XTB with a long-awaited premiere. IKZE accounts available for customers

Brokerage house XTB has introduced the long-announced Individual Retirement Security Accounts (IKZE) – enabling the building of retirement capital with tax benefits. It will be made available in batches to subsequent clients until next Monday.

In line with XTB’s “mobile first” philosophy, the ability to open an IKZE account will initially be available only in the brokerage house’s mobile app. The desktop version is planned to be available in 2026. Initially, users will only be able to open new IKZE accounts. Their transfer from other brokerage houses will be possible by the end of 2025.

IKZE accounts will be made available to clients gradually from Tuesday, July 1. They will become available to all users within a week. On IKZE accounts in XTB, they will be able to use the standard offer of shares and ETFs, which includes both Polish and foreign instruments.

In terms of costs, the broker does not charge a commission for trading stocks and ETFs up to EUR 100,000 per month, and after exceeding this limit, it charges a commission of 0.2% (min. EUR 10). In the case of foreign instruments, the only significant cost may be the currency conversion fee, which is 0.5% at XTB. Funds in IKE and IKZE accounts at XTB are exempt from the deposit fee.

According to the latest changes to the XTB regulations, withdrawals from an IKZE account before the expiry of 12 months from the date of conclusion of the agreement to open it will be subject to a fee of PLN 200. An identical fee currently applies to IKE accounts.

The main difference between IKZE and IKE accounts is the tax benefits offered by the former. IKZE contributions can be deducted from the tax base, which allows for a reduction in income tax for the year.

As in the case of IKE, profits earned on investments within IKZE become exempt from the so-called Belka tax (19% on capital gains) if the funds are withdrawn after the account holder turns 65. An additional condition is to make regular payments to IKZE for at least 5 calendar years.

If the above conditions are met, the withdrawal of funds from IKZE is associated with a one-time flat-rate tax of 10% of the value of the entire capital. This is much more beneficial than standard taxation according to the tax scale and taxation of capital gains separately.

The limits of annual contributions to IKZE are set each year based on the forecasted average monthly salary in the economy - it is 1.8 times its value. Consequently, in 2025 the maximum amount that can be added to the IKZE account is:

• PLN 15,611.40 - for persons running a business activity (the limit is 1.8 times the average salary),
• PLN 10,407.60 - for persons not running a business activity (the limit is 1.2 times).

For example, in 2025, an investor who does not run a business may receive a maximum actual tax refund of PLN 3,330 or PLN 1,249 - depending on the tax rate. According to data provided by the KNF, at the end of 2024, over 593 thousand Poles used IKZE, of which 122 thousand accounts were kept in the form of brokerage accounts.

- The introduction of IKZE was a natural step for us in the further development of the offer. After the success of IKE accounts, which met with great interest from customers, we can clearly see that Poles are increasingly thinking about their financial future and want to invest consciously and effectively. Our goal is for the XTB application to be a place where our customers' money can work in many ways - commented Omar Arnaout, CEO of XTB.

M.M.

Source: