Few people know that when buying a home there is an opportunity to regain some of the total value of the property. How to draw it up correctly, what documents to collect, how funds will be returned - all of these issues are of interest to many.
If you are a citizen of the Russian Federation, officially employed, annually regularly pay income tax in favor of the state, then you have the right to receive a tax deduction for an apartment when you buy it or build a house. You can also receive compensation for interest paid on the use of mortgage funds.
A similar right is enshrined in law and is contained in Article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, and we will analyze more detailed information in our article. We will tell in this article about all the subtleties that accompany the design, taking into account all the changes that have occurred in recent years. We will try to analyze in detail to whom, when, and in what amount a similar tax deduction for an apartment is paid when buying it.
Who is this right to?
Most often, citizens ask lawyers questions about who can apply for a deduction, as well as how many times it can be issued after buying a living space.
Let's see what changes occurred in the tax deductions when buying an apartment.
So, the right of deduction fixed by law is granted to all citizens of the Russian Federation who are officially employed and who independently or with the help of the employer make deductions of a monthly income tax of 13% received as a result of labor activity. It is in this amount that a person can return the funds that were spent on the purchase of real estate. How to apply for a tax deduction when buying an apartment for pensioners? About it later.
More precisely, the tax deduction for the acquired property is due in the following cases:
1. Directly buying a home, including apartments, rooms in an apartment or dormitory, at home.
2. Independent construction of a private house.
3. All expenses that occurred during the repair or decoration of new housing. But it is important to consider the following in advance: you must keep all receipts, which will serve as confirmation of expenses.
4. Acquisition of housing in a mortgage. A citizen is entitled to return part of the money that was spent on interest on the use of mortgage funds.
Who can’t get the tax deduction for an apartment?
It will not be possible to return part of the money spent on the purchase of residential real estate in the following cases:
1. If a dwelling was purchased before the onset of 2014, and if you have already exercised the right to receive a deduction for this dwelling.
2. If the premises were acquired after the onset of 2014, but the tax limit has already been exhausted.
3. If the property was purchased from a close relative (father, mother, son, daughter, sister, brother).
4. If a citizen is employed, but not officially. In this case, he does not pay income tax and, accordingly, is not entitled to receive this benefit.
5. If the employer was involved in the purchase of residential real estate, for example, if the organization in which you are employed took over the payment of part of the cost of the housing you purchase.
6. If residential real estate was purchased using various state programs or subsidies, for example, if maternity capital was raised.
How often can I get a tax deduction for an apartment?
There are two possible answers to this question:
- If you purchased residential property before 2014, the right to use the tax deduction when buying an apartment (a sample document is presented below) is granted only once. In this case, it does not matter how much was spent on the purchase of housing. For example, if residential real estate was bought for half a million rubles, then the maximum amount that the applicant can calculate is 13 percent of the money spent, that is, sixty-five thousand rubles. No other options are provided.
- If residential real estate was acquired after 2014, then a citizen will be able to count on a refund several times, until in the total amount of all tax deductions received for the apartment they amount to 260 thousand rubles. This amount is indicated, since it represents 13% of the maximum amount equal to 2 million rubles. It is this amount in accordance with the law that is subject to tax deduction.
How much is refundable as part of the deduction?
So, what amount can be claimed if the apartment or other living space was purchased after the onset of 2014.
The maximum limit for tax refunds on the purchase of residential real estate is set at 2 million rubles. This means that for a lifetime a citizen can count on a refund of 13% of the amount established by the Tax Code, that is 260 thousand rubles and no more.
For each past year, an amount equal to the income tax paid by you or your employer is subject to return. It is important that if the tax amount for the reporting year is less than 260 thousand rubles, then the balance will not burn. That is, you can apply for a tax deduction twice and thrice, until the total amount of funds received by you reaches the required mark.
It should be borne in mind that filing a 3-NDFL income statement (tax deduction for buying an apartment requires this) is possible only for the current year or for the previous three years. We will consider this nuance a little below. And to begin with, we will figure it out to the end with the size of the amount of tax compensation that is due when buying residential real estate. Consider a couple of private examples. Both examples below relate to the purchase of real estate after the onset of 2014.
Example 1
Suppose in 2015 an apartment was bought, its cost amounted to 2.5 million rubles. During all this, the buyer worked officially, and his salary was sixty thousand rubles a month. It follows that at the beginning of next year, that is, 2016, he is entitled to contact the tax office at the place of residence and to fill out a tax deduction when buying an apartment. The maximum amount that you can count on, in this case, will be 13% of the two million established by the state, that is 260 thousand rubles.
It is easy to calculate that the total tax amount that was paid over the past year will be 13% of annual income, that is, 60,000 * 12 * 0.13 = 93,600 rubles. It is this amount, in the amount of 93,600 rubles, that is due for return for the past 2016. The remaining part of the amount can be returned at the request of the buyer in the following years, if his employment also remains official.
