For many sole proprietorships, ZUS contributions are a fixed monthly expense that must be covered regardless of whether the business earned anything that month. Since the end of 2024, however, entrepreneurs have had a tool that lets them legally skip part of this burden once a year — the so-called contribution holidays (wakacje składkowe). In 2026 the scheme works on the same principles, yet it still raises plenty of questions: which contributions it covers, who can use it and what you need to do for the exemption to actually take effect. Below we set out the key rules.
What the contribution holidays are
The contribution holidays are the right to be exempted from paying your own social insurance contributions for one freely chosen month in the calendar year. This is neither a deferral nor an instalment plan — you simply do not pay the contributions for that month, and the state budget finances them for you. Importantly, the exempt month counts normally towards your insurance record and your future pension, because the contributions are paid from public funds on the minimum assessment basis. So no gap arises in your insurance. The exemption is entirely voluntary and does not apply automatically — you have to apply for it.
Who can use it
The scheme is aimed at micro-entrepreneurs running non-agricultural business activity registered in CEIDG. To use the contribution holidays, in the month preceding the application you must have no more than ten insured persons registered for insurance, including the entrepreneur themselves. The second condition concerns the scale of the business: annual revenue must not have exceeded the equivalent of 2 million euros in at least one of the two previous calendar years. Entrepreneurs can use the relief regardless of their form of taxation — whether on the tax scale, flat tax or lump-sum tax. There is no need to suspend the business: in the exempt month you may work normally, issue invoices and earn revenue.
Which contributions are covered
The contribution holidays cover your own mandatory contributions: pension, disability and accident insurance, as well as the voluntary sickness insurance (ubezpieczenie chorobowe) — provided you were subject to it in the month the application is filed and in the month before. There is, however, one very important exception: the exemption does not apply to the health insurance contribution (składka zdrowotna). This must be paid for the chosen month under the usual rules. If the entrepreneur employs workers or contractors, the exemption covers only their own contributions — contributions for the insured persons must still be paid in full.
How and when to file the RWS application
To use the relief, you must file an application marked with the code RWS. This can only be done electronically, from the payer profile on PUE ZUS (eZUS) — applications submitted in any other form are not processed. The deadline is crucial: the application must be filed in the month preceding the one for which you want to be exempted from contributions. So if you want an exemption for December, the application must arrive in November. Being late means losing the chance to use the relief for that month, so it is worth planning ahead and choosing a month in which you expect lower income or higher expenses.
What else to keep in mind
The exemption from paying contributions constitutes de minimis aid. This means you can use it only if the ceiling for such aid has not been used up; it amounts to 300 thousand euros over a three-year period. The available headroom must be at least equal to the sum of the contributions you want to be exempted from. It is also worth remembering that, because of the way the contributions are financed from the budget, the lowest applicable assessment basis is used for the exempt month — which, for those paying higher contributions, means the saving applies to the minimum amount rather than to their full contribution. Before filing, it is worth calculating in which month the relief will bring the greatest benefit.