Both individual entrepreneurs and legal entities, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, are required to pay such a tax as UST. At the same time, there are many nuances associated with these payments regarding the calculation and payment procedure. For this reason, this type of taxation should be given special attention.
What is the essence of UST
This abbreviation is used to indicate unified social tax, which is federal. The funds levied with it are necessary for the quality realization of citizens' rights to pension and state social security, as well as to medical care. UST is a tax that directs funds to the state budget and various extrabudgetary funds (social, medical, and pension insurance).
At the same time, taxpayers subject to this taxation can be divided into 2 types:
- workers (self-employed entrepreneurs, notaries and lawyers who do not use the opportunity to hire labor and make UST contributions from their own funds);
- employers (we are talking about enterprises, as well as individual entrepreneurs who have a staff and pay tax on their income).
How is the tax base determined?
This indicator is determined based on the valuation object of taxation which was established by NK.
For taxpayers who are employers, the tax base is calculated as the amount of payments that can be determined as an object of taxation and accrued in favor of employees for a specific period. In the process of determining the tax base, any types of payments accrued to employees of the enterprise will be taken into account, regardless of what form they have. The exception is those payments that are not recognized as an object of taxation in accordance with Article 238 of the Tax Code.
It is important to understand that the UST tax has undergone some changes. Now, unlike the previous procedure for allocating funds to off-budget funds, employers are required to determine the tax base for each employee separately.
Taxpayers-entrepreneurs, in turn, must determine as a base the income received during the tax period in both in-kind and in financial form. In this case, the calculation of UST is made taking into account the fact that these funds were received from any professional or entrepreneurial activity minus those expenses that were related to their extraction.
However, there are some types of payments that are not subject to UST (v. 238 NK). It's about certain compensation payments, lump-sum financial assistance, state benefits, etc.
It is worth considering the fact that the UST is a tax implying the existence of certain benefits. For example, if the income, payments or various remuneration received by persons of the I-III group during the tax period does not exceed the mark of 100 thousand rubles, then there is no need to pay UST. This principle is also true for organizations of persons with disabilities that make payments to any individuals in the same amount.
The tax year should be considered a calendar year. The reporting periods are nine months, six months and the first quarter.
How to identify UST payers
The vast majority of tax payers are employers. But the definition of this category used in the framework of the current labor legislation and in order to pay UST (1, Article 235) is somewhat different. Therefore, it is worthwhile to figure out who the employer is obliged to pay UST.
The following types of companies and individuals can be included in this group:
- Foreign organizations that operate in the territory of the Russian Federation, through a separate division, including.
- A single social tax must be accrued if individuals and legal entities use labor resources on the basis of civil law relations.
- Employer status is assigned to those Russian organizations that are legal entities.
- Entrepreneurs. We are talking about individuals who carry out their activities without legal status. It can be private detectives, notaries and other private individuals equated to the norms of Abs. 3 p. 2 Article 11 Tax Code.
- Family and clan communities of small peoples of the North, carrying out activities in the framework of traditional areas of management, as well as farming. The UST rate is relevant for them in the event that employees are recruited and payments are made to individuals.
Important is the following feature of this tax: if the subject belongs to two groups of payers at the same time, then he must pay taxes on each basis.
How does the simplified system affect the taxation of the UST
If you pay attention to article 346. 11 of the Tax Code, you can see that Russian legislation exempts individual entrepreneurs or organizations that use a simplified taxation system from paying UST.
Moreover, UST is not paid both from various remuneration and payments accrued to individuals, and from those funds that were received as a result of the entrepreneur's activities.
The conclusion is very simple: UST is a tax that is not relevant for those who use a simplified taxation system.
In the event that the activities of an entrepreneur or organization are subject to imputed income tax for specific types of activities, then the UST also does not need to be paid.
UST rate
For those payers who make payments to individuals, there are two current scales of regressive rates:
- For agricultural producers, family communities of the peoples of the North and craft organizations that are developing in the field of traditional industries.
- For individual entrepreneurs and individuals. The exception is those employers who are engaged in agricultural production and folk art. Communities of the North also fall into the category of exceptions.
The tables showing the percentage of UST are freely available, so they can be easily used to calculate tax.
If we are talking about the first group of taxpayers listed above, then in their case the following percentages apply. When the tax base is limited to 280 thousand rubles. - 20%, from 280,000 to 60,000 the rate will be equal to 50,000 rubles. and 10% of the amount that exceeds the established limit. Over 600,000 rubles. UST is 88,000 rubles, and in case of exceeding the limit of 600 thousand - you need to pay 2.0% of the exceeding amount.
For those organizations and enterprises that make contributions to individuals, a slightly different rate applies. Up to 280 thousand - 26%, up to 600 thousand will have to pay 78 thousand rubles. and 10% of the excess amount, if we are talking about a tax base above 600 thousand, then the deductions will amount to 104 800 and 2.0% of the amount that goes beyond the limit.
With the help of such data, it is easy to calculate what size of a single social tax you need to pay to a particular company or individual entrepreneur.
