Explanation of the tax return: how to fill it out, sample

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Personal income tax reporting includes the reporting of the tax agent-employer - certificate 2-NDFL, calculation in form 6-NDFL, as well as a tax return submitted by individuals themselves - form 3-NDFL. During a desk audit or tax monitoring, inspectors of the Federal Tax Service may notice discrepancies, contradictions or inconsistencies between the submitted reports, identify errors, and request clarification from the tax agent. We will consider below how to respond to such a requirement from the tax inspectorate.

Other requirements

According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, it turns out that a foreign citizen who comes to work in Russia under a patent pays personal income tax twice. The employer withholds tax from his earnings, and he also pays monthly personal income tax on the patent in a fixed amount.

Rules for foreigners

The tax can be refunded in an amount not exceeding the patent fee. The amount of the refund depends on the salary of the visitor and the region of employment. In different regions of the country, the fee for a patent is not the same.

For example, a foreigner works in St. Petersburg and pays 3,000 rubles monthly for a patent. If a foreigner’s earnings are below 23,100 rubles. per month, then he is compensated monthly for the amount that the employer must pay for him in the form of personal income tax. So, from the salary 18,000 rubles. he will be refunded (18,000 * 13%) 2,340 rubles.

With income above 23,000 rubles. the foreign employee will be reimbursed for the amount he paid under the patent, i.e. 3,000 rubles. and the difference from earnings will be retained (23100 * 13% - 3000) 3 rubles.

To refund a tax to a foreigner, the employer fills out an application in any form and submits it to the tax office along with the following documents:

• copies of documents for payment of the patent;
• form 3-NDFL;
• a copy of the patent;
• a statement from a worker, the form of which was approved by order of the Federal Tax Service No. ММВ-7-11 / [email protected] dated 11/13/15.

The tax authorities will issue a notification within 10 days. After this, personal income tax can be reduced.

Money for a patent must be deposited with the Federal Tax Service where the employer is registered (Article 226 of the Tax Code).

For each foreign employee, the company must prepare a separate application and supporting documents.

Application form for personal income tax reduction:

Features with a child

Changes have been made to the current legislation on the provision of child deductions, which came into force in 2021.

This deduction is standard. Its size and procedure for provision are regulated by Art. 218 NK. Parents are entitled to it until their total income from the beginning of the year reaches 350 thousand rubles.

The amounts of deductions for the current year are shown in the table:

Personal income tax is not charged on the amounts reflected in the table.

For example, if there are three children under 18 years of age in a family, the employer will provide each of the employed spouses with a monthly deduction in the amount of 5,800 rubles. (1400 + 1400 + 3000), i.e. the employee will additionally receive 754 rubles. (5800 * 13%).

The deduction is due to parents until the child reaches 18 years of age, and for full-time students - 24 years of age. An employee must write an application for a deduction when applying for a job or upon the birth of a child.

The deduction is due to all persons from whose income personal income tax is withheld at the rate of 13%. These include parents, including adoptive parents, guardians and trustees.

Excessive amounts of personal income tax withheld from an employee’s earnings may be reimbursed to him. To do this, you need to submit a 3-NDFL declaration to the tax office at your place of residence.

The deduction is provided to workers whose children live abroad. Parents must provide the employer with a document from an authorized foreign body stating that the child is actually there.

Single or only parents are provided with a double deduction for a child. They must bring a document confirming their status.

Patent grounds

To reduce the tax on the amount of advances paid by a foreigner, the company will need:

• application for personal income tax reduction from an employee;
• advance payment receipts;
• notification from the Federal Tax Service about the possibility of tax refund.

The notification is issued separately for each foreigner once and is valid for a year.

If the patent paid for by the foreigner is valid for two years, then notification should be received for each of them. You can reduce personal income tax in a period by the amount of payments made by a foreigner during that period.

For example, a patent has been paid for and is valid from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021. The tax withheld on a foreigner’s earnings for 2021 can be reduced by advances for April-December 2021, for 2020 - by advances for January-March 2021.

If a foreigner works in several organizations, he has the right to submit an application for a personal income tax reduction only to one of his employers of his choice.

A request for information contained in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities can be made electronically. We’ll tell you how the FSS confirmation certificate is issued here.

The amount of fixed payments for a patent is reflected in section 5 of the 2-NDFL certificate. If the tax withheld from earnings is less than the advance amount, the foreigner will not be compensated for the difference.

