Summons from the tax office: what to do and by when

Expert knowledge. Content verified: 7 November 2026.

The deadline for replying to a tax office summons is set by the summons itself: the Tax Ordinance requires the authority to state in it a deadline or the day, time and place of appearance. The exception is a summons to remedy deficiencies in an application, for which the Act gives 7 days. First determine what type of summons it is and note the deadline; the rest depends on the content of the letter.

Types of summons and their deadlines

Summons in proceedings (art. 155 para. 1): the authority may summon a party or other persons to give explanations or testimony, submit documents or perform a specified action, in person, through a representative or in writing, if this is necessary to clarify the facts or decide the case. The deadline is set by the summons.
Summons to remedy deficiencies in an application (art. 169 para. 1): the deadline is 7 days, and the summons contains a notice that failure to meet the condition will result in the application being left unprocessed.
Summons in verification activities (art. 274a para. 2): where there are doubts about the correctness of a filed return, the authority may summon you to provide the necessary explanations within a set deadline or to complete the return, stating the reasons for the doubts.

What a summons should contain

According to art. 159, a summons should state the name and address of the authority, the name of the person summoned, the matter, the nature and purpose of the summons, information on whether you must appear in person or through a representative or may reply in writing, the deadline, and the legal consequences of failing to comply with the summons. It should also be signed by an employee of the authority, with their first name, surname and job title.

When summoning a party for questioning, the authority must additionally inform them of the right to refuse consent to the questioning and of the resulting possibility of not appearing. Read the summons with these elements in mind: they determine what you must do and by when.

What to do after receiving a summons

Note the date of delivery and the deadline from the summons. For deadlines counted in days, the day on which the event occurred is not counted, and when the last day of the deadline for performing an action falls on a Saturday or a statutory public holiday, the last day is deemed to be the next day after the days off (art. 12).
Establish what the summons concerns and in what capacity you are summoned: as a party or in another role.
Check whether you must appear in person or can reply in writing. The obligation to appear in person applies, as a rule, within the voivodeship where the summoned person lives or stays (art. 156 para. 1, with exceptions in art. 156 and 158).
Gather the documents and prepare your reply. The authority is obliged to make an effort to ensure that complying with the summons is not burdensome (art. 155 para. 1a).
Send your reply in a way that meets the deadline. If the summons specifies how to reply, follow it. The deadline is met if, before it expires, the letter was sent to the authority's electronic delivery address and the sender received proof of receipt, or posted at a post office of the designated operator (art. 12 para. 6). The e-Tax Office offers a general letter, which you can use to send a letter in any matter to the tax office.

What you risk if you do not respond

Disciplinary fine (art. 262 § 1): a person may be fined who, despite a proper summons, did not appear in person without a justified reason although obliged to, or unjustifiably refused or failed, within the deadline set in the summons, to give explanations or testimony or to take part in another action. This also applies to an unjustified refusal to show, or failure to present within the deadline, documents that must be held under legislation, tax books or accounting evidence.
Amount: for 2027, the penalty may be up to 3900 PLN. The amount is revalued every year by a notice of the Minister of Finance in the Monitor Polski (art. 262a), so check the amount for the year in which the decision was issued.
The fine is imposed by a ruling against which a complaint may be lodged. The complaint is lodged within 7 days of service of the ruling (art. 236 § 2), and the payment deadline for the fine is also 7 days from service (art. 262 § 5a).
Within 7 days of delivery of the decision, the penalised person may apply for the failure to appear or to perform the obligation to be recognised as excused and for the penalty to be set aside (art. 262 para. 6).
Persons to whom the taxpayer has outsourced keeping or storing the books (accounting firms) are also liable to the fine if they unjustifiably refuse to show, or fail to present within the deadline, books or documents (art. 262 § 3 point 3).

Who can answer for you

A party may act through a representative, unless the nature of the action requires their personal involvement (art. 138a para. 1). A representative may be a natural person with full legal capacity (art. 138b para. 1). According to Biznes.gov.pl, a company, for example an accounting firm, cannot be one, but its employee can.
The general power of attorney PPO-1 is notified only through the e-Tax Office, without stamp duty. The special power of attorney PPS-1 concerns a specific case, and the stamp duty for granting it is PLN 17.
UPL-1 is used to sign electronic returns, declarations and information, and authorises only the giving of a signature. A power of attorney granted in CEIDG does not authorise acting in tax matters.
From 1 October 2026 a person who is not a party, summoned under art. 155 § 1 to give explanations or submit documents, may act through a general or special attorney (art. 138a § 6, added by the Act of 29 May 2026).
Professional giving of advice, opinions and explanations on tax obligations and professional representation in proceedings before authorities are reserved for entitled entities, among others tax advisers, advocates and legal advisers (Act on Tax Advisory, art. 2 and 3).

Is there free help at the tax office?

Tax and customs information and information on online services is provided by the helpline of the National Revenue Administration (option "tax and customs information", Monday to Friday 8:00–18:00 according to the podatki.gov.pl page checked on 7 November 2026), and also by a chat with a consultant. The consultant will give data from your case only after verification with a telePIN code. This is information, not representing you in the case or assessing your summons.

How it works in Zaksio

Anna, the AI accountant, reminds you about deadlines from the obligations calendar, and the deadline from a summons is recorded in the deadlines calendar as open. The letter generator prepares a draft reply to the summons and UPL-1 and PPS-1 powers of attorney with a PDF preview. After approval you get a filing pack: the PDF, a "How to file this" card for the e-Tax Office, paper or e-Delivery, the fee details and a list of attachments.

Zaksio does not represent you at the office, is not a representative or adviser, and does not file anything with the office on your behalf. You approve, sign and file the letter yourself, or your representative does.
Fields the system does not know (case number, office name, justification) are marked "[TO BE COMPLETED]". The letter can only be approved once they are filled in.
After filing, you mark the letter as filed: you enter the date and the confirmation number (UPO), and the deadline in the calendar is closed.
You check the content of the letter yourself, and in more difficult cases a tax adviser or lawyer does. Zaksio does not provide legal assistance. The Start plan is free within its limits; details are in the pricing.

Sources

Tax Ordinance, consolidated text (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 622, legal status as of 21 April 2026) — https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2026/622/ogl
Act of 29 May 2026 amending the Act – Tax Ordinance and certain other acts (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 846, mostly from 1 October 2026) — https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2026/846/ogl
Announcement of the Minister of Finance and Economy of 7 August 2026 on the amount under art. 262 § 1 for 2027 (M.P. 2026 poz. 784) — https://eli.gov.pl/api/acts/MP/2026/784/text.pdf
Act on Tax Advisory (Dz.U. 2021 poz. 2117 as amended; changes from 1 March 2026: Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1882) — https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19961020475
Attorneys and tax representatives (Biznes.gov.pl) — https://www.biznes.gov.pl/pl/portal/0091
Powers of attorney: basic information (podatki.gov.pl) — https://podatki.gov.pl/pozostale/pelnomocnictwa/informacje-podstawowe-pelnomocnictwa
e-Tax Office: organisation account and general letter (podatki.gov.pl) — https://podatki.gov.pl/e-urzad-skarbowy/konto-organizacji
Telephone line to a National Revenue Administration consultant (podatki.gov.pl) — https://podatki.gov.pl/skontaktuj-sie-z-nami/telefon-do-konsultanta-krajowej-administracji-skarbowej