The procedure for salary payments is determined by law. From this article we will learn how to calculate the advance payment, is it mandatory at the enterprise to pay the employee his earned money twice a month.
Currently, such parts of the salary are called advance payments. That is, an advance is a part paid before the end of the month, and a salary is a part paid at the end of the month.
How much advance payment for wages must be established and in what time period to pay?
There is an article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation that salaries are paid out every half a month, i.e., salaries are paid in installments.
But there is no definition of “advance” in any article of TC. Because this is the salary, only the first half of the month. That is, the employee is given earnings for the first half of the month, then - for the remaining two weeks.
The rules for salary payments must be prescribed in the limited documentation of the enterprise, for example:
- Instructions for the work schedule.
- Collective agreement.
- Employment contract.
Terms of issue
Is it permissible to calculate wages, for example, four times a month? Many say no. But this is actually not the case. Salaries can be paid daily. The Labor Code defines only the minimum requirements, at least twice a month. And there are such enterprises where they give two advance payments.
2016 is notable for the amendment of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which concerned the date of issue of wages.
What regulates the payment date?
A certain date for the issuance of earnings is provided for by the rules of the labor schedule at the enterprise, a collegial agreement or an employment agreement, no later than fifteen calendar days from the date of completion of the period for which it was accrued.
According to this amendment, we can draw the following conclusion: the issuance of the second part of wages, that is, the final payment, should be no later than the fifteenth day of the coming month. For example, earnings for February should be paid no later than March fifteenth.
But this is the final calculation. According to the rules, salaries are paid no less than every two weeks of a month. Accordingly, the advance payment for the first half month is paid no later than the last day of the month.
It follows that the terms of payment of advance payments and wages as a result of recent changes in legislation are strictly approved. The period between these payments is approximately fifteen days, that is, half a month.
Labor legislation did not establish specific payment dates. The code only limited the time limits and indicated that the date was set by the enterprise.
Why is it necessary to set the terms for issuing salaries?
Setting deadlines for the payment of advance payments for wages protects both the rights of the employee and the rights of the employer in the opinion of supervisory services and judicial practice. Employees of Rostrud in oral explanations advise to indicate the period of the middle of the month, the fifteenth or sixteenth day.
But also, if you provide a different date for the advance payment, this is not considered a mistake. The main point here is how much advance payment and salary are issued according to the internal documentation of the enterprise.
Opinions on the timing of the advance payment
The opinion of the Ministry of Health and Social Development on the deadline for the advance payment, which falls at the end of the month, contradicts the provision of Article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In this case, how to calculate the advance payment? If the employee started work on the first day, the first advance payment will be paid to him on the twenty-fifth day of the current month. This means that the indication of the article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation on the payment of wages no less than every two weeks of the month will not be observed. Such opposition is noted in one of the letters of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia.
Judges support similar opinions.In their opinion, an advance must be paid in the middle of the month, the fifteenth or sixteenth day will be optimal, depending on how many days are in the month (thirty or thirty-one). At the regional level, there are court decisions.
What should I look for?
You should pay attention to the fact that the dates of advance payment and salary are certain numbers, not time intervals. In one of the letters of the Ministry of Labor, officials considered the situation when the enterprise in the labor contracts or in the regulations on remuneration provided not certain dates for the payment of wages, but intervals.
For example, an advance is issued from the 15th to the 20th day of each month, and wages - from the 1st to the 5th day of the next month. According to the Ministry of Labor, these are incorrect definitions. Here, the employer does not guarantee compliance with the periodicity of half a month.
A similar provision is spelled out in a letter from Rostrud.
Documentation in which the date of issue of wages
In what documentation should the dates of advance payment and salary be written? The Labor Code identifies internal labor regulations, collegial or labor contracts. Is it worth it to write dates in each document or will it be enough to indicate in one of them? Until 2016, there were two options for this controversial issue:
- The days of the issuance of earnings are set in the instructions of the work schedule, the collegial contract (if any) or labor contracts with employees (letter of the Rostrud 2014).
- The days of the issuance of labor fees are allowed to be set in any of these documents (letter of the Rostrud 2012). The most suitable document is the Indices of the internal labor schedule.
Advance payment rules
By definition of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the concept of "advance" is not in the labor legislation. This is the share of salary paid for the first half of the month.
Based on article 423 of the Labor Code, USSR normative decrees are still applied only if they do not contradict it. There is a decree of the Council of Ministers of those times in 1957 "On the procedure for the payment of wages to employees for the first half of the month."
It does not rebuke the Code. And it indicates what percentage of the advance payment of the employee’s salary for the first half of the month is charged. It is provided for by agreement of the employer with the trade union and is indicated in the collective agreement.
What should be the minimum advance amount?
The minimum advance amount cannot be lower than the established employee rate for the time worked upon.
Accordingly, the employer, paying salary (advance) for the first two weeks of the month, must take this requirement into account and consider the time that has actually been worked out.
The applicability of the requirement for current enterprises was highlighted by Rostrud in his letter in 2006 “Calculation of advance payments on wages”, which says how to calculate an advance.
There is also a letter from the Ministry of Health and Social Development of 2009, which states that salary payments for every two weeks of the month should be approximately the same amount.
