How to legally reduce income tax. "Useful" expenses: reducing income tax

Any modern educated financier understands that the value of money paid in the future is not equal to the value of the same amount of money spent in the present moment. By now, we will mean the next 12 months, based on the classic understanding of the short and long term. For those who left the institute penates long ago and do not have the opportunity to attend modern trainings and courses, we recall that if the company managed to delay the moment of the outflow of cash resources for the future, then it received two fat pluses in its treasury of values:

1. She will pay less in the future due to the factor of depreciation of money over time (the effect of inflation);
2. In the present there are free cash, which can be directed towards much more useful goals for the development of the company, increasing its intrinsic value than paying taxes.

Well, in our country, in addition to the time factor of the cost of money, one should also take into account the fact that one should try to "create" such reports, the indicators of which will not attract undue attention of tax inspectors, because no manager or accountant will be happy to see representatives of the Federal Tax Service at his place visiting with a surprise check or being summoned for questioning about leaps in the company's financial performance. So our accountants work day and night during reporting periods so that the figures not only do not contradict the tax code, but also the inspectors are not interested. Moreover, it is dangerous to show both a sharp profit and a loss here.

When deciding whether to show a sharp increase in profits in post-crisis periods, you can advise how public companies act in this regard in their reports available on company websites: if the sphere of activity of organizations coincides with yours, and they are for the most part boldly show the growth of financial indicators, then your unprofitable statements or statements that differ little from the previous crisis year will look somewhat strange. Conduct a survey of the work of your colleagues and acquaintances from other companies, how they act and why, well, and if you have a tax collector's phone number in your address book, then you are very lucky, you can consult with him in an informal conversation about what to do.

So, there are two possible situations: you start from the economic efficiency indicator when deciding on the level of the company's profit indicator and when answering the question “when to pay income tax: now or in a year, two, three ...?”, You give a bold and decisive answer “ the later the better. " Or, for fear of standing out from the crowd, follow trends.

Let's consider the first scenario, when you need to postpone profit growth in time, because, in our opinion, it requires more careful study. We in no way urge you, dear readers, to evade paying taxes to the treasury of our state, as we understand that the quality of the social side of our life should depend on the amount of tax revenues to the budget. But how to combine "business with pleasure", without risking to greatly sadden the tax inspector, we will try to tell you.

We list the areas of accounting and tax accounting in which you can look for options for a temporary reduction in the size of profit and postpone the payment of income tax for future periods:

• Creation of reserves
• Depreciation
• Terms of contractual relations with clients and customers of the company

Let's dwell on each of the areas in more detail.

Reservation

Russian legislation provides almost unlimited freedom for companies to reserve their future expenses. We must use this opportunity while it exists, because there is a risk of tightening Russian accounting standards in this area in connection with the approach of our legislation to international legislation. The last one outlines clear criteria that must be met by the reservation process, therefore, you will not be able to manipulate profits by creating reserves and canceling them from year to year if you prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS. But while this has not happened yet, the Russian accountant can create reserves and refer them to non-operating (or other, depending on the type) expenses of the current period. There are some time restrictions on the use of these reserves, so you must take this fact into account if you do not want to get on the carpet to the tax inspector in the future to state detailed reasons why you created a reserve and did not use it. Alternatively, change is possible accounting policies from year to year, revising the size of the reserve, its partial use, but in any case - do not put all your eggs in one basket, using only this technique to reduce taxable profit, so as not to make it very attractive to the tax authorities.

Below we present a few examples of possible reserves, as well as the documentation that it would be good to have in the company to confirm the feasibility of their creation.

Reserve	The documents
Provision for the repair of fixed assets	Plan of ongoing and major overhauls for next year
Provision for doubtful accounts receivable	The results of the inventory of accounts receivable in the form of a list of receivables with the assessment of the management, the legal service on the likelihood of repayment, the dates of the debt. Letters of inquiry to dubious debtors confirming that the company made an attempt to force its counterparties to pay. An agreement with a payment date that is earlier than the reporting date.
Provisions for warranty repairs	Sales contracts for your products that include your company's commitment to warranty after-sales repair and service.
Provision for payment of future vacations	A report from the HR department on the number of unused vacation days as of the reporting date and, based on it, the calculation of the reserve.
Provision for possible losses	Assessment of the risks of possible losses (may affect different areas, but from practice it is clear that, basically, these reserves are created by credit institutions)
All reserves	Accounting policy statement on how each reserve is calculated

Do not forget to mention that companies applying special taxation regimes (for example, simplified tax regimes) do not have the right to create reserves, and also that the reserve limit is fixed in the tax code and amounts to 10% of the company's revenue for the tax period.

Depreciation

The company can use accelerated depreciation (the so-called multiplying factors) for fixed assets in the event that it can prove that these fixed assets are used either very intensively or in an aggressive environment. environment... As a result, depreciation costs will be shifted in the time horizon closer to the present time, which meets the above goal. We will not dwell on this point in detail, since the procedure and the technical side of the application of this relaxation are clearly described by the tax code and numerous comments.

Terms of contracts

If the company would not like to recognize revenue in a given tax period, the moment of its recognition can be postponed for the future by, for example, concluding such agreements with Clients, according to which the results of work will be accepted in the next year after the signing of the acceptance certificates. In other words, do not sign the act until December 31st. The corresponding provision on the method of recognizing revenue (the moment of signing the act coincides with the moment of transfer of ownership) is best spelled out not only in contracts, but in the accounting policy of the company.

