Polish tax authority confirms expenses for professional certification requirements qualify as business costs for psychological services providers.
Certificate Requirement
A woman running a one-person business providing psychological services is asking whether expenses for her own psychotherapy can be included as business costs. She is pursuing accreditation to become a certified psychotherapist, with her own therapy being a mandatory requirement from January 2026 to January 2030.
The woman plans to expand her services to include professional individual and group psychotherapy after obtaining certification.
Tax Authority Ruling
The Director of the KIS (tax office) agreed that expenses related to obtaining professional certification can qualify as business costs if certain conditions are met.
For an expense to be considered a cost of obtaining income, it must be real and not reimbursed, related to business activity, incurred for income generation or maintenance, properly documented, and not excluded under tax law.
Business Impact
The tax authority confirmed that the psychotherapy certification will directly impact the woman’s business activities and income potential. Therefore, fees for her required psychotherapy sessions from the start of her business activity may be considered legitimate business costs.