These are expenses that cannot be considered economically justified or documented (corresponding to Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). For example, these may be the cost of paying for a taxi in cases where there is an alternative to getting to the destination by public transport, the cost of lunch in a restaurant, payment for mobile communications in the absence of documentary evidence of the official nature of the negotiations.

Tax authorities may deem unlawful for income tax purposes the costs of wages paid to an employee with whom a written employment contract has not been concluded. But this is controversial, and the courts side with the enterprise that paid such income. For example, in the resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North-Western District dated April 23, 2010 No. A13-5979/2009, the judges confirmed the legality of including such expenses as expenses. In making their decision, they were guided by the employee’s testimony and the interrogation protocol of the employing organization.

The question of the possibility of including in the expenses that reduce the tax base for income tax the costs of remuneration in kind, exceeding 20 percent of the accrued salary, is also considered controversial. Let us recall that Article 131 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation limits non-monetary payments to precisely this share. According to the official position of officials from the highest department, it is possible to include salaries paid in kind into expenses only within 20 percent of the accrued monthly salary (letter dated October 5, 2009 No. 03-03-05/200). What is above must be attributed to the profits remaining at the disposal of the enterprise, officials say.

Officials do not recognize income tax expenses and employee compensation for delayed wages (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 31, 2011 No. 03-03-06/2/164). But in this matter, the judges are again on the side of the enterprises (resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga Region dated August 30, 2010 No. A55-35672/2009). They stated that the costs in the form of monetary compensation paid to employees constituted a sanction for breach of contractual obligations. Accordingly, they can be taken into account in expenses that reduce taxable profit, in accordance with subparagraph 13 of paragraph 1 of Article 265 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

What employee income is subject to contributions?

Enterprises calculate and pay insurance premiums for mandatory types in accordance with Federal Law No. 212-FZ of July 24, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as Federal Law No. 212-FZ). And in terms of contributions to compulsory social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases - in accordance with Federal Law No. 125-FZ of July 24, 1998 (hereinafter referred to as Federal Law No. 125-FZ).

According to Part 1 of Article 7 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ and paragraph 1 of Article 20.1 of Federal Law No. 125-FZ, the object of taxation of insurance premiums for enterprises are payments and other remunerations accrued by them in favor of the framework of labor relations and civil contracts, the subject which is the performance of work and provision of services. In accordance with Article 8 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ and paragraph 2 of Article 20.1 of Federal Law No. 125-FZ, the basis for calculating insurance premiums is the amount of payments and other remunerations accrued by payers of insurance premiums for the billing period in favor of insured individuals.

The legislation does not make it dependent on the fact that payments are included in expenses when calculating income tax with the obligation to impose insurance payments on these payments. Thus, it does not matter from what source payments were made to individuals or how they are taken into account when calculating corporate income tax. An exception is the amounts specified in Article 9 of Federal Law No. 212-FZ, and in terms of contributions for compulsory social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases - the amounts specified in Article 20.2 of Federal Law No. 125-FZ.

In particular, insurance premiums are not charged for:

• all types of compensation payments within the limits of the legislation;
• one-time financial assistance at the birth of a child. At the same time, non-taxable payments to employees are limited to the amount of 50,000 rubles. If aid amounts exceed this threshold, they are subject to contributions;
• financial assistance provided to employees not exceeding 4,000 rubles. in year;
• payment by the enterprise for training employees in professional educational programs;
• amounts paid to reimburse the costs of paying interest on the purchase or construction of housing;
• expenses for business trips of employees in the form of daily allowances, as well as the cost of travel to the destination and back.

Can all insurance premiums be written off as expenses?

An enterprise that pays income tax reduces the income received by the amount of expenses incurred, with the exception of expenses specified in Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This provision is provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. At the same time, Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not name such type of expenses as insurance premiums from payments made from net profit. At the same time, according to subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, other expenses associated with production and sales include the amounts of insurance premiums accrued:

• to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation for compulsory pension insurance;
• to the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity;
• to the Federal Compulsory Insurance Fund for compulsory health insurance.

As can be seen from this norm, in order for insurance premiums to be recognized when taxing profits, they must be accrued in the manner established by the legislation of the Russian Federation, and not be mentioned in Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Let us recall that in accordance with paragraphs 6 and 7 of this article, expenses in the form of contributions for voluntary insurance and non-state pension provision (except for contributions specified in Articles 255, 263 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) are not included in the costs.

The fact that insurance premiums from payments made from net profit are included in expenses when taxing the profits of organizations on the basis of subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is confirmed by official explanations given by officials from the highest financial department (letter from the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 15, 2013 No. 03-03-06/1/27562).

