In many large companies, employees receive a salary that is equal to or slightly higher than the minimum wage, and they also receive bonuses, and their size can significantly exceed wages. Such bonuses are monthly, and information about them is included in the employment contract. But additionally, for various reasons, the employer may assign one-time bonuses to his employees. Typically, such funds are listed if there is good reason.
The nuances of the award
Standard monthly bonuses act as part of the salary, therefore they are included in the remuneration system on the basis of Art. 135 shopping mall. Additionally, the head of the company may appoint one-time bonuses under Art. 191 shopping malls that are not included in the salary. Usually, funds are paid only to employees who have somehow distinguished themselves at work, so they should be encouraged.
The rules and procedure for transferring a one-time bonus to employees should be fixed in the internal documentation of the enterprise.
When are funds paid?
One-time bonuses are awarded if there are good reasons, therefore they are most often listed in the following situations:
- any employee has increased labor productivity;
- due to the active work of the citizen, the number of customers in the store increased;
- a production specialist has increased the competitiveness or quality of the products being created;
- bonuses are paid before the holidays or various significant events in the lives of workers.
The decision on the purpose of such a payment is made only by the head of the enterprise, so this is not his immediate responsibility. Often, funds are assigned at all to employees who replaced other employees, performed actions not provided for by their job description, or were engaged in optimizing business processes in the company.
How is it profitable to pay one-time transfers?
The payment of one-time bonuses is considered to be a more profitable event for employers, compared with an increase in the salary of employees. This is due to the following reasons:
- transfer of additional bonuses is carried out only after the appropriate decision of the head of the enterprise is made, therefore if the director decides to deprive a specific specialist of this payment, then it is impossible to challenge such a decision;
- it is allowed to transfer such funds not at strictly fixed dates, but with a certain delay;
- the payment period for such funds is not strictly established, therefore, violation of the terms does not fall under Art. 136 shopping mall;
- if necessary, the head of the company can reduce the payroll by denying all employees bonuses.
But the transfer of premiums must be economically viable. Therefore, the head of the company must determine in advance the reason for calculating this amount. Most often, economic reasons are used for this, represented by an increase in the company's income or the onset of some celebratory event for the enterprise.
Conditions for payment of funds
The accrual of a one-time bonus is possible only if certain conditions are met, which are regulated not only by law, but also by internal local acts of companies. Most often, the basic conditions are prescribed in a collective labor contract or in the bonus provision.
The main conditions include:
- if the director decides to pay funds to the employee from the retained earnings of the organization, then he must make such a decision officially, for which a meeting of shareholders is held, a protocol is drawn up and a decision is approved;
- often in the internal documentation of the company indicates the need to transfer bonuses to employees for seniority or when commissioning new modern equipment;
- it is not required to indicate the size of a lump sum in the employment contract of each employee.
Other conditions depend on the decision made by the management of the company.
What are the requirements?
Before paying a one-time bonus, the director of the company must take into account some restrictions:
- if the company has a trade union, then with its members it is required to coordinate all the provisions related to bonuses;
- it is allowed to increase payments, but not decrease if they are fixed in the employment contract;
- if the head of the company decides on the assignment of payments to employees, then the accountant of the organization must draw up a special certificate, and the head issues an official order.
The amount of additional payments may vary slightly for different workers. The head independently determines which of the employees will receive this or that payment at a certain point in time.
What documents are prepared?
Holiday and one-time bonuses, as well as other payments to employees, should be officially recorded in the organization’s documentation. Only in this case will they be taken into account in taxation. If the employer prefers to pay employees one-time bonuses for various reasons, then they must form the following documents:
- information on bonuses is entered into the collective labor contract;
- the individual labor agreements drawn up separately with each employee include information on the calculation of these bonuses;
- regulation on remuneration;
- bonus provision containing information on premiums paid monthly;
- provision on one-time transfers, which may be transferred for length of service, paid on holidays or appointed for other reasons.
Only with competent registration of one-time bonuses for the holidays or other significant events can you use them to reduce the tax base for income tax.
Bonus Regulation Rules
Before paying a one-time bonus, the head of the company must correctly draw up its accrual. For this, an appropriate bonus provision is formed. It reflects the actual practice of the company regarding the transfer of employee benefits. This document contains the following information:
- it is prescribed that additional funds are transferred to employees only when certain goals are achieved, for example, when sales or the number of customers increase, when a holiday event occurs or under other conditions;
- The evaluation criteria and conditions for calculating the premium are listed;
- the amount of payment is indicated;
- all employees of the company who can count on these funds to achieve specific goals are listed.
The amount of payment may be represented by a fixed amount of funds or a percentage of the salary. Each company can use its own unique indicators, taking into account the specifics of the activity. Other conditions or information may be included in the regulation, which depend on the sphere in which the company operates, how many employees work in it, and also what is the average earnings of employees.
Only on the basis of the regulation are one-time bonuses awarded. A sample of this situation can be studied below.
Consequences of the drafting
A one-time production award in 6-personal income tax is reflected only at its official registration.Otherwise, the payment acts as a gift if its size does not exceed 4 thousand rubles.
If the manager draws up a bonus provision, then he has an obligation to pay these funds to the employees of the company. Employees, if necessary, may require the manager to transfer this money. Therefore, usually information is entered into the document that allows, if necessary, to deny hired specialists the means.
Are insurance premiums paid?
With a one-time bonus, taxes are paid only when it is properly drawn up. Insurance premiums are paid by the employer from this amount, regardless of whether it is included in expenses when calculating income tax. Therefore, the employer will not be able to save on these contributions.
If a citizen works in a joint-stock company, then the founders have the right to transfer funds from retained earnings. In this case, they will have to hold a meeting of shareholders, as well as formally decide. This method of transferring premiums does not allow to reduce the taxable profit of the company.
