The work of the tax service is extremely important, since it is the funds from the collected contributions that go largely to the maintenance of the infrastructure of the whole country. Without a developed tax system, it is impossible to develop both the entire state as a whole and its individual regions. This is especially true if the property tax of organizations is being discussed.
Historical excursion
For the first time, this category of mandatory fees was adopted in turbulent 1992. But only in 2004 all the provisions of this most important tax were finally enshrined in the 30th chapter of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, as well as in the local laws of the constituent entities of the Federation. It should be noted that only the central authority represented by the territorial branches of the Federal Tax Service can determine the rate of this fee, as well as the procedure and time for its collection. Despite the importance of this tax in relation to the regions of the state themselves, they cannot participate in the distribution of funds.
But! It is the regional authorities that have the exclusive right to provide tax benefits in addition to those that were provided for at the Federation level. Let's look at the main elements of this tax.
Who is the payer?
They are considered to be all enterprises that have certain property recognized as an object of tax collections, in accordance with Article 374 of the Tax Code. The object until 2013 (we will talk about this below) was all movable and immovable property on the balance sheet of the organization.
But! The exception was foreign companies operating in the territory of our country through their representative offices. This tax was also applied to them, but only immovable (!) Property located on the territory of the Russian Federation was recognized as its object (in their case).
What can not be recognized as an object of taxation?
The provision on the collection of property tax contains rather serious reservations that do not allow recognizing certain categories of property as subject to taxation. However, they are all quite specific:
- Firstly, these are all land plots, as well as water resources. Simply put, property tax on organizations does not apply to natural resources.
- The property that belongs to organizations of the federal executive branch, which provides for the serving of military service or an equivalent service, aimed at preserving the law, law and order and integrity of the state, cannot be taxed.
About the tax period
As in many cases, a regular calendar year is recognized as such. Reporting periods also do not differ in any specifics: This is the first quarter, six months and nine months. The subjects of the federation are entitled to not establish reporting periods.
As for the tax base (we will return to this issue later), it is determined as the average annual value of the organization’s property.
Why is he so important?
The fact is that the money that the Federal Tax Service collects from this direction goes directly to the regional budgets of the subjects of our state. Thus, the money collected from the region or republic remains in it, working for the further development of the region. Oddly enough, but the developed distribution of funds, which is carried out at the stage of collecting taxes, is one of the few really convenient and working programs of our legislators. For example, kindergartens and schools are supported by money from personal income tax, street cleaning is carried out.
What are the funds from this tax used for?
Where does the property tax go? These funds are intended just to support small businesses, to develop regional social programs, as well as to overhaul and build housing.
High collection is due to the fact that funds from all property taxes (and from individuals, too) are allocated for these purposes. It would just be very strange when the money raised from a small business somewhere in Kamchatka would go to support such enterprises somewhere in the Central regions.
How is formed the tax base in this case?
How is property tax paid to organizations? The base is formed quite simply, but you need to know about some important subtleties.
In the old version of the law (until 2013, we will talk more about this) the following categories of property were included in the database: any production departments, as well as all other buildings and structures used to cover the needs of the enterprise. Any equipment, office equipment, tools for video studios - all this is subject to this fee.
Simply put, in the old version of the law on property taxes of organizations, the duty was decisively imposed on everything that the enterprise had. Simply put, under the concept of “object of property tax of organizations” everything fell: from office furniture to port cranes.
Important! Immediately draw your attention to the aspect in which novice accountants are constantly confused. All property currently sold is not (!) Taxable property. This is especially important when it comes to large manufacturing companies.
So companies involved in the construction of residential complexes, the production of machine tools or cars (and any similar business) are not required to pay contributions for their products. Only the buyer is charged with this tax. This is explained by the fact that the manufactured goods are already subject to a considerable amount of duties. Thus, all equipment or materials that your company has in warehouses are not subject to property tax in any way!
What has changed since 2013
Before we discuss the other characteristics of the tax, it is worth talking about some of the innovations that were adopted last year. If you have ever dealt with legal upheavals, you are well aware of the importance of constantly monitoring the slightest changes in the law.
How was it before 2013?
It should be noted that until January 2013 property tax was considered to be money collected from both movable and immovable property, which passed as “main property”.
Now this concept has been slightly revised (for example, the tax on personal property of organizations is not levied), but for now, let's talk about the existing situation.
Once again, we remind you that today, taxation includes not only property that is directly managed by the organization, but also property that was given to it for trust or temporary use.
Property not included in the tax base
Of course, there are types of property who cannot fall under the tax burden. In article 30 (second part) of the Code (Tax Code) there is a complete list of this kind of property.