Earlier, in letter No. 03-03-05/85 of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 23, 2010, it was stated that insurance premiums accrued in relation to payments not taken into account for profit taxation are recognized as part of other expenses associated with production and sales, in accordance with subparagraph 49 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

But insurance premiums for compulsory social insurance against industrial accidents and occupational diseases are taken into account as expenses that reduce the tax base for income tax, on the basis of subparagraph 45 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Such explanations from officials are contained in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 3, 2012 No. 03-03-06/1/457.

How to reflect payments from profits and accrued contributions in accounting

To account for settlements with an employee sent on a business trip, account 71 “Settlements with accountable persons” is used, and for other payments - account 73 “Settlements with personnel for other transactions”. Account 73 can be used, for example, when paying financial assistance. The organization's expenses for paying financial assistance to an employee (the amount of financial assistance paid, as well as accrued insurance premiums) are not related to the manufacture and sale of products, the acquisition and sale of goods. This means that these costs are other expenses (clauses 2, 4, 11 of PBU 10/99, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 6, 1999 No. 33n). Such expenses are recognized in accounting on the date the debt to the employee arises (clauses 16, 17, 19 of PBU 10/99).

The inclusion of material assistance in expenses is reflected by an entry in the debit of account 91 “Other income and expenses” subaccount “Other expenses” and in the credit of account 73. The accrual of insurance premiums is reflected by an entry in the debit of account 91 and the credit of account 69 “Calculations for social insurance and security”.

Payment of cash to an employee is reflected by an entry in the debit of account 73 and the credit of account 50 “Cash”.

Financial assistance in accounting is fully included in expenses, and in tax accounting - in the amount of no more than 4,000 rubles. in year. As a result, on the date of accrual of financial assistance, a permanent difference and a corresponding permanent tax liability may arise in the organization’s accounting (clauses 4, 7 of PBU 18/02, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 19, 2002 No. 114n). It is reflected by an entry in the debit of account 99 “Profits and losses” and the credit of account 68.

A. Zdorovenko,
accounting and tax consultant, LLC "AZ - Consultant"

When calculating material assistance and one-time bonuses (for anniversaries, holidays), the organization calculates insurance premiums for these payments. The amount of accrued payments in favor of employees is charged to account 91.02 (does not reduce the tax base expenses for income tax). According to the recommendation The Ministry of Finance can reduce the taxable base for income tax by the amount of insurance premiums accrued for these payments. What tax risks does an organization have when attributing these expenses (insurance premiums) to reducing the taxable base for income tax? Are there any court decisions on this issue in favor of taxpayers? ?

When calculating income tax, expenses in the form of insurance contributions for compulsory pension, social and health insurance, accrued for payments that are not included in expenses for corporate income tax (material assistance, one-time bonuses) are taken into account as part of other expenses.

There is no judicial practice, since the official version is on the side of the taxpayer.

The rationale for this position is given below in the materials of the Glavbukh System

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BASIC

When calculating income tax, include the accrued amounts of insurance premiums in other expenses associated with production and sales (subclause 1, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This rule applies to the entire amount of insurance premiums, regardless of whether the payments for which contributions were calculated reduce taxable profit or not (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 18, 2010 No. 03-03-06/1/146).*

If the organization uses the cash method, then include accrued amounts of insurance premiums in expenses only after they have been transferred to the budget (subclause 3, clause 3, article 273 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If an organization uses the accrual method, the fact of payment of contributions does not matter - the costs of paying contributions relate to the month in which they were accrued (clause 1, subclause 1, clause 7, Article 272 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 25, 2010 No. 03-03-06/2/101, dated May 12, 2010 No. 03-03-06/1/323, dated April 13, 2010 No. 03-03-06/1/255, dated April 13 2010 No. 03-03-06/1/258, dated March 16, 2010 No. 03-03-06/1/140 and the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated April 7, 2010 No. 3-2-12/21). Insurance premiums are included in expenses at a time, even if the payments for which they are accrued relate to different reporting (tax) periods (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 13, 2010 No. 03-03-06/1/258).

When calculating income tax, take into account the amounts of insurance premiums additionally accrued based on the results of audits for previous periods in the period in which they were accrued (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 15, 2013 No. 03-03-06/1/7994).

