Under the new regulations, self-employed people can benefit from an exemption from contributions if they conducted business activity before 1 April this year and their revenue earned in the first month covered by the application exceeded PLN 15,681 (that is, 300% of the forecast average gross salary for 2020), but their income did not exceed PLN 7,000. Entrepreneurs benefiting from the so-called start-up relief will also be eligible for the exemption. For these groups, the exemption covers contributions for April and May—even if they have already been paid.
“Shield 3.0 entitles entrepreneurs who conducted business activity before 1 April this year to the downtime benefit. The remaining conditions remain unchanged. A 15% decrease in revenue must be demonstrated, which means that in an application submitted in May, revenue in April should be 15% lower than revenue in March,” says Iwona Kowalska-Matis, ZUS regional press spokesperson in Lower Silesia.
Second downtime benefit
ZUS:
The downtime benefit may be paid no more than three times. The condition is a declaration by the entrepreneur or contractor that their financial situation, as indicated in the earlier application, has not improved. The applicant assesses this themselves.
The declaration does not need to demonstrate a further decrease in revenue, but the financial situation of the entrepreneur or person performing a civil-law contract should remain at a similar level or change only slightly.
It is worth providing your current contact details in the application. If there are any doubts, our employee will contact the applicant by email or telephone. We will explain what needs to be done to complete or correct the application.