Income taxes
Depreciation: what is it?
Depreciation charges on fixed assets and intangible assets
Depreciation spreads the expense on a fixed asset over costs in the following months and years. A charge is calculated on the initial value using a depreciation rate.
Key answers
- What it is
- Charging the expense on a fixed asset or an intangible asset to costs gradually, instead of at once. Charges are calculated on the initial value (art. 22g) at the rates from the Table of annual depreciation rates, an annex to the PIT Act (art. 22a-22o). A charge reduces income, but in KPiR it is not a cash expense: it is entered in column 15.
- Who it affects
- Entrepreneurs taxed under PIT who own fixed assets or intangibles. With ryczalt depreciation does not affect the tax, but fixed assets must be listed in the register.
- When
- Charges are made from the first month after the month in which the asset is entered in the register, until the total charges equal the initial value or until liquidation or sale (art. 22h(1)(1)).
- Where
- In the fixed-asset and intangible register (art. 22n of the PIT Act) and in the ledger: in KPiR a charge is entered in column 15 (explanations to the layout, Dz.U. 2025 item 1299).
This is information, not legal advice. As of 2026-10. Deadlines and rules may change, so check them in the official source.
