Cryptocurrency loan is not burdened with tax on civil law transactions – the view of the Polish Tax Authority

The loan agreement, the subject of which are cryptocurrencies classified as property rights, is not subject to tax on civil law transactions – as was confirmed by the director of the Polish National Tax Information.

The question was asked by the entity considering taking such a loan from an individual or entrepreneur. The enquiring entity explained that the subject of the contract will be a specific amount of cryptocurrency, and the return will be made after the time specified in it. The enquiring entity wanted to make sure that it would not have to pay tax on civil law transactions on such a loan.

This was confirmed by the director of the Polish National Tax Information. The latter recalled that taxation with tax on civil law transactions in accordance with Art. 1 clause 1 point 1 letter b) of the Civil Law Transactions Tax Act, loan agreements are subject to tax on civil law transactions if their subject matter is money or items marked only as to their species.

Meanwhile, as emphasized by the authority, virtual currencies under the said Act are treated as property law. – In the absence of a legal definition of the term “property law”, one should refer to the findings of the jurisprudence and the doctrine – as stated by the director of the Polish National Tax Information.

According to them, property rights are subjective rights closely related to the economic interest of the rightholder, related to his property, characterized by two basic features:

– activity (may be traded),

– having a specific property value.

According to the director of the Polish National Tax Information, this category should therefore include all those rights that do not take the form of things, but at the same time constitute measurable benefits that can be used or benefited from. These conditions are met by cryptocurrencies.

The authority therefore decided that since the subject of the loan agreement will be cryptocurrencies classified as property rights, its conclusion will not be subject to civil law transactions tax. Therefore, this contract will not have to be reported to the tax office. The entire argumentation of the Polish Tax Authority is presented in the individual interpretation of the director of the Polish National Tax Information of 27 July 2022, reference number: 0111-KDIB2-2.4014.112.2022.4.MZ.