How to write an explanation to the tax office regarding personal income tax

Having received from the Federal Tax Service a request for clarification, you must respond to it within 5 days (clause 3 of Article 88, clause 2 of Article 105.29 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Currently, there is no provision for liability for failure to comply with such a requirement. But from January 1, 2021, changes to the Tax Code will come into force, in which special attention is paid to explanations: according to Article 129.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, for failure to provide explanations when requested, tax authorities will have the right to fine the taxpayer 5,000 rubles, and if the requirement is ignored again, the fine will increase up to 20,000 rubles.

The Federal Tax Service may have many reasons to request clarification from tax agents: discrepancies in the amounts of accrued, withheld and transferred tax, a significant decrease in the amount of an employee’s income compared to the previous period, incorrect application of deductions, discrepancies between indicators in Form 6 Personal Income Tax and Certificates 2 Personal Income Tax, etc. .d. Here we will look at how to write an explanation to the tax office regarding personal income tax in some cases. Please note that there is no established form for explanations on personal income tax, so the content of your answer can be arbitrary, the main thing is that it is reasonable and convincing.

A typo or other technical error has crept into the reporting. For this reason, a variety of discrepancies may arise in any reporting. For example, in the 2-NDFL certificate, the amount of accrued and withheld personal income tax does not correspond to the tax transferred to the budget, or the amount of income, tax deductions, etc. is incorrectly indicated. The explanation must indicate that the cause was a technical error and attach the corrected statements. Explanations to the tax office regarding personal income tax. Sample:

To the Head of the Federal Tax Service of Russia No. 77 for Moscow

INN 7701111111/KPP 770000000

Explanations

In response to your request No. 0001-222-33/123 dated April 15, 2016, we report the following:

in the certificate submitted by us in form 2-NDFL for 2015 to Sidorov I.I. a technical error was made, which resulted in a discrepancy between the amounts of calculated and transferred tax. Personal income tax on the income of Sidorov I.I. was transferred to the budget on time and in full.

Corrected certificate 2-NDFL for 2015 for Sidorov I.I. submitted to the Federal Tax Service on April 18, 2016 (attached a copy).

Attachment: copy of certificate 2-NDFL for 2015 for Sidorov I.I.

General Director Petrov V.V.Petrov

A written explanation to the tax office regarding personal income tax may be needed if there is a discrepancy between the 2-NDFL certificate and the 3-NDFL declaration. This situation is possible if a company employee has filed an income statement for himself, which indicates not only the salary at his main place of work, but also the income he received from other sources. The Federal Tax Service may have suspicions about “gray” salary schemes in the company and non-payment of personal income tax. Since the employee is not obliged to report all his sources of income to you, indicate this in the explanation and confirm the accuracy of your reporting. Sample:

To the Head of the Federal Tax Service of Russia No. 77 for Moscow

INN 7701111111/KPP 770000000

Explanations

In response to your request No. 0001-222-33/456 dated April 19, 2016, we report the following:

in the certificate we previously submitted in form 2-NDFL for 2015 to Smirnova P.P. income received for 2015 in the amount of 670,000 rubles is reflected. The specified data on income paid to Smirnov P.P. at Alliance LLC are reliable. Information about other sources of income for Smirnova P.P. Alliance LLC does not have it.

General Director Petrov V.V.Petrov

What to do if there is an error in the 3rd personal income tax declaration

Tax authorities can compare the data from one declaration (for example, for VAT) with the data for another declaration (for example, for income tax) or with financial statements.
And ask to explain the reason for the discrepancies between similar indicators (in particular, revenue). It is easy to justify such discrepancies. After all, accounting rules differ from tax accounting rules. And the procedure for determining the tax base for different taxes has its own characteristics.

For example, the tax base for VAT may not coincide with the amount of income in the profit declaration, since some non-operating income is not subject to VAT (penalties, dividends, exchange rate differences) (Article 250 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

For a tax refund when buying a home and a mortgage. Sample (example) of filling out a declaration for a tax refund (property deduction) when buying or constructing a home, for example, when buying an apartment, and paying interest on a mortgage (payment of mortgage interest) in PDF format. For a tax refund on training expenses. Sample (example) of filling out a declaration for a tax refund (receiving a social tax deduction) on training costs in PDF format.

We are talking about pensioners who can claim a deduction retroactively, using income received for 3 previous tax periods.

• Information about the object (type of ownership, address, title documents).
• Calculation of tax deductions taking into account previously used amounts.
• Calculation of the amount of tax to be refunded and an example of filling out 3-NDFL for mortgage interest In section 2 of the declaration, the tax base and tax amounts subject to additional payment or refund from the budget are calculated. This is done using summary information from other sections of the report.
  In our case, these are income (sheet A) and property deduction (sheet D1). If all the initial information is filled out correctly, in line 130 of section 2 you should get an amount of tax refund equal to 13% of the amount of interest deduction (clause.

