Everyone sees success in their own way. While some of us are building a career step by step, others seek to open up a small, but our own business. However, business is always fraught with risk, and few are ready to leave work with a stable income before starting this path. How does being an entrepreneur relate to self-employment? In other words, is it possible to open an individual entrepreneur if officially employed?
Entrepreneur Status
Individual Entrepreneur (IP) - This is not the legal form of a small enterprise, but the special status of an individual. It gives a legitimate reason to do business and make a profit, and also imposes a number of obligations: to pay taxes and insurance premiums, to report to government bodies, to bear responsibility for its obligations. However, having registered as an individual entrepreneur, a person does not cease to be an ordinary citizen with his inherent rights and obligations. Including the right to be hired.
In other words, the status of the individual entrepreneur and the employee most often do not overlap with each other and get along well. Therefore, the question “is it possible to open an individual entrepreneur if officially employed” generally has a positive answer, however, with some reservations, which will be discussed below.
Who can and cannot be an entrepreneur
A person who is going to engage in entrepreneurial activity must meet the following requirements:
- have Russian citizenship;
- belong to the age category of 18 years or more (whereas it is allowed to work for hire from 16 years old);
- to be fully capable, that is, not to have capacity limitations which can be established by court decision in relation to persons with mental disorders or addicted to alcohol, drugs or gambling (such persons may be employed, but may not be private individuals);
- not have judicial, professional or official restrictions on doing business.
An entrepreneur carries out his activities at his own risk and peril, and this must be clearly understood. That is why the individual entrepreneur must be an adult and fully capable person who can be responsible for his actions.
Professional and job restrictions
Sometimes a person’s position or profession can really lead to the inability to register an individual entrepreneur, but there are few such cases. So, it is forbidden to act as an entrepreneur by state and municipal employees. The ban was introduced in order to enable them to effectively carry out their work without being distracted by other activities. In addition, it is designed to exclude the possibility of civil servants using their privileges in the development of their own business.
In connection with the above, the question arises: "Is it possible to open an individual entrepreneur if he is officially employed in a state institution?" In most cases, it is possible, since work in such organizations is not the default civil service. The list of public service posts is established by presidential decree, as well as acts of the constituent entities of the Federation. If you have doubts about whether your position belongs to the civil service or not, you should turn to the legislation and find out this question.
A separate professional category, the representatives of which are not available for registration of individual entrepreneurs, are notaries and lawyers.Like entrepreneurs, they conduct individual activities, pay taxes themselves and submit reports. However, their activity is not entrepreneurial, since its main purpose is not to profit.
Also, for ethical reasons, the law prohibits the registration of MPs as heads of municipalities, deputies of the State Duma, the Federal Assembly and some other categories of deputies.
What you need to know for the future IP
So, we covered in detail the question of whether it is possible to open an IP if it is officially employed. But this is far from the only thing that a future businessman should think about. Many people mistakenly believe that the status of an entrepreneur does not oblige you to anything: if things go, it’s good; well, and if not, then there is no demand! But this is by no means the case. Register as an individual entrepreneur and forget about it “until better times” does not work, and that's why.
Regardless of whether the activity brings income or not, an individual entrepreneur must make contributions to insurance funds: pension (PF) and medical (MHIF). Contributions are also payable if no business is carried out at all. That is, your business is still in its infancy, and insurance contributions must already be made in full! Now their total size is about 20 thousand rubles a year, and this amount is slowly but surely increasing.
In addition, even with zero activity, it is necessary to submit reports to the tax office (IFTS). Failure to comply with this requirement, as well as violation of the established deadlines, entails a fine.
In the activities of the entrepreneur there is another key point - he is liable for obligations with all his property. That is, unpaid insurance premiums, taxes, fines, as well as any loans, loans and other obligations arising in the framework of entrepreneurial activity, are personal debts of an individual. And the collection of these debts can be carried out at the expense of property belonging to a person.
Is it worth the risk?
Doubts about whether to open an IP, if you work officially, arise for another reason. A person is simply not sure that he can successfully combine work and business. Business development is difficult, and no one guarantees success. The main work also requires a lot of effort and time. Even if you carefully calculate everything, there is always a chance to encounter unforeseen difficulties, the solution of which will require more resources than planned. Therefore, before opening an IP, it is worth considering whether there will be economic benefits from such a combination. After all, everyone knows what happens when you try to keep up with two rabbits at the same time ...
What is better - self-employed or own business? Everyone should answer this question for himself. For those who nevertheless decided to try themselves in the role of an entrepreneur, we will further describe the registration process.
Collection of documents
Registering as an entrepreneur is a fairly simple process. Documents for opening an IP are presented in the following list:
- passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
- certificate of TIN assignment (in the absence it is necessary to obtain from the district IFTS);
- application in the form of P21001;
- paid state duty in the amount of 800 rubles (original and copy of receipt);
- 2 copies of the notice of transition to the simplified tax system - a simplified taxation system (in the absence, it is considered that the individual entrepreneur will apply the general taxation regime).
One should think about choosing a tax regime before opening an individual entrepreneur. Most entrepreneurs prefer the simplified tax system, because in this mode it is not necessary to keep accounts, as well as pay VAT, income tax and property. Accounting is reduced to filling out a book of purchases and sales, and all taxes are replaced by one, which is calculated at a rate of 6% of income or 15% of profit (optional).It is also worth considering that some types of activities fall under other taxation systems - UTII, patent, or USCH. Often there are situations that an individual entrepreneur is forced to apply several tax regimes at once.
Registration process
IP registration is carried out in the territorial bodies of the Federal Tax Service. A set of documents can be taken there personally, transmitted through a representative authorized by a notarized power of attorney, or sent by mail with a valuable letter. In the last two cases, form P21001 must be certified by a notary. Documents can also be submitted for registration to the nearest MFC (multifunctional center of public services), however, not all service departments provide such an opportunity.
After three working days, the documents will be ready. As a confirmation that from now on entrepreneurial activity can be carried out legally, you will receive a certificate of registration and an extract from the register of individual entrepreneurs. Together with these documents, you will be returned one copy of the notice on the application of the simplified tax system, containing the mark of the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate. Well, that’s all, you have become an individual entrepreneur!
Information about the new IP is transferred from the tax service to the Pension Fund, where a registration number is assigned. A notification about registration with the PF along with a reminder of the payer of insurance premiums will be sent to you by mail. In the meantime, you can order a seal, and if necessary open a bank account.
This completes the process of registering an entrepreneur, it's time to start developing your business! Well, of course, it is important to make mandatory payments in a timely manner, as well as submit reports to regulatory authorities.