Payers and base rate
All legal entities pay this tax, both being residents of our state and those registered outside it. If commercial activity is carried out in the territory of the Russian Federation by whatever company, then there can be no exceptions.
By the way, what is the ratio of corporate property tax? The rate is 2.2%. Keep in mind that it can vary within a fairly wide range, and its value may depend on the payer as well as on the region in which his own business was registered.However, the property tax of organizations (Moscow and other Central regions is no exception) is almost the same throughout the country. The period is a standard calendar year.
What has changed since January 01, 2013?
So how has the property tax of organizations changed since then? The changes are pretty important. An epoch-making event was the exclusion of movable property from the tax base. Simply put, from now on only real estate can be taxed.
But! The law has a very significant point. It states that under this rule only those objects of movable property that were registered later (!) On the first of January 2013 fall. All other movable values that were registered earlier than this deadline continue to be taxed in the old manner.
Nice exceptions
So what is classified as movable property that is not subject to tax law?
Of course, first of all, this includes vehicles and office furniture, computer equipment and other tools necessary for the company to conduct its activities. The date of putting a particular property into operation must necessarily be fully reflected in its inventory card.
Therefore, experienced lawyers advise immediately dividing all inventory reporting into two classes: real estate and movable property that are subject to tax, as well as movable property that is no longer subject to tax. For this, additional sub-accounts are opened for accounts 01 and 08. This will not only significantly reduce the time spent on performing such operations, but also help to avoid many unpleasant situations.
Explanations and Comments
So what kind of property tax is used in each case?
Important! Even property that was purchased back in 2012 can be exempted from paying a fee. The decisive (!) Factor is precisely the date it was put into operation, and not the actual date of acquisition. It should be noted that in this case, any audit commission will require an accountant to clarify the validity of such an act. This explanation can serve as the technological characteristics of equipment that needs a long setup and calibration, which is why it could not be put into operation earlier than this time.
Where can I find any explanations on this subject, calculating the property tax of organizations? BSC (classification codes) - here is your best assistant!
Accepting such equipment, it is necessary to draw up a separate order indicating its special characteristics, and then clearly indicate the date of commissioning. By the way, there are no restrictions on the degree of deterioration of property. It is in this lies a great opportunity to save on taxation, taking on the balance of objects of movable property that were already in use.
Important exception
All of the above applies only to those enterprises that really pay the tax on which their property is taxed. In the thirtieth chapter of the second part of the Code there is a detailed list of those companies that are exempt from paying it (we mentioned some of them at the very beginning of the article).
Please note that those legal entities that use some specific or simplified tax payment schemes (IP for USN, for example) are automatically exempted from paying these fees. Simply put, the property tax of USN-reporting organizations is not paid in principle, which greatly simplifies the lives of some categories of entrepreneurs.
Leasing
Sometimes much more specific issues arise in the accounting environment. For example, how leased supplies are used to calculate corporate property tax. NK in this case is expressed rather vaguely.
The misunderstanding in this matter is justified: suppose (we already wrote about this), you are obliged to pay property tax for the production premises that you received for temporary use. As for leasing, the owner of the property should be paid for the property, but nothing else!
Simply put, if your bus hangs on the lessor's balance sheet, then it will be he who will bear the tax burden. Alas, in our legislation there are enough contentious issues, and leasing also applies to them: the courts constantly consider contentious cases relating specifically to disputes regarding the payment of property tax acquired in this way.
How to determine on whose particular balance this or that property should be listed? To determine this fact, special accounting criteria have been created:
- An asset may be recognized as the property of production if it is actively involved in the production of products or in the implementation of management activities.
- If the object has been used for more than 12 months.
- In the case when the asset will not be put up for resale.
- In addition, the object can be recognized as the property of the enterprise, if it is able to bring him profit for a long period of time.
If the property does not respond to at least one (!) Of these signs, then it cannot stand on the balance sheet of the enterprise. It should be noted that precisely because of these reasons, it is often possible to meet contracts that state the 11-month tenure, or it is emphasized that tangible assets will be resold immediately after the company is settled under a lease agreement. So companies are trying to reduce the tax burden.
How to calculate property lease payments?
However, the tax authorities know all this, and therefore they put forward fairly fair demands. So, it is often possible to meet cases of litigation: tax authorities require companies to pay property tax for that part of leasing purchases that have already been paid to the supplier. Suppose you bought a machine for a million rubles. For the first quarter, you have already paid two hundred thousand, and all the remaining quarterly payments are equal to one hundred thousand.
Here how to calculate property tax organizations in this case:
- In the first quarter you will pay tax from 200 thousand.
