Fiscal cash registers in a physiotherapy practice 2026

Ms Monika is opening a physiotherapy practice, and while buying equipment the salesperson asked her: "Do you have a fiscal cash register already? Because physiotherapists have to have one from the very first złoty." Surprised, she started looking for information and got stuck in a maze of conflicting advice - some said there was an exemption up to 20,000 PLN, others said her profession was excluded from that exemption entirely. Who's right?

Not the salesperson. In healthcare, the absolute "from the first złoty" cash register obligation applies to doctors and dentists - not to physiotherapists. A physiotherapist can use the standard exemptions, including the 20,000 PLN annual turnover limit. In this article we'll explain when a physiotherapist actually needs a cash register, what happens once you exceed the limit, what type of register to choose in 2026, and how cashless payments work.

Does a physiotherapist need a fiscal cash register?

Not from the first sale. The Minister of Finance regulation on exemptions from the cash register obligation lists in §4 the services that must be recorded on a register regardless of turnover - and in healthcare these are services provided by doctors and dentists. Physiotherapists are not covered by this absolute obligation.

This means a physiotherapist can rely on two exemptions:

• The subjective exemption up to 20,000 PLN - if your annual turnover from sales to private individuals not running a business (and flat-rate farmers) doesn't exceed 20,000 PLN, you don't need a register. In your first year of business, the limit is calculated proportionally to the period in which you make sales that year.
• The bank-account payment exemption - services paid entirely by bank transfer or BLIK to your bank account don't require a register, provided your records and payment evidence clearly show which transaction each payment relates to (more below).

Note: rules on cash register exemptions are updated by regulation of the Minister of Finance. Always confirm the current position for a given year with your accountant - below we describe the general logic and typical scenarios, not an individual tax ruling.

What happens after you exceed the 20,000 PLN limit?

At visit rates of 150–250 PLN, the 20,000 PLN limit is just 80–130 cash-paid visits a year - an active practice usually crosses it within a few months. What then?

• You have 2 months - you must start recording sales on a register after two months following the month in which you exceeded the limit. Example: exceed the limit in March = recording on the register from 1 June.
• Only sales to private individuals count towards the limit - invoices for businesses (e.g. cooperation with a sports club) don't enter this calculation.
• Sales paid entirely by bank transfer, covered by the transfer exemption, may mean you never need a register even at higher turnover - but your record-keeping has to be flawless.

It's worth monitoring your cash turnover from the start of the year so the moment you cross the limit doesn't take you by surprise.

Online cash registers - the position in 2026

The obligation to switch to online cash registers (which transmit data to the Central Repository of Cash Registers) covered doctors and dentists, among others, from 1 July 2021 - physiotherapists were not included. If you own an older register with an electronic copy of records, you can still legally use it. In practice, though, any newly purchased register will be an online one, since the older types have been withdrawn from sale.

On the market you'll come across these types of registers:

Cash register type	Characteristics	Best for
Stationary online register	A classic desktop device	A stationary practice
Portable online register	Mobile, battery-powered	Home visits, mobile work
Virtual cash register (app)	Software on a phone/tablet	Selected industries only - not physiotherapy

Important caveat: a virtual cash register (in app form) is permitted only for an exhaustively listed set of industries - including transport, catering, and hotels. Physiotherapy is not on that list, so a physiotherapist cannot legally record sales on a virtual register. For mobile work, choose a portable online register.

Cashless payments and the cash register

A common question: "If I only accept bank transfers and BLIK (Poland's instant mobile payment system), do I need a cash register?" For a physiotherapist the answer is favourable: since you're not covered by the absolute obligation in §4, the bank-transfer exemption does apply to you. The conditions:

• The entire payment for the service goes to your bank account (transfer, BLIK to an account) - no cash or on-site card top-ups
• Your records and payment evidence clearly show which transaction each payment relates to (who, for what, when - a good transfer description and an internal sales register help)

If you meet these conditions consistently, you can operate without a register even after exceeding 20,000 PLN in turnover. The catch: if even some patients pay in cash or by card on a terminal at the practice, the transfer exemption won't cover those transactions. It's worth confirming your record-keeping approach with your accountant, since the burden of showing the exemption conditions are met is on you.

