Invoice types for a JDG in Poland: corrective, advance, VAT marża and more

Besides an ordinary invoice, a JDG (a sole trader’s business, jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza) in practice issues several types of invoice: a corrective invoice (faktura korygująca), an advance invoice and a final invoice (faktura zaliczkowa and faktura końcowa), a margin invoice (faktura VAT marża), an invoice without VAT, an invoice to a private individual without a NIP (the tax identification number), and, in a shop with a cash register (kasa fiskalna), a receipt with the buyer’s NIP (paragon z NIP). Below: when you use each of them, what has to be on it, what markings are added (GTU codes, the split payment mechanism) and — for each — whether and from when it goes through KSeF (the National e-Invoicing System, Krajowy System e-Faktur).

The rules were checked on biznes.gov.pl, podatki.gov.pl and ksef.podatki.gov.pl on 30 September 2026.

Which invoice goes through KSeF

According to ksef.podatki.gov.pl, since 1 April 2026 a JDG has issued invoices for businesses in KSeF as structured invoices (faktura ustrukturyzowana, the XML invoice issued in KSeF). Until 31 December 2026 it can still issue them outside the system (PDF, paper), if in a given month total sales on such invoices don’t exceed PLN 10,000 gross; from 1 January 2027 this exception disappears. The deadlines, access and free tools are described in the article on KSeF for a JDG.

The FA(3) structure in KSeF supports all the invoice types in this article, each with its own marking:

The margin scheme has a separate annotation on the basic invoice in KSeF.

Corrective invoice

biznes.gov.pl indicates that you issue a corrective invoice when, after issuing an invoice:

• you notice a mistake in the price, the rate, the amount of tax or any other item,
• you give a discount,
• the buyer returns goods,
• you refund all or part of the payment to the buyer,
• the invoice lacked the annotation „mechanizm podzielonej płatności” (split payment mechanism), despite the obligation.

Only the seller who issued the original invoice can issue a correction. There’s no limit to the number of corrections to one invoice.

A corrective invoice contains, among other things:

• the words „faktura korygująca” or „korekta” (corrective invoice, correction), a sequential number and the date of issue,
• the details of the invoice being corrected (date, number, parties, NIP) — and, for an invoice from KSeF, also its KSeF number,
• the name of the goods or service covered by the correction and the reason for the correction,
• the amount of the correction to the taxable base and the tax, broken down by rate, and the correct content of the corrected items.

A correction in KSeF

An invoice issued in KSeF can’t be edited, cancelled or deleted — you correct every mistake, even a small one, with a corrective invoice in KSeF. This has an upside: you record a downward correction in the period in which you issue it in KSeF, and you don’t have to collect confirmations that the client agreed to the new terms. For a downward correction issued outside KSeF (PDF, paper), when it’s settled depends on the buyer’s confirmation of receipt.

A corrective note (nota korygująca) is something else: it’s the buyer who makes it, and only for formal details (e.g. the date, the parties’ details, the name of the service) — never for amounts, the price or the rate. There’s no corrective note in KSeF. Outside KSeF it can be used for invoices issued outside the system, that is, in practice, until the end of 2026.

Advance invoice and final invoice

An advance invoice documents an advance, a deposit or a prepayment received before goods are delivered or a service is performed. Under the VAT Act you issue it:

• no later than the 15th of the month following the month in which you receive the advance,
• no earlier than 60 days before you receive it.

Besides the usual details, it contains the amount received, the tax calculated on the advance and the details of the order or contract: the goods or service, the quantity, the net value, the rates and the value of the whole order with VAT. If several advance invoices together cover the full payment, the last one gives the numbers of the previous ones.

You don’t issue an advance invoice for, among others, intra-EU supplies of goods, rental, lease and leasing, ongoing legal and office services, telecommunications services, and supplies of energy and gas.

Once the transaction is complete, you issue a final invoice (in KSeF: a settling invoice, ROZ) under the general rules — by the 15th of the month after the delivery or the service. If the advances didn’t cover the whole price, you reduce its value and tax on it by the amounts from the advance invoices.

In KSeF: an advance invoice and a final invoice for a business go through the system on the same rules as an ordinary invoice.

Margin invoice

A margin invoice is a special invoice for:

• tourism services,
• second-hand goods, e.g. cars, laptops, phones,
• collectors’ items and antiques,
• works of art.

Second-hand goods under the margin scheme must come from a private individual who isn’t a VAT taxpayer, from a VAT-exempt taxpayer, or from a taxpayer who sold them under the margin scheme themselves. The scheme is voluntary: you pay VAT only on the margin, but you don’t deduct VAT on the purchase of the goods you resell.

On a margin invoice you don’t show the net unit price, the net value, the rate or the amount of tax — you enter the gross price. An annotation is added, as appropriate: „procedura marży dla biur podróży” (margin scheme for travel agencies), „procedura marży – towary używane” (margin scheme – second-hand goods), „procedura marży – przedmioty kolekcjonerskie i antyki” (margin scheme – collectors’ items and antiques) or „procedura marży – dzieła sztuki” (margin scheme – works of art). The buyer can’t deduct VAT from it.

In KSeF: a margin invoice for a business goes through the system, with the margin scheme annotation.

Invoice without VAT — VAT exemption

podatki.gov.pl states that if you use the small-business VAT exemption (zwolnienie podmiotowe, art. 113 of the VAT Act) — since 1 January 2026, up to PLN 240,000 of net sales a year — or you sell services exempt by type (art. 43, e.g. medical care), as a rule you don’t have to issue invoices. You have to issue one when the buyer requests it within 3 months of the end of the month of delivery, of performing the service or of receiving payment. You can also issue one voluntarily.

An invoice without VAT contains: the date and a sequential number, the parties’ first and last names or names with their addresses, the name of the goods or service, the unit and quantity, the unit price and the total amount due. In the rate field you enter „zw” (exempt).

The legal basis on the invoice. With an exemption by type of supply you give the provision — art. 43 ust. 1 of the VAT Act. With the small-business exemption, biznes.gov.pl indicates that you don’t have to give a legal basis; if your tool asks for one, it’s art. 113 ust. 1 (or ust. 9, when you start your business partway through the year).

In KSeF: a VAT-exempt JDG is subject to KSeF too. It issues an invoice without VAT for a business in the system from 1 April 2026, and with the PLN 10,000 a month limit, from 1 January 2027. When the exemption applies and how to calculate the threshold is described in the article on VAT exemption.

Invoice to a private individual and invoice without a NIP

You don’t have to issue invoices to a consumer — a private individual who doesn’t run a business. The exceptions: the consumer requests an invoice within 3 months of the end of the month of the sale or payment, you sell by mail order, or you deliver a new means of transport to another EU country.

When a consumer requests an invoice, you issue it:

• by the 15th of the following month, if the request comes by the end of the month of the sale,
• within 15 days of the request, if it comes later.

An invoice to a private individual is usually an invoice without a NIP: in the buyer field you enter the first name, last name and address, without an identification number.

In KSeF: invoices for consumers don’t have to go into KSeF — neither now nor after 2027. You can issue them there voluntarily, but the consumer still gets the invoice in an agreed way, e.g. as a PDF. The same applies to a business owner buying for private use.

BravoLisa creates invoices and sends them as PDF, which is enough for a consumer and for a seller not yet required to use KSeF — but an invoice for a business that falls under the obligation has to be issued in KSeF, and BravoLisa doesn’t do that yet.

Receipt with the buyer’s NIP and the change from 1 January 2027

A receipt with the buyer’s NIP up to PLN 450 gross (€100) is today a simplified invoice: you treat it like an ordinary invoice and don’t issue a second one for it. The client has to give their NIP at the time of purchase, before the receipt is printed. If they don’t, they’re buying as a consumer — and can later only get a consumer invoice, without a NIP.

A receipt with the buyer’s NIP above PLN 450 isn’t a simplified invoice: on its basis you issue an invoice for the receipt.

Until 31 December 2026 invoices from a cash register and receipts with the buyer’s NIP up to PLN 450 don’t go into KSeF and don’t count towards the PLN 10,000 limit. From 1 January 2027:

• you can no longer issue an invoice using a cash register,
• a receipt with the buyer’s NIP stops being an invoice,
• a business client who needs an invoice gets it in KSeF.

The receipt itself doesn’t change: KSeF covers invoices only, not receipts.

GTU codes on the invoice

GTU codes (goods and services groups, from GTU_01 to GTU_13) mark sales of certain groups of goods and services in the JPK_V7M (the monthly VAT file with the return) or JPK_V7K (the quarterly one) file — e.g. GTU_12 for advisory, legal, accounting, marketing and research services, and GTU_13 for transport and warehousing services. The Ministry of Finance answers unambiguously: there’s no obligation to put GTU codes on the invoice. An active VAT payer enters them in the sales record, including for advance invoices. More in the article on JPK_VAT.

The „mechanizm podzielonej płatności” marking

You put the annotation „mechanizm podzielonej płatności” (split payment mechanism) on the invoice when three conditions are all met:

1. the total amount due (the gross amount of the whole invoice) exceeds PLN 15,000,
2. at least one item concerns goods or services from Annex 15 to the VAT Act,
3. the seller and the buyer are VAT taxpayers.

For a missing annotation despite the obligation, the seller faces a fine of up to 180 daily rates; a corrective invoice fixes the mistake. From 1 January 2027 a transfer under the split payment mechanism also gives the invoice’s KSeF number.

Frequently asked questions

Can I cancel an incorrect invoice?

An invoice from KSeF — no. You correct it with a corrective invoice, "to zero" if need be.

Do I issue a duplicate of an invoice from KSeF?

No. The original is in KSeF for 10 years and you can always download it. Duplicates remain for invoices issued outside the system.

Is a pro forma invoice an invoice?

No. A pro forma isn't an accounting document — it's an offer, information about the amount of an advance or a request for payment. You issue the invoice only after the sale or the advance.

How many years do I keep invoices?

5 years, counted from the end of the year in which the tax payment deadline passed.

A good type of invoice is one the client understands straight away, and the tax office without any questions.
💜💙 Your BravoLisa Team

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. Every situation is different — consult a qualified professional (tax adviser, accountant, or lawyer) for advice specific to your circumstances. BravoLisa does not accept liability for decisions made based on this information.

Last updated: September 2026. Rates and thresholds can change: always check them on biznes.gov.pl, podatki.gov.pl, zus.pl or with the relevant office.

Sources (9)

Verified on 30 September 2026

1. biznes.gov.pl — Jakie są rodzaje faktur
2. biznes.gov.pl — Co zrobić z błędem na fakturze lub po zgubieniu faktury
3. biznes.gov.pl — Jak wystawiać faktury VAT – podatnicy, którzy nie mają obowiązku korzystać z KSeF
4. biznes.gov.pl — Kasa fiskalna w firmie
5. podatki.gov.pl — Zwolnienie podmiotowe od podatku VAT
6. podatki.gov.pl — JPK_VAT z deklaracją: pytania i odpowiedzi
7. KSeF — Podstawy prawne oraz kluczowe terminy
8. KSeF — JDG i MŚP: najczęściej zadawane pytania
9. ISAP — Ustawa z dnia 11 marca 2004 r. o podatku od towarów i usług