The moment at which insurance premiums are included in the tax base depends on whether the remuneration from which contributions are calculated belongs to direct or indirect expenses (clause 1 of Article 318 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Insurance premiums, which are considered direct expenses, should be taken into account when calculating income tax as you sell products in the cost of which they are included (paragraph 2, paragraph 2, article 318 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If an organization is engaged in the production and sale of products (works, services), write down the list of direct expenses in the accounting policy (clause 1 of Article 318 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Attention: the organization determines the procedure for classifying insurance premiums as direct or indirect expenses independently (clause 1 of Article 318 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 25, 2010 No. 03-03-06/2/101 and the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated February 24, 2011 No. KE-4-3/2952). At the same time, dividing costs into direct and indirect should be economically justified. Otherwise, the tax office may recalculate the income tax.*

Thus, take into account salaries and insurance premiums accrued for employees directly involved in production as part of direct expenses. The salary and fees accrued on it for the administration of the organization are classified as indirect expenses.

Insurance premiums, which are classified as indirect expenses, should be taken into account when calculating income tax at the time of their accrual (paragraph 1, paragraph 2, article 318 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If an organization provides services, then direct costs can be taken into account, as well as indirect ones, at the time of their accrual (paragraph 3, paragraph 2, article 318 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

In trade organizations, salaries and insurance premiums are recognized as indirect expenses (paragraph 3 of Article 320 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, take them into account when calculating income tax at the time of accrual.

Funds received from the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia to reimburse expenses for compulsory social insurance are not recognized as income of the organization. Therefore, such revenues do not increase the tax base for income tax. This follows from the provisions of the articles and the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and is confirmed by letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 13, 2013 No. 03-11-11/98. Despite the fact that the letter is addressed to the single tax payer under simplification, it can also be used as a guide when calculating income tax: the principles of income recognition for tax purposes are the same for all tax regimes.

Sergey Razgulin, Deputy Director of the Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy of the Ministry of Finance of Russia

2. LETTER OF THE RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF FINANCE dated August 17, 2012 No. 03-03-06/1/419

On accounting for profit tax purposes of expenses in the form of insurance contributions paid to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund

Question:
The LLC, at the expense of its net profit, pays financial assistance and other social benefits to the employees of the enterprise. Insurance premiums are charged on payments and other remuneration in favor of employees, regardless of whether such payments are taken into account in reducing taxable profit or not.
When deciding where to include these Insurance premiums (profit or indirect expenses), we believe that they should be included in other expenses (clause 45, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Our position is based on the following:
1. Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not contain provisions that do not allow taking into account when taxing profits Insurance premiums accrued for payments and remunerations that are not recognized as expenses for the purposes of Chapter 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
2. Similarly, insurance contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation and the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund are not indicated in Article 270 and are classified as “other” (clause 1, clause 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
3. The Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga Region spoke in favor of classifying “insurance premiums” as expenses for profit tax purposes in Resolution N A55-11745/2004-41 dated March 22, 2005.
Please state your opinion - are we right or wrong?

The Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy reviewed the letter on the issue of accounting for profit tax purposes in the form of insurance contributions paid to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, and the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund, and reports the following.
In accordance with the Federal Law of July 24, 2009 N 212-FZ "On insurance contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation, the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund" payments and other rewards to individuals, including those made from funds not taken into account when taxing profits are subject to insurance contributions, with the exception of those expressly mentioned in Article 9 of the above law.*
According to paragraph 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), the taxpayer reduces the income received by the amount of expenses incurred, with the exception of those expenses specified in Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not contain provisions that do not allow insurance premiums accrued for payments and remunerations that are not recognized as expenses for the purposes of Chapter 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation to be taken into account when taxing profits.
Taking into account the above, expenses in the form of insurance contributions for compulsory pension, social and medical insurance, including those accrued for payments not included in corporate income tax expenses, are taken into account as part of other expenses on the basis

The most popular tax regime for small businesses. Another name for this system is “USN 6 percent”, because the standard tax rate here is only 6% of income received. But this calculated amount of tax can be further reduced due to insurance premiums that individual entrepreneurs pay for themselves, and employers for employees. Find out how to reduce tax on insurance premiums using our calculations as an example.

Normative base

First, a little theory, which allows payers of the simplified tax system to reduce the calculated tax by 6 percent down to zero. The opportunity to take into account amounts paid in 2019 for the simplified tax system is provided by Article 346.21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Here is the very provision from this article: “Taxpayers who have chosen income as an object of taxation reduce the amount of tax (advance tax payments) calculated for the tax (reporting) period by the amount of insurance contributions for compulsory pension insurance, compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity, compulsory medical insurance, compulsory social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases paid (within the calculated amounts) in a given tax (reporting) period.”