For those organizations that are engaged in the performance of work of a long-term nature, it is possible to recognize revenue not by the percentage of completion, but by the share of expenses incurred. This will give the company some freedom to manipulate the amount of revenue recognized from period to period. The amount of expenses for the current period is a field for thought for the accountant and the head of the company.

Well, and, of course, there is also an area in which the company's management can show its own unique Creative skills to minimize the tax burden - this is the area of ​​expenses that reduce taxable profit. This will not allow freeing up additional free funds here and now, as mentioned above, but, undoubtedly, it will be able to increase the value of the company. Let's consider several interesting, in our opinion, options.

The company can reduce taxable profit for expenses related to personnel training, if such training is economically justified and expedient, that is, employees can apply the knowledge gained during the training process in their professional activities. You need an assistant payroll accountant and an administrative assistant with higher education has long been asking to be transferred to the financial department of the company? So why, instead of paying the agency to hire you a new specialist, not transfer the current one and pay for accounting courses for him. As a result, you get three bonus points in the company's piggy bank in the form:

A - a motivated, qualified and satisfied employee,

B - costs under the item "personnel training", and not "consulting", which less attracts the attention of the tax inspector and is easier to explain,

B - a bold reduction in the taxable base for these costs.

The company can outsource any internal function - for example, the accounting service, paying not just wages, but service on accounting and tax accounting. At the same time, control over operations does not go beyond the company, but allows some “distribution” of profits among several organizations, helping to achieve the goal of reducing the negative reaction of the tax service to profit growth. Also here you can talk about managing the flow of money in time, paying for the services of this service organization at a "convenient" time.

Another interesting option justified in the period of the crisis costs can be considered the payment for the services of consultants in anti-crisis management. You need to optimize your internal business processes, and payment for overtime of internal personnel is associated with complex HR administration, or there are simply no such specialists on the staff? Then it would be a sin not to use the services of an external company, putting this type of expenses into the offset of taxable profit. By the way, let's not forget to mention that the remuneration of members of your board of directors, if you have one, for solving anti-crisis problems, the tax inspectorate will not allow accepting for offset when calculating tax - this is such a paradox!

At this point, we will allow ourselves to end our reflections on the topic of finding options for reducing taxable profit in the reporting period, although, in our opinion, it is practically unlimited. And the more opportunities a company has in this area, the more experienced, qualified and, most importantly, creative personnel works in its financial structures. And let's also hope that the new head of the federal tax service of our country will heed the government's recommendations and will be able to redirect the energy of his valiant inspectors to building more constructive relationships with business. Then the heads and accountants of companies will finally be able to get rid of the need to artificially adjust the reporting indicators for fear of receiving an additional request or an audit from the tax service, and Russian business will move closer to coming out of the shadows.

Many business owners get into a special euphoria when they receive their next profit. But this sweet moment quickly disappears, and instead there is a bitter taste of debt, which any honest businessman is obliged to fulfill - to pay income tax. Naturally, all of them are interested in how to reduce income tax.

First of all, it should be remembered that profit is the result of the company's work, and the higher and lower the costs, the more, respectively, you have to pay. And here you should either reduce income, or, conversely, raise the bar for expenses. Of course, no sane entrepreneur will begin to conduct such experiments when there are a number of legitimate ways to maximize the preservation of profits.

There are thousands of ways you can avoid it. Among them, double-entry bookkeeping, zeroing cash register, the creation of one-day firms and further on an increasing basis. But such schemes end in failure. In order for the business to flourish and the tax authorities to be happy, it is best to use legal methods.

• Considering the tax regimes proposed by the Tax Code, all options should be calculated in advance. And to opt for the option that is most suitable for the requirements of the company's activities. If possible, you should give preference to the preferential option.
• It is imperative to consider all options for calculating taxes, according to the most advantageous options, you need to develop an appropriate accounting policy.
• When looking for companies to conclude the next agreement, it is better to give preference to those who work under preferential taxation.
• You should always use deferred payments.
• Apply offshore zones more often.
• During the transaction procedure, it is better to use a replacement relationship.

Other methods used to reduce the tax can also be used. But one part of them requires additional costs, the other - certain knowledge. In some cases, tax reduction is possible only if there is a reliable partner who can the right moment accept a certain part of the transferred funds.

Rental payment

For this method, you just need a proven counterparty who uses the "simplified" code. Before concluding a lease agreement, a certain part of the funds is transferred to him. Next, lease payments are used to help reduce the tax. But it is necessary that in these payments there was a slightly overestimated amount of depreciation deductions.

For greater effect, you can give the lessor funds for which the depreciation period has expired. Thus, you can achieve a significant reduction in property tax. At the same time, the counterparty's company does not pay tax at all, since it is completely exempt from it. Using this method to reduce tax, the company simultaneously insures its property against possible confiscation procedures that may arise due to tax sanctions.

It's time to break the conditions

No matter how strange it may sound, if the signed agreement is violated, the company can also significantly save money. But on condition that because of this violation, the counterparty had a chance to conduct activities that require payment of UTII. In this situation, the company that violated the terms of the contract will have to pay a fine. In order for it to be included in the list of expenses, the violating company only has to admit guilt and the lawfulness of the sanction.

Marketing loopholes

Among the expenses that reduce income tax include marketing services. The transfer for providing them to the counterparty firm is a direct cost necessary for the development of the business. Therefore, they can be safely included in the information waste. Just in case, for such purposes, you can also use market research. This article is also among the services of marketers.

An almost traditional ploy to help lower taxes is a bogus lawsuit. Provided to the counterparty, it requires significant costs for the services of lawyers and consultants, who are, respectively, "in the subject." Such a "fake" case eventually ends peacefully enough, but with very interesting sums. The costs of such consulting work at a certain time are deducted from the company's profits.

To legal and effective ways the trade tax also applies, which reduces income tax, although only if the amount is transferred in the form and only in the territory where the tax is paid directly. To say that one can find a loophole in every law is, of course, impossible. But if you want to, then finding a dozen ways to reduce debt is quite possible.

It is no secret that the budget of any country is replenished primarily through taxes and fees. These payments are compulsory, so the desire of payers to reduce them is quite understandable. There is a possibility for this and this procedure does not require violation of the law.

A taxpayer can apply various tax incentives, as well as choose the most suitable tax regime for himself. This right is regulated in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and confirmed by the Constitutional Court.

Such a reduction in the tax burden is a tax optimization. Next, let's look at ways to reduce taxes. There are several of them, but first things first.

How to reduce LLC taxes on UTII

So, in order to reduce the amount of VAT, it is better for you to purchase goods and materials from those organizations that also pay VAT. In this case, the amount of VAT can be deducted.

But important condition is an correct design primary documentation that comes to you along with the goods. The tax authorities will check it carefully, so the design must be flawless.

If you need to reduce income tax, then reflect in tax accounting all costs in full. Of course, do not forget about the correct paperwork.

The amount of property tax depends on how much the fixed assets are worth. It is clear that they wear out and the cost becomes less every year. Therefore, calculate the depreciation correctly.

The cadastral value is a more stable value, but it can also be challenged in the courts if you wish, if you think that the assessment was carried out biasedly.

Reduction of LLC taxes on the unified agricultural tax

In this case, in order to reduce the amount paid from net profit, you need to keep records of all expenses, and to the maximum. And in order to avoid questions from tax specialists, draw up all documents that are related to the costs of your company properly.

General ways to reduce the tax burden

In addition to options directly related to the taxation of your company, you should pay attention to the following ways to reduce tax payments:

1. Careful development of accounting policies.

It will depend on the specifics of your business. A properly designed accounting policy can reduce your tax payments and reduce your tax base.

2. Analysis of the likelihood of an on-site inspection by the Federal Tax Service.

Most of these checks end with the entrepreneur being charged additional taxes and fines. Try to prevent these risks as much as possible, it is much easier than coping with the consequences later.

3. Careful maintenance and storage of primary documentation.

It is these documents that can confirm that the household. operations were generally carried out. If there is no documentation on the transaction, the tax base will be larger, and the amount of tax from it will also increase.

4. Checking counterparties for conscientiousness.

This factor plays a serious role if you need to keep track of expenses within the framework of the taxation system.

If your counterparty carries out its activities in bad faith, the tax inspectorate will not accept all the costs of transactions with him, which means that you will pay more taxes, regardless of the fact that the transaction was economically justified and real.

5. Compliance with the requirements for concluded contracts.

In any transactions there are a number of conditions, in case of non-fulfillment of which the contract may be recognized as not concluded. Be sure to check whether the person with whom you sign the contract has the authority to perform such actions. If it turns out that they are not, then the transaction can easily be declared invalid.

6. Compliance with the deadlines for submitting reports and paying taxes.

Not at all complex rule, but it helps to really reduce payments due to the fact that fines, penalties will simply not be charged to you. And if this point is observed, it does not threaten.

We calculate the tax burden

The tax burden is the ratio in% between the tax payments that your company pays and its profits. In this part of the conversation, we will tell you, using an example, how to calculate yourself.

The formula for the calculation is as follows:

НН = (НС / Exp.) × 100%, in which:

НН is an indicator of the tax burden;

НС - the amount of taxes that you pay for a certain period;

Vyr is the total revenue of your company.

Use the same units for your calculations!

Keep in mind that the calculated TI level should not exceed the average for the industry in which your company operates.

Calculation example

LLC "Yablochko" is engaged in the repair of household products. In 2017, the company reported 700,000 rubles in profit, the amount of other income - 10,000 rubles.

It turns out that the total revenue of the company amounted to 710,000 rubles. At the same time, the company transferred 20,000 rubles in taxes, of which 3,000 returned (total 17,000 rubles).

Please note that when calculating the tax burden for 2017, we will be guided by the industry average indicators of the previous year, i.e. 2016. Their decoding is indicated in Appendix No. 3 to the Prik.FNS No. MM-3-06 / [email protected] from 30.05.07.

The industry average indicators can be viewed here:

Tax burden by type of economic activity

One more moment! Since in 2016. insurance premiums were transferred to the Funds, the tax inspectorate has no data on them. Accordingly, they were not taken into account when calculating the tax burden! The possibility of including them in the calculation will appear only in 2018, starting from the 1st quarter.

The calculation in this case looks like this:

НН = (17/710) * 100% = 1.6%.

The tax burden in this area of ​​activity is approximately 3.7%. This means that our figure is clearly below average. It turns out that you need to analyze all the reporting and find the reason for this situation.

If, when calculating, the average value turns out to be somewhat overestimated, this means that the Federal Tax Service, most likely, will not focus on the activities of your company.

A significant overestimation of the industry average indicator of the tax burden can mean one thing - you need to think about optimizing taxation and business efficiency.

This formula can be applied not only to, but also to companies of other forms of ownership. If you don't want to count yourself, you can use online calculators. You can also make a calculation accounting software that have wide functionality.

Choosing a taxation system

The general list of special modes is as follows:

• UTII;
• ESHN.

Using any of them allows you to reduce tax payments. Therefore, some of them should be used in order not to lose significant funds.

If you have a company whose turnover is still small, you should take a closer look at the simplified tax system, which will allow you to pay tax on the income you receive or on profit. In the event that your company's expenses are small, then choose the first method, but if significant, then stop at paying the “simplified” from the profit.

As for UTII, it is more suitable for those companies that already have a consistently high turnover. If you choose to use this system, the tax will be flat based on specific indicators. Calculate whether the payment will be less or more, if less than on the simplified tax, then choose UTII.

Unified agricultural tax in its essence resembles a simplified system with the only difference that such a regime can only be applied by entrepreneurs who operate in the Agriculture... If 70% of the company's turnover comes from agricultural activities, then the tax rate for you will be 6% of the net profit. For business, this is the minimum tax rate.

It is worth using the OSNO system if your partners and counterparties also use it. In other cases, it will be difficult to refund VAT.

What are the penalties for?

In your desire to reduce tax payments, the main thing is not to cross a certain border and not resort to schemes that can hardly be called legal. This is often the fault of both the managers themselves and other specialists who manage to convince the management that the methods are completely legal.

Therefore, now we will dwell on what methods threaten you with subsequent communication not only with the tax authorities, but also with law enforcement agencies.

Manipulation to conceal income.

This can include situations when checks do not get through or the cash received is not properly processed. Yes, it will go unnoticed for some time, but gradually it will still be revealed. Trust me, it's not worth it. Penalties for concealing income are the minimum that such optimization is fraught with.

Interaction with fly-by-night firms.

Deals of this kind are now being identified very quickly. And the office of your company can be visited not only by the tax authorities, but also by the police.

Conclusion

Reducing the tax burden on a company should be done only in purely legal ways. You can entrust this to specialized firms or hire a person on the company's staff who will administer and optimize tax payments.

Any company seeks to reduce tax payments. For example, there are widely known ways to optimize income tax. True, "legal optimization" has its own nuances, which the chief accountant needs to be well versed in.

Find and neutralize

Today tax inspectors are trained in recognizing the "optimization methods" of income tax. The list of these methods does not follow the law, and the essence of such "tricks" has long been known to everyone. One example is the conclusion of a fictitious contract with a company to whose account the funds are transferred. Further, this amount for a reward to the fictitious partner is returned to the owner, and everyone is satisfied. But not everything is so simple. We want to assure you right away that such transactions can arouse the interest of tax controllers in the absence of a reasonable transaction.

According to the law, for tax purposes, expenses are accepted that meet the requirements of paragraph 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code - economic justification and documentary evidence.

However, no one wants to pay high taxes, so accountants have to fantasize about "legal optimization".

10 commandments for an accountant

As you know, the object of taxation for income tax is the profit received by the taxpayer. For Russian organizations its amount is equal to income reduced by the amount of expenses incurred (Article 247 of the Tax Code). Chapter 25 of the Tax Code applies as a legal list of expenses. To avoid unwanted friction with the tax authorities, you should not arbitrarily expand this list. Therefore, we will consider 10 legal ways to reduce the taxable base for income tax.

Useful reserves

The firm has the right to create reserves provided for in Chapter 25 of the Tax Code. For example, it is allowed to carry out expenses for the formation of reserves for doubtful debts (Article 266 of the Tax Code), expenses in the form of deductions to the reserve for the forthcoming payment of vacations to employees or for the payment of annual remuneration for length of service (subparagraph 24 of Article 255 of the Tax Code), expenses for impairment securities (Article 300 of the Tax Code). Here, the optimization of the tax burden depends on the method of recognition of income and expenses established by the accounting policy: the cash basis or the accrual basis. Chapter 25 establishes the accrual method as the primary method used by taxpayers. The cash method can be applied by organizations with proceeds that, within four quarters, excluding VAT, did not exceed one million rubles for each quarter (clause 1 of article 273 of the Tax Code).

When using the accrual method, income and expenses for tax purposes are recognized in the reporting period in which they occurred, regardless of the actual receipt of funds (clause 1 of article 271, clause 1 of article 272 of the Tax Code). The procedure for the formation of reserves determines their inclusion in the composition of expenses of the current period. In this case, using an accrual basis, the firm has the ability to evenly distribute its costs over the tax period, which will help to save on upfront income tax payments.

Please note: this method, in fact, provides an opportunity to defer payment, and not evade payment. The firm in the current period reduces income tax, and in the next pays, etc.

The discounts are not easy, and the organization is golden as a way to attract interest in its products or as a performance of a trick " low prices»Can provide the buyer with a discount; firms also provide discounts or bonuses as a bonus for timely payment of goods. Expenses in the form of a bonus (discount) paid (provided) by the seller to the buyer due to the fulfillment of certain conditions of the contract can be taken into the structure of non-operating expenses (subclause 19.1, clause 1 of article 265 of the Tax Code).

"Profitable" losses

Not every organization can do without losses. How to write them off, where and how to reduce income tax at the same time?

The Tax Code provides an explanation in this regard in paragraph 2 of Article 265. So, for example, losses in the form of losses from previous tax periods identified in the reporting (tax) period (subparagraph 1 of paragraph 2 of Article 265 of the Tax Code) are equated to non-operating expenses.

Since 2007, the Law of June 6, 2005 No. 58-FZ has removed the restriction on the amount of the loss received in the previous tax period, which reduces the tax base of the current tax period for corporate income tax.

Losses must be repaid according to the statute of limitations: first the latest, then the earliest. The transfer of loss to the future is possible within ten years following the tax period in which it was received (clause 2 of article 283 of the Tax Code).

Such "gifts" in the new year will cost the state dearly. So, in the conclusion on the draft Law "On the Federal Budget for 2007" in part 8.1.6.4. Submitted by the Accounts Chamber Russian Federation in the letter dated September 8, 2006 No. 01-1196 / 15-10 it is said that in 2007 this will lead to a reduction in the consolidated budget revenues of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the amount of 35.2 billion rubles. The state will pay for everyone, as they say.

Inflated rent and operation

The preferred method of many companies is to overstate the cost of renting premises, as well as the costs accompanying the current activities of the organization. The prices for renting offices and premises are now really not small, and that is why such "optimization" appears. You can also overestimate the costs of maintenance and operation, repair and Maintenance fixed assets and other property, as well as to maintain them in good (up-to-date) condition. Such costs relate to costs associated with production and sale (Article 253 of the Tax Code). It is possible to increase costs under the item “garbage disposal” or “cleaning of industrial premises”.

We invite a marketer

If a firm plans to expand its scope of activities or conduct an analysis of the stability of its position, it should study the market situation, potential competitors, the possibility of risks. For these purposes, you can use consulting services, as well as the services of a marketer.

Such services are accepted as part of other expenses related to production and (or) sale - “expenses for consulting and other similar services” (subparagraph 15 of clause 1 of article 264 of the Tax Code). As for marketing research, the accountant can write off them as expenses for the current study (research) of the market situation, collection of information. It should be noted that the latter should be directly related to the production and sale of goods (works, services) (subparagraph 27 of clause 1 of article 264 of the Tax Code). Otherwise, the unreasonableness of the understatement of the income tax base will arouse the suspicions of the tax inspector. In this case, it is necessary to prove not only the validity of such costs, but also their relevance for the company in the current period.

Do you have a trademark?

Many companies recognize "by the face" of their trademark, which is not only a specific difference from other firms, but also a "sign of recognition" among buyers.

You can use it on products, business cards of employees, for advertising purposes. At the same time, the costs associated with the use of a trademark are taken into account as periodic (current) payments for the use of the rights to the results of intellectual activity and means of individualization (subparagraph 37 of paragraph 1 of article 264 of the Tax Code). This expense item also includes payments for the use of rights arising from patents for inventions, industrial designs and other types of intellectual property.

Please note: a company can register a trademark as intangible assets, and then reduce the tax base by the amount of current payments only after registering the trademark in the manner prescribed by law (clause 3 of PBU 14/2000 "Accounting for intangible assets"). The same requirement is imposed by the Ministry of Finance when the company takes into account the costs of purchasing from a foreign company non-exclusive rights to computer programs, know-how and company name under a license agreement (letter of the Ministry of Finance dated November 17, 2006 No. 03-03-04 / 1/727). A firm may include such costs in its expenses if the agreement is registered with the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks (Rospatent).

This makes it possible to legally write off costs.

Not just form, but economy

The status of a company reflects not only a stable position in the market or the competitiveness of products, but also appearance employees. The buyer will be more confident in the company that offers itself beautifully. It is worth taking care of this, as well as taking into account the fact that the cost of uniforms is accepted as part of the cost of labor (clause 5 of article 255 of the Tax Code).

Attention: this condition is met if uniforms and uniforms are issued to the employee free of charge or at reduced prices with the transfer of ownership to the employee.

There are specific conditions set out in the letter of the Ministry of Finance dated November 1, 2005 No. 03-03-04 / 2/99. Officials believe that the details of the company (logo or trademark) should be directly applied to the uniform, and not to a tie or headscarf, and they also demand to justify the economic necessity of such an operation.

Employment contracts should provide for the mandatory wearing of the uniform and the purpose of such wearing. So the uniform is designed to reflect the specifics of the enterprise and the employee's belonging to a particular company.

Learning is light, not learning is ... taxes

The firm can write off the costs of training and retraining of personnel as part of other costs associated with production and (or) sales (clause 3 of Art. 264 of the Tax Code). This statement is also contained in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 30, 2006 No. 03-03-04 / 2/252. Attention: it is possible to take into account the costs associated with the improvement of the qualifications of employees as the costs of training and retraining of personnel, if an employment contract is concluded with the employees.

It is allowed to send employees to Russian educational institutions licensed, or to foreign educational institutions of the required status.

