When buying or selling real estate, Russians almost always deal with taxes. If they are in the status of home purchasers, then they do not have direct responsibilities for paying contributions to the treasury - moreover, they are entitled to a special tax deduction.
But if a person is a seller of real estate, then he has more than enough obligations to the state. He is obliged to pay taxes on the proceeds. Timely and in full. If a person is faced with the task of "lawfully selling an apartment", what taxes will he have to pay? Does he have the right to count on any benefits?
How big is the tax?
According to Russian law, when individuals sell real estate (apartments, rooms, houses, cottages, land plots, etc.) that the seller has owned for less than 3 years at the time of the transaction, an obligation arises to pay personal income tax in the amount of 13% of the proceeds amount. It is possible to reduce the tax base by 1 million rubles. (so-called property deduction). Or for the amount that the seller spent when buying a property (if there are relevant supporting documents).
The opportunity to set off the costs of acquiring an apartment is useful, for example, in cases where a person, having bought real estate, decided that it was not suitable for him, and therefore decided to resell it. If he does this within one year, then if he does not receive a profit in excess of 1 million during the transaction, he will not have to pay any contributions to the Federal Tax Service. The tax on the sale of an apartment must be paid by July 15 of the year following the time the transaction was completed.
Seller Obligations
In addition to the fact that a monetary amount in the amount of the calculated personal income tax must be paid on time, the seller has another important obligation - to report to the Federal Tax Service. This is done by submitting a declaration in the form of 3-personal income tax. Moreover, even if the tax on the sale of an apartment was actually zero (that is, the transaction amount was less than or equal to a deduction of 1 million rubles), this document still needs to be brought to the Federal Tax Service. Moreover, this must be done before April 30 of that year, which follows when the transaction was completed.
A responsibility
What happens if a citizen does not pay income tax on the sale of an apartment? Then the state in the person of the Federal Tax Service will fine it in the amount of 20% of the calculated amount of personal income tax (or its balance not paid for any reason). Also, a daily fine will be charged in the amount of 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate (now 8.25%) in relation to the amount of debt - until a person fully settles the state.
What will happen if a person fails to file a 3-NDFL form with the Federal Tax Service (even if there is no need to pay tax on the sale of an apartment)? In this case, the Federal Tax Service will also impose a one-time fine of 1 thousand rubles. Which will increase by 5% of the amount of tax calculated monthly - until a person settles with the state. True, the final figure will not exceed 30% of the debt.
Privatization factor
A fairly common case noted by Russian lawyers: a person privatizes an apartment in which he lived for more than 10 years and sells it. Sometimes even honestly reflecting the full amount in the contract with the buyer. Soon he received a call from the Federal Tax Service and politely asked to pay nothing more than income tax on the sale of an apartment. How is this possible? The fact is that a citizen made a ridiculous mistake - he sold housing immediately after privatization. And this from the point of view of the law falls under the case when the property is in the possession of less than three years.
The fact that a person lived in an apartment for many years before privatization does not play any role. The situation is similar when the sale of an apartment by inheritance is carried out - the tax will be charged if the due period of 3 years has not passed. Therefore, lawyers strictly instruct citizens who have just registered ownership of the apartment through any procedure: you must wait three years.
Tax and Co-Ownership
A variant is possible in which the income tax on the sale of an apartment has to be paid, provided that the housing is in joint or shared ownership. The main problem here is how to divide the deduction of 1 million rubles? It all depends, first of all, on what specific type of property we are talking about - shared or joint.
In the first case, everything is simple. The deduction is divided in proportion to the percentage of ownership specified in the documents. If, say, Ivanov owns 45% of the apartment, and Petrov - 55%, then the first is entitled to a “discount” in the sale of housing in the amount of 450 thousand rubles, the second - 550 thousand.
In the case of joint ownership, the degree of simplicity depends primarily on the ability of co-owners to agree among themselves.
No universal, generally accepted on the market mechanisms for determining a specific share in the ownership of housing by Russian legislation have not yet been established.
Co-owners must come to a compromise. And if it doesn’t work out, the court will decide the question.
Another question that excites many citizens is: “What if, for example, 10 years ago, a person bought a share in an apartment in such and such a volume, and a month ago he bought the whole house and intends to sell the property? Is the sale of the apartment taxed in this case?” Lawyers recommend paying attention to one of the letters of the Ministry of Finance published in 2012 (namely, document No. 03-04-05 / 9-189). It says that a change in the share of real estate does not entail the termination of tenure rights for owners.
According to the same logic, as some experts believe, a distinction should be made in the individual terms of ownership of shares. If one of the owners is the owner of the house by the time the apartment is to be sold, 3 years, he does not need to pay tax specifically. While the other can own his share of less than three years. And if he wants to sell his part of the property, then he will have to pay the NFDL (with the corresponding amount of income).
Although, as experts say, the position of the territorial bodies of the Federal Tax Service may differ from the opinion of the Ministry of Finance. Therefore, it is recommended that before transactions in which there are similar conditions, consult with the tax authorities of a particular region or city.
There is a major nuance regarding the purchase and sale procedures with the participation of co-owners of real estate in the framework of shares. If an apartment is sold under a sales contract signed by all owners, the deduction amount is 1 million rubles. divided (as we said above, in proportion). But if each of the co-owners wishes to sell his share under a separate agreement, he will have the right to use the state-guaranteed “discount” in full. Similarly, in the case of people who own an apartment on the basis of joint ownership (although in this case it is necessary to agree on the size of the shares to be sold).
Non-resident transaction
It is known that in Russia there are two main types of taxpayers. The first are residents of the country, they pay personal income tax in the amount of 13%. Citizens of Russia and citizens of other states who have lived in Russia for more than 183 days for 12 months are recognized as such. The second are non-residents. Which, respectively, the main part of the year lived abroad. What to do if an apartment is sold by a non-resident? Do you need to pay taxes?