  2.11 sheet D1).

The sheets contain general information and a summary tax calculation.

• Sheet A - breakdown of taxable income.
• Sheet D1 is a reflection of the property deduction.
• Let's consider in detail filling out these sections in the order corresponding to the logic of data generation.
  Title page and income calculation First of all, fill out the title page. It contains general information about the taxpayer (full name, Russian resident status, contact information) and the report itself (period, number of pages, tax authority to submit). Sheet A is devoted to information on income from sources in the Russian Federation. In our case, this will be income received under an employment contract.

Tax Code of the Russian Federation): 1) when documents were previously submitted to the Federal Tax Service in the form of originals and were subsequently returned to the person being inspected; 2) when the documents submitted to the Federal Tax Service were lost by the tax office due to force majeure. Thus, if you submitted all the necessary documents along with the first declaration, then you are no longer required to submit them again.

If supporting documents were submitted to the tax authority in the form of copies, the inspector has the right to familiarize himself with the originals of these documents (paragraph 5, paragraph 2, article 93 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Step 3. Submit an updated tax return and supporting documents to the tax authority at your place of residence. The updated tax return in form 3-NDFL is submitted to the tax authority in one copy. You can submit a tax return (clause 4 of Art.

This will help you avoid mistakes when filling out and know the sequence of your actions at the tax office. The cost of the service will consist of the number of tax deductions, as well as taking into account the number of sources of income.

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For individual entrepreneurs, the price is usually fixed. After payment the taxpayer will receive:

• tax return 3 personal income tax, drawn up taking into account all the nuances;
• calculation of the amount of personal income tax that he must pay or receive as compensation;
• a package of documents to be submitted to the tax office upon application;
• will be instructed on the sequence of actions at the tax office.

If necessary, the company will also help in preparing an explanatory note for the application.

The processing time usually takes up to half an hour, but this point is usually negotiated separately.

Explanatory note to the tax office upon request - sample

A sample explanatory note to the tax office upon request may be useful to you if the inspectorate requests clarification on any indicators reflected in the submitted reports. In the article we will tell you in which cases such a requirement is possible, and also provide examples of explanations for the two most common requests from tax authorities.

For more information, watch our video instructions on filling out explanations of losses.

Tax mitigating circumstances: choose, declare

• independent identification and correction by the taxpayer of errors in tax calculation by submitting clarifications of the FAS Resolution PO No. A12-11813/2010; FAS MO No. A40-41701/11-91-182; FAS SKO No. A32-24187/2010; FAS VSO No. A33-18193/2010, despite the fact that the tax has not yet been paid;
• payment of tax and penalties before a decision on prosecution is made *Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service UO No. F09-6797/12; FAS ZSO No. A27-17468/2010;

• for other taxes there is an overpayment**Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service No. A03-17603/2009; 3 AAS No. A33-4210/2010

Failure to submit to the inspection documents and information necessary for tax control (Article. There is no standard form for explanations. In this article we will tell you how to write an explanation to the tax office for 6-NDFL, if discrepancies are found, we will show sample answers. Calculate your salary online Activate VIP access to magazine "Salary" How to write an explanation for 6-NDFL Read in the article:

• Explanations to the tax office regarding 6-NDFL: failure to pay taxes on time
• Explanatory note to the tax office on 6-NDFL about why they paid less tax than calculated
• Explanations about the discrepancies between 6-NDFL and the calculation of contributions
• Explanatory note to 6-NDFL: sample
• Sample explanation to the tax office regarding personal income tax, if instead of two payments you made one
• Sample explanations for 6-NDFL due to discrepancies with payments

This is interesting: Personal income tax from dividends, deadlines for payment to the budget

Tax agents report quarterly to their Federal Tax Service on personal income tax withheld from employee income and transferred to the budget.

Explanatory note to the tax office: when it needs to be submitted

Situations when tax authorities have the right to request clarification during desk audits are given in paragraph 3 of Art. 88 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. These include:

1. Identification of errors or contradictions in the declaration, as well as inconsistencies between the declaration indicators and the information available to the tax authorities. In this case, inspectors will require clarification of discrepancies or correction of reporting.
2. Submission of an updated declaration or calculation in which the amount of tax payable is less than that originally submitted. Here, tax authorities have the right to demand explanations for the changed indicators.
3. Submitting an income tax return with a loss. In this case, controllers will ask you to justify the loss.