Suppose that in 2016, the buyer of the housing officially worked for only three months, and his salary was equal to 20 thousand rubles. This means that at the end of 2016, you will be able to apply for a tax deduction per year of apartment purchase in the amount of 7.8 thousand rubles, since 20,000 * 3 * 0.13 = 7800.
Example 2
Suppose an apartment was purchased for a million two hundred thousand rubles. Then the amount payable during the preparation of the tax deduction will be 156 thousand rubles. That is exactly 13% of 1.2 million rubles.However, if another apartment was later acquired, for example, worth 2.5 million rubles, the buyer will be able to return another 104 thousand rubles, which is 13% of the remaining 80 thousand rubles.
What documents for the tax deduction for an apartment need to be collected?
Documents
In order to reimburse the tax for the purchase of an apartment, first of all, an application of the established form should be made. Along with the application, certain documents should be collected and taken to the Federal Tax Service authorities at the place of residence.
In order to make a deduction, you should collect a package of documents, which includes:
• Photocopy of the passport.
• Copy and original of the contract for the purchase of residential real estate. What other documents for the tax deduction for an apartment are needed?
• Papers that confirm ownership of the property: a photocopy of the certificate confirming the registration of ownership, or the act of transferring ownership of the apartment. The latter is issued if the apartment was purchased under a shared construction agreement.
• Copies of documents confirming payment of residential property. These include bank statements, checks and payments.
• A copy of the buyer's TIN certificate.
• Income statement received at the place of employment.
• Application in the prescribed form.
• Be sure to attach a declaration for the past year on income in the form of 3-personal income tax.
It is easy to get a tax deduction for an apartment.
In addition to the documents listed above and are mandatory, the Federal Tax Service may require filling out an application in order to distribute the deduction between the legal spouses. All samples of the necessary applications can be obtained from the Federal Tax Service or downloaded freely on a specialized website on the Internet.
When should the collected package of documents be related?
Documents for the tax deduction for an apartment can begin to be submitted immediately after the settlement is completed. That is, after receiving documents that confirm the ownership of the housing. It:
• A certificate confirming the state registration of property rights if residential real estate was purchased under a purchase and sale agreement.
• An act attesting to the fact of transfer of real estate to the property in the event that there was an agreement on shared construction.
In addition, it is necessary to have all the documents of a payment nature, which confirm that payment for the purchased property has been made.
Basically, documents are submitted to the authorities of the Federal Tax Service when the new calendar year has begun. It is more advisable to apply to the tax immediately after the New Year holidays, that is, in the second half of January.
How to fill out a tax deduction for an apartment that was bought last year?
If the housing was purchased by you several years ago, then it is also possible to receive tax refunds on it, moreover, you can simultaneously file declarations for the previous three years. That is, if the apartment was bought in 2016, and the buyer did not use his right, then after five years, in 2021, he will be able to submit documents to the Federal Tax Service. However, it should be understood that only those three years that immediately preceded the year of filing the application for a refund will be taken into account. In this example, these will be 2018-2020. In this case, the general rules apply, and if the income for this period does not allow to receive the full amount of tax refund, then it will be possible to “get it” in the future.
How to get?
The best way would be an independent tax deduction. Undoubtedly, this will take some time, because you will have to collect all the necessary certificates yourself, however it will be much cheaper than contacting a specialized company.
If you do not have time or desire to do it yourself, you can contact a lawyer who will help prepare the necessary documents. This will save time as much as possible.
In order to receive money by deduction in the past, 2016, and in the new, 2017, you will need to fill out an updated income statement, and then attach it to the main package of securities.
All documents and their copies must be transferred to the duty specialist of the Federal Tax Service, who will verify the correctness of filling out the documents. If everything meets the requirements, then a money transfer will soon arrive at the buyer's account. The time for consideration of the application is two to four months.
Receiving a deduction from an employer
It is possible to receive a deduction without appeal to the bodies of the Federal Tax Service. More precisely, they will have to go there only once in order to confirm the right to a tax refund. You will have to fill out an application for this.
After a written notice has been received from the tax authorities that the buyer is entitled to a deduction, he should contact the immediate employer. After providing this conclusion, the accounting department will begin to accrue salary without withholding income tax.
It is rather difficult for retirees to get a tax deduction when buying an apartment, since their income is only a pension. But it is permissible to transfer it to past years. It is important to note that if a pensioner is still working and receives official income, then he has the right to draw up a deduction.
That is, since 2014, working and non-working pensioners have become equal in rights. Retired people who have an additional source of income can transfer the balance and receive a deduction for the previous three years. In addition, if a pensioner wants to transfer the remainder later than the year following that when he was formed, then reimbursement of expenses for all specified periods will not be subject to.
If a deduction is made on expenses for repayment of interest on a mortgage loan, a loan agreement, interest payment schedule and checks are added to the package of documents, this is confirming.