In brief

• The Director of the National Tax Information (KIS) held that rental income from an apartment that belongs to one spouse's separate property is not split equally between the spouses.
• The other spouse's help in managing the rental and the shared household budget did not change this assessment.
• Before correcting a PIT return, it must be established whether the property belongs to joint marital property or to separate property.

The wife helped, and the money went into the shared budget

The taxpayer rented out an apartment that belonged to his separate property and considered that the income should be divided equally with his wife. The wife actively participated in managing the rental, and the proceeds went into a joint household account and were used to maintain the home (Wynajmujesz mieszkanie z majątku osobistego? Skarbówka wydała bezwzględny wyrok dla małżeństw – infor.pl). The man therefore wanted to correct his PIT returns, relying on the provisions of the Family and Guardianship Code.

Why the tax authority refused

The Director of the National Tax Information sided with the tax authority. In its view, when the property belongs to one spouse's separate property, the rental income is attributed to that spouse, and joint taxation or splitting the tax in half does not apply.

The Family Code versus tax law

The dispute shows a divergence between civil and tax law. The concept of joint marital property in the Family and Guardianship Code does not automatically translate into the rules for taxing rental income. For married couples, this means that the mere existence of a shared budget is not enough to divide the income between them.

What to watch for

Before correcting a return, it is worth checking whether the apartment falls into joint marital property or belongs to one spouse's separate property, and what property declarations have been filed. This determines who reports the rental income.