Explanatory note to the tax return 3 personal income tax

» Taxpayers may be interested in the company’s unprofitable activities, in which case the taxpayer’s explanations must fully disclose the reason for the loss in the requested reporting period. To do this, the letter deciphers income and expenses for a certain period of time.

Since January 24, 2017, the Federal Tax Service order dated December 16, 2016 No. ММВ-7-15/682 on approval of the format of explanations to the VAT return in electronic form has been in force. This format is used by all VAT payers who submit electronic reports.

How to write an explanatory note to the tax office regarding VAT? Only electronically. Explanations on VAT presented in “paper” form are not considered submitted, and in this case this may be regarded by tax authorities as an unlawful failure to provide the requested information, which threatens with a fine of 5,000 rubles (Clause 1 of Article 129.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Whatever the request from the tax inspectorate: about detected errors, contradictions between reporting forms, about a reduction in the amount of tax in an updated declaration, or about the reasons for the loss, in any case it is necessary to respond to the request.

The annual campaign for individuals to submit income declarations for 2021 is already underway.

The final reporting date this year is May 2, 2021.

For many, this kind of reporting to the tax service has already become traditional, but this year there are a number of nuances that should definitely be taken into account. We'll talk about them in this article. We will also consider a sample of filling out the declaration.

So, the first innovation is that, unlike in previous years, there is no need to submit a declaration if the tax agent did not withhold the tax.

The maximum period for transferring such tax is December 1 of the year following the reporting year. The next innovation is a change in the procedure for calculating tax on personal income received from the sale of real estate purchased since the beginning of 2016.

In the event that the income received from the sale is 70% lower than the real one,

Is there a fine possible if the requirement is ignored?

Tax liability for failure to comply with the inspection's requirement to provide explanations to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation has not been established. Art. 126 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not apply to this situation, since we are not talking about the requisition of documents (Article 93 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), but Art. 129.1 is not applicable, since this is not a counter check (Article 93.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Administrative liability under Art. 19.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in this case cannot be attracted either. This article applies for failure to appear at the tax authority, and not for refusal to give explanations, which the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation itself draws attention to (see clause 2.3 of the letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated July 17, 2013 No. AS-4-2/12837).

Thus, tax authorities have no right to fine people for failure to submit explanations. But still, despite the absence of legal grounds for the fine, it is more appropriate to provide explanations, since this is in the interests of the taxpayer himself. After all, refusal to do so may result in additional tax charges and sanctions, which will then require time and money to appeal.

For information on the procedure for requesting clarification during an on-site audit, read the article “How tax authorities request clarification from a taxpayer .

Standard terms

The company can contact the Federal Tax Service to receive a notification. It will confirm the right to a reduction in personal income tax on advances made by a foreigner for a patent. To do this, the employer submits an application in the established form to the inspectorate (Order of the Federal Tax Service No. MMV-7-11 / [email protected] dated November 13, 2015).

Conditions by law

Citizens arriving in Russia from countries that do not have a visa regime must obtain an annual patent to work here. During the period of its validity, they pay fixed amounts for it (Article 227.1 of the Tax Code).

Personal income tax on a migrant’s earnings is calculated and paid by his employer: legal entity. person or individual entrepreneur. An organization (IP) has the right to reduce the amount of tax on payments that a foreign employee paid during the year for a patent.

Article 227.1. Features of calculating the amount of tax and filing a tax return for certain categories of foreign citizens

The organization must receive an application from the foreigner and papers confirming payment of advances for the patent. The notification form was adopted by order of the Federal Tax Service No. ММВ-7-11/ [email protected] dated 03/17/15. To obtain it, the company applies to the tax office at the place of registration with an application.

Having received the notification, the company reduces personal income tax during the validity period of the patent by the amount of advances for it (Letter of the Federal Tax Service No. BS-4-11 / [email protected] dated 09.23.15).

The company must reimburse the excess personal income tax to the employee upon application, which indicates the account for crediting the funds (Article 231 of the Tax Code). If the amount of advances is greater than the amount of tax withheld for the period, then personal income tax is not reimbursed to the employee (clause 7 of Article 227.1 of the Tax Code).

If the company compensates for personal income tax, then in form 6-NDFL the amount returned to employees is indicated on page 090 on an accrual basis from the beginning of the period.

Form 6-NDFL

Approved standards

The necessary information on reducing personal income tax on fixed advance payments made by a foreigner is contained in Letter of the Federal Tax Service No. BS-4-11 / [email protected] dated 02.19.15. Attached to it are forms of notification for personal income tax reduction and applications for its receipt. The document was prepared on the basis of Law No. 368-FZ of November 24, 2014, which amends the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

According to Art. 227.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, personal income tax is paid under a patent by foreigners hired by individuals for household and other needs not related to business, as well as those working for legal entities (IP) and persons in private practice.

