ZUS for a JDG in Poland in 2026: from the ulga na start to Mały ZUS Plus

ZUS for a JDG isn’t one amount but a ladder of reliefs. A new JDG (a sole trader’s business, jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza) starts with six months without social contributions, then pays preferential contributions (preferencyjne składki, the “small ZUS” of the first 24 months), can then move to Mały ZUS Plus (contributions based on income, for a small business), and finally pays full contributions (duży ZUS). This article shows how much each step costs in 2026, in what order you go through them, when you have to register, and what changes if you suspend the business, have a job or have a cooperating family member.

The amounts are those for 2026, checked on zus.pl and biznes.gov.pl on 30 September 2026. The health contribution (składka zdrowotna) is a separate matter: you pay it on every rung of the ladder, and how much it is depends on your form of taxation. It’s described in the article on the health contribution.

What a business owner’s ZUS is made of

According to ZUS, for yourself you pay ZUS (the Social Insurance Institution) contributions for:

• pension insurance (19.52% of the base) and disability insurance (8%) — mandatory,
• accident insurance — mandatory; a business that registers no more than 9 people for it pays 1.67%,
• sickness insurance (2.45%) — voluntary,
• the Labour Fund (Fundusz Pracy) and the Solidarity Fund (2.45% together) — not on every rung of the ladder,
• health insurance — always, separately from the rest.

All social contributions are calculated as a percentage of the contribution base (podstawa wymiaru). The reliefs lower exactly this base or, on the first rung, exempt you from social insurance altogether. A JDG pays the contributions for a given month by the 20th of the following month, according to biznes.gov.pl.

How much ZUS costs in 2026 on each rung

The amounts in the table, as ZUS reports, are for a business with an accident insurance rate of 1.67% and don’t include the health contribution. The minimum wage in 2026 is PLN 4,806, and the forecast average wage, from which full contributions are calculated, is PLN 9,420.

On full contributions, the PLN 1,926.76 is made up of PLN 1,103.27 for pension, PLN 452.16 for disability, PLN 138.47 for sickness, PLN 94.39 for accident and PLN 138.47 for the Labour Fund and the Solidarity Fund. On preferential contributions you don’t pay these funds if the business is your only title to pension and disability insurance.

You can always declare a higher base than the minimum. Higher contributions mean higher future benefits: the pension, disability pension and allowances calculated from the base.

Ulga na start: six months without social contributions

The ulga na start (start-up relief: six months without social contributions) is for someone who sets up a business for the first time or comes back to it at least 60 months after last suspending or closing a business. It isn’t available if you work for a former employer and do for them the same thing you did in a job in this or the previous year.

For six full months you aren’t covered by social insurance from the business, so you don’t pay pension, disability or accident contributions, or the Labour Fund and Solidarity Fund. You pay only the health contribution.

How to count the six months:

• a business set up on the first day of a month — that month counts,
• a business set up during a month — the relief counts from the next full month.

You register within 7 days of starting the business: for health insurance only, on form ZUS ZZA (registration for health insurance only) with a code starting 05 40. The simplest way is to tick this in the CEIDG-1 application when setting up a JDG.

On the ulga na start you have no sickness or accident insurance. Illness, an accident or the birth of a child during this time gives you no sickness or maternity allowance, and these months don’t count towards your pension. You can give up the relief at any time and move straight to preferential contributions.

Preferential contributions: 24 months on a reduced base

biznes.gov.pl explains that after the ulga na start (or straight away, if you’d rather be insured from day one), for 24 full calendar months you pay social contributions on a base of no less than 30% of the minimum wage. In 2026 that’s PLN 1,441.80, and the contributions are:

The conditions are the same as for the ulga na start: a first business or a return after 60 months, and no work for a former employer within the scope of the old job. The second condition applies for the whole relief period — from the day you start working for a former employer, you lose the right to the preferential base.

You register for preferential contributions on form ZUS ZUA (registration for social and health insurance) with a code starting 05 70. After the ulga na start, you first deregister from code 05 40 (ZUS ZWUA, deregistration), then register with code 05 70. When the 24 months are up, within 7 days you deregister from 05 70 and register either for full contributions (code 05 10) or for Mały ZUS Plus.

Mały ZUS Plus: contributions on half your income

Mały ZUS Plus means social contributions proportional to the previous year’s income. You can use it if:

• your business revenue in the previous year didn’t exceed PLN 120,000 (if you ran the business for part of the year, the limit is calculated in proportion to the number of days),
• the business ran for at least 60 calendar days in the previous year,
• you no longer meet the conditions for preferential contributions,
• you don’t do for a former or current employer what you do in your job.

