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Company Cars from 2026: Why Leasing Stops Being Worth It (and What to Do Instead)

Company Car from 2026. Why Leasing Stops Being Worth It (and What to Do Instead)

For years, a “company car” was one of the most popular tax decisions for entrepreneurs. Leasing, depreciation, deductible expenses – it all worked like a well-oiled machine. From 2026, that machine starts to grind. Changes in cost limits mean that a car is now purely a financial decision, not an accounting one. That’s why it’s worth running the numbers carefully before signing another leasing contract.

 

What’s Happening? Clear Facts, No Legal Jargon

From 2026, reduced limits apply to deductible costs for cars other than electric vehicles.

Applicable Limits

  • PLN 100,000 – maximum value of a combustion or hybrid car for which leasing installments and depreciation can be counted as tax-deductible costs
  • PLN 225,000 – limit for electric cars

 

All Costs Above the Limit

  • are real expenses for the entrepreneur,
  • do not reduce taxes,
  • do not provide any “tax shield”.

In short: you pay – but the tax office doesn’t count it.

 

What This Means for Entrepreneurs in Practice

If you lease a car worth more than PLN 100,000, depreciate a more expensive vehicle, or plan a fleet replacement in 2026 or later, a much smaller portion of your costs will actually reduce your tax than it did a few years ago.

 

In practice, this means:

  • leasing “through the company” stops being an obvious tax optimization,
  • expensive cars are increasingly less sensible from a tax perspective,
  • the gap between accounting cost and real cost keeps widening.

 

Example 1: How Much Really “Comes Back” in Taxes?

Assumptions

For simplicity, VAT is ignored:

  • combustion or hybrid car,
  • cost limit: PLN 100,000,
  • flat tax: 19%

 

Example 2: Leasing + Taxes + Health Contribution – Full Picture

Assumptions

  • sole proprietorship,
  • flat tax 19%,
  • leasing a combustion car worth PLN 180,000,
  • from 2026, health contribution will not be deductible (potentially – currently blocked by Presidential veto)

What the Entrepreneur Sees at First Glance

  • leasing installment: “manageable”,
  • car “on the company”,
  • accounting costs – present.

What Actually Happens

1. Cost Limit

Only PLN 100,000 affects the tax. The remaining PLN 80,000 of leasing installments does not reduce tax at all.

2. Income Tax

Actual tax savings: approx. PLN 19,000, not PLN 34,200 as it would be if all costs were deductible.

3. Health Contribution

  • no deduction,
  • owner’s real income decreases,
  • “company costs” no longer protect personal cash flow.

Final Result

  • leasing no longer works like it used to,
  • expensive cars do not provide proportional tax benefits,
  • entrepreneur funds the car mainly from net income, not from tax savings.

 

Cafe Finance Group Conclusion

A company car after 2026 is purely a financial decision, not an accounting one. Before signing a lease or buying a car, calculate: how much the car costs after taxes, not “on the invoice”, how it affects the owner’s income, and whether an electric car, long-term rental, or private use would give a better outcome.

The era when “a company car always pays off” is over.

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