Smartphone tax from 2026? These Poles will have to pay

The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage wants to introduce changes to the reprography fee, also known as the so-called smartphone tax. This is intended to be a kind of compensation for artists for using their works as part of permitted personal use. This happens, for example, when the buyer of a CD copies its content to the so-called blank disc. The fee covers blank records as well as other media that allow you to copy even legally purchased works. However, it does not cover modern forms of copying, e.g. via smartphones, tablets or TVs with a recording function. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage wants to change this, emphasizing that the list of devices has not been updated since 2008.

Importantly, the revenues from the fee will not go to the state budget, but will go to the artists. Estimates of the Ministry of Culture show that it will amount to approximately PLN 150-200 million per year.

Will the smartphone tax affect consumers?

It is also worth emphasizing that the fee will not be charged to consumers. The obligation to pay it will fall on manufacturers and importers of devices. It is estimated that the costs will cover approximately 260 companies.

The ministry proposes that the new fee rate for most modern devices will be 1%. sales prices for new devices and 2 percent. for everyone else.

Although the tax will not apply to users, they do not hide their fears that the changes will affect them anyway, as manufacturers will increase the prices of devices. However, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage argues that the fee “is a fraction of the value of the devices sold and is spread over a large number of products, which means that its impact on the final price for the consumer is marginal.” For example, in the case of a smartphone costing PLN 1,800, the fee would be PLN 18. The ministry points out that this is less than, for example, the monthly cost of popular streaming subscriptions.

As RMF FM notes, the project prepared by the ministry underwent public consultations in the summer, in which organizations representing both the artistic industry and importers and electronics producers took part. According to the Ministry of Culture, the changes may enter into force on January 1, 2026.