67,000 sole proprietorships disappeared, 32,000 limited liability companies were added

The latest registry data shows two opposite trends: fewer people run businesses as sole proprietorships, while the number of companies is growing. The fewest new businesses have been registered since the start of 2025.

At the end of September 2026, the REGON register (the register of national economy entities maintained by Statistics Poland, GUS) included about 2.71 million active sole proprietorships. That was 67,300, or 2.42 percent, fewer than a year earlier. At the same time, the number of limited liability companies increased by 31,600, to more than 653,000 (by 5.08 percent). The data comes from an MGBI analysis described by My Company Polska (opens in a new tab) and ManagerPlus.

In the third quarter alone, the number of sole proprietorships fell by 27,259, while 11,159 limited liability companies were added. Fewer than 79,500 new entities were registered, 5 percent less than a year earlier. This was the weakest quarterly result since the start of 2025. A total of 34,573 entities were closed, so the balance of registrations and closures remained positive.

In trade and vehicle repair, the number of active companies fell by 17,700 over the year. In accommodation and food service, there were 7.06 percent fewer entities operating than a year earlier. The number of companies did increase, however, in cities including Warsaw, Kraków and Wrocław.

The data does not show that entrepreneurs are converting sole proprietorships into companies. That would require information on changes in the legal form of specific businesses, and the analysis does not include it. The slowdown is also visible in another register. In the first half of 2026, CEIDG (the Central Registration and Information on Business) received 139,400 applications to set up sole proprietorships, 6.5 percent fewer than a year earlier. Experts quoted by 300Gospodarka pointed to reasons including the possibility that the National Labour Inspectorate could reclassify B2B contracts (contracts between companies, often concluded instead of standard employment) as employment contracts, as well as rising contribution and tax costs.

For freelancers and microbusiness owners, changes planned for 2027 are also in the background. The minimum health insurance contribution under the tax scale and flat tax is to amount to PLN 445.50 per month. Estonian CIT (a lump-sum tax on company income, under which tax is paid only when profit is distributed) is available only to companies, and from January 1, 2027, an easing of formalities when choosing it is planned. Whether changing the legal form is worthwhile depends on the scale of the business, the risk, and the way profits are paid out, which is why such a decision is best discussed with a tax adviser.