- Accordingly, in the second quarter you will need to pay a fee already from 300 thousand rubles.
Such a property tax of organizations, an example of which we have cited, is understandable. Thus, by the end of the year it will be necessary to pay property tax on half the cost of the machine. And here both parties may be indignant: it may happen that the supplier will pay the full property tax for this machine for two years!
And the buyer, who by the end of the second year will also be forced to bear the tax burden of a million, will also not be delighted. This absurd situation (who would have thought!) Is connected with the poor elaboration of the domestic legislative base.
How to prevent this?
To prevent this from happening with your company, the lease agreement should specify in detail all the obligations of the parties in relation to property tax. It is highly advisable to involve the most experienced practicing lawyers in drafting such an agreement, since otherwise you may be forced to assert your rights already in court.
Depreciation
To begin to understand the procedure for calculating property tax, it is necessary to deal with an extremely important concept, which has the most direct relation to those material assets, which are taxed by payments. To make it clearer to you, you should analyze this question with illustrative examples.
Suppose you bought a new car at a car dealership.Experts say that immediately after the transaction and your departure outside the gates of this institution, the cost of the “iron horse” you purchased is immediately reduced by 15-20%. Simply put, this can already be attributed to depreciation of an asset. If you don’t follow the machine at all, then in just a year it may well become cheaper by 50% at once! Thus, in about five to seven years, the cost of the car will be a maximum of 30% of its initial price.
But! If you monitor your assets (transport, production facilities), and invest in their overhaul, then the cost will not decrease much. Moreover, the repaired production facility, bought for a penny, after all these measures can go up in price dozens of times at once! But all this is important to correctly reflect in the acts drawn up in the case of acceptance of the updated property.
What, in general, is depreciation?
Distinguish between its moral and physical types. The second case is the most understandable and logical. You use a thing, and because of this, it wears out, and therefore gradually loses value.
If we talk about the moral variety, then in this case the material asset is not used at all, but simply lies dead weight on the balance sheet of the enterprise. For example, a closed assembly workshop clearly demonstrates this concept.
And now the most important thing. Why did we write all this? The thing is that a taxpayer can set the value of his property: isn’t it, it will be a shame to pay the tax on a car in full when the car is already ten years old? Therefore, the accounting service must necessarily calculate depreciation, as this greatly contributes to reducing the tax burden on the company.
How to calculate the tax payment?
Note that this tax should be paid once a quarter: in this case, the property tax of organizations, the declaration of which is entered in the Federal Tax Service at the same time, should include the already calculated value of the property, as well as the amortized price. The amount of tax payment should be fully calculated.
By the way, when should you pay corporate property tax? The dates correspond to the end of the reporting periods: April 30, July 30, October 30. Important! Please note that in some regions these dates may differ from those given by us, so check them in your branch of the Federal Tax Service.
Tax rate and its calculation
According to the Code, the tax rate for this type of tax is 2.2%. As we already said, the Government granted the regions permission to independently regulate interest, but they should not exceed 2.2%. As practice shows, only a few constituent entities of the Russian Federation changed something in this sense, while all the others left the rate completely unchanged.
Since it is produced property tax calculation organizations? The amount is calculated as follows:
- First you need to determine the category of property that will be taxed.
- Then you need to find out at the local branch of the Federal Tax Service if you have at least some benefits for these payments.
- Then you need to calculate as accurately as possible the value of the property for which you will pay the tax.
- After that, it is advisable to specify the rate specifically for your region.
- We calculate the amount of payment, multiplying the rate by the value of the property.
- Keep in mind that property tax on organizations that were not paid on time is paid with extremely strict penalties. Remember this!
Important! Do not forget to deduct the depreciation, which we talked about so much above!
Tax benefits
Alas, I want to say right away that the property tax of a budgetary organization will be paid in full, as some relief is not provided in principle.
Finally, we return once again to certain categories of organizations that are either completely exempted from this payment to the regional budget, or are entitled to provide substantial relief for them. Here they are:
- Religious organizations do not pay tax on the property that they use to perform spiritual rites. Please note: the property tax of organizations (benefits are provided to all state denominations) is not paid only (!) On those objects that serve for religious activities. Simply put, the same farm buildings are taxed to their full extent.
- Public government organizations of persons with disabilities. Again, they do not pay the tax rate on those tangible assets that they use directly to carry out their activities.
- Pharmaceutical organizations (especially vaccine manufacturers) are exempted from property taxes on property that they need to produce drugs directly.
- All the lawyers have the same benefits.
- State scientific complexes are exempt from tax.
This is what the corporate property tax implies. In this article, we described both the concept itself and some features of this collection.
