What to do if there is an error in the 3-NDFL declaration?

Technical errors

First on the list is the incorrect attribution of deductions to a particular tax period. Let’s say a citizen paid for medicines in 2014, and in his declaration he asks for a deduction for 2015. This mistake comes from a basic ignorance of the laws. After all, the tax benefit is provided precisely for the year in which the applicant paid for education, medical care or other services.

In second place in the “anti-rating” of errors are violations of the “adjustment number”. Shortcomings of this kind are present in all regions. They are made by people who are filling out and submitting a declaration on their own for the first time. Most often, applicants incorrectly indicate the “adjustment number.” They write the number 1 in this column, although according to the rules they should put 0. “Zero option” is the declaration filed for the first time for the reporting year. If the Federal Tax Service does not accept it and forces you to redo it, then the number 1 is indicated in the column and so on until the tax authority accepts the documents.

The following error is related to the indication of the OKTMO code. There are also some nuances here. When a declaration is filled out in connection with an additional payment to the budget, the citizen must indicate OKTMO at the place of his registration, and if 3-NDFL is submitted to return money from the state, then the applicant indicates the OKTMO code at the location of his employer or other source of payments.

Further, when filing a declaration, applicants often do not fill out the sheets provided for one or another deduction. For example, to receive a deduction for the purchase of residential premises, you need to fill out sheet D1, for social and investment deductions - sheets E1 and E2, etc. If a person fills out a declaration using a program from the Federal Tax Service website, then, as a rule, no problems arise . The program will not allow you to move to the next level if he does not enter information into the appropriate sheet. But when the applicant does this himself in Word or Excell, then he commits such violations.

And finally, providing tax deductions is impossible without the appropriate documents. Costs for treatment, training, insurance or purchase of property must be confirmed by contracts, invoices, receipts, and payment orders. However, many applicants do not attach them to the declaration and are denied preferences. Surprisingly, such errors are found everywhere.

How to fill out an updated 3-NDFL declaration: step-by-step instructions

If you prepared the primary reporting document yourself, there will be no difficulties when filling out the updated declaration. How to correct it?

fill in personal information about yourself, including TIN, full name, reporting period;
indicate the correction number - when submitting clarifications for the first time - “1”, when applying again, the correction code is “2”;
fill out all the items for which you received income and made expenses, as if you were doing it for the first time, putting in the correct data;
indicate the date, sign the document.

Checks or other documents that were not initially submitted to the Federal Tax Service should be attached to the 3-NDFL.

Before moving on to questions about how to correctly submit a 3-NDFL adjustment, you need to understand the terminology and legal norms. Articles 80 and 81 of the Tax Code of Russia apply on the topic of the declaration and its clarification. Based on these articles, an amended, or corrective, declaration is a report filed after errors, incomplete information, or missing information are discovered in the original declaration. Moreover, from the point of view of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, such errors and information are divided into 2 types:

causing a decrease in the final amount of income tax - the citizen is obliged to make an adjustment to the 3-NDFL declaration;
who have not reduced the final amount of income tax - the citizen can submit an updated form.

In the first case, an obligation is established, since this is in the interests of the state budget. In the second case - the right, since these are the interests of the citizen, for example, he made a mistake in indicating the amount to be returned or wrote down a personal income tax amount that was larger than necessary, etc. The second situation also includes technical errors - for example, an incorrect OKTMO in the declaration or inspection code, etc.

Let's look at step-by-step instructions on how to fill out the corrective 3-NDFL declaration for property deduction. What you need to know:

you must use the version of the form that was valid in the year for which you are updating the data;
the report is submitted at the place of permanent residence;
You can submit a paper or electronic form;
The declaration must be accompanied by a covering letter with explanations and documents justifying the corrections.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with: Waiver of insurance when applying for a loan - procedure.
A new form is in effect for 2021 - you can download it from the link. And here is a version of the program for filling out a report on a computer. You can find the 2021 and 2021 versions on this page.

Example 1

Igor Nikolaev submitted Form 3-NDFL in January of this year to continue receiving a property deduction for the purchase of a house. He has already received 1,300,000 rubles in previous years and wants to receive the rest. His salary for 2021 was 500,000 rubles. After submitting the declaration, he remembered that he had medical expenses in the amount of 100,000 rubles, and now he wants to get a deduction for them.