The conclusions in this case will be as follows:
- The minimum amount of earnings for the first half month should not be less than a certain employee rate for the time that actually worked.
- The amount of the advance payment for the salary is calculated not symbolically, but taking into account the time worked in fact, therefore, it will be necessary to write and fill out the schedules half a month before accrual.
What is a 40% advance on wages?
We answer the question about the advance payment - what percentage of the salary goes to its issue? Often, salary is a component of wages. Therefore, when calculating the amount of the advance payment, it is necessary to take into account other parts of the monthly income: an additional payment and an allowance for labor conditions, the performance of additional volumes of work, part-time positions, and the replacement of a temporarily non-working employee. It turns out that the employee worked for half a month and may require such payments.
Rewards and incentive bonuses do not affect the amount of the advance.This is indicated in the letter of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia in 2009. As a rule, the results of the work performed are the basis for the awards, and this becomes clear from the monthly results. This also applies to the percentage of wages.
So how to calculate the advance? Where do the famous 40% come from? The exact size of the advance payment is not spelled out in the labor legislation; accordingly, the issue of the percentage of the advance payment is awkward. At the same time, less than 40% cannot be paid.
The Labor Code specifically refers to the calculation of wages, respectively, the amount of payment for the first weeks of the month should equal the cost of the employee’s efforts. If we take away personal income tax 13% from the full salary of 100%, 87% of the salary will remain. Half of this size, 43.5%, with other permissions, may be rounded up to 40%.
If the employer sets the amount of the advance payment for wages less, this is already a direct violation of labor law.
Holiday Accounting
The advance can be calculated for the time that is worked out, while taking into account the days off and not taking into account. This is the choice of the employer.
If the manager decides not to take into account weekends and holidays, then the salary accrued during this time will need to be divided in half.
The formula for this calculation is:
A = (OK + D / N) / 2,
here A - will be an advance, Ok - a salary, D / N - the sum of surcharges and allowances.
And if only the working days are taken into account by the employer, then:
A = (OK + D / N) / NRVm × NRVp / m,
where NRVm - will be the standard of working time established for a month of work; NRVp / m - the standard of working time established for half a month of labor activity.
How to calculate the advance on salary?
In order to avoid risk, the amount of advance payment for wages is determined by the results of calculations, and is not a fixed percentage.
If an employee is accepted from the second half of the month, during the advance payment period (for example, the employee is accepted on the eighteenth day, and the advance is paid on the twentieth day), this employee does not receive an advance, since the first half of the month he did not work.
They believe that employees have their own income, such as monthly salaries in the last days. Accordingly, an advance on salary should be accrued only in timesheets. In accounting, until the end of the month there are no accrual transactions.
Calculation Example
Suppose an employee receives a salary of 20 thousand rubles. In October, 21 business days, while on October 9 and 10 they took 2 days off at their own expense. As a result of the work, he was awarded a premium of 4000 rubles.
We calculate the advance. It is necessary to analyze the time sheet from 1 to 15 number. We receive, in total 11 working days turned out, of which two days were spent on time off. So, the salary is divided into working days. We earn a day. Then we multiply this number by the actually worked out ones. As a result: 20000/21 * 9 = 8571.43. This amount will be an advance. Taxes and contributions are not levied.
We calculate the main part. 20000/21 * 19 = 18095.24-8571.43 (advance) = 9523.8 + 4000 (premium) = 13523.8. To calculate the tax: 13523.8 + 8571.43 = 22095.23 * 13% = 2872.32
To pay out: 13523.8 - 2872.32 = 10651.42. When calculating, it is necessary to remember the standard tax deductions, if applicable.
Reflection of advance payment in accounting
The postings when calculating the advance are similar to the postings when issuing a salary:
Debit 70 - Credit 50.51
That is, after an employee receives an advance on wages, this forms a receivable (debit 70), which is paid off during the period of receipt of wages in the last days of the month.
Therefore, payment sheets are not issued in advance. Employees are given them once a month during the period of salary payment for the second half month.
Calculation and payment of advance payment for wages is made in the program "1C". An advance in tax accounting expense is not considered.
The payment of an advance on wages is made out with the same documentation as the issuance of the final payroll calculation. The list of documentation that needs to be collected depends on the method of issuing funds:
- In cash.
- Transfer to the bank account of the employee.
Contribution and advance tax on wages
When the advance payment is paid to employees in cash, they issue a payroll in the form of No. T – 53 or an expense cash warrant in the form of No. KO-2. Since it is paid for half a month, it is not necessary to draw up a settlement sheet in the form of T-49. It is used to account for retention, accrual and payment for the full month.
When calculating an advance on an employee’s bank card, the payment order indicates “Payment of salaries for the initial half of the month” in the payment functions.
Since the advance is considered to be earnings for the first half month, the question arises: is it necessary to calculate and withhold personal income tax from it, to charge and transfer the insurance premium? The Ministry of Finance explained this point in its letters of 2008, 2012, and 2013. On this issue there was a letter from the Federal Tax Service in 2014. There is also a Decree of the Presidium of 2012.
Based on the article of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the date the employee received the monthly salary in fact is the final day of the month for which it was accrued. Accordingly, there is no personal income tax during the period of payment of income for the first two weeks of the month.