How much does family foundation accounting cost? Monthly and annual costs of running a foundation

The cost of family foundation accounting depends mainly on the number of documents and the types of business activity conducted by the foundation. The regulations do not set a price for accounting, but they impose obligations that determine its scope: full books of account, financial statements, CIT settlements and a periodic audit. Below, we break down the costs of running a foundation into fixed, periodic and event-driven costs.

What do the costs of running a family foundation consist of?

The costs of running a family foundation are divided into the costs of services and costs resulting from the regulations. Services include accounting, tax advisory, legal services and the audit. Court fees and taxes result from the regulations.

The Family Foundation Act does not provide for any fixed “fee for maintaining the foundation”. The largest part of the costs usually consists of services and taxes related to specific events.

According to information from the Regional Court in Piotrków Trybunalski, a court fee of PLN 250 is paid with the application to file the financial statements (form RFR-Z30). For registering the foundation itself, a one-off fee of PLN 500 is charged (Article 64a of the Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases). The preparation of the financial statements and the documents for the register can be entrusted to a team that provides reporting process support.

Property tax depends on the municipality. The municipal council sets the rates within the maximum rates announced each year by the Minister of Finance.

How much does family foundation accounting cost and what does the price depend on?

The price of family foundation accounting depends above all on the number of events to be recorded and their complexity. A family foundation always keeps full books of account, so there is no cheaper option with a revenue and expense ledger. The difference in price results from what happens in the foundation during the year.

Indicative price of family foundation accounting: from PLN 1,000 net per month. We prepare an exact quote after analysing the planned scale and events.

The scope of typical accounting services includes:

• keeping the books of account and subsidiary ledgers,
• settling the 15% CIT on benefits,
• the CIT-8FR return,
• preparing JPK CIT once the foundation is covered by the obligation (foundations filing JPK_V7M for years from 2026, the others from 2027),
• preparing the annual financial statements,
• support with filing the financial statements with the register of family foundations.

Number of documents and type of assets

The more documents and types of assets, the more accounting work. A foundation that holds only shares in one company usually has few events in a year. A foundation with several properties for rent has invoices, utilities, outlays and settlements with tenants every month.

The scope of work is affected by, among other things:

• the number of properties and rental agreements,
• the number of bank and brokerage accounts,
• transactions in securities,
• loans granted to companies or beneficiaries,
• the number of founders and contributions to the foundation.

Benefits for beneficiaries and tax settlements

Every benefit for a beneficiary has to be recorded in the books, measured and settled for 15% CIT. The tax is paid by the 20th day of the month following the month in which the benefit was transferred (Article 24q of the CIT Act). Non-cash benefits, e.g. free use of a property, additionally require their value to be determined.

A foundation that pays benefits to many beneficiaries every month therefore has more settlements than a foundation that only accumulates assets. This is one of the main factors in the price of the services.

Assets abroad, VAT and management board remuneration

Additional obligations arise when the foundation has assets abroad, is a VAT taxpayer or pays remuneration. Foreign assets mean currency settlements and often additional tax analyses. Rental subject to VAT means VAT settlements and obligations in the National e-Invoicing System (KSeF).

Members of the management board may perform their function for remuneration (Article 62 of the Family Foundation Act). If the foundation pays it, payroll settlements are added. Each of these elements may increase the scope and price of the services.

Statutory audit of the financial statements and the audit: when are they mandatory?

A family foundation has two separate control obligations: the audit under the Family Foundation Act and the statutory audit of the financial statements under the Accounting Act. The audit is carried out at least once every four years (Article 79(1) of the Family Foundation Act). If the foundation’s financial statements are subject to a statutory audit, the audit is carried out every year, before the financial statements are approved (Article 79(2)).

A statutory audit of the financial statements is mandatory if, in the previous financial year, the foundation met at least two of the three conditions: average employment of at least 50 people, total assets of at least EUR 3.125 million, and net revenue from sales of goods and products of at least EUR 6.25 million. A foundation that does not meet two of these conditions is not subject to a statutory audit, and it carries out the audit under the Family Foundation Act at least once every four years.

