We have obtained a precedent judgment regarding income tax on a fixed asset which is a building serving as a dormitory

The case concerned the so-called minimum income tax, i.e. tax on income from a fixed asset that is a building. In the legislator’s intention, this solution was to be addressed to taxpayers who own certain commercial real estate in the form of office buildings and commercial and service buildings, with the initial value exceeding PLN 10 million. However, as a result of the amendment to the Act, as of 1 January 2019, all buildings located in Poland which generate income from rent, lease or other agreement of a similar nature were subject to minimum income tax.

The Voivodship Administrative Court allowed a complaint prepared by barrister Krzysztof Topolewski against the individual interpretation of the Director of the National Treasury Information, recognising that universities, by making places available to their students in the dormitories against payment are not obliged to pay this tax.

Importantly, to date, both the tax authorities and administrative courts have issued different rulings, in fact equating the activities of public universities in this area with those of commercial entities which make profits from the renting of buildings.

This watershed judgment is important for all universities with student residences. The need to pay a minimum income tax on the dormitories is associated with significant financial burdens for such entities.