Polish couple must file PIT-39 for invalidated property deal after tax authorities deemed it taxable.
Invalidation of a Property Sale Agreement and Tax Obligations
A couple entered into a notarized contract on December 16, 2025, to purchase a residential cooperative apartment. The agreement stipulated that the property would not be handed over and the couple would not take possession until the full sale price was paid. Payment was to be made by December 23, 2025, using bank loan funds, but the loan was not disbursed.
On December 22, 2025, the same notary executed an act that mutually dissolved the agreement. The couple believed the transaction was tax-neutral and did not need to declare anything in their annual PIT.
When to file PIT-39 after invalidating a contract?
The tax director disagreed, citing a 1994 Supreme Court ruling (III CZP 130/94) which states that dissolving a property sale agreement does not automatically transfer ownership back to the seller. It only creates an obligation to transfer ownership back. The director explained that the dissolution resulted in a reverse transfer of property to the seller, constituting a taxable property sale under Article 10(1)(8) of the PIT Act.
Since the property was sold within five years of acquisition, it constitutes a taxable income source subject to 19% income tax. The director stated that the couple must file PIT-39 for 2025 by April 30, 2026.
No Income from Transaction – PIT-39 and Costs vs. Revenues
Despite this obligation, taxpayers will not pay tax as the income from the transaction will be 0 zł, and could even be negative when considering transaction costs, explains Małgorzata Samborska, tax advisor and partner at Grant Thornton. In such situations, costs include documented acquisition costs, and revenue equals these costs, she adds.
The expert considers the PIT-39 filing requirement unnecessary but recommends submitting it as a precaution. She emphasizes that the case involves not a reverse transfer of property but the invalidation of an agreement. There was no permanent purchase and subsequent sale of the property, everything occurred in the same fiscal period, so information about this transaction is not needed by the tax authority.