Poland's IP Box, R&D relief and what they pay a studio
Poland's support runs through the tax system rather than through grants. The IP Box taxes qualifying income from intellectual property at 5% against a headline rate of 19%. R&D relief lets a company deduct 100% of qualified costs on top of the ordinary deduction, and 200% for employee costs. Neither touches what a studio spends on players.
Türkiye refunds half of what a software company or game studio spends on advertising, app store commissions and hosting when it sells to customers abroad, and up to 70% when those customers are in one of twenty target markets. It is paid in cash, against invoices you have already settled. Try it with your own numbers.
01What can a software company in Poland claim?
| Programme | Type | What it pays | How long it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Innovation Box | Tax credit | 5% on qualifying income from intellectual property rights | Applied in the annual return |
| R&D relief | Tax credit | Deduct qualified R&D costs a second time, and employee costs twice over | Applied in the annual return |
| The Polish Investment Zone | Competitive grant | Income tax exemption for 12 to 15 years | Application and a decision, then a long horizon |
02Which grants can you apply for in Poland?
1 of the 3 are competitive. You apply, you wait, and you might not get it. The upside is that the money is not tied to your tax position.
The Polish Investment Zone
Competitive grantRun by The Ministry of Economic Development
The replacement for the old special economic zones, and no longer tied to a location.
| What it gives | Income tax exemption rather than a percentage deductionsource |
|---|---|
| Duration | 12 to 15 years depending on locationsource |
| Location | The incentive no longer depends on where the new investment sitssource |
Watch out. It is built around new investment commitments, so it suits a studio making a real capital or headcount commitment rather than one looking for cash flow now.
03Which credits can you claim through your tax return?
These are not competitive. If the spend qualifies and the paperwork holds up, the money is yours.
The Innovation Box
Tax creditRun by The Polish tax authority
The reason a studio would own its titles through a Polish company rather than develop them for hire.
| Rate | 5% on income derived from intellectual property rights Against a headline corporate rate of 19%.source |
|---|
Watch out. It rewards owning the rights. Work-for-hire development for someone else's title does not produce qualifying IP income.
R&D relief
Tax creditRun by The Polish tax authority
A deduction rather than a credit, so its value depends on the tax you would otherwise pay.
| General deduction | 100% of qualified costs, regardless of category or size of taxpayer, since 2018source |
|---|---|
| Employee costs | 200% of qualified costs incurred on employees, since 2022source |
Watch out. A deduction is worth the tax rate times the amount, so 200% of employee costs at a 19% rate is worth about 38 groszy in the złoty, not 2 złoty.
04What will none of them pay for?
All four schemes pay for work done on the product itself. None of them covers what you spend getting people to play it or buy it.
What the four routes pay for
- Owning and licensing your own titles, through the IP Box
- Research and development costs, deducted twice
- Employee costs on R&D work, deducted at 200%
- New investment commitments, through the Investment Zone
What none of them touch
- User acquisition and paid media
- App store and platform commissions
- Hosting and servers
- Trade shows, localisation and market entry
Poland is on the Turkish Ministry of Trade's target country list, so activity aimed at Polish players is supported at the higher rate. If the commercial side of the business runs through a Turkish company, that spend comes back at 50% to 70%, paid in cash against invoices you have already settled.
| What you spend it on | Programme item | Paid back | Annual cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ads and player acquisition | Digital product promotion: ads & marketing (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% to 70% | 50 000 000 ₺ ≈ $1,043,841 |
| App store and platform commissions | App store & platform commissions (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% | 20 000 000 ₺ ≈ $417,537 |
| Hosting and servers | Hosting costs | 50% | 5 000 000 ₺ ≈ $104,384 |
Caps are revalued upward every year, so these figures grow with inflation rather than erode. Rates and caps come from the same file as our calculator, so the two can never disagree.
What Türkiye would pay back on your spending
Türkiye runs a government programme that refunds part of what a software company or game studio spends on reaching customers abroad. It covers advertising, app store and platform commissions, and hosting. The refund is paid in cash against invoices the company has already settled, so it does not depend on the company making a profit. The standard rate is 50%, and it rises to 70% when the customers being targeted are in one of the twenty countries on the Turkish Ministry of Trade's target list.
Put your own yearly figures in below. The rates and the annual caps come from the same file as our full calculator, and the total updates as you type.
05Questions we get asked
Can a studio use the IP Box and R&D relief together?
Yes. Since 2022 they can be combined, so a company can deduct its R&D costs and still tax the resulting IP income at 5%. The record keeping has to be exact.
What counts as qualifying IP?
Rights created, developed or improved by the taxpayer's own R&D activity, which for a studio usually means its own game code and assets rather than licensed material.
Is Poland's 9% rate relevant?
It applies to small taxpayers and to companies in their first year. Most established studios pay 19%, which is what makes the 5% IP Box worth structuring for.
Why we track other countries' schemes
CyberScope Solutions is an Istanbul consultancy that manages Türkiye's IT export incentive claims for software companies and game studios. Founders ask us what they would be giving up by moving activity here, so we read the schemes they already use. That is why this page exists and why the figures on it are dated.
- Every figure is sourced. Each number links to the page it came from and carries the date we last checked it.
- We do the filing. Claims run through DYS, the ministry's own system, and we handle the evidence pack, the deadlines and the follow-up questions.
- You find out early if it is not for you. The first call is thirty minutes and we will say plainly if your spend pattern does not suit the programme.
Turn that number into money
Send us the rough shape of your spend. You get back what it is worth, what setting it up involves, and how fast the first claim can go in. Companies already operating here treat this as routine, and the six month window means the clock is running on invoices you have already paid.
- A reply from a person within one working day
- No mailing list, no drip sequence
- Thirty minutes, and you keep the numbers either way
Got it.
We will read it properly and reply within a working day. If you would rather get it over with now, pick a time that suits you.
Book a 30 minute call06Where these numbers come from
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/poland/corporate/tax-credits-and-incentives checked 2026-08-20