The tax period for individual entrepreneurs on the simplified tax system of 6% is a calendar year, and the reporting periods, based on the results of which it is necessary to calculate and pay, are the following periods: the first quarter, half a year and 9 months. The deadline for making advance payments is no later than the 25th day of the month following the reporting period (April 25, July, October, respectively).

If the payer of the simplified tax system for income paid insurance premiums for himself or for employees during the reporting period, then the calculated advance payment can be reduced. Moreover, the reduction of the simplified tax system for the amount of insurance premiums in 2019 for individual entrepreneurs without employees is carried out in a special manner - they can reduce the advance payment for all contributions paid. If an entrepreneur has employees, then the tax can be reduced by no more than 50%. This is indicated in the same article 346.21 of the Tax Code.

It is no coincidence that we are considering a reduction in tax payments due to paid insurance premiums only for the simplified system in the “Income” option. The fact is that when choosing, the taxpayer has the right only to take into account the paid contributions in his expenses, but cannot reduce the tax payments themselves.

How to reduce tax on the simplified tax system for individual entrepreneurs without employees

First, let's look at the reduction in the simplified tax system for the amount of insurance premiums in 2019 for individual entrepreneurs without employees. We will show you how to reduce calculated tax payments using a specific example.

Example

An entrepreneur who has chosen the simplified tax system for income independently provides household services to the population. In 2019, he received an income of 937,000 rubles. What taxes and contributions should he pay on such income?

The amount of tax for individual entrepreneurs on the simplified tax system of 6% will be (937,000 * 6%) 56,220 rubles. In addition, the entrepreneur must pay insurance premiums for himself. in 2019 for the simplified tax system it is made as follows: a minimum fixed contribution of 36,238 rubles plus an additional contribution (1% of the amount of income over 300,000 rubles) of 6,370 rubles, a total of 42,608 rubles.

At first glance, it can be assumed that the total amount to be paid to the budget will be equal to 42,608 rubles of contributions plus 56,220 rubles of tax and advance payments. Total, 98,828 rubles. In fact, this is not true.

A simplified 6 percent rate for an entrepreneur without employees allows you to reduce the tax that was assessed. As a result, the individual entrepreneur will pay only 56,220 rubles to the budget along with contributions, but this must be done correctly.

Although there is one deadline for paying contributions for yourself (no later than December 31), in order to immediately reduce the calculated 6 percent for individual entrepreneurs, contributions should be paid in installments every quarter. The table reflects the amounts of income and paid contributions for the reporting periods on an accrual basis, as established by Article 346.21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

*Note: the additional 1% contribution can be paid later, before July 1, 2020, but the entrepreneur transferred the entire amount in the current year.

Now, using these data as an example, let’s see how advance payments and taxes are calculated and reduced at the end of the year at the expense of paid contributions.

1. For the first quarter: 135,000 * 6% = 8,100 minus paid contributions of 8,000, 100 rubles remain to be paid.
2. For the six months, the calculated payment will be 418,000 * 6% = 25,080 rubles. We subtract the contributions paid for the half-year and the advance paid for the first quarter: 25,080 - 18,000 - 100 = 6,980 rubles. All that remains is to pay extra into the budget.
3. For nine months, the calculated tax will be 614,000 * 6% = 36,840 rubles. We reduce by paid fees and advances: 36,840 - 27,000 - 100 - 6,980 = 2,760 rubles. You must list them before October 25th.
4. At the end of the year, we calculate how much the entrepreneur needs to pay extra by April 30: 937,000 * 6% = 56,220 - 42,608 - 100 - 6980 - 2760 = 3,772 rubles.

Let's check the accuracy of the calculations again. Total paid:

• advance payments based on the results of the reporting periods: (100 + 6980 + 2760) 9,840;
• remaining tax at the end of the year 3,772;
• contributions for the whole year 42,608.

We find that indeed all payments to the budget amounted to 56,220 rubles, and not 98,828 rubles, as it might seem at first glance.

What would the calculation be like if advance payments to the simplified tax system at the end of the reporting periods did not decrease, because the entrepreneur paid contributions for himself in one amount at the end of the year - December 30?

In this case, advance payments are made each reporting period in full, i.e. instead of 9,840 rubles, based on the results of nine months, the individual entrepreneur will transfer 36,840 rubles. The remaining tax (56,220 - 36,840) = 19,380 is reduced by the one-time contribution amount of 42,608 rubles, resulting in an overpayment of tax by 23,228 rubles.

For the convenience of paying taxes and insurance premiums, we recommend opening a current account. Moreover, now many banks offer favorable conditions for opening and maintaining a current account.

