Vehicle mileage log in Poland 2026: template, requirements and how to keep it on your phone

Running a business in Poland with a company car and want to deduct 100% of the VAT on fuel, servicing and leasing? Then the vehicle mileage log (ewidencja przebiegu pojazdu) is not a formality: it is a condition. A single missing entry or an odometer reading that doesn't add up can turn 100% into 50% at a tax inspection, with interest going back several years.

Below you'll find what the Polish law actually requires, a list of typical mistakes, a comparison of the ways to keep the log (notebook, Excel, app) and a simple template.

This is a guide, not tax advice. Always confirm your own situation with your accountant (księgowa).

When a mileage log is mandatory in Poland

The Polish VAT Act (ustawa o VAT) gives you two options for a passenger car used in your business:

• 50% VAT: the car is used "mixed", i.e. privately as well. In that case you don't keep a mileage log for VAT purposes.
• 100% VAT: the car is used exclusively for business. Then you must (art. 86a of the VAT Act):
  1. keep a vehicle mileage log from the day you start using the car exclusively for business,
  2. file the VAT-26 form with your tax office (urząd skarbowy),
  3. have rules for using the car that rule out private use (e.g. written internal rules, parking at the company premises).

The log alone is not enough if the car is parked outside your home every night and goes to the lake at the weekend. The tax office looks at whether private use is actually excluded. The log is there to confirm that, not to replace it.

VAT-26 deadline

According to biznes.gov.pl, you file VAT-26 by the 25th day of the month following the month in which you incurred the first expense related to the vehicle (e.g. a leasing down payment). If you are late, the car is treated as used exclusively for business only from the first day of the month in which you file VAT-26. Note: older articles online still mention a "7 days" deadline. That is an outdated version of the rule.

What a Polish mileage log must contain (art. 86a(7))

The Act lists the mandatory elements. For the log as a whole:

1. the vehicle's registration number,
2. the start and end date of keeping the log,
3. the odometer reading on the start date, at the end of each settlement period (month or quarter) and on the end date,
4. the number of kilometres driven at the end of each settlement period and on the end date.

A separate entry for every trip:

• consecutive entry number,
• date and purpose of the trip,
• description of the route (from where to where),
• number of kilometres driven,
• first name and surname of the driver.

If someone other than the taxpayer drives the car (e.g. an employee), the taxpayer confirms the entries at the end of each settlement period. The log may be on paper or electronic. The Act does not prescribe a form; what matters is that it contains all the data.

Template: columns to copy

The "odometer start/end" columns are not strictly required for each trip, but they help a lot: you can see at a glance that no kilometre has "gone missing" between entries.

The most common mistakes that cost you 100% VAT

1. Purpose: "company business". Too vague. Be specific: "window installation at client X", "collecting goods from wholesaler Y".
2. Gaps in the odometer. One trip ends at 48 236, the next starts at 48 290: 54 km with no entry looks like a private trip.
3. Filling it in once a month from memory. Inspectors compare entries with fuel invoices, motorway tolls and working hours. The dates have to match.
4. A private trip entered in the log of a 100% VAT car. Even one is evidence that the car is not used exclusively for business. For such a car, enter only business trips. And if you also use it privately, the honest choice is to stay with 50% VAT.
5. No VAT-26, or filing it late.
6. Employee entries not confirmed by the taxpayer at the end of the period.

Notebook, Excel or app: an honest comparison

Excel is fine if you are disciplined: you enter every trip the same day and keep an eye on the odometer. Excel's weakness: you can't see what was changed and when. Paradoxically, a notebook is better in this respect, because a crossing-out stays visible.

An app makes sense if you drive a lot and don't want to reconstruct your routes in the evening. Check three things: whether the data stays on your phone, whether the app tracks you in the background, and whether you pay every month.

How we do it ourselves: UZYTAK Kilometr

Our renovation company has a work vehicle and had to hand a mileage log to our accountant every month. That's why we built UZYTAK Kilometr:

• Start before you drive, Stop when you arrive. GPS measures the distance, and the start and end addresses fill in automatically. Location is used only between Start and Stop, with no background tracking.
• Trip type and purpose. Business, private or commute, plus purpose and client. (For a 100% VAT car, use only "business"; see mistake no. 4.)
• Odometer continuity. Each trip starts from the odometer reading of the previous one; kilometres without an entry are flagged in the report.
• Forgot to press Start? Add the trip manually with date, odometer, route and purpose.
• Tamper-resistant log. Every trip is sealed in a SHA-256 chain; a change requires a reason and appears in the report, and cancelled trips stay crossed out.
• PDF in the Polish layout with registration number, period, odometer reading at the start and end, numbered entries (date, route, purpose, km, driver) and a km summary. Plus CSV for Excel.

What it costs: GPS and manual trips are free with no limit for one vehicle, with a PDF report for the current month, no ads and no account. Pro is a one-off €19.99: more vehicles, reports for any month and the whole year, and a ZIP with PDF + Excel for your accountant. No subscription. Your data stays only on your phone.

What Kilometr won't do for you: it won't file VAT-26, and it won't make a car you use privately "exclusively business". That is still your decision and your accountant's.

Kilometrówka is something else

Two things are often confused:

• Mileage log for VAT (art. 86a): for a company car whose VAT you deduct at 100%.
• Kilometrówka: reimbursement for an employee's private car used for business, at the rates set by the Minister of Infrastructure's regulation: 0,89 zł/km up to 900 cm³, 1,15 zł/km above 900 cm³, 0,69 zł for a motorcycle, 0,42 zł for a moped.

In Kilometr you can set a per-km rate for a vehicle, and the summary will show the amount straight away.

End-of-month checklist

• Every trip has a date, a specific purpose, route, km and driver.
• The end-of-month odometer reading matches the odometer in the car.
• No kilometres without an entry.
• Drivers' entries confirmed by the business owner.
• PDF (and CSV if needed) sent to your accountant, copy kept.

Questions and answers

Can I keep the log in an app or with GPS? Yes. The Act does not require paper; it requires the full set of data from art. 86a(7). A GPS or app report is fine as long as it contains all the elements.

Does the driver have to sign? The Act requires the driver's first name and surname and, if the driver is not the taxpayer, confirmation of the entries by the taxpayer at the end of the settlement period. Many companies collect signatures anyway, because it makes inspections easier.

How long should I keep the log? Like other tax records: until the tax liability becomes time-barred (as a rule, 5 years from the end of the year in which the tax payment deadline passed). Confirm with your accountant.

Do I need a log for a private car used in the business? For VAT, no: you then deduct 50%. For income tax, a log is not required either for a private car that is not a business asset (costs within the 20% limit). Ask your accountant for details.