To correct the report, Nikolaev needs to fill out a new one.

Important! You can change data for the last 3 years, even if you have already received a deduction for this period. By submitting an adjustment, you change the BCC and the refund amount is counted against the changed expenses.

For example, in 2021 you received a deduction for an apartment and in 2019 you submitted an adjustment to receive a refund for treatment. The deduction you receive will be counted toward treatment expenses, and the property deduction will be transferred to the next year. Whereas the opposite cannot be done - only the property deduction can be transferred from year to year, the rest are either used within the allowable period or written off.

What Nikolaev’s first declaration looked like:

Title page - adjustment “0”, since this is the first report, of course, there are no changes in it.
Section 1. Here you can see that the essence of the declaration is a refund of the tax paid.
Section 2. From this sheet you can see how the refund amount came about.
Read also: Sample application to the tax office for the provision of information about the debtor’s accounts in 2021
Appendix 1. Key sheet - you can see how much the applicant paid to the budget, 65,000 is the maximum that Nikolaev can return for 2021, and the method of return - in the form of a social, property or other deduction - changes, because you can submit two declarations 3 -Personal income tax for one year, and even after receiving the money you can change the method.
Appendix 7. This shows the portion used, the current deduction and the balance for the next year.

Sample of filling out the corrective declaration 3-NDFL:

Nikolaev had treatment expenses of 100,000, for which he can return 13,000 rubles. And he paid 65,000 to the budget, which means he still has the tax paid to be refunded through the property deduction, therefore, sheets are added to the form - Appendix 7 and Appendix 6.
In Appendix 7, the filling is similar to the first declaration, except for a few important lines.
So, in line 140, 400,000 is written instead of 500,000, since the base decreased by 100,000, which was pulled over by the social deduction.
The new amount of the available base is duplicated in line 150 - the same 400,000.
Accordingly, the balance also changes - 300,000 instead of 200,000, it is written in line 170.
Appendix 5 is added.
Here in column 140 you need to indicate your expenses for treatment - 100,000.
The same amount is repeated in columns 180, 190 and 200.
Nothing changes in Appendix 1.
In Section 2 the calculation remains the same.
Section 1 retains the same result, since the sum has not changed, only the places of the syllables have changed.
There is one change on the title page—adjustment “1” is added.

The 3-NDFL update is submitted with all documents that confirm the changes. In this case, you need to attach receipts for treatment expenses, an agreement with a medical institution, a copy of the license, and a certificate of receipt of medical services. It is advisable to attach a cover letter so that the inspection inspectors can quickly carry out desk control of your documents.

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Inclusion of maternity capital and budget funds in expenses

The inclusion of maternity capital in expenses is considered a significant violation. Young people under the age of 30 make similar mistakes. Using capital when buying an apartment (or when paying interest), they do not hesitate to include it in their expenses, but this is wrong. Maternity capital is not the applicant’s personal income, but is provided to him by the state. The person does not earn this money and does not inherit it. Consequently, these funds cannot be considered income in the literal sense of the word, therefore, including maternity capital in expenses to obtain deductions is a gross violation of the rules for filling out 3-NDFL.

By the way, educational expenses paid from maternity capital are also not taken into account when determining the tax deduction. An attempt to take these amounts into account in 3-NDFL to obtain tax preferences is also considered a violation.

The exact same rule applies to other amounts received from the budgets of the Russian Federation and its constituent entities. Thus, applicants do not have the right to include in expenses funds received under the “Providing Housing for Young Families” program, as well as various types of subsidies to government employees and the military for the purchase of apartments.

Clarification of specific issues

There are the most common questions from taxpayers related to filling out and editing a declaration, the answers to which will help you competently and correctly complete this procedure:

How long does it take to adjust the declaration? The verification period is 3 months from the date of submission;
Is it necessary to edit the 3-NDFL declaration if the KBK is indicated incorrectly? No, there is no such obligation, but this can be done on personal initiative;
What sanctions await a taxpayer who makes mistakes? There are no penalties if you paid your tax on time;
When will the Federal Tax Service return overpaid personal income tax? The decision will be made within 90 days, respectively, the refund will occur after the completion of the desk audit;
What are the deadlines for submitting clarifications? If errors are detected by the inspection staff, the updated 3-NDFL declaration must be submitted within 5 working days, the review period is the same - 3 months. If you want to increase the social deduction, you must make the adjustment no later than three years from the date when the tax was excessively withheld.

It is the taxpayer's responsibility to file a revised return if errors result in a reduction in the tax paid. Timely clarification of clerical errors and errors allows you to avoid fines from tax authorities.

How to draw up an updated 3-NDFL declaration? The procedure is similar to filling out the primary document, the only exception is that you must indicate the correction number - 01 or 02.

Exceeding the maximum amount of deductions

The Federal Tax Service does not provide deductions when their amount exceeds the maximum allowable amount established by law. Such declarations are subject to adjustment. Thus, the maximum amount of social tax deductions (excluding expenses for expensive treatment) cannot exceed 120,000 rubles, and the cost of educating 1 child (for the purpose of filing a deduction) cannot exceed 50,000 rubles. As for property deductions, there are restrictions on them too. Thus, the maximum amount of property deduction for the purchase of housing is 2,000,000 rubles, and the deduction for the cost of paying interest on targeted loans for the purchase of residential premises should not exceed 3,000,000 rubles.

However, applicants often submit documents in which these amounts are clearly inflated.

An attempt to obtain deductions for transactions with related parties

Many Russians buy housing from their relatives: brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers or children. Some of these transactions are made simply for show, but there are also real contracts. However, the law categorically prohibits the provision of property deductions for transactions concluded between interdependent persons (relatives). Accordingly, the cost of paying interest on loans received from related parties for the purchase of housing cannot be included in the declaration. It is also worth noting that, along with relatives, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation classifies the applicant’s employers as interdependent persons, as well as companies that he owns (or in which he has a share).

What to do if an error appears in 3 personal income tax

Example 2

Unfortunately, taxpayers are not immune to mistakes. Fortunately, the law provides for the possibility of correcting them. And, if you made a mistake when preparing reports, you need to act according to the following scheme:

Calculate the consequences of the mistake. If you underpaid funds to the budget, adjustment of the 3-NDFL declaration for the last year is mandatory; if not, it is optional;
Edit the new document using the form you filled out initially;
Send the paper to the inspection - this can be done in person, by mail or through your personal account; if necessary, you should attach certificates confirming your calculations that have not been used previously;
Pay additional tax to the budget if you initially contributed a smaller amount.

You can correct the declaration after sending it, and Article 81 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of clarifying the data several times - for forgetful or inattentive taxpayers.

Trying to recoup costs for part-time or evening studies

Also a widespread mistake. It is mainly found in regions and rural areas. People are trying to get a deduction for the education of their children (as well as a brother or sister) through correspondence or evening classes. However, in order to receive benefits, it is necessary that children (or wards) study only full-time. According to legislators, correspondence (evening) education implies that the student can work part-time or do business, and therefore the state does not provide tax preferences in this case.

Brief conclusions

A large number of errors in declarations does not mean that applicants make them intentionally. As a rule, all violations occur due to ignorance of the laws and lack of experience. After all, many Russians submit 3-NDFL for the first time. Subsequently, they no longer make such mistakes. That is why, to fill out the declaration, it is recommended to use the “PC Declaration” program, which is located on the website of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, or seek help from specialists. They will help you quickly and correctly fill out 3-NDFL and submit it to the Federal Tax Service within the deadlines established by law.

How to submit a declaration?

Providing updated documentation is carried out in the same way as filing a declaration for the first time. The taxpayer can use any method:

personally contact the territorial authority;
delegate the responsibility to a representative by proxy;
send documents by mail;
make adjustments in your personal account, attaching documents here.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with: Quality Control Department seals and stamps - for the Technical Control Department

When submitting 3-NDFL via LC, it is necessary to track the status of the shipment - within 3 days the declaration is registered with the inspectorate.

To work with your personal account and fill out the corrective 3-NDFL declaration here, you need to have a digital signature - if it is missing, the documents will be refused.