Depreciation - into expenses

The accountant has the right to write off expenses for the liquidation of fixed assets being decommissioned, including the amount of uncalculated depreciation, expenses for dismantling, dismantling, removal of disassembled property as part of non-operating expenses in the reporting period in which the liquidation took place (letter of the Ministry of Finance dated January 17, 2006 No. 03-03-04 / 1/27). Cost of materials remaining from the write-off of a fixed asset can also be included in tax expenses. Their value will be equal to the amount of income tax calculated from the market price.

Taxes according to plan

Tax planning of an organization is based on three approaches to minimizing tax payments:

• use of tax benefits;
• development of a competent accounting policy;
• control over the timing of payment of taxes (use of the tax calendar).

However, before choosing one or another accounting method, an organization needs to justify its choice by calculating taxes, the amount of which depends on the alternative accounting method, and make sure that the choice made is correct. This will help the firm avoid problems with tax inspectors.

I. Uglanova, expert of the journal "Practical Accounting"

Attention

As you know, there are discounts associated with the revision of the price of goods, and discounts not associated with changes in the price of goods (letter of the Ministry of Finance dated September 15, 2005 No. 03-03-04 / 1/190). From the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 20, 2006 No. 03-03-04 / 1/847, it follows that the selling organization must revise the amount owed by the buyer under the purchase and sale agreement when providing a discount or premium without changing the unit price.

Attention: in this case, the buyer is released from the property obligation to pay for the acquired values ​​in the amount of the percentage of the total amount of goods sold to him, established in the contract, that is, the discount or premium received is considered as property received free of charge (letter of the Ministry of Finance dated December 20, 2006 No. 03-03 -04/1/847). By this amount, the selling company reduces the taxable base for income tax.

Attention

“The judges noted the following about the validity of the tax authorities' claim: the tax benefit is legitimate, and the declaration and reporting of the company are reliable until the tax authorities prove otherwise,” comments Aleksey Beklemishev, director of the auditing firm Finstatus. - In this case, a tax benefit means the use of a tax benefit, tax deduction or other reduction in the amount of tax, as well as a refund (offset) or refund of tax from the budget. This broad definition of tax benefit also includes the inclusion of costs in expenses when calculating income tax.

Officials should understand as soon as possible that references to an “unfair” term will not be accepted by the court until there is concrete evidence. It is not enough to indicate the presence a large number strange at first glance, business moves - it is necessary to substantiate that, in general, as a result of such moves, the state has lost some of its taxes, and the company has a tax benefit. Thus, the main burden of proof rests with the inspector - he is obliged to prove the grounds for making his decisions.

The organization should not, but has the right to present evidence of its case. " (Resolution of the Supreme Arbitration Court dated October 12, 2006 No. 53 "On the Assessment by Arbitration Courts of the Reasonableness of a Tax Benefit by a Taxpayer").

The tax burden on business in Russia, although not the highest in the world, still significantly affects the amount of net profit. Each Chief Accountant and the CFO is repeatedly faced with the desire of the founders to reduce income tax, and often he himself becomes the initiator of the optimization of the company's tax policy. Read how to reduce income tax under OSNO and STS.

What is this article about:

Before answering the question of how to reduce income tax, you need to understand:

1. How to make the most of the tax benefits provided by the government?
2. How to calculate the effect of tax optimization?
3. Will the optimization be legitimate and raise the suspicion of the tax inspector?

Let's clarify the methods of reducing income tax.

Useful at work:

How to reduce income tax: choosing a tax system

The first step to optimizing income tax will be the choice of a taxation system and the use of all the advantages and benefits provided by the state for a specific system.

In tax legislation, there are three main systems of taxation:

1. Unified tax on imputed income (UTII).
2. Simplified taxation system (STS).
3. Basic taxation system (OSNO).

Let's get acquainted with the advantages and disadvantages of each system, considering them in order of growth of the prospective taxpayer's business.

We will not take a single tax on imputed income, since for taxpayers using this system taxation, there are very few ways to optimize tax.

In fact, there are two ways to reduce income tax:

1. Earning more, then the percentage of the tax will be less.
2. Reduce UTII by the amount of contributions paid to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, TFOMI, FSS, to voluntary insurance funds.

Simplified taxation system (simplified taxation system)

The simplified taxation system is a preferential system, because the tax burden on a business entity is generally lower than when using the main taxation system.

Organizations using the simplified tax system pay the state a single income tax, which replaces part of the taxes:

• income tax,
• value added tax (see also Dangerous and safe VAT optimization schemes ,
• property tax,
• Personal income tax (for the owner).

However, personal income tax for employees, transport and land taxes, and in some cases property tax - will be an additional tax burden.

The simplified taxation system can be chosen from two options:

1. 6% from the income of the organization.
2. 15% from the profit of the organization.

Let's consider the advantages of each option in terms of reducing the taxable base for income tax.

The advantages of using the first option include:

• there are tax benefits for legal entities extracting interest rates above 40% (read also 5 rules for disputes about unreasonable tax benefits );
• there is no need to report expenses to the tax service, accounting and tax accounting is extremely simple. Hence the savings on the services of an accountant;
• it is possible to reduce the taxable base by the amount of social contributions.

The second option is characterized by payment of 15% of the profit received, that is, for calculating the tax base, both the income received and the expenses incurred are taken into account in the manner specified in article 346.17 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The advantages of using the second option include:

• tax benefits for companies whose profit is less than 40% of revenue;
• the ability to optimize the tax base. We will talk about this further.

