Following the high-profile ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of 3 April 2025 in case C-213/24 (Grzera), which we have already covered, the first significant step has now been taken at the national level. In its judgment of 5 August 2025 (case ref. I SA/Wr 92/23), the Provincial Administrative Court in Wrocław held that, in certain situations, a married couple operating jointly under a regime of marital community property should be treated as a single VAT taxpayer.

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Case background

The dispute concerned a married couple selling building plots created by converting an agricultural holding. Before the sale, the land was comprehensively prepared for investment: fitted with necessary technical infrastructure, tidied up, and subject to marketing activities. These steps were supported by a professional representative. For years, tax authorities have treated such actions as business activity and the transactions as VAT-liable.

Up to now, however, tax offices have required each spouse to register separately as a VAT taxpayer, issue separate invoices for half the sale price, and keep separate VAT accounts. The Wrocław court firmly rejected this practice, stating that a marriage under community property should be treated similarly to a civil partnership — as a single economic entity bearing shared risk and making joint decisions.

Court’s findings and practical significance

The court concluded that:

  • Tax decisions should be addressed to the married couple as a whole.
  • Tax proceedings should be conducted jointly.
  • The absence of a formal “marital community” concept in the VAT Act does not preclude recognising it as a taxpayer, where the facts and case law support it.
  • Splitting community property solely for VAT purposes is impermissible.

Current regulations do not allow for a joint VAT number for spouses, which may be a procedural hurdle. A possible solution would be joint registration for a specific transaction, but this would require amending the VAT Act.

What does this mean for taxpayers?

For those selling property held under marital community, the Provincial Administrative Court judgment signals a potential shift in tax authority practice — applicable both to planned transactions and those already completed. However, important procedural questions arise:

  • How should proceedings already initiated separately for each spouse be handled if the new approach treats them as one taxpayer?
  • Does the current line of case law allow for correcting past VAT returns and claiming overpaid tax refunds?
  • Would retroactive VAT registration of the couple as a single taxpayer be necessary?
  • How should the VAT deduction rights of buyers who purchased from a married couple be addressed in the past?

The CJEU judgment exposed a significant gap in the VAT Act regarding real estate sales by spouses. An urgent legislative amendment is needed to clearly determine whether, in such cases, the taxpayer is the marriage or each spouse separately. Until the law is changed, the Ministry of Finance should issue a general interpretation to unify practice and simplify settlements — benefiting both the parties to transactions and the tax administration.

If you would like to assess how this judgment could affect your situation or plan a safe course of action, our team is ready to help. We can translate these legal developments into concrete tax decisions.