Nie chcę zalegać z opłatą.

It means something like to be behind with a payment / fee, to be overdue with a payment, or to be in arrears on a charge.

The verb zalegać often has the idea of an unpaid obligation that should already have been dealt with. So this sentence is stronger and more financial-sounding than just I don’t want to be a bit late.

• Nie chcę zalegać z opłatą = I don’t want to fall behind on the payment / fee
• It suggests avoiding a situation where the payment becomes overdue.

Because after chcę (I want) Polish normally uses the infinitive of the second verb.

So the structure is:

• nie chcę = I don’t want
• zalegać = to be behind / to be overdue

Together:

• Nie chcę zalegać = I don’t want to be behind

This is very similar to English want to do.

Other examples:

• Chcę spać = I want to sleep
• Nie chcę czekać = I don’t want to wait

Because the expression is zalegać z + instrumental.

So:

• opłata is the dictionary form
• opłatą is the instrumental singular

This is required by the preposition z in this expression.

So you get:

• z opłatą = literally with the payment/fee

Even though English would not use with here in the same way, Polish does.

A helpful way to learn it is as a whole chunk:

• zalegać z czymś = to be behind with something

For example:

• zalegać z czynszem = to be behind with the rent
• zalegać z rachunkami = to be behind with the bills

No, not in this sentence.

Learners often notice that negation in Polish can sometimes affect case, especially with direct objects. But here opłatą is not a direct object. It is part of the fixed prepositional phrase z opłatą.

So the case is controlled by z, not by nie.

That is why it stays:

• z opłatą not
• z opłaty

In Polish, subject pronouns are often omitted when the verb already shows who the subject is.

The form chcę already means I want, so ja is unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or contrast.

So:

• Nie chcę zalegać z opłatą. = normal, natural
• Ja nie chcę zalegać z opłatą. = I don’t want to be behind with the payment (emphatic)

Polish does this much more often than English.

Zalegać is imperfective.

That fits well because the idea is a state or ongoing situation: being in arrears, being behind, remaining unpaid over time.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about avoiding that state:

• Nie chcę zalegać... = I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m behind...

This is one of those verbs where the imperfective form is the normal, useful one for everyday financial contexts. Even if you are thinking of a future result in English, Polish naturally uses zalegać here.

Yes, it is natural.

It sounds like something you might say about a fee, charge, bill, or payment obligation. It has a slightly formal or financial feel.

Depending on context, you might also hear:

• Nie chcę zalegać z płatnością = I don’t want to be behind with the payment
• Nie chcę mieć zaległości = I don’t want to have arrears / outstanding dues
• Nie chcę spóźnić się z opłatą = I don’t want to be late with the payment

These are similar, but not identical:

• zalegać focuses on being in arrears / overdue
• spóźnić się focuses on being late
• mieć zaległości focuses on having outstanding obligations

Yes, it could be plural, depending on what you mean.

• z opłatą = with the payment / fee (one payment, one fee, one charge)
• z opłatami = with payments / fees (more than one)

So:

• Nie chcę zalegać z opłatą.
  = I don’t want to fall behind on this payment/fee.

• Nie chcę zalegać z opłatami.
  = I don’t want to fall behind on my payments/fees.

The singular is fine if one specific payment is meant.

Yes. Polish word order is more flexible than English, though the neutral version here is:

• Nie chcę zalegać z opłatą.

You could change the order for emphasis, for example:

• Z opłatą nie chcę zalegać.
• Nie chcę z opłatą zalegać.

These are possible, but they sound more marked or stylistic. For a learner, the standard order is the best one to use first.

Yes, chcę is one of the trickier common Polish forms.

A rough guide:

• ch sounds like a hard h sound
• the c here sounds like ts
• ę is a nasal vowel, but before pauses and in everyday speech it is often pronounced in a simplified way

So chcę is roughly like hts-eh or khts-eh, depending on the speaker and accent. The important thing is that the middle cluster is compact.

Also:

• zalegać = za-le-gachch (roughly; final ć is a soft ch sound)

If pronunciation is your goal, it helps to learn the whole sentence as one rhythm unit:

• Nie chcę zalegać z opłatą.

They are close, but not exactly the same.

• opłata = a fee, charge, or sometimes the payment of that fee
• płatność = payment, more focused on the act or instance of paying

So:

• zalegać z opłatą can suggest being behind on a fee/charge that is due
• zalegać z płatnością sounds a bit more like being behind on the payment itself

In many contexts both are possible, but opłata often points more clearly to a specific charge such as:

• a membership fee
• an administrative fee
• a utility charge

So the original sentence is perfectly fine, especially if a specific fee is being discussed.