You can’t use it in your first year in business or in a liberal profession. From 1 January 2026 the relief lasts at most 36 months in every 60 months of running the business, and the counter starts again regardless of how many months were used before 2026.

Mały ZUS Plus: how much it is

You calculate the base from the previous year’s income:

1. Divide the business’s annual income by the number of days you ran it and multiply by 30. That’s the average monthly income.
2. Multiply the average monthly income by 0.5. That’s the base.
3. The base has to fall between PLN 1,441.80 and PLN 5,652. A lower result is raised to PLN 1,441.80.

On the ryczałt (ryczałt od przychodów ewidencjonowanych, a lump-sum tax on recorded revenue), income is half of revenue. If your costs included social contributions, you add them back to income.

An example: a business ran for the whole of 2025 and had PLN 60,000 of income. The average monthly income is PLN 4,931.51 (PLN 60,000 ÷ 365 × 30), and the base for 2026 is PLN 2,465.76.

You enter the previous year’s income, revenue and form of taxation in the ZUS DRA (the monthly settlement declaration) for January. ZUS may ask for documents; if you don’t provide them within 14 days, it will set your base at PLN 5,652 for the whole year.

The 31 January deadline, and what if you miss it

If you meet the conditions from the start of the year, your registration for Mały ZUS Plus must reach ZUS by 31 January: deregistration from your current code (ZUS ZWUA) and registration with code 05 90 (ZUS ZUA). You can do this online by changing your CEIDG entry on biznes.gov.pl.

A registration after 31 January doesn’t work backwards or from the following month: you then pay full contributions for the whole year, and you can only apply for Mały ZUS Plus by the end of January of the next year. The exception is someone who starts meeting the conditions during the year, for example when their 24 months of preferential contributions end in March. They have 7 days from the day they start meeting the conditions.

Full contributions

When no relief applies any more, you pay contributions on a base of at least PLN 5,652: PLN 1,926.76 with sickness or PLN 1,788.29 without it, plus the health contribution. Full contributions are also paid by business owners who have exceeded PLN 120,000 of revenue, used up their 36 months of Mały ZUS Plus, or didn’t register for it in time.

In what order the reliefs come

1. Ulga na start — the first 6 full months, health contribution only.
2. Preferential contributions — the next 24 full months, from PLN 1,441.80.
3. Mały ZUS Plus — if revenue for the previous year didn’t exceed PLN 120,000; up to 36 months in every 60.
4. Full contributions — from PLN 5,652.

You don’t have to take any rung. You can skip the ulga na start and begin with preferential contributions, so you have sickness insurance from day one. The ulga na start doesn’t take away your right to Mały ZUS Plus later. Mały ZUS Plus and preferential contributions exclude each other: as long as you’re entitled to preferential contributions, there’s no Mały ZUS Plus.

Suspending the business and ZUS

As biznes.gov.pl explains, if you don’t employ staff, you can suspend your JDG in CEIDG (the Central Register and Information on Business, Poland’s register of sole traders) for at least 30 days, or indefinitely. You don’t report the suspension to ZUS separately: CEIDG passes the information on, and ZUS deregisters you itself.

During the suspension you pay neither social contributions nor the health contribution. In the month you suspend or resume the business, you pay social contributions in proportion to the days of activity, and the health contribution for the whole month. The right to treatment under the NFZ ends 30 days after health insurance ends, so without another title (a job, for example) it’s worth registering for voluntary health insurance.

A suspension doesn’t stop the relief counter: months of suspension count towards both the 6 months of the ulga na start and the 24 months of preferential contributions. The formalities are described in the article on suspending and closing the business.

Cooperating family member

A cooperating family member (osoba współpracująca) is a spouse, child, parent, stepmother, stepfather, or an adopted child or adoptive parent who lives with you in a shared household and helps run the business. You pay social contributions and the health contribution for them, and the reliefs for new businesses don’t cover them:

• you calculate social contributions on a base of at least PLN 5,652, as for full contributions, even when you’re on the ulga na start or preferential contributions,
• the health contribution of a cooperating family member in 2026 is, according to ZUS, PLN 622.93 (9% of 75% of the average wage).

You register a cooperating family member for insurance from the first day they work in the business, even when you’re using the ulga na start yourself.

Voluntary sickness insurance

ZUS states that sickness insurance is voluntary for a business owner. In 2026 it costs PLN 35.32 on preferential contributions and PLN 138.47 on full contributions. You register for it together with social contributions, on the same ZUS ZUA form.