Yes. Moreover, the amount is substantially larger than if the seller was a resident, namely 30%. By the way, citizens of this category pay the same amount if they work for hire (or receive a different kind of official income).Another major nuance is that non-residents are not allowed any deductions.
If the seller is IP
How is the tax calculated when buying (selling) an apartment for entrepreneurs? What are the deductions put by IP? Regarding the purchase - none. Entrepreneurs cannot by “common civil” right to return 13% of the value of the property as part of the property deduction. But then they have a chance to pay a significantly lower tax on the sale.
Too many IPs are working on a "simplification". In accordance with this taxation system, proceeds from the sale of real estate are equated with commercial. And therefore, 6% of the amount of income received is payable.
If the seller is a senior citizen
Is the tax on the sale of an apartment to pensioners calculated? Yes, and in full. The fact that a person is retired does not affect his taxpayer status. There are the same obligations for the timely submission of the 3-NDFL declaration to the Federal Tax Service and payment of assessed contributions on time.
Gray Schemes: Responsibility
Very many citizens of the Russian Federation, trying not to pay tax on the sale of an apartment, indicate the much lower cost of an apartment when registering purchase and sale transactions than when making real settlements with the buyer. Usually in such cases, the sum of 1 million rubles appears, equal to the deduction. The remaining amount of cash sellers of apartments receive under additional agreements (mainly "receipts").
From the point of view of the law, everything looks "clean." However, as experts say, in recent years, government departments are less and less loyal to such transactions. And the appearance of “purity” can be ignored if desired, since the seller’s actual actions come down to tax evasion (and this qualifies for 198th article of the Criminal Code). All that is required of the employees of the Federal Tax Service in order to receive the tax on the sale of an apartment in full is the collection of evidence that the person has applied the "gray scheme" in the form of reduced figures in the sales contract. And then you can transfer information to the court.
How does this happen in practice? As a rule, tax authorities, having suspected obvious concealment of real figures on sale, order an independent appraisal of an apartment located in the same house (and if this is not possible, then housing in a building similar in design in the same area). Having received independent figures, they call the taxpayer for a conversation and ask for clarification.
If a person says that he simply managed to persuade the buyer to buy housing five times cheaper than the market value, then the employee of the Federal Tax Service, reasonably not believing him, can initiate an appeal to the court. There is a high probability that it is not unsuccessful: in recent years there have been precedents when the drafters of the "gray schemes" were condemned. As a rule, they had to pay tax on the sale of an apartment, calculated in accordance with the real market value of the property.
Informants for transactions with a reduced cost of housing, meanwhile, can be notaries who took part in the certification of documents for the sale of apartments, and even justice officials who registered real estate. Therefore, experts say, it is becoming increasingly difficult to sell housing according to “gray schemes”. Although so far, they admit, this is in the order of things - the income tax on the sale of an apartment is too great.
Nuances of ownership
As we have already determined, a person pays personal income tax by selling housing owned by him for less than 3 years. How is this period calculated? Very simple - 36 full months are taken into account at the time of signing the purchase and sale transaction. Experts note that the tenure is counted from the date that appears in the state register (and not the one that is written in the certificate of registration of real estate). The difference between these days, experts note, can be significant - up to 2 weeks.
It is also worth noting that a person who, having owned an apartment, say, 10 years, sold it, and bought it back a month later, is considered, as experts say, the new owner.To avoid paying taxes, you must wait three years before selling property.
Tricks of Deductions
As we said at the very beginning, citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to receive deductions related not only to the sale of real estate, but also to the purchase of apartments. In the second case, the mechanism for calculating amounts is, of course, completely different (as well as the legislative norms that govern it). Let us briefly consider the specifics of the property deduction for apartment buyers.
The state in the person of the Federal Tax Service gives the right to citizens who have purchased real estate to return 13% of the amount spent in connection with a housing acquisition transaction. This is, first of all, a payment in favor of the seller. The maximum deduction on its basis is 260 thousand rubles. Many apartments are purchased in a mortgage. From here one more base is formed for calculating the deduction, the maximum amount of which on this basis is 390 thousand rubles. (if the apartment was purchased after January 1, 2014), and maybe even completely unlimited (if the housing was purchased in previous years).
It would seem that these amounts are much less than the deduction of 1 million guaranteed by the sale of apartments. But let's not forget that the "formulas" for calculating tax obligations for sellers are completely different. It may well turn out that the property deduction when buying an apartment will actually be more than the personal income tax calculated on its sale.
Of particular interest is that both types of deduction can be combined. Moreover, in some cases, it is realistic to offset the calculated personal income tax arising from the sale of an apartment and a tax deduction based on the purchase of real estate. It is only necessary to contact the territorial structure of the Federal Tax Service in order to agree on this procedure. It is relatively uncomplicated, and in most cases it can be done without involving expensive consultants.
The following scenario is quite possible, for example.
Citizen Ivanov sold an apartment on Lenin Avenue for 2.5 million rubles. He used the right of deduction in the amount of 1 million. And now he owes a tax of 13% of 1.5 million rubles, that is 195 thousand rubles.
For the proceeds from the sale of apartments on Lenin Avenue, citizen Ivanov bought apartments on Moskovskaya Street for the same 2.5 million rubles. (he just liked that area). From the costs of buying this apartment, he has the right to receive a deduction, now as a buyer, in the amount of 260 thousand rubles.
Ivanov submits the relevant documents to the tax office, where he is mutually counted the tax deduction and personal income tax debt. As a result, the Federal Tax Service even remains “due” to the citizen another 65 thousand rubles. Which will be paid to him in the prescribed manner. The main thing is that Ivanov should carry out both transactions in one year.