How to reduce tax payments on the simplified tax system for individual entrepreneurs with employees

If an entrepreneur hires workers, then advance payments and the tax itself can be reduced by the amount of contributions, but not more than 50%. In this case, it is allowed to take into account contributions paid not only for oneself, but also for employees.

In general, the rate of insurance premiums for an employee is 30% of salary and other payments:

• for pension insurance - 22%;
• for health insurance - 5.1%;
• for social insurance - 2.9%.

In addition, you must pay contributions to the Social Insurance Fund, the rate of which, depending on the professional risk class of the individual entrepreneur’s activity, ranges from 0.2% to 8.5%.

Until 2019, many entrepreneurs using the simplified tax system paid a reduced rate of insurance contributions for employees (only 20% for pension insurance). However, starting this year, the benefit was canceled, so simplified workers pay insurance premiums on a general basis.

Example

In 2019, an individual entrepreneur and an employee earned 1,780,450 rubles. We will reflect the receipt of income and payment of contributions for ourselves and for the employee in this table.

The calculated tax taking into account advance payments in this example will be 1,780,450 * 6% = 106,827 rubles, and contributions for individual entrepreneurs and for the employee were paid in the amount of 78,790. Taking into account the 50% limit, the calculated tax can only be reduced to (106,827/ 2) 53413.5 rubles, although the contributions paid are more than this amount. As we can see, the financial burden of an individual entrepreneur on the simplified tax system is higher not only due to contributions for employees, but also due to the limitation of tax benefits.

If you still have questions or would like advice from a professional, we can offer free tax consultation from 1C.

The selected object of taxation on the simplified tax system affects the right of the simplified person to take into account his expenses when determining the tax base. But even with the object “income of 6%”, a simplifier can reduce his tax by a number of payments. We will tell you how to do this in our consultation.

simplified tax system "income"

A simplifier in KUDiR reflects his income from sales and non-operating income (clause 1 of Article 346.15 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) using the “cash” method. What relates to income from sales can be read in Art. 249 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The list of non-operating income is given in Art. 250 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The “cash” method of recognizing the income of a simplifier means that his income is recognized on the date of receipt of funds and other property or repayment of debt in another way (clause 1 of Article 346.17 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

• contributions paid from employee benefits to extra-budgetary funds;
• temporary disability benefits paid at the expense of the employer (except for industrial accidents and occupational diseases);
• payments for voluntary insurance of employees in case of their temporary disability under certain conditions.

In addition, the payer of the trade tax who is on the simplified tax system “income” can reduce his tax by it using a simplified tax system (clause 8 of article 346.21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The listed fee reduces only that part of the “simplified” tax, which is calculated for the activities subject to the trade fee.

Simplified tax system “income 6%”: reduction of tax on contributions

Contributions to extra-budgetary funds reduce tax under the simplified tax system under the following conditions:

• the contributions were actually paid in the reporting (tax) period in which the simplifier wants to reduce his tax;
• contributions have been paid within the calculated amounts. This means that it is impossible to reduce the tax on contributions that are transferred in excess of the accrued amounts, resulting in an overpayment of contributions. Overpaid contributions can be taken into account in the period in which a decision is made to offset these amounts against arrears of contributions. At the same time, payment of arrears in contributions that have arisen over previous years reduces the tax during the period of payment of contributions;
• Only those amounts of insurance premiums that were accrued during the period of application of the simplified tax system can be reduced. If a simplifier pays off debt on contributions that arose during the period of application, for example, of OSNO, it will not be possible to reduce the tax under the simplified tax system on them.

How much can you reduce tax under the simplified tax system?

Contributions to extra-budgetary funds of the simplifier, as well as other payments listed in clause 3.1 of Art. 346.21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, they can reduce the tax of an organization under the simplified tax system or a simplified individual entrepreneur with employees by a maximum of 50%.

If a simplified individual entrepreneur does not have employees, then he can reduce his tax by the insurance premiums paid for himself without restrictions.

The amounts of contributions and other payments by which a simplifier reduces his tax on the simplified tax system will be reflected in the Tax Return under the simplified tax system in 2019 (approved by Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated February 26, 2016 N ММВ-7-3/99@​) on lines 140-143 Section 2.1.1.

Every business owner at least once a year thinks about how to reduce income taxes. Effective managers think about this constantly, because no one wants to share the capital they earn with their blood and sweat. In this article we:

• We will check which taxation system suits your business;
• Let's look at the most effective legal ways to reduce the tax burden;
• We will review illegal schemes for evading income taxes;
• We will develop an algorithm for testing the optimization method for legality.