How to choose the most profitable STS option to reduce income tax

To calculate the most profitable version of the simplified tax system, the following inequality is used:

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

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

What to consider if you choose a simplification for optimizing income tax

The disadvantages of a simplified taxation system are:

1. Restrictions imposed by the state. Organizations cannot use the simplified taxation system:

• which have branches;
• engaged in the release of excisable goods, pawnshop activities, gambling;
• in which more than a hundred people are registered;
• on the balance sheet of which there are fixed assets in the total amount of more than 150 million rubles;
• having a share of more than 25% in other firms;
• having an annual turnover of more than 150 million rubles.

2. The reluctance of some clients to work with suppliers - "simplified". Organizations working on the simplified taxation system do not pay VAT, so potential buyers cannot accept it for deduction.

3. Image risks. The image of a large, serious company implies that it works for OSNO.

Reducing the single tax for the simplified taxation system

Before thinking about ways to reduce the tax burden, it is necessary to study the legislation for the benefits provided by the state for each taxation system.

First, it should be noted that 6% and 15% are the maximum tax rates that can be reduced by the territorial laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The minimum rates announced by the regions for 2017 are 0% and 5%, respectively.

The list of preferential regions is quite wide and is published on the official website of the Ministry of Finance .

Second, not all income is used to calculate the tax base. Tax free ( complete list in article 346.17 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• prepayment from the customer in the form of funds and in the form of property;
• contribution to the Criminal Code;
• the individual entrepreneur's own funds deposited into the current account or cashier to ensure their current activities. It is worth noting here that this option - good way increase liquidity of the company without affecting taxation;
• funds or property received free of charge;
• property received on credit (or in the form of a loan);
• advance paid back by the seller.

Thirdly, it is possible to reduce the income tax by 6% with the simplified taxation system by reducing the resulting tax by a maximum of 50% by the amount:

• contributions to non-state social funds;
• payments for employees' voluntary medical insurance;
• payment of sick leave certificates.

Organizations on the simplified taxation system registered in Moscow can reduce the tax by the amount of the paid trade tax.

Those who have chosen the STS scheme "income minus expenses" have much more opportunities to reduce the tax. But it must be taken into account that, just like income, not all expenses can be recognized to reduce the taxable base. The complete list of costs accepted for calculation is very wide and is indicated in article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Try to work within the specified costs, then you do not have to think about how to artificially reduce income tax. In addition, you can take the following steps to reduce your tax or tax base.

1. Accounting for past losses... If the organization incurred a loss in one or more previous years, in the reporting year, the tax base can be reduced by the amount of the loss. Data from the past 10 years can be used.

2. Accounting for the minimum tax for the past period... For organizations on the simplified tax system of 15%, a minimum tax is provided, calculated according to the formula

Tax. min = Income × 1%

And paid in the event that the estimated single tax is less than the minimum. If last year the organization paid the minimum tax, then in the reporting year it has the right to set off the amount by which the minimum tax exceeded the estimated single tax.

3. Employment of the owners of the company... Such a step will increase business expenses for wages and reduce dividends. Salaries are included in the list of deductible expenses, but dividends are not. True, the direct benefit from such a step will be significant only for the STS 6%, since only in this taxation system can the single tax be reduced by the amount of social contributions. But indirect benefits apply to all systems. Having hired an employee, you can provide him with any means of work, up to a personal car, pay him business trips, communication costs, etc.

4. Acquisition by an organization of property needed directly by the business owner to optimize income tax. Having earned enough profit, the organization can pay taxes on it, or it can invest in fixed assets, for example, in a car or commercial space. An office or warehouse can be leased directly to the owner for a nominal fee. He will then sublet it. The principle of "one pocket" works here. That is, money is transferred from one pocket to another, but the tax is reduced.

6. Bypassing standardized costs... According to article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, part of the costs are standardized for tax accounting purposes. These include:

• hospitality expenses,
• daily allowance on business trips,
• advertising costs
• expenses for overalls for staff,
• interest on loans and borrowings
• etc.

It is not hard to understand that through regulation, the tax code cuts off attempts by organizations to artificially inflate costs. But you need to know that you can and should be able to get around some of the standardized costs.

A good example of a workaround would be using a factoring agreement instead of a regular loan agreement, the interest on which is a standardized amount.

If, based on the results of optimization and calculations, the amount of the single tax is less than 1% of the turnover, 1% of the turnover is paid to the budget.

How to reduce income tax with OSNO

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

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

Note that organizations on OSNO can use for tax optimization all the methods listed for the "simplified" (with the exception of benefits from the state), but there are a lot of "private" methods for them.

Let's list the most common ones, starting with the simplest ones.

Control over expenses and availability of supporting documentation

Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation contains a complete list of expenses that are not taken into account when calculating the tax base. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with them and, if possible, avoid them. When such expenses occur, document them correctly to avoid fines and penalties from the tax inspector.

In addition, all costs incurred must be confirmed by primary documentation:

1. Prizes, wage, incentives in the form of a payroll and orders for payment.
2. Payment for rent, utilities and others - agreement, acts.
3. Purchases of raw materials and services - contracts, acts, invoices, KS-2,3 forms, etc.
4. Accountable funds - checks, invoices.
5. Transportation costs that reduce income tax - waybills, route sheets.
6. Expenses for fuels and lubricants - waybills, receipts, invoice, where the cost of all fuels and lubricants purchased in the reporting period is visible.
7. Etc.

Personnel training, consulting services

Consulting, advertising and marketing costs have long been a favorite way of inflating costs for many companies. After all, the final result and the effort expended is difficult to assess, and the accompanying documentation needs a minimum - a contract and an act.

That is why the close attention of tax inspectors is paid to this category of expenses. But if the primary documentation is in order and the expediency of expenses is present, then tax inspectors will have nothing to find fault with.

Personnel training - too perfect solution to minimize consumption. And improve the qualifications of personnel, and earn the location of the team, and reduce taxes along the way

Provisions for future expenses

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

In accordance with tax legislation, reserves can be created:

1. on doubtful debts,
2. for employee vacations,
3. for annual payments of employee benefits,
4. for the repair of fixed assets,
5. for the depreciation of securities.

It should be understood that creating a reserve helps to accelerate the moment of recognition of an expense, and not to increase the expense as a whole. The total amount of tax will not change, there will only be a redistribution of tax payments for future periods.

Depreciation of fixed assets

When a fixed asset is retired from service, it is possible to include in the expenses all uncalculated depreciation, as well as the costs of dismantling, disposal and removal of the fixed asset.

Income tax savings due to leasing

Many businesses save on taxes by leasing fixed assets. Recall that according to international and domestic accounting standards, an organization is obliged to set the useful life of a fixed asset received under a financial lease agreement equal to the term of this agreement, if the leasing is not redemption. Thus, there are two opportunities for tax savings:

1. Accelerated depreciation of the leased asset. The useful life is reduced - the depreciation increases - the income tax decreases. Along the way, you reduce the property tax, as it is proportional to the value 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 a loan secured by equipment. Thus, the company solves several financial problems, one of which is the reduction of income tax due to overstatement of expenses, the second is the reduction of property tax due to the lack of property (on paper).

Tax overpayment offset

Well, let us recall that advances on income tax may not correspond to the final calculated amount of tax 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.

Reorganization with the merger of an unprofitable enterprise

According to the tax code, a company that incurred losses in previous tax periods can offset them in the current tax period. This means that when you join a profitable organization of a company with accumulated losses, you can get a tax benefit in the form of 20% of the total amount of losses over the past 10 years. When using this method, one should take into account, firstly, the costs of reorganization, and, secondly, tax risks, which are:

• claims of the inspection authorities about the unreasonableness of the tax benefit;
• the correctness of tax accounting in the affiliated company;
• probable on-site check ;
• deterioration of the balance sheet structure and as a result possible problems with lending.

Creation of a group of companies, some of which are "simplified" to reduce the tax base for income tax

A more complex implementation of tax optimization of income tax will be the creation of a group of companies, some of which work on OSNO, and some on STS. Remember that only OSNO companies are allowed to have shares above 25% in other organizations.

The main task of this method is to distribute all income and expenses so that the main profit is concentrated in the organization on the simplified tax system, but at the same time the business expediency of the scheme is not lost.

A rough diagram of the organization of a group of companies is shown in the figure.

Drawing... How to reduce income tax using a group of companies, some of which are "simplified"

The main thing is that the organization of a group of companies and distribution cash flows there must be a clear and understandable business purpose for the tax inspector.

For example, you can concentrate all property in the company on the simplified tax system, explaining this by the ease of management and finding, for example, a service department in the staffing table of the designated company. And companies on the OSN lease property, thus redistributing profits. An incidental benefit under such a scheme will be the absence of property tax for the "simplified" company

Using offshore companies to reduce income tax

For organizations leading foreign economic activity, good option for tax optimization will be the creation of a company in a low-tax jurisdiction.

Also, an indisputable argument in favor of creating an offshore company is the presence of an intangible asset (copyright, trademark, brand) that needs to be protected. Legislation in this area in Russia is poorly developed, which will undoubtedly be a weighty argument in the evidence base before the tax authorities. The asset is transferred to an offshore company, and companies in Russia pay royalties to use the intangible asset.

In this article, we examined exclusively legal ways to reduce corporate income tax. Of course, there are other methods of tax optimization, but before implementing them into practice, it is necessary to assess their legality through the eyes of a tax inspector.

What methods of reducing income tax should not be used

How do most entrepreneurs act in order to reduce income tax, and even get away from VAT? They enter into fictitious deals or "buy" a product / service, thereby artificially inflating their costs. And then they round their eyes seeing the amount of additional charges based on the results of tax audits.

Indeed, the idea of ​​increasing your expenses is correct. But the way it is done is wrong and illegal. As you know, cooperation with "cash" offices and one-day firms is fraught with liability not only for the commission of a tax offense, but also criminal liability.

Algorithm from a tax inspector to check the legality of optimization of income tax

1. Each transaction must have a business purpose, some kind of benefit to the firm other than tax.
2. All primary documentation for the transaction must be correctly and timely.
3. If the transaction is concluded with the effect of lowering the tax, then the parties to the transaction should not be interconnected.
4. The transaction price should not contradict Chapter 40 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and be reasoned.
5. To avoid fraud, any transaction between related persons or companies within the same group must be justified from a business point of view.