Commercial intermediation tax is an increasingly important topic for people working with companies in a B2B model as sales representatives, business developers, sales managers or persons responsible for client acquisition. In many cases, the 8.5% lump-sum tax rate may be worth considering, but it is not enough to rely only on the job title. The actual scope of services, the appropriate PKWiU classification and whether the activities do not fall within advisory, management or other services subject to a higher tax rate are all crucial.
Commercial intermediation tax and PKWiU 74.90.12.0
In practice, the services of a sales representative or a person involved in sales development may be described very differently in a contract. Sometimes this means ordinary client acquisition, connecting business partners, arranging meetings, maintaining commercial relationships and supporting the sales process. In other cases, the scope already includes elements of sales strategy, team management, business consulting, contract negotiations or actually conducting sales on behalf of the client. This distinction is crucial for lump-sum taxation.
For some commercial intermediation services, the relevant classification may be PKWiU 74.90.12.0 – Commercial intermediation and valuation services, excluding real estate and insurance valuation. According to the explanations of the Polish Central Statistical Office, this grouping includes, among others, business intermediation services, i.e. organising procurement or sales for small and medium-sized businesses. At the same time, it does not include, among others, real estate brokerage services, valuation services for insurance companies or intermediation services related to real estate valuation.
If the activities actually performed fall within this scope, individual tax rulings show an approach allowing the application of the 8.5% lump-sum tax rate as the rate for service activity under Article 12(1)(5)(a) of the Polish Lump-Sum Income Tax Act. This provision provides for an 8.5% rate for income from service activity, provided that the service has not been assigned to another, higher or specific lump-sum tax rate.
A similar approach was presented in the individual tax ruling of 25 April 2025, ref. 0112-KDSL1-2.4011.138.2025.2.PS, where the tax authority indicated that the 8.5% rate could apply to commercial intermediation services, provided that they do not include, among others, financial intermediation, insurance intermediation, real estate intermediation, concluding contracts in one’s own name or physical sale of products.
When can 8.5% be risky?
The biggest mistake is to assume that if someone is a “sales representative” or “sales manager”, they can automatically apply the 8.5% lump-sum tax rate, regardless of what they actually do.
For lump-sum tax purposes, what matters is not the job title — or even the scope “on paper” — but the actual scope of services. If the contract and the actual cooperation include elements of sales management, team leadership, strategic consulting, management consulting, pricing policy development, market-entry strategy or broadly understood business consulting, the tax authority may try to challenge the 8.5% rate.
We have discussed a similar issue in relation to other B2B roles, where the name of the function did not determine the applicable lump-sum tax rate. See also our previous articles:
WIn the case of commercial intermediation, it is particularly important to check:
-whether the taxpayer actually only intermediates in commercial contacts and supports sales,
-if the taxpayer does not sell goods or services in their own name,
-whether the taxpayer does not conclude contracts on behalf of the client,
-if the taxpayer does not perform advisory or management services,
-whether the contract, invoices and actual activities are consistent with each other,
-how the person is remunerated.
Simply writing “commercial intermediation” in the contract does not protect the taxpayer if emails, reports, the actual scope of duties or the practice of cooperation show something else
Commercial intermediation tax – is it worth applying for an individual tax ruling?
W wielu sprawach handlowców, business developerów i osób pozyskujących klientów interpretacja indywidualna może być rozsądnymIn many cases involving sales representatives, business developers and people acquiring clients, an individual tax ruling may be a reasonable solution. However, it is important to remember that the Polish tax authority generally relies on the PKWiU classification indicated by the taxpayer. The tax authority does not independently determine whether a given service actually falls within PKWiU 74.90.12.0.
Therefore, before submitting an application, it is worth preparing the description of services carefully. It should show what the taxpayer actually does, what they do not do, and where commercial intermediation ends and where advisory, management or sales activities in a different sense could begin.
In practice, the safest approach is to analyse together:
-the B2B agreement,
-scope of duties,
-the remuneration model, e.g. commission, success fee or fixed remuneration,
-the content of invoices,
-correspondence with the client,
-the actual model of cooperation,
-any GUS classification,
-existing individual tax rulings.
Only then can one assess whether commercial intermediation tax at 8.5% lump-sum is a defensible solution.
How can we help?
At Outsourced.pl, we help entrepreneurs taxed under the lump-sum regime verify whether the selected tax rate is safe. This also applies to sales representatives, business developers, B2B sales specialists, project managers, product owners, consultants and IT specialists.
In particular, we can help with:
-analysing the scope of services and the B2B agreement,
-assessing whether the 8.5% lump-sum tax rate may be applied,
-identifying risks related to consulting, management or other tax rates,
-preparing arguments for an individual tax ruling,
-organising the description of services from the perspective of PKWiU and lump-sum taxation.
In the case of commercial intermediation services, the 8.5% lump-sum tax rate may be possible, but it requires caution. The most important point is that the scope of services should genuinely correspond to commercial intermediation, and not to consulting, management or sales conducted in a different model.
