Real estate tax increase. Higher fees are certain

More and more cities are choosing to use maximum property tax rates. The Minister of Finance has just announced how much they will be in 2026. There are increases – how exactly will the fees increase?

New real estate tax rates in 2026

– Only at the end of the year millions of house and apartment owners will get a letter from the commune informing about the amount of property tax in 2026. However, we already know what to expect – says Marek Wielgo, an expert of the Gethome.pl portal.

The announcement of the Minister of Finance on the “upper limits of the tax rates of taxes and local fees for 2026” has just been published in the Polish Monitor. According to the document, the maximum property tax rate for residential buildings will increase from PLN 1.19 to PLN 1.25 per sq m, and for land under these buildings – from PLN 0.73 to PLN 0.77 per sq m.

The permissible “valorisation” of real estate tax in 2026 will therefore be about 5 percent. For comparison: in 2025 it was 3.5 percent, and a year earlier as much as 15 percent. The changes result directly from the level of inflation, which is currently clearly decreasing.

According to experts of the Gethome.pl portal, for the owner of the 200-meter house located on a plot of a thousand square meters, this may mean the need to pay the property tax in the amount of PLN 1020, i.e. PLN 52 more than this year.

Real estate tax – the decision belongs to the municipalities

As the expert notes, real estate tax is one of the so -called local taxes, which means that it is a source of municipal income, not the state budget.

– It is therefore the municipalities have the last word on the amount of rates. They are not only allowed to use higher than those announced by the Minister of Finance. However, more and more municipalities are raising them to the maximum ceiling – says Marek Wielgo.

It indicates that, for example, in 2022, only eight of 18 voivodship cities used the highest possible tax rate on apartments and houses, and nine – from the plot used for housing. This year, the maximum rates are paid by owners of apartments and houses in 14 voivodship cities. In the remaining four (Zielona Góra, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Rzeszów and Opole) they pay less.

– It is not known whether this will also be the case next year. In the coming months, councilors will adopt resolutions on the amount of rates. It cannot be ruled out that in cities where they are currently lower than the maximum, increases will be higher than the assumed 5 percent. – says the expert.

Reason? Money.

– Municipalities need money to meet the growing needs. Councilors may assume that several dozen zlotys increases will not cause a breach in the household budgets of residents. The problem is that tightening the fiscal screw is accompanied by rapidly growing expenses related to the maintenance of apartments or houses – comments Wielgo.

Real estate tax is not the only cost

Experts emphasize that the cost of living in the apartment is different depending on the location and conditions, but one thing is certain – most households feel their growth.

According to the latest CSO data, in the first half of 2025 the fees related to the apartment – including the media – were on average by 10.7 percent. higher than a year ago. This growth rate clearly exceeds the inflation rate, which CSO estimated at 4.5 percent.

– The most severe for the pockets of apartments and tenants were increases in gas prices (24.6 percent), electricity (19.6 percent) and other energy carriers (13 %). The costs of water supply and garbage disposal increased by an average of 10.9 percent, and sewage – by 8.9 percent. Only the increase in thermal energy fees (3.6 percent) and fees for the owners (4.4 percent) were lower in the first half of the inflation rate.