The first step to optimizing income tax is choosing a tax system. The tax system is a legally established procedure in which taxes are collected from individuals and legal entities.

Today, three taxation systems are legally defined for use by a wide range of individuals and legal entities, one for peasant farms and one for individual entrepreneurs - patent holders. Each of them carries advantages and disadvantages.

Let's figure out which system is right for you. To do this, let’s get acquainted with them in more detail, considering them in order of growth of the business of the proposed taxpayer.

Unified tax on imputed income (UTII)

This is the name of the preferential tax system, which is fundamentally different from the others. The difference is that the tax base is determined not on the basis of actual performance indicators for the period, but on the basis of the basic “imputed” profitability. To find out the amount of imputed profitability, refer to the Tax Code Art. 346.29 paragraph 3.

Income from the provision of household services is estimated by the state at 7,500 rubles per month. A little, right? There is one caveat - household services can only be provided to individuals.

Other types of activities also have quite reasonable “imputed” income. Veterinarians will have a tax base of 7,500 rubles, car mechanics - 10,000 rubles, sellers - 4,500 rubles, drivers - from 1,000 to 6,000 rubles.

The tax is calculated as 15% of the amount of imputed income multiplied by coefficients K1 and K2. The K1 coefficient is determined once a year by order of the Ministry of Economic Development, the K2 coefficient is determined by local authorities.

UTII is a good choice for individuals and organizations that have large incomes while using few resources. With proper calculation, it may turn out that paying 15% UTII will be less in absolute amount than 13% personal income tax.

But there are also pitfalls here.

Firstly, only a small part of individual entrepreneurs and organizations can work with UTII. Among the permitted sectors of activity:

• passenger and freight transportation;
• catering services (with restrictions)
• maintenance, repair and car wash;
• rental of apartments and commercial premises;
• parking space rental services;
• retail trade (with restrictions);
• veterinary services;
• advertising services (with restrictions);
• certain paid services to individuals and others described in Art. 346 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Article 346.26 limits the possibilities of switching to the Unified Tax Fund even more. You cannot use UTII if:

• you have more than 100 employees;
• You have a share of more than 25% in another legal entity;
• You use simple partnership and trust agreements;
• local laws limit the use of UTII.

Secondly, you must be sure that you will receive sufficient income every month, because the tax is paid regardless of whether you actually worked and whether you earned a profit.

Finally, from January 1, 2021, UTII will be cancelled. Take this point into account when choosing a tax system.

Simplified taxation system (USNO)

The simplified tax system is also a preferential taxation system, but can be used much more widely than UTII. The simplified tax system is called that way because the methodology for calculating the tax base and tax is extremely simple.

In the first option, the tax is calculated as 6% of income. When using this option, you do not need to confirm expenses for the tax office.

In the second option, you pay 15% of the profit, that is, you take into account and confirm income and expenses.

An entrepreneur or organization using the simplified tax system is a single tax payer, which replaces part of the taxes: income tax, VAT, personal income tax (for the business owner), property tax. But other taxes: transport and land, personal income tax for hired personnel and, in special cases, property tax - will need to be paid.

Which taxation method to choose can also be calculated. To do this we use the inequality:

0.06 × Income - Deductible amounts< 0,15 × (Доходы — Расходы)

If the inequality is satisfied, then it is more profitable to choose a tax of 6% on income, but if not, then it is better to switch to 15% on profit.

However, there are certain restrictions when switching to the simplified tax system. You will not be able to use the benefits of the simplified tax system if:

1. Your organization has branches.
2. You are engaged in the production of excisable goods.
3. You are engaged in pawnshop activities.
4. You provide gambling services.
5. More than a hundred people work for you.
6. There are more than one hundred million fixed assets in your organization.
7. You or your organization has a stake of more than 25% in other firms.
8. The turnover of your organization over the past nine months has exceeded 45 million rubles, multiplied by the deflator coefficient.

It is worth noting that 6% and 15% are the maximum rates that can be reduced by the territorial laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Minimum rates are 0% and 5% respectively.

On the websites of regional tax services you can find all the necessary information on the legislative framework for reducing income tax.

Basic taxation system (OSNO)

OSNO is the most fiscally and administratively loaded regime. Organizations working in this system maintain full accounting and tax records, calculate and pay all taxes existing in Russian tax legislation.

For 2017, the income tax rate under OSNO is 20%.

Once you have decided on your tax regime, it's time to think about methods to optimize your income tax. Let's take a quick look at the special tax regimes.

