The IP Box (Innovation Box or Patent Box) is a preferential taxation of income derived from legally protected intellectual property rights. This relief allows for the 5% income tax rate. It applies to both CIT and PIT taxpayers (with the exception of flat-rate taxpayers).

However, the application of such the preferential tax rate requires the fulfilment of conditions specified by the legislator. In order to determine whether a taxpayer may benefit from the IP BOX, the following three conditions must be met:

Conducting research and development (R&D) activities

The IP BOX relief is provided for taxpayers who conduct research and development activities (R&D activities). A taxpayer wishing to benefit from the IP BOX must first verify whether it carries out R&D activities that result in the creation, improvement or development of so-called qualified intellectual property rights.

The identification of qualified intellectual property rights

The next step is to verify whether the intellectual property rights held belong to one of the following categories:

• a patent
• a protection right for a utility model
• a right under the registration of an industrial pattern
• a right under the registration of an integrated circuit topography
• an additional protection right for a patent for a therapeutic product or a plant protection product
• a right under the registration of a therapeutic product and a veterinary therapeutic product admitted to trading
• the exclusive right referred to in the Act of 26 June 2003 on Legal Protection of Plant Varieties
• authors rights to a computer program
• being subject to legal protection under provisions of separate Acts or ratified international agreements to which the Republic of Poland is a party and other international agreements to which the European Union is a party.

In addition, one of the above intellectual property rights must be created, developed or improved by the taxpayer.

Obtaining income from intellectual property rights

The IP Box relief covers income received:

• from fees or dues resulting from a license contract that relates to a qualified intellectual property right
• from the sale of a qualified property right
• from a qualified intellectual property right included in the selling price of a product or service
• from indemnities for the infringement of the rights resulting from a qualified intellectual property right if it was obtained in dispute settlement proceedings, including judicial proceedings or arbitration proceedings.

Receiving one of the above-mentioned incomes and fulfilling the previous conditions entitles you to use the IP BOX.

Calculating what proportion of the income received by a taxpayer is subject to the IP BOX is not an easy matter. In order to do so, the income from IP rights and the nexus factor for each IP right must be calculated.

The calculator below has been created in order to facilitate the calculation of the tax with IP BOX and to indicate what tax saving this entails.

Disclaimer

Our calculator has been set for simulation purposes only and might not include all factors that determine the end result, according to the Polish laws.

Accace is not responsible for any person’s or entity’s decisions taken based on the results of the calculator. Before taking any action, we recommend you consult a VAT specialist in Poland.