Single social tax rates for lawyers and entrepreneurs can be found in paragraph 3 of Article No. 241 of the Tax Code.
The procedure for calculating tax
The terms of calculation are formulated in article 243-245 of the Tax Code. It should be noted that UST is a tax, the amount of which must be determined every month. For this you need to use interest rate data. It is important not to forget to deduct from the resulting amount for deductions to the federal budget, contributions to the FIU.In turn, the payment that is sent to the FSS must be reduced by the amount of sick leave and other payments in favor of employees. It is important to pay attention to the fact that the monthly advance payment will be reduced.
If we touch on the topic of hospital payments and other expenses that the FSS covers, it is worth noting that in this case the UST should be reduced by the amount actually paid during the month.
When to pay UST
In order to make payments correctly, you must adhere to the following principles:
- It is necessary to pay UST on the basis of the results of the reporting period (3, 6, 9 months) until the 20th day of the month that follows the reporting period. In this case, the difference between the amounts calculated and paid by the unified social tax is calculated and paid, after which the calculation is submitted to the tax authority.
- The calculation of advance payments is based on the results of each month within the reporting period. Moreover, the fact of payment should not be made later than the 15th day of the next month.
- The declaration is submitted after the summing up of the tax period (meaning the year) no later than March 30.
What amounts are not subject to UST
Article 238 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation displays a list of those payments that are not subject to UST. These include government benefits, the payment of which takes place in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and decisions of government bodies within the framework of local self-government. Benefits for caring for a sick child, for temporary disability, childbirth and pregnancy are also exempted from taxation.
The UST is not subject to any kind of compensation payments related to the dismissal of an employee, compensation for unused vacation and compensation for damage due to injury or for any other reason with the accompanying provision of free housing and utilities, as well as fuel, food and various monetary compensations.
Reporting
Settlement in the form that was approved by the RF Ministry of Finance should be submitted to the tax authority no later than the 20th day of the month, after the end of the reporting period, by all UST payers (1, Art. 235). In this form, you need to reflect the data on the calculated and paid amounts of advance payments. The report should also contain information on the amount of tax deduction used by the taxpayer and on the size of insurance premiums paid during the same period.
Every quarter, no later than the 15th day following the expired reporting period, reports must be submitted to the regional branches of the FSS in the form approved by the FSS of the Russian Federation. These reports display information about the amounts used to pay maternity benefits, caring for a child until he reaches the age of 1.5 years, at the birth of children. In the report, you need to display data on unemployment benefits, the amounts that were spent on sanitary-resort services for workers, as well as their families.
The tax return for UST must be submitted before March 30 of the year that follows the reporting one. Moreover, it is necessary to use form No. 21. A copy of the declaration with the mark of the tax authority or other document that will confirm the fact of reporting, must be submitted to the RF PF no later than July 3.
Difficulties in the process of calculating UST
If the employer does not transfer or makes incomplete deductions of insurance contributions for compulsory pension insurance for employees of his company, then the employee is forced to face the following negative consequences:
- the underestimated amount of the funded and insurance part of the retirement pension;
- inability to use pension savings funds for investment;
- lack of seniority, which is necessary in order to obtain the right to a retirement pension;
- understated amount of estimated pension capital at the time of its indexation due to late payment of insurance premiums.
The result of violations leading to such consequences was the judicial practice of filing claims of employees against policyholders. The essence of the requirement in such a situation was simple - to pay contributions for compulsory pension insurance.
Controlling Contributions
The fact of deduction of the UST amount is controlled by the tax authorities, on the basis of the legislation of the Russian Federation. Direct verification of the fact of payment is carried out by officials within their competence. This means the possibility of studying the data of reporting and accounting, obtaining explanations of payers and tax agents and also inspection of territories and premises that are used to generate income. The same measures can be used to control the payment of insurance premiums.
Also noteworthy is the fact that the law allows recovering arrears of insurance premiums, as well as fines and penalties without the participation of the court, through a decision of the territorial body of the PFRF. Such measures can be used under the following conditions:
- if the amount that the individual entrepreneur must pay does not exceed the mark of 5,000 rubles;
- in case when the insurance premium of legal entities is limited to the amount of 50,000 rubles.
If the amount of unpaid funds is higher than these limits, then the collection will be carried out exclusively in court.
As for extrajudicial collection methods, before taking specific measures, the territorial authority of the Pension Fund must send a letter to the policyholder containing a requirement regarding the payment of specific amounts.
Such a document should contain information regarding fines, penalties, arrears and due dates. But the decision of the territorial body of the PFRF may be suspended if it was appealed to a higher body of the insurer.
In the event that the policyholder has chosen the judicial appeal procedure instead of the administrative one, the execution of the decision regarding the collection is suspended only at the initiative of the court.
Regarding the size of fines, it is important to note that they are not charged on that part of the arrears that turned out to be paid by the insured due to the seizure of property or suspension of operations.
Interest is charged for each day of overdue payment of insurance premiums.
Based on the above information, it is easy to see which UST is a difficult tax (this refers to the calculation procedure). Therefore, entrepreneurs and legal entities should thoroughly approach the process of paying it.
