What the NIP is
The NIP is the number Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa assigns to a taxpayer in Poland. It follows you across every tax you deal with: VAT, income tax and withholding. Businesses that pay you will ask for it before they release payment, because they report their suppliers to Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa by this number.
Who needs one
Every business needs a NIP, and it is the number that belongs on an invoice: article 106e of the VAT Act requires the seller's and the buyer's. PESEL identifies a private individual who is not in business and never belongs on a business invoice. REGON comes from the statistical register alongside the NIP and is not a required invoice element.
How to register, step by step
- Sole trader: file CEIDG-1 at biznes.gov.pl. It doubles as the tax notice, so the NIP is assigned automatically within three days.
- A company in the KRS gets its NIP automatically on court registration; a spółka cywilna files form NIP-2 itself.
- Someone who needs a NIP but is not in CEIDG files NIP-7, no later than the first return or payment that needs it.
- VAT registration is separate: file VAT-R before your first taxable sale or before crossing the exemption threshold, ticking EU registration for the PL-prefixed number.
How to find or check a NIP
The biała lista, the official Wykaz podatników VAT, searches by NIP, REGON, bank account or name and returns VAT status and the reported bank accounts.
Documents, cost and how long it takes
Obtaining a NIP is free of charge. Confirmation of the number is issued without delay, and no later than 3 days after the tax office receives a correct identification filing. Form NIP-7 is the identification filing, and NIP-2 is used for a civil partnership. The filing is due no later than the deadline for the first tax return, or together with the first tax payment (biznes.gov.pl, page published 21.02.2022).