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Working in a family business in Poland: how banks treat a salary from a parent or spouse

How Polish banks assess a mortgage application when your employer is your parent or spouse, what the Polish social insurance rules on “cooperating persons” mean, and which documents help.

KredytPolska editorial team
Updated:

In short

A Polish bank does not refuse a mortgage just because your employer is a parent or spouse, but it assesses the income more carefully. It checks how long you have worked there, whether the salary is paid by bank transfer every month and whether the amount fits the job and the company’s results. Some banks also ask for the company’s documents. If you live with the parent or spouse who runs the business, the Polish social insurance institution (ZUS) treats you as a cooperating person (osoba współpracująca), not an employee, even with an employment contract.

How banks treat a salary from a family business

The bank counts a salary from a family business like any salary under an employment contract: the average net amount from recent months. The difference is in verification. Recommendation S of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) requires banks to base the assessment on confirmed information and on income that is stable over the whole repayment period, and when the employer is a relative a certificate from the company proves less. The bank looks at how long you have worked there, whether the salary fits the job and the company’s results, whether the company is stable and whether the money really arrives on your account. A contract signed just before the application looks like employment “for the loan”, and a sudden pay rise right before it raises questions.

Cooperating person: when ZUS does not treat you as an employee

Under the Polish Social Insurance System Act (art. 8 sec. 11) a spouse, own children, stepchildren and adopted children, parents, a stepmother, a stepfather and adoptive parents are cooperating persons if they live in the same household as the person running the business and help run it. An employee who meets these conditions is treated by ZUS as a cooperating person (art. 8 sec. 2), even with an employment contract; the only exception is a contract for vocational training. Siblings and more distant relatives are not covered. Some banks then assess the income in a similar way to business income, on the basis of the company’s tax return and results rather than the contract alone.

Documents to prepare

A certificate of employment and earnings on the bank’s form, the employment contract with annexes, bank statements for 3–6 months with salary transfers from the company’s account, the PIT-11 or tax return for the last year and, if the bank asks, the company’s documents: its entry in CEIDG or KRS, tax return or financial statements and certificates of no arrears with ZUS and the tax office. Do not hide that the employer is a relative: giving a bank unreliable information to obtain a loan is an offence under art. 297 of the Polish Criminal Code, and loan agreements usually let the bank terminate the agreement if it comes out later. Most banks need documents in Polish.

The full description in Polish, with a borrowing capacity calculator: Praca w firmie rodziny a kredyt hipoteczny.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a mortgage in Poland if I work in my parents’ company?

Yes, working in a family business does not rule out a mortgage. The bank counts the salary from the employment contract but checks it more carefully: length of employment, transfers to your account, the salary compared with the job and the company, and sometimes the company’s documents.

I live with my parents and work in their company. Does it change anything?

Yes. For ZUS you are then a cooperating person, not an employee, even with an employment contract (art. 8 sec. 2 and 11 of the Social Insurance System Act). Some banks then assess the income in a similar way to business income, on the basis of the company’s documents.

My spouse runs a company and employs me. Can we apply together?

Yes. The bank adds up your salary and your spouse’s business income, but both come from one source. Prepare the company’s documents for the last two years, because your whole budget depends on its results.

Sources

  1. Social Insurance System Act, consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026 item 199, art. 8 (Polish)
  2. KNF Recommendation S, June 2023 amendment, recommendation 8 (Polish)
  3. Criminal Code, art. 297 (Polish)
This guide describes general rules and typical bank practice as of October 2026. Details

It is not legal or tax advice and not a bank offer. Each bank sets its own criteria, and the lending decision is always made by the bank.

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