Sickness allowance is only available after 90 days of uninterrupted sickness insurance. An earlier period, from a job for example, counts if the gap between the insurances didn’t exceed 30 days. Sickness insurance also gives you the right to maternity and care allowance.

If you’re planning a child or worried about a longer illness, register for sickness insurance straight after the ulga na start. The waiting period only starts running from the registration.

Contribution holiday: one month without contributions a year

According to ZUS, a contribution holiday (wakacje składkowe) exempts you from your own social contributions and from the Labour Fund and Solidarity Fund for one chosen month in a calendar year. For that month the state budget pays them, so you don’t lose your insurance. You pay the health contribution as usual. The business runs normally; you can issue invoices and have revenue.

You can use it if:

• in the month before you apply, you’re covered by pension, disability and accident insurance from the business — so not on the ulga na start,
• you register no more than 10 people for insurance, counting yourself,
• in at least one of the two previous years, revenue didn’t exceed the equivalent of €2 million,
• in this and the previous year you don’t work for a former employer,
• you haven’t used up your de minimis aid limit, because that’s exactly what the contribution holiday is.

You submit the RWS application only electronically on eZUS (ZUS’s online portal, formerly PUE ZUS), in the month before the month of the exemption. If you haven’t used it yet in a given year, your last chance is in November: from 1 to 30 November you apply for the exemption for December.

A job and a JDG at the same time

As biznes.gov.pl explains, if you work on an employment contract and run a JDG, you have overlapping titles to insurance. Your salary decides:

• a salary at least equal to the minimum wage (PLN 4,806 gross in 2026) — you don’t have to pay social contributions from the business; your employer pays them on your salary. You can join them voluntarily from the business,
• a salary below the minimum wage, for example in a part-time job — you also pay social contributions from the business.

You always pay the health contribution from the business, whatever your salary. There’s one exception: if your salary doesn’t exceed the minimum wage, your business revenue doesn’t exceed 50% of the minimum wage a month (PLN 2,403 in 2026) and the business is on the ryczałt, the health contribution from the business isn’t due.

With a job alone you can’t use the contribution holiday: the condition is being covered by social insurance from the business.

A farmer in KRUS with a business

A farmer or household member who sets up a business can stay in KRUS (the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund) instead of moving to ZUS if they meet several conditions together: at least 3 years of full insurance in KRUS, a farm above 1 conversion hectare, a statement on continuing the insurance submitted to KRUS within 14 days of starting the business, and tax from the business below the threshold amount. If they don’t meet one of them, they pay ZUS on the rules described above, the ulga na start included.

Frequently asked questions

How much is small ZUS in 2026?

At least PLN 456.18 with sickness (PLN 420.86 without it), plus the health contribution. You pay more if your 2025 income was higher; the highest base is PLN 5,652, the same as for full contributions.

Can I move straight to _Mały ZUS Plus_ after the _ulga na start_?

No. After the ulga na start you're entitled to preferential contributions, and Mały ZUS Plus excludes them. You can give up preferential contributions, but then you pay full contributions.

Does a relief exempt you from the health contribution?

None of them does: not the ulga na start, not preferential contributions, not Mały ZUS Plus, not the contribution holiday.

By when do you pay ZUS for a JDG?

By the 20th of the following month, for each month separately.

Which shape of the ladder to choose also depends on your form of taxation: the article on the JDG's form of taxation compares them.

Six months, two years, three years: put the end date of each relief in your calendar, and ZUS won’t surprise you in January.
💜💙 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 (10)

Verified on 30 September 2026

1. ZUS — Nowe wysokości składek na ubezpieczenia społeczne w 2026 r.
2. Biznes.gov.pl — Ulga na start – 6 miesięcy bez składek na ubezpieczenie społeczne
3. Biznes.gov.pl — Obniżone składki ZUS przez 24 miesiące
4. Biznes.gov.pl — Mały ZUS Plus
5. Biznes.gov.pl — Jakie składki na ubezpieczenia społeczne płaci przedsiębiorca do ZUS
6. Biznes.gov.pl — Zbieg tytułów do ubezpieczeń ZUS – jakie składki płaci przedsiębiorca, który ma kilka źródeł dochodów
7. Biznes.gov.pl — Na czym polega zawieszenie działalności gospodarczej w CEIDG
8. ZUS — Wakacje składkowe – nowy wniosek. Od kiedy obowiązuje i jak go wypełnić
9. ZUS — Informacja w sprawie podstawy wymiaru składki oraz kwoty składki na ubezpieczenie zdrowotne w 2026 r.
10. ZUS — Dobrowolne ubezpieczenie chorobowe