Relief for buying a cash register

Once the recording obligation arises for you (e.g. after exceeding the limit), you can claim a relief for purchasing an online fiscal cash register: a deduction of 90% of the net price, up to 700 PLN. The condition is starting to record sales on time and meeting the formal requirements. Confirm the details with your accountant.

Receipts and documenting sales

Once you're recording sales on a register:

• A sale to a private individual = a fiscal receipt issued to the patient
• The receipt must describe the service (e.g. "physiotherapy treatment")
• If the patient wants an invoice, you issue it against the receipt; for business invoices mind the rules on including a NIP (tax ID) on the receipt - a receipt with a NIP up to 450 PLN is itself a simplified invoice
• Daily and monthly reports - a fiscal obligation

[Solo] Example - solo practice: You run your practice alone and do some visits at patients' homes. For the first months you operate within the 20,000 PLN exemption and keep a sales register. After exceeding the limit you buy a portable online cash register - it works at the practice and in the field, and you claim the relief of up to 700 PLN on the purchase. You don't choose a virtual register (an app), because physiotherapy isn't among the industries permitted to use one.

[Group] Example - group practice: A practice with a reception desk crossed the turnover limit long ago, so it sets up a stationary online cash register at reception, where payment is taken. The therapists don't handle the register - reception bills the patient after the visit and issues the receipt. A designated person runs the daily reports.

Common mistakes

• Believing that a physiotherapist needs a register "from the first złoty" - the absolute obligation applies to doctors and dentists, not physiotherapists
• Not monitoring turnover and missing the moment you exceed the 20,000 PLN limit
• Relying on the transfer exemption while accepting some payments in cash or by card on site
• Buying a virtual register (app), which a physiotherapist cannot legally use
• Missing the deadline to claim the cash register purchase relief
• Not issuing a receipt for every visit once you've started recording sales

Deadlines and obligations after buying a cash register

Buying the register isn't the end of the formalities. After installing it, remember:

• Fiscalisation - activating the register's fiscal mode through an authorised service provider before you start selling
• Starting to record sales on time - after exceeding the limit, you have 2 months from the end of the month in which you crossed it
• Daily and monthly reports - a fiscal obligation regardless of how many visits you have
• Technical inspections of the register - at required intervals, by an authorised service provider
• Retaining cash register documentation - reports and fiscal documents for the required period

Missing fiscalisation, a technical inspection, or the deadline to start recording sales can result in losing the right to the purchase relief, or even sanctions. It's worth setting up a calendar of cash register obligations with your accountant from day one.

Cash registers for home visits and teleconsultations

If, besides your practice, you run home visits or teleconsultations, the same rules apply: until you exceed the limit (or as long as everything is paid by bank transfer) you don't need a register, and once the obligation arises, the register must cover services in the field too. The most convenient option then is a portable online register that travels with you - a virtual register (app) is not permitted for physiotherapy. Teleconsultations paid solely by bank transfer usually fall under the transfer exemption - confirm your record-keeping approach with your accountant.

Frequently asked questions

Does a physiotherapist need a fiscal cash register from the first visit?

No. In healthcare, the absolute cash register obligation with no turnover limit applies to doctors and dentists. A physiotherapist can use the exemption up to 20,000 PLN in annual turnover from sales to private individuals (proportional in the first year) and the exemption for payments made entirely by bank transfer. The register becomes mandatory only after exceeding the limit - you then have 2 months from the end of the month in which you crossed it.

Do I need a cash register if I only accept bank transfers?

If every payment goes entirely to your bank account, and your records and payment evidence clearly show which transaction it relates to - you can use the transfer exemption regardless of turnover. Watch out for mixed payments (cash, card on site), which fall outside the exemption. Confirm your record-keeping approach with your accountant.

What type of cash register is required in 2026?

Physiotherapists were not covered by the obligation to switch to online registers (the 1 July 2021 deadline applied to doctors and dentists, among others), so registers with an electronic copy of records can still legally be used. Any newly purchased register will be an online one, though. For mobile work, choose a portable online register - a virtual register (app) is permitted only for selected industries, and physiotherapy isn't one of them.

Will I get a refund for buying a cash register?

Yes - once the recording obligation has arisen for you, purchasing an online register entitles you to a relief of 90% of the net price, up to 700 PLN, provided you start recording sales on time and meet the formal conditions. Confirm the rules with your accountant.

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