The rehabilitation tax relief lets you deduct treatment, equipment, home adaptations and rehabilitation stays from your income. For many families, it means real savings, but the rules are detailed and mistakes are easy. We explain simply who can claim the relief, what you can deduct, the income limit, how to report it in your PIT return and how much will actually return to your wallet.
In brief:
- The relief is available to people with disabilities and taxpayers who support them.
- No single relief amount: deduct expenses, some subject to annual limits.
- A carer may claim the relief only if the supported person's income does not exceed the limit (PLN 23,741.88 in 2026).
- The refund is not the full deduction, but part of it: 12% or 32%, depending on your tax bracket.
- If the decision states an earlier onset of disability, you can amend PIT returns for earlier years.
Rehabilitation tax relief: what is it & how
The relief is under Article 26(1)(6) with sections 7a–7g of the PIT Act. It does not directly cut tax, but reduces income (tax scale) or revenue (lump-sum regime) on which tax is calculated.
How much is the rehabilitation relief? It depends on spending on closed-list items:
- unlimited expenses—home adaptations, rehabilitation equipment or rehabilitation stay: fully deductible.
- limited expenses have monetary thresholds, e.g. PLN 2,280 yearly for using a car or the amount above PLN 100 monthly for medicines.
The deduction cannot exceed your income for the year. Unused amounts cannot be carried forward.
Who can claim the rehabilitation relief?
Two groups of taxpayers can claim the relief.
1. People with disabilities
You need a document confirming disability. This may be:
- a disability degree certificate (severe, moderate or mild),
- a decision awarding a pension for total or partial incapacity for work, a training pension or a social pension,
- a disability certificate for children under 16,
- a medical board decision on disability and employment issued before 1 September 1997.
Being a pensioner receiving benefits after reaching retirement age is not enough.
2. Carers, i.e. people supporting someone with a disability
If you bear the expenses, you can deduct them when the person with a disability is dependent on you. The Act lists these people exhaustively:
- spouse,
- biological, adopted and unrelated children taken in for upbringing,
- stepchildren,
- parents and parents-in-law,
- siblings,
- stepfather and stepmother,
- son-in-law and daughter-in-law.
For a carer to claim the relief, the dependent person's income must be within the limit.
Rehabilitation tax relief: income limit
The limit is 12 times the social pension applicable in December of the tax year. It applies only to a person with a disability who is supported by someone else.
| Tax year | Social pension (December) | Annual income limit |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | PLN 1,780.96 | PLN 21,371.52 |
| 2025 | PLN 1,878.91 | PLN 22,546.92 |
| 2026 | PLN 1,978.49 | PLN 23,741.88 |
Not included in the limit: among other things, nursing allowance, supplementary benefit for people unable to live independently, 13th and 14th pensions, child support and energy and shield allowances.
Included in the limit: including wages, pensions, rental/capital income, allowances and income covered by young persons' relief.
Watch out for the supporting benefit. It is PIT-exempt but, per rules' wording discussed by the Commissioner for Human Rights and media, was not excluded from the income limit. At higher support levels, its annual amount may exceed the limit and deprive the carer of the relief. The Finance Ministry announced a change to this provision.
Rehab tax relief: what can you deduct?
Unlimited expenses (deduct in full)
- Adapting and equipping a home to meet disability-related needs, e.g. ramps, widened doors, a shower instead of a bathtub, or non-slip flooring. You must show the link to the condition.
- Adapting a car, e.g. hand controls or a wheelchair lift. Buying a car alone is not deductible.
- Rehab equipment/medical devices: wheelchairs, standing frames, orthoses, prostheses, orthopedic beds, glucose monitors/pumps.
- Glasses/contact lenses, if disability-certified with a specialist-written recommendation.
- Rehabilitation stay at a center listed in the relevant voivode’s register, and stays at health-resort, medical rehabilitation or care facilities.
- Caregiver's stay at a rehab center if the disabled person has severe disability (former group I) or is a child under 16.
- Rehabilitation and therapeutic rehabilitation treatments, e.g. physiotherapy. Not every therapy qualifies, and diagnostic medical visits are excluded, even in a package with treatments. A doctor’s referral and an invoice separating treatments from consultations are advisable.
- Home nursing care during periods of serious illness, sign-language interpreters, camps for disabled children, training materials adapted to disabilities, and sanitary transport.
Limited expenses
| Expense | Rule | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Medication | deduct the excess over PLN 100 each month; a specialist’s certificate is required | no upper limit |
| Passenger car | owned or co-owned; fuel, repairs, tires and insurance | PLN 2,280 per year |
| Absorbent products | adult diapers, pads and anatomical inserts | PLN 2,280 per year |
| Guide for a blind person or person with a mobility disability | the guide’s personal details | PLN 2,280 per year |
| Assistance dog | guide or assistance dog certificate | PLN 2,280 per year |
Medication example: if you spent PLN 180 on prescribed medication in a month, you deduct PLN 80. Expenses are calculated month by month, so you cannot total the whole year before deducting PLN 100. Supplements, special-purpose foods and cosmetics do not qualify.