The concept of the thirteenth salary
In many companies there is such a thing as the thirteenth salary. It is paid at the end of the year as an incentive to employees, if the necessary funds are available in the wage fund. It is a one-time payment, since the head of the company cannot be sure that at the end of the year enough funds will remain in the fund to transfer the thirteenth salary to all employees of the enterprise.
The legislation does not contain information on how this award should be correctly transferred to hired specialists. Therefore, company executives pay it to their employees only if there is a desire and appropriate financial opportunities. An accountant of a company cannot make such a payment as a monthly salary, therefore it serves only as an addition to earnings.
In many companies, the thirteenth salary is fixed in the internal regulatory documentation. The employer determines when the funds are transferred to the employees, as well as what the payment procedure is. Most often, this information is entered in the bonus provision. If such a payment is made out as a one-time bonus, then the head of the company can independently choose the employees to whom the funds will be transferred.
Rules for issuing an order
Accounting for one-time bonuses implies the need for their proper registration. If the employer decides to transfer these funds to one or several employees, then he must correctly execute it by issuing an appropriate order. When forming this document, the following points are taken into account:
- the order contains information about when and in what amount the bonus is transferred to a particular employee or several employees of the enterprise;
- if there are hired specialists of the company who are not entitled to payments, then they simply are not included in this order;
- if an employee who does not receive a bonus tries to challenge the decision of the management, for which he makes a complaint to the labor inspectorate, then the manager must refer to the contents of the bonus regulation;
- the order is executed in the form of No. T-11, if the funds are paid only to one employee who in any way distinguished himself in front of the company management;
- if payments are made to several employees of the enterprise, then form No. T-11a is selected.
Directly in the order, the head of the company indicates for what reason these one-time payments are assigned. The income code of a one-time bonus is given, and it is also indicated when exactly the funds will be paid to employees. The employer independently decides in what form the money will be allocated. They can be issued in cash through the cash desk of the company.If company employees receive salaries in a bank account, then usually bonuses are transferred to this account.
Are taxes payable?
One-time bonus payments are not regulated like regular incentive transfers. But they must be paid personal income tax if they are properly executed. Additionally, insurance premiums are transferred from them.
For the competent calculation and payment of personal income tax, the following requirements are taken into account:
- the possibility of transferring one-time payments is provided for by the content of the company's internal regulatory acts;
- only payments that are assigned for any services to the company, and are not tied to weekends or other events, are applied to accounting;
- all expenses associated with the payment of taxes are certainly recorded in the accounting of the company.
With a one-time premium, personal income tax is paid by the direct employer, who acts as a tax agent for his employees.
Other important nuances
Before accruing a one-time bonus, the employer must take into account some significant features. These include:
- if a bonus is paid upon dismissal of an employee, then personal income tax is levied on it under general conditions;
- if funds are transferred for holidays or other significant events, then they are not related to the professional activities of employees, therefore, such expenses cannot reduce the tax base for corporate income tax;
- such remuneration is not withheld by the Unified Social Tax.
Employers can pay one-time remuneration when using various taxation systems. It is important to consider whether these payments reduce the tax base.
What wiring is used?
Accountants should be aware of one-time premium income codes and postings used. When transferring these funds, information is necessarily entered into accounting. For this, wiring D91-2 K70 is used. Based on it, an incentive payment is credited from the net profit of the company.
Such a quote can be applied when using any type of profit, which may be current or for the previous tax period. Since such expenses are other, D91-2 is used.
What income codes are used?
Workers may require the employer to create a 2-personal income tax certificate at any time. It is required to solve numerous problems, for example, when applying for a loan or obtaining other services. This document contains information about all cash receipts of the employee with an indication of their code. Therefore, the question arises, what is the income code for one-time bonuses. The main such codes include:
- Code 2002. It applies if the employee of the company is paid bonus incentives for various achievements at the place of work. They may be required by law, the content of the employment contract or collective agreement. This code is used when paying bonuses for the results of a month, quarter or year, as well as when transferring money for performing important tasks or for unique production achievements.
- Code 2003. It is used if remuneration is transferred from the company's income or through the use of special-purpose money. This code is relevant if the target money of the company is used. Typically, such a code is applied if a bonus is paid to various holiday events or anniversaries. Often, such payments act as material motivation for employees. They are not related to the performance of official duties of employees.
- Code 2000. It is applied in a situation if the award for a long service is appointed.
Using these codes in the 2-NDFL certificate, you can understand exactly what funds were received by the employee at one time or another. The same code marks a one-time production award in 6-personal income tax.The accountant of the company should be competent in filling out these documents, since it bears responsibility for the errors or violations identified.
Employer Responsibility for Violations
Often, employees have to face the fact that the employer does not pay one-time bonuses, although the need for these transfers is due to internal local acts or a collective agreement. In this case, the refusal to pay premiums is a violation of the director of the company.
Under such conditions, employees can file complaints with various state authorities. It is most optimal to write a statement to the labor inspectorate. Specialists of this service will conduct an audit, the main purpose of which will be to identify violations of workers' rights by the organization’s management. Although the transfer of one-time bonus payments is not stipulated by the requirements of the law, but if this obligation is enshrined in regulatory documents, the head is obliged to follow these standards.
Conclusion
One-time employee bonuses are not part of the salary, therefore they are assigned to hired specialists only if there are some reasons. Most often they are listed with unusual achievements of employees, as well as with the aim of encouraging. Their size is determined by the direct employer.
For such payments to be official, they must be properly executed, for which information about them is entered into the collective agreement or the employer forms a special bonus provision. The director of the company must follow the requirements contained in these official documents.