Optimization of the single tax on imputed income

There are only two ways to reduce UTII:

1. Earn a lot consistently, much more than your imputed income. Then the UTII in relation to your income will be less.
2. You can reduce the amount of tax by a maximum of half by deducting social contributions paid for employees, certificates of incapacity for work and amounts of voluntary insurance.

Reduction of single tax with simplified tax system 6%

You can reduce the income tax of 6% under the simplified tax system in the same way as UTII by subtracting from the resulting tax amount:

1. Contributions to the Pension Fund, Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund, Social Insurance Fund.
2. Payment of sick leave.
3. Payments for voluntary health insurance for employees.

If you are an individual entrepreneur in the singular, then you can apply deductions in the full amount, but if you use hired labor, then you can reduce the single tax by only 50%.

Table 1. Tax reduction rules

Reduction of single tax with simplified tax system 15%

Those who have chosen the simplified tax system “income-expenses” have a much wider field for creativity in reducing taxes.

Accordingly, within the limits of allowed expenses, you can reduce the tax base. Let's see how this can be done.

Accounting for the minimum tax for the previous period

If last year you paid the minimum tax, then this year you can offset the amount by which the minimum tax exceeded the calculated single tax.

Accounting for past losses

If in one or more previous years you incurred a loss, you can offset the amount of the loss when calculating your tax base. You can use data for the past 10 years.

Increasing expenses within the limits allowed

Here are some extremely legal ways to increase your company's expenses without spending anything:

1. Employment of company owners. Everything is simple here: by working in your own business, you increase the company’s expenses on your wages. If you only received dividends, you would not be able to reduce your tax base on them. The direct benefit, of course, will be small, since you will pay personal income tax in the amount of 13% of your salary and also social contributions. But how many opportunities will open up for you! You will be able to go on business trips for work, study, buy consumables and fixed assets to perform your duties. And all this will be included in the expenses of your business.
2. Inclusion of the owner's property in fixed assets. For example, you work as a general director. And you buy yourself a new car so that you can drive it to work. Register your car as a fixed asset and you will reduce your monthly expenses by the amount of depreciation, fuel, maintenance and washing services.
3. The acquisition by an organization of property actually necessary for the business owner. Let's say you earned a good profit, and you have a decent amount of money and an equally decent tax base. You can buy commercial space for your organization and rent it out to yourself for a nominal fee. You will then sublease it yourself. The “one pocket” principle works here. That is, you simply transfer money from one pocket to another, while reducing taxes.
4. Bypassing regulated expenses. Some of the expenses listed in Article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation are regulated. That is, they cannot be more than a certain amount. These include: expenses for workwear and uniforms, entertainment expenses, interest on loans in excess of the norm, and others. These costs affect almost all types of businesses, so bypassing regulations has a strong positive effect.

A good example of circumventing the rules would be the replacement of compensation for the use of personal vehicles for business purposes with rental agreements for employees’ personal cars in taxi companies. It seems to be the same, but the tax base is smaller.

If, based on the results of calculations, the tax amount is less than 1% of the amount of income, 1% of the amount of income must be paid to the budget.

Video - White ways to optimize taxes

Reduction of income tax under OSNO

The greatest scope for imagination opens up for taxpayers in the general regime.

Firstly, they can use all methods to reduce the tax of “simplified” people by 15%. And they can add a lot for themselves. Read below about the variety of options, from the simplest to the most sophisticated.

Creating reserves for future expenses

A provision is a write-off in the current period of expenses that will definitely be incurred in a future period.

In accordance with the law, a company can create reserves for the impairment of overdue accounts receivable, for the payment of vacation pay to employees, for annual bonus payments to employees (only specified in the employment contract), and for the depreciation of securities. You need to understand that creating a reserve helps speed up the recognition of expenses, and does not increase expenses as a whole. And if there is no expense in the future, the reserve will need to be restored (read: included in income).

Overestimation of associated costs

Almost every company rents an office or warehouse. In rented areas, it is necessary to maintain life systems, clean, and maintain fixed assets and other labor tools in good condition. All of these expenses are suitable tools for inflating costs.

Personnel training, consulting services

All these items relate to other costs associated with the production of goods. Therefore, train your staff. And you will receive benefits in the form of added value to the business, and the favor of employees, and you will reduce taxes.

The use of any type of consultation from software implementation to marketing research also reduces taxes.

