The tax residence certificate is intended to prevent evasion of obligations in the tax office and incorrect application of the provisions of international agreements on the avoidance of double taxation. This is a certificate issued by competent tax administration of the country specifying the place of residence or stay of a natural person for tax purposes. It defines the country in which the taxpayer is obliged to pay taxes to the country in which they earn income. It allows for avoiding double taxation if the source of the income originates in a country other than the country of residence.In order to obtain a tax residence certificate in Poland , it is necessary to complete the CFR-1application. The taxpayer must provide their identification details, the reason for requesting the document, the number of copies and the method of receipt. Subsequently, an application should be submitted to the tax office assigned by virtue of the address of the company’s registered office or residence.
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD A TAX RESIDENCE CERTIFICATE CONTAIN? DOCUMENT SAMPLE
Unfortunately, there is no unified international form on which a certificate of tax residence would be issued. Therefore, state tax administrations issue certificates of fiscal residence according to their own adopted form and at their discretion. Polish regulations indicate that such a certificate should contain at least:
- Data of the issuing authority
- Date of issue
- Identification data of the entity to which the certificate pertains
- Certification of the place of residence/registered seat
Optionally, expiration date information.
WHAT SHOULD I PAY ATTENTION TO WHEN APPLYING FOR A TAX RESIDENCE CERTIFICATE?
It is necessary to clearly distinguish the certificate of tax residence from any other documents issued by administrative authorities. Specifically, certificates issued by, e.g., municipal authorities confirming the place of residence within the territory of a given country, are not certificates of tax residence.
Many countries require a notification when moving to settle in their territory, at a municipal office or a police station. A document issued on this occasion may be helpful, e.g., in the process of applying for the status of tax resident in a given country.
Therefore, a certificate of issuing a tax identification number, a certificate of registration as a VAT payer or a certificate of no tax arrears are not certificates of tax residence. In the case of entities conducting business activity, an extract from the National Court Register of entrepreneurs cannot be used as a certificate of tax residence either.
