Relief for the purchase of a cash register - when and for whom?

Taxpayers who sell goods or services and are not subject to exemptions are required to purchase and operate a cash register. As you might imagine, this incurs certain costs. However, current regulations allow for the receipt of appropriate tax relief for cash registers.

Importantly, it can be used by both VAT payers and persons exempt from this tax. However, the refund only applies to ONLINE cash registers.

Of course, the entire procedure requires completing a number of formalities, thanks to which owners of the cash register can recover a portion of the funds allocated for its purchase. Below, we explain what the relief is and how to apply for it.

Relief for the purchase of a cash register – when and for whom?

Relief for the purchase of a cash register 2020

The provisions regulating the cash register refund can be found hereVAT Act – Article 111, paragraph 4 specifies that we can apply for a deduction from the tax due of the amount of 90% of the price of the cash register (excluding tax), but not more than PLN 700.

The regulations further state that if "this amount is higher than the amount of tax due in the settlement period, taxpayers are entitled to a refund of the difference to the taxpayer's bank account in a bank with its registered office in the territory of the country or to the taxpayer's account in a cooperative savings and credit union of which they are a member, or to deduct this difference from the tax due for the following settlement periods, provided that the purchase of the cash registers took place no later than 6 months from the date of commencement of keeping these records."„

It is worth emphasizing once again that from May 1, 2019, the cash register purchase discount is not available for cash registers with paper or electronic copy recording. We can only apply for a refund at ONLINE cash registers.

Cash register refund 2020 – how to use it?

As we have already mentioned, when applying for relief, you must meet certain requirements. These are set out in Regulation of the Minister of Finance of April 29, 2019.

It is necessary to point out the two most important conditions mentioned in the regulation. The first of them refers to the obligation to start keeping records of sales using the cash register purchased during the validity period of the confirmation, as mentioned in Article 111, paragraph 6b of the VAT Act, while the second one the need to have an invoice confirming the purchase of the cash register, as well as proof of payment of the entire amount due for its purchase.

Meeting both conditions allows us to apply for the relief. If we use more than one cash register, the rebate is issued for each cash register separately. The requirement here is to keep records using these devices no later than 6 months from the date of commencement of the records, as proof we will need a monthly report from fiscal device as confirmation of work on it

Cash register settlement

Finally, all that remains is the issue of deducting the tax relief for the purchase of a cash register, which can be carried out by both VAT and non-VAT taxpayers.

· Cash register deduction for VAT taxpayers. It is made in the VAT return for the period in which we started recording or for subsequent periods, because in this case there is no fixed time frame for using the relief.

It's important that the deduction amount doesn't exceed the difference between the tax due and the input tax. Otherwise, the tax due must be reduced by the amount spent on the cash register.

If we settle on a lump sum basis, the amount of the cash relief deduction cannot exceed the amount of VAT we pay for a specific settlement period.

· Non-VAT payer and cash register – deduction. If you are exempt from VAT, you can claim the tax relief for your cash register purchase by submitting an application to the head of your tax office. In addition to your details, the application must include the bank account number to which the refund will be made, a copy of the invoice for the cash register purchase, a copy of proof of payment for the full amount, and a copy of your monthly fiscal report.

We must submit this application in the month following the month in which we started keeping records using the indicated cash register.