Polonia Iuris emblem Polonia Iuris
Start with a free inquiry

← Property in Poland

Guide · Property

How do I sell an inherited house in Poland without flying there?

Portrait of Mikołaj BadziągBy Mikołaj Badziąg, Advocate

Most of the work can be done from the United States, but it has to happen in a set order, and the sale itself comes last. First you deal with the inheritance and the land register and, if you have siblings, reach an agreement among the heirs.

Reading time about 8 minutesLast reviewed October 2026Applies to heirs selling property in Poland

You can sell an inherited house in Poland without being there, in this order: the inheritance is confirmed in Poland, the heirs are entered in the land register, the co-heirs agree, and you give an attorney in Poland a notarial power of attorney. The sale before a notary comes last. If five years have passed since the end of the year the deceased acquired the house, there is no Polish income tax on the sale.

Step 1: Confirm who inherited

A buyer, a notary and the land register court all need a Polish document naming the heirs: a court order confirming the inheritance or a notarial deed of succession (Civil Code, Articles 1025 and 1027). A U.S. probate order does not replace it. The court application costs PLN 100 (Act on Court Costs in Civil Matters, Article 49). A deed of succession needs every heir to appear before a notary in Poland, though not necessarily at the same time, and a Polish consul cannot draw one up (Consular Law, Article 30). Heirs who cannot travel usually go to court through an attorney. Our guide to an inheritance in Poland while you live abroad compares the two routes.

Step 2: Put the heirs in the land register

Each owner must promptly apply to have their ownership entered in the land and mortgage register (Act on Land and Mortgage Registers, Article 35); a buyer's notary checks it first. The court fee for an entry based on inheritance is PLN 150 (Act on Court Costs, Article 42(3)). If a notary confirmed the inheritance, the notary can file the application for you (Notaries Act, Article 95j).

An owner who does nothing gets a court warning with one month to apply, and after that a fine of PLN 500 to 10,000 (Act on Land and Mortgage Registers, Article 36).

Step 3: Agree with your co-heirs

Until the estate is divided, the heirs own it together in shares (Civil Code, Article 1035). One heir cannot sell their share in the house alone. Without the others' consent, such a sale is ineffective to the extent it would harm their rights in the division of the estate (Article 1036). That leaves three options:

  • all heirs sell the whole house together, usually through one attorney;
  • the heirs first divide the estate, by a notarial agreement or in court, so that one of them owns the house (Article 1037);
  • an heir sells their whole share in the inheritance, rather than in the house, by notarial deed (Articles 1051 and 1052).

Step 4: Sign the right power of attorney

A sale of real estate requires a notarial deed (Civil Code, Article 158), and a power of attorney for an act that needs a special form must be given in that same form (Article 99(1)). A simple signed authorization will not do.

From the United States, the safest option is a notarial power of attorney made at a Polish consulate. It has the same force as a deed drawn up by a notary in Poland (Consular Law, Articles 28 and 29). A document signed before a U.S. notary public with an apostille is less certain for real estate, because Polish law does not let the place of signing decide the form of dispositions of real estate (Private International Law Act, Article 25(2)). Ask the notary in Poland before relying on one. Our guide to signing a power of attorney in the U.S. describes the options.

Example

Two sisters, one in New Jersey and one in Kraków, inherit their parents' house in Nowy Sącz. The court confirms the inheritance and both are entered in the land register. The sister in New Jersey signs a notarial power of attorney at the consulate in New York. Her attorney and her sister then sign the sale before a notary in Kraków, and her half of the price goes to her U.S. account.

Step 5: Tax on the sale

Poland taxes income from selling real estate there even if the seller lives abroad (Personal Income Tax Act, Article 3(2b)), and the U.S.-Poland tax treaty allows this. No Polish income tax is due if the sale happens after five years, counted from the end of the year in which the deceased acquired or built the property (Article 10(1)(8) and (5)).

Sell earlier and the tax is 19% of the income (Article 30e). Deductible costs include the deceased's documented purchase price, inheritance tax paid, and any estate debts, reserved shares or legacies the heir paid (Article 22(6d)). The sale is reported on PIT-39 between February 15 and April 30 of the following year (Article 45). The housing exemption for reinvested proceeds does not cover a home in the U.S.: the new home has to be in the EU, the European Economic Area or Switzerland (Article 21(25)).

The buyer pays the 2% tax on civil-law transactions, which the notary collects (Act on Tax on Civil-Law Transactions, Articles 4, 7 and 10). U.S. reporting rules for money received from abroad are a question for a U.S. tax adviser.

Key points

  • Order: inheritance, land register, agreement among heirs, power of attorney, sale.
  • A U.S. probate order does not replace a Polish court order or deed of succession.
  • A co-heir cannot sell a share in the house without the others' consent.
  • The power of attorney must be notarial; a Polish consulate can make one.
  • No Polish income tax five years after the end of the year the deceased acquired the house.

Step 6: Getting the money to the United States

The price usually goes to a Polish account or a notary's deposit account and is sent abroad from there. A transfer above the equivalent of EUR 15,000 has to go through a bank or payment institution (Foreign Exchange Law, Article 25). Beyond that, the law does not restrict a non-resident sending the price abroad.

How we help

We handle the inheritance case, file the land register application, prepare the agreement among the heirs and act for you at the notary under your power of attorney. We also check whether Polish income tax is due and file PIT-39 if needed.

Sources

This article is based on the acts listed below. Each link opens the text published by the Polish government, checked on September 20, 2026. Acts in force open as a consolidated text; historical acts are marked as such, with the date they stopped applying.

This article is general information about Polish law, not tax or legal advice on your situation. Legal basis: the Civil Code (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 795), Articles 99, 158, 1025, 1027, 1035 to 1037, 1051 and 1052; the Act on Land and Mortgage Registers and Mortgage (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 1066), Articles 35 and 36; the Act on Court Costs in Civil Matters (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1228), Articles 42 and 49; the Notaries Act (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 614), Article 95j; the Consular Law (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 711), Articles 28 to 30; the Private International Law Act (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2023 item 503), Article 25; the Personal Income Tax Act (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 592), Articles 3, 10, 21, 22, 30e and 45; the Act on Tax on Civil-Law Transactions (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 191), Articles 4, 7 and 10; the Foreign Exchange Law (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2024 item 1131), Article 25. To find out how this applies to you, describe your situation.

Next step

Sell without the trip

Send us the address of the property and a few words about the family. The first inquiry is free, and before any paid work begins we will tell you whether we can help.

Tell us about your matter
Tell us about your matter