Cost of a statutory audit of the financial statements: from PLN 1,400 net.

Taxes as a cost of a family foundation

A family foundation is as a rule exempt from CIT (Article 6(1)(25) of the CIT Act). Taxes arise only in connection with certain events. That is why a foundation’s tax cost depends on how the foundation uses its assets.

The most important taxes of a family foundation:

• 15% CIT on benefits for beneficiaries, on assets transferred upon the dissolution of the foundation and on so-called hidden profits (Article 24q of the CIT Act),
• 25% CIT on activity outside the scope of Article 5 of the Family Foundation Act (Article 24r of the CIT Act),
• 19% CIT on rental activity, where the subject of the rental, lease or similar agreement is assets used in the business activity of a beneficiary, the founder or an entity related to them,
• property tax, if the foundation owns real estate,
• in cases specified in the Act, the tax on revenue from buildings (Article 24b of the CIT Act), because the foundation’s exemption does not cover it (Article 6(6)),
• VAT, if the foundation performs activities subject to VAT, e.g. rental subject to VAT.

Example: during the year, the foundation pays beneficiaries benefits with a total value of PLN 300,000. The CIT on these benefits amounts to PLN 45,000. If the foundation does not pay benefits and operates only within the scope of Article 5, it does not pay CIT on revenue from that scope.

Example: annual budget of a family foundation

It is worth drawing up a family foundation’s budget according to events, not as one fixed amount. The example below concerns a foundation with one property for rent, no activity outside Article 5 and no statutory audit obligation. The foundation pays beneficiaries benefits with a total value of PLN 120,000 a year.

In a year in which the foundation amends its statute, the composition of its management board or the data in the register, a fee of PLN 250 for each application for an entry is added. If the foundation rents out property with VAT, VAT services are also added.

When do the costs of a family foundation pay off?

The regulations do not set an asset threshold above which a family foundation pays off. Whether it pays off depends on the value and type of the assets, plans for payments to beneficiaries and succession goals. Fixed service costs matter less for large assets than for small ones.

Profitability is affected above all by:

• tax deferral: the foundation pays 15% CIT only when a benefit is paid, not on current revenue from activity under Article 5,
• payment plan: regular benefits mean regular tax,
• scope of activity: activity outside Article 5 is taxed at 25% CIT,
• succession goals: protecting the assets and passing them on to the next generations.

The decision to set up a foundation should be preceded by an analysis of the costs and taxes for the specific assets. We prepare such an analysis as part of our advisory services on setting up family foundations.

FAQ

How ALTO can help

We keep the books of family foundations and prepare a quote for our services based on the planned scale of documents and events. We help plan the foundation’s budget, including taxes on benefits and audit costs. We combine accounting, tax advisory and legal services in one team, which makes cooperation during the audit under the Family Foundation Act easier.

Accounting for family foundations at ALTO is the responsibility of Katarzyna Pędzich, Accounting Senior Manager.

Sources

• Act of 26 January 2023 on Family Foundations (Ustawa z dnia 26 stycznia 2023 r. o fundacji rodzinnej), Journal of Laws 2023, item 326, as amended, Articles 5, 62, 77-79
• Accounting Act of 29 September 1994 (Ustawa z dnia 29 września 1994 r. o rachunkowości), Journal of Laws 2026, item 522, Article 64
• Corporate Income Tax Act of 15 February 1992 (Ustawa z dnia 15 lutego 1992 r. o podatku dochodowym od osób prawnych), Journal of Laws 2026, item 554, Articles 6, 24q, 24r
• Act of 28 July 2005 on Court Costs in Civil Cases (Ustawa z dnia 28 lipca 2005 r. o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych), Articles 64a and 64b
• Regional Court in Piotrków Trybunalski, Register of Family Foundations (Rejestr Fundacji Rodzinnych): https://piotrkow-tryb.so.gov.pl/rejestr-fundacji-rodzinnych,m,mg,305