ordinance.
Relief for the purchase of a cash register
If you are facing the need to purchase a cash register, check whether you can take advantage of the relief provided by the legislature. What is worth knowing?
- The credit for the purchase of a fiscal cash register is 90% of the net price of the cash register.
- The amount of relief cannot exceed PLN 700.
- The relief is only available for the purchase of an online cash register.
- You can take advantage of the relief for up to 6 months from the date your company starts recording sales with an online cash register.
- Both active and passive VAT taxpayers can take advantage of the relief.
- You can buy a cash register online and take advantage of the relief even if your business is not required to record sales using a cash register.
In what cases should the relief be returned?
Keeping records of sales using a fiscal cash register imposes specific obligations on the entrepreneur. You may have to repay the allowance if you fail to fulfill them or – within 36 months of starting to keep records of sales – give up using the fiscal cash register.
You must return the relief if:
- permanently and without the approval of the head of the relevant tax authority, you will not provide a connection that allows data transfer between your cash register and the CRK,
- you neglect the issue of mandatory technical inspections of the cash register (the inspection must take place no less than once every 2 years, counting from the date of fiscalization or the date of the previous inspection),
- close the company, declare bankruptcy or sell the business to the owner, who will give up selling products and services to individuals.
Important!
The time during which the business activity was suspended does not count towards the 36 months required to maintain the right to the relief.
Obligation to use a fiscal cash register – summary
The obligation to record sales using a fiscal cash register does not apply to every company, but only – as a rule – to those that sell products or services to individuals. However, there are exceptions to every rule. In this case, the revenue limit (up to PLN 20,000), which results in exemption from this obligation, but also several other circumstances.
If you are using the aforementioned exemption, remember to update your knowledge at the end of 2027. This is because the current regulation of the Minister of Finance is valid until December 31, 2027. After that date, there may be significant changes in the cash register rules.