For a car, parents jointly raising a disabled child each have a separate PLN 2,280 limit if they actually incurred the costs. Driving your own car to a rehabilitation stay falls within this limit.
What you cannot deduct
The list is closed, so you cannot deduct ordinary renovations (painting walls, standard flooring, paving a yard), standard furniture, common household appliances or private diagnostic medical visits.
PFRON or NFZ funding: deduct only your own contribution
You cannot deduct expenses covered by PFRON, NFZ, ZFRON or ZFŚS, or reimbursed in another form, e.g. by an employer or insurer.
Deduction = expense incurred − reimbursement or funding
Example: a PLN 10,000 wheelchair: PLN 3,000 NFZ, PLN 5,000 PFRON; deduct PLN 2,000. The same applies to a PFRON-funded rehabilitation stay: deduct only your own payment.
PIT rehabilitation relief: claim it step by step
- Check eligibility. You need the relevant certificate or decision. If claiming for a dependent, check their full-year income against the limit.
- Gather documents. For unlimited expenses, medication and absorbent products, you need proof of payment: an invoice or receipt naming the buyer, payment confirmation or bank-transfer confirmation. The document should state the buyer, seller, goods or service, date and amount. It may be issued to the disabled person or caregiver.
- Calculate deductions. Count medication monthly; track car, guide and assistance-dog limits separately.
- Choose the form. Claim the relief on PIT-37, PIT-36 or PIT-28 (lump-sum tax). Enter expenses in attachment PIT/O. It is unavailable with flat-rate tax (PIT-36L) or capital-gains returns (PIT-38).
- File your return; keep documents. Do not attach invoices to your PIT, but keep them 5 years from the end of the year the tax-payment deadline passed. For 2026, file by 30 April 2027.
For car, guide and assistance-dog expenses, you need not keep fuel or food receipts. If the tax office asks for explanations, you must show the facts: registration certificate, dog certificate or guide’s details. For a car, it is also useful to show that it served rehabilitation needs, e.g. with documents confirming treatments or a rehabilitation stay.
Rehabilitation relief: amount refunded?
Relief reduces taxable income, so you recover only part of the deduction. A PLN 3,000 expense is not a PLN 3,000 refund. Under the tax scale, recover 12% (income up to PLN 120,000) or 32% (above).
Example: During the year, you spent PLN 2,500 of your own money on a rehabilitation stay and PLN 480 on medication (amounts above PLN 100 in successive months).
| Your tax rate | Estimated benefit |
|---|---|
| 12% | approx. PLN 358 |
| 32% | approx. PLN 954 |
The benefit cannot exceed the tax paid that year. With a flat-rate tax, it reduces revenue, so savings depend on your rate.
Rehabilitation relief for earlier years: amend your tax return?
Yes, if your disability certificate states the disability existed earlier. For rehabilitation relief, the relevant date is when it arose, not when the certificate was issued. If it states the disability has existed since birth, early childhood or a specified year, tax authorities allow deductions for expenses incurred from that date. This often applies to parents whose children received their first certificate only after years of diagnosis, e.g., in autism cases.
To deduct earlier expenses, file amended returns (PIT with PIT/O) explaining the reasons. For each year, use the applicable limits, including the income limit for a dependent and the car deduction limit.
You can file an amendment within 5 years from the end of the year in which the tax payment deadline passed. For 2021, this means until the end of 2027. You need invoices and other documents from those years, so keep them. If the certificate does not state when the disability arose, the tax office may challenge deductions for earlier years.
Rehabilitation stay and tax relief: what to know
A rehabilitation stay is one of the year's largest rehabilitation expenses and is fully deductible (less any funding received). The stay must take place at a centre listed in the relevant provincial governor's register. The Leśna Polana Rehabilitation Centre in Ustronie Morskie is listed in the registers of rehabilitation-stay centres and organisers; details are available under Register entries.
Our centre is about 400 m from the beach, in a 4-hectare seaside park, and adapted for people with disabilities. In our offer, we have rehabilitation stays with treatments, funded by PFRON or privately, as well as stays with a carer. When booking, ensure the document clearly states that it concerns a rehabilitation stay, and keep proof of payment. If PFRON covered part of the cost, you can deduct only your own contribution.
Want to plan a rehabilitation stay? See our current offers and rehabilitation treatments or contact us:
Frequently asked questions
Can a pensioner claim rehabilitation tax relief?
A pension alone is not enough. You need a disability certificate or a decision granting an eligible pension.
Relief with flat-rate tax?
No. Claim it under the progressive scale and registered flat-rate tax.
Can unused relief be carried over to the next year?
No. The unused amount expires.
Can rehabilitation relief be claimed for earlier years?
Yes, if the certificate indicates an earlier onset of disability. You then file amended returns for years that have not yet become time-barred.
Can a private doctor visit be deducted?
No. You can deduct rehabilitation and therapeutic-rehabilitation treatments, such as physiotherapy, if they meet statutory requirements.
Attach invoices to your tax return?
No; keep them 5 years.
This article is for information only and does not constitute tax advice. Legal status as of September 2026. If in doubt, consult a tax adviser or tax office.