In short
- Within 14 days: file the PCC-3 return and pay 2% of the market value – not needed when you buy from a business with a VAT invoice.
- Within 30 days: apply for registration. Being late costs 500 zł, and after 180 days 1,000 zł.
- The seller’s OC insurance covers you until it ends, but it won’t renew itself – note the date.
Step by step, from the day you sign the contract
- 1
Within 14 days: PCC-3 tax
File the PCC-3 tax return and pay 2% of the car’s market value. The easiest way is the e-Urząd Skarbowy online service (log in with profil zaufany, your bank or mObywatel). Keep the confirmation (UPO). You don’t pay if the car is worth up to 1,000 zł, or if you bought it from a business with a VAT or VAT-margin invoice.
- 2
Right away: check the OC insurance
The seller’s OC policy passes to you together with the car and covers you until the end of its term. It does not renew itself – you must buy a new one before it ends. You can also cancel it earlier and buy your own straight away (Art. 31 of the compulsory insurance act).
- 3
Within 30 days: apply for registration
Apply at the vehicle registration office (wydział komunikacji) for your place of residence – many offices also accept applications online. You need: the contract or invoice, the registration certificate (dowód rejestracyjny), the vehicle card (karta pojazdu, if one was issued), the number plates and your ID. The plates usually stay with the car – even if you live in a different county than the previous owner.
When you don’t pay PCC
- You buy from a business and the sale is subject to VAT (including the VAT margin scheme).
- The car’s market value doesn’t exceed 1,000 zł.
- You are a person with a disability buying a passenger car for your own use – on the terms set out in the PCC act.
Watch out at car dealers: if the dealer is only an intermediary and the seller in the contract is a private person, you usually have to pay PCC. A gift (e.g. from a parent) is a separate matter – it’s reported on the SD-Z2 form, not PCC-3.
Late with PCC?
File the overdue return and pay the tax with interest as soon as possible. Together with the return you can submit a voluntary disclosure (czynny żal) – it works as long as the tax office hasn’t opened a case itself.