Is gifting a car safe? If you have a vehicle you no longer use in your business, a family gift may look like a simple exit route—until tax questions appear. Below we share key takeaways from a recent Rzeczpospolita article featuring a comment by Piotr Sekulski, PhD, tax advisor.
We have discussed similar issues before — see, for example here:
The full article linked here contains a number of practical points on whether gifting a car is safe from a tax perspective.
tax advisor Piotr Sekulski, PhD
„What does the tax authority say? – From the very beginning it confirmed in individual tax rulings that there is no PIT if a car bought out from a lease for private purposes is gifted to family members and, after six months, is sold. It also acknowledged that the recipient is exempt from inheritance and gift tax. I have not come across cases where the tax office challenged such a solution during an audit.”
tax advisor Piotr Sekulski, PhD
“(…) The way to avoid the tax is therefore still valid and will also be valid next year. Of course, there is always a risk that the tax office will consider it to be an обход of the obligation to report business income. The tax authority has several options — it may apply the general anti-avoidance clause or the regulations on sham transactions. For example, it will look suspicious if we give the car to a 90-year-old mother who does not have a driving licence and we will still use it regularly. A more credible gift is one made to a son who has started working and wants to commute by car to the workplace. On the other hand, everyone can do whatever they want with their own things. The tax authority should not interfere with property rights (…) ”
If you ask is gifting a car safe, or which car-related costs could affect your annual settlement or your choice of taxation method, feel free to contact us at www.outsourced.pl .