Depreciation of fixed assets

Everyone knows that depreciation of fixed assets is taken into account as an expense when forming the tax base. But not everyone knows that when writing off a fixed asset, you can include in expenses all non-accrued depreciation, as well as the costs of dismantling, recycling and removal of the fixed asset

Offset of overpayments on taxes

Well, let us remind you that advances on income tax may not correspond to the final estimated tax amount for the period. Therefore, the organization accumulates overpayments that need to be read out on time. Otherwise, after three years you will lose these amounts irrevocably.

Creation of a group of companies, some of which are “simplified”

The main thing here is either not to advertise the connection between the founders of the group companies, or to make the group model justified. For example, you can segment your business by areas of activity, or by regions of presence. But if the tax inspector discovers the connection and finds it suspicious, you will need to provide a clear argument as to why you did what you did.

Use of offshore companies

The scheme for using offshore companies is similar to the previous one and is absolutely legal, despite the created image of “dark dealings”. Here, as in the previous version, the main thing is to prove to the tax inspector the validity of the existence of a group of companies.

Traditionally, the argument in favor of creating an offshore company is the presence of an intangible asset (copyrights, patents, brand) that needs to be protected. The asset is transferred to an offshore company, and companies in Russia pay for the use of royalties (read: withdraw funds to a low-tax jurisdiction).

Attention! All payment transactions abroad are controlled by the bank's currency control. For carrying out currency transactions using forged documents, Art. 193.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for criminal liability. Therefore, make sure that payment documents are not deliberately false.

Transfer of assets to a simplified person

Transfer of assets is also an option for creating a group of companies, only now the company’s assets – machines, equipment, offices and other means of labor – become the main protagonist.

The advantages of this scheme include not only savings on profit tax in a company on OSNO due to inflated expenses, but also the absence of property tax in a company using the simplified tax system. Everyone enjoys the scheme.

Profit tax savings due to leasing

Leasing is truly a treasure trove of tax optimization methods. You can choose one of the proposed options or use both:

1. Accelerated depreciation of the leased asset. You can enter into an agreement with the lessor in such a form that, according to all accounting rules, you will have to assign a useful life equal to the term of the agreement. And that's what you need. The useful life is reduced - depreciation increases - income tax is reduced. At the same time, you reduce property tax, since it is proportional to the cost of fixed assets.
2. Leaseback as a means of saving on taxes. The essence of leaseback: a company transfers its property to a leasing company, and then receives it on lease, i.e. actually takes out a loan secured by equipment. Thus, the company solves several financial problems, one of which is to reduce income tax by inflating expenses, the second is to reduce property tax due to the lack of property (on paper).

Illegal tax optimization schemes. How can you not do it?

In our article, we considered exclusively legal methods of reducing income taxes.

Let’s touch on illegal methods so that readers don’t get into trouble in the heat of tax optimization.

Hiding income

All income of the organization, both income from the sale of main products and non-operating income, must be reflected in the organization’s accounting and documented. The creation of so-called “gray” cash registers, in which the movement of unaccounted funds occurs, is illegal.

Use of intermediary schemes

An intermediary scheme refers to actions when a company sells its product or service through an intermediary controlled by it. For example, a manufacturing company sells goods at a minimum markup to a commission agent. The same, in turn, resells it at a significant profit. The commission agent company itself can be either a one-day company or a “simplistic” one.

Transfer scheme

Quite a popular scheme, similar to the scheme of work of a group of companies, some of which are “simplified”. Only here the group companies, taking advantage of their affiliation, inflate the prices of sales of raw materials or services within the company. Companies on a low-tax regime sell goods (services) to companies on OSNO at a price significantly higher than the market. Transfer legislation suppresses these attempts.

Working through fly-by-night companies

A “one-day” company is a company that is created not for business purposes, but to obtain tax benefits. As a rule, such a company does not exist for long, until the first tax audit.

Fraudsters can create a shell company as part of a group or use the services of “fly-by-night companies” - people whose illegal business is built on helping completely “white” companies inflate costs or launder money. Fly-by-night companies provide deliberately false information about services provided (most often) or goods supplied, receive money from the company and then return it in cash minus a certain percentage.

We have listed only a few of the most common illegal ways to reduce income taxes; in fact, there are many more of them. To avoid becoming a tax criminal, intentionally or unknowingly, check the optimization methods used according to the following scheme.

Algorithm for checking the legality of tax optimization. Tax inspector's opinion

1. Every deal made must have a business purpose. Along the way, the tax is reduced - please, but business is at the forefront.
2. The transaction price must be justified and must not contradict Chapter 40 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
3. Any transaction within a group of companies must fit into business logic.
4. For each transaction, all documents must be drawn up: contracts, acts, invoices, invoices, etc.
5. The parties entering into a transaction with a tax reduction effect must not be related.