ZUS contributions
Social-security contributions are split between employee and employer; on a mandate contract the pension, disability and accident insurances plus health are due, while sickness insurance is voluntary. The rates shown are those in force for 2026.
This page gathers the Polish insurance-contribution rates in one place — the way the calculator uses them. One distinction matters most: the employee share (część pracownika) is not the same as the full rate (stopa pełna), which bundles the employee and employer portions. Confusing the two halves or doubles the contribution.
Two rate bases — do not mix them
The pension and disability contributions are split between employee and employer, so two different numbers circulate for the same contribution. What actually comes off your pay — on a mandate as on employment — is the employee share: pension, disability and sickness. The full rate (employee plus employer) describes the total cost of the contribution; the employer’s part is paid alongside, outside your payment, so it does not reduce your take-home.
Concretely: the employee share is, according to industry sources (as of 2026), about 9,76% pension, 1,5% disability and 2,45% sickness — 13,71% of the base for social insurance in total. The full rate of the same contributions is 19,52% pension and 8% disability; sickness stays 2,45%, because the insured funds it in full. The employee pension share is exactly half the full rate, but disability splits unevenly — which is why the two numbers must be kept apart.
The calculator handles this for you: to work out net — on a mandate just as on employment — it deducts the employee share, not the full rate. Applying the full rate as an employee share would double the contribution. The table below sets both bases side by side so the difference is visible at once.
Contribution rates — employee share and full rate
| Contribution | Employee share | Full rate | Annual base ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pension | 9,76% | 19,52% | 282 600 zł |
| Disability | 1,5% | 8% | 282 600 zł |
| Sickness (voluntary on a mandate) | 2,45% | 2,45% | — |
| Health | 9% | 9% | — |
The rates in force for 2026. Employee shares per industry sources; the statutory wording of art. 22 of the social-insurance act was not read at source here.
The annual 30× ceiling
Pension and disability have an upper limit on the annual assessment base — the so-called 30× cap. Once the 282 600 zł limit is reached in a given year, no further pension or disability contributions are charged on the excess. Sickness and health have no cap and are due on the whole base.
The cap therefore affects only the highest earners and “switches off” two of the four contributions part-way through the year. On a monthly basis the calculator applies an averaged form of the same ceiling, so a single-payment result matches the annual settlement. The 2026 cap comes from a Monitor Polski notice, a primary source — even so, nobody has signed it off.
The health contribution is charged on a different base
The health contribution is 9%, but not on gross income. Its base is income first reduced by the social contributions the insured funds (13,71%). So in a settlement, health appears only after the pension, disability and sickness contributions are deducted — not alongside them.
Important and often confused: since 2022 the health contribution is no longer deductible from tax. Previously the larger part of it was subtracted from the PIT advance; that option is gone. The calculator treats health as a pure cost — it does not reinstate the old deduction, because that would overstate the net.
Mandate contract: what is compulsory and what is voluntary
On a mandate contract — per ZUS information current for 2026 — pension, disability, accident and health insurance are compulsory as a rule, while sickness is voluntary. That is why the mandate calculator has a separate sickness toggle: without it there is no right to sickness benefit, but the take-home rises slightly.
There are several important exceptions (overlapping titles). A pupil or student under 26 on a mandate contract is fully exempt from social and health contributions. A mandate with your own employer is treated like employment — all insurances, including sickness, are compulsory. With another title to insurance (e.g. a full-time job elsewhere), the mandate’s pension and disability may be voluntary, but health stays compulsory.
These cases can change the result entirely, which is why the mandate calculator lets you pick a status instead of assuming one scenario. Borderline situations (e.g. several overlapping titles) still need confirmation — treat them as guidance, not a ruling.