Salary in cryptocurrencies - is it allowed?

The basic form of compensation for work is money. In this day and age, is salary in cryptocurrencies possible and allowed? § Salary in cryptocurrencies - is it allowed?

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Labor Relations

In accordance with the regulations of the Labor Code(Article 86 § 2), payment of wages shall be made in the form of money, however, partial fulfillment of wages in a form other than money is permissible, except that such a possibility must be provided for by either statutory labor regulations or a collective bargaining agreement.Such a statement means nothing other than that while some part of the salary from an employment contract must be paid in money, the rest of it can be paid in non-monetary form - including, among others. including, but not limited to, cryptocurrency, if it is stipulated in laws or a collective bargaining agreement allows it. Currently, Polish law lacks laws regulating payment in cryptocurrency, so, payment of wages in the case of an employment relationship (not B2B) in cryptocurrency is possible only if a collective bargaining agreement allows it (i.e., there are trade unions). Although there is also no regulation indicating how to determine the proportion of remuneration in cash and that paid in non-monetary form, expert pralctics has developed the principle that an amount equal to at least the minimum wage should be paid in cash. At the basis of such a belief is the conviction of the necessity of satisfying the basic ("minimum") needs of the employee with the use of common legal tender.The above applies to basic remuneration, but there are no legal obstacles to pay employees in cryptocurrency additional remuneration, i.e. any discretionary awards, bonuses, benefits, etc., as long as the provisions of the employment contract allow it.

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B2B

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When it comes to B2B contracts, the provisions of the Labor Code do not apply, so such contracting parties may freely regulate the contractual provisions, including to determine that the entire remuneration for the performance of the contract, will be paid in cryptocurrency.

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Other civil-legal contracts

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It is important to note the norm of Article 8a paragraph 5 of the Minimum Wage Law, according to which, the payment of remuneration in the amount resulting from the amount of the minimum hourly rate shall be made in cash. This means that part of the remuneration resulting from the application of the minimum hourly rate, including in the case of other civil law contracts (such as an assignment), should be paid in cash, the rest - may be paid in cryptocurrency.

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What about taxes?

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Wage includes all components of remuneration, regardless of their name and nature, as well as other work-related benefits granted to employees in cash or in a form other than cash. So regardless of what part of the salary will be paid in cash and what in cryptocurrency, the entire remuneration will be subject to taxation under the standard rules. Thus, the entire salary will constitute a receivable on which the employer should make an advance payment for income tax, and the employee should include it in his annual return (PIT-37 orPIT-36).How to determine the monetary value of cryptocurrency in the annual return? Benefits in kind are determined on the basis of market prices used in the trade of things or rights. Thus, income received in this form will correspond to the equivalent of traditional currency in relation to the added cryptocurrency.

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§ Salary in cryptocurrencies - is it allowed?

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