Law No. 368-FZ of November 24, 2014

The above-mentioned foreigners pay personal income tax in advance in a fixed amount during the period of validity of the patent. The payment is 1200 rubles. monthly adjusted for coefficients (deflation and regional).

The regional indicator is set by the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the deflator is set by the Ministry of Economic Development. In 2021 it is 1.329.

According to the Law on the Status of Foreigners in Russia No. 115-FZ dated July 25, 2002, a patent is issued for a period of 1 to 12 months. The period not exceeding one year can be extended. If advance payments have been made, then the document is considered extended; there is no need to contact the migration service.

Law No. 115-FZ of July 25, 2002

The validity period of the patent is determined by the period for which advance amounts are paid. It cannot be more than a year.

A foreigner who comes to work has the right to work only in the region where he was issued a permit and only in the specialty indicated in it. The employer must be aware of and not violate these legal requirements.

The amount of personal income tax on the earnings of a foreigner working for a Russian citizen is calculated by him taking into account advance payments for a patent in a certain tax period.

Tax on the salary of a foreigner working for a legal entity (IP) is calculated by an organization or entrepreneur. Personal income tax can be reduced by the amount of fixed payments for a patent. During the tax period, the amount of personal income tax is allowed to be reduced only in one organization (individual entrepreneur), which must have a corresponding tax notice.

The company reduces the tax upon the application of the employee and papers confirming the payment of advances for the patent.

The tax office will issue a notification to the company if it has not been issued previously and the Federal Tax Service has information from the migration service about the existence of an employment agreement between the employee and the enterprise and the issuance of a patent to the worker.

The notification is issued to the applicant within 10 days from the date of submission of the application. If the amount of the patent exceeds the withheld personal income tax, then the difference is not considered overpaid and is not subject to reimbursement.

Foreigners working for individuals do not submit personal income tax declarations to the Federal Tax Service, except for the following exceptions:

• the amount of accrued personal income tax is higher than the advances paid for the patent for the tax period;
• a foreigner crosses the border of the Russian Federation before the end of the year and the amount of personal income tax is greater than the advances paid;
• the patent is deprived of legal force on the basis of Law No. 115-FZ.

Appendices 1 and 2 of the document contain the organization’s application form to the Federal Tax Service and notifications from the inspectorate to reduce personal income tax.

Employee rights

If the company has not received a notification from the Federal Tax Service to confirm the right to reduce personal income tax on the earnings of a foreigner working under a patent for the advances paid by him, then the employee does not have the right to independently submit a 3-NDFL declaration with a reduction in personal income tax and an application for a refund of overpaid money.

According to paragraph 6 of Art. 227.1 Tax Code Personal income tax is calculated by the organization from the earnings of foreigners. It may be reduced by the amount of advances paid by the migrant during the validity of the patent.

If during the year a foreigner worked in different companies, only one of the employers at the employee’s choice can reduce the tax. To do this, the company receives a notification from the Federal Tax Service. The reduction is made at the request of the employee if there are papers for the payment of advances.

The paragraphs of Art. 227.1 of the Tax Code does not provide for an independent tax reduction by a foreigner by submitting a declaration and application. This possibility is not specified in the Procedure for filling out the 3-NDFL report, approved by Order of the Federal Tax Service No. ММВ-7-11/671 dated 12/24/14.

Form 3-NDFL for 2021

If the employer has not reduced the amount of personal income tax during the tax period by the amounts paid by the foreigner, then the employee does not have the right to do this independently, despite double taxation.

Explanatory note to the tax office regarding VAT

If, when checking the VAT return, the inspectorate identifies errors, inconsistencies, or contradictions, it will ask for clarification. In this case, you will receive the request in the form approved by order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated May 8, 2015 No. ММВ-7-2 / [email protected] (Appendix 1 to this document).

It is necessary to answer it electronically from 01/01/2017 (clause 3 of article 2 of the law dated 05/01/2016 No. 130-FZ), since all taxpayers submitting electronic reports for this tax are obliged to do so by the text of clause 3 of art. 88 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Explanations submitted in any other way are regarded as not provided.

Those taxpayers who still have the opportunity to submit a VAT return on paper can also submit explanations on paper, drawing them up in any form.

For information on how to fill out an explanation in connection with failure to submit form 6-NDFL, read the article “Filling out an explanation to the tax office for 6-NDFL - sample” .

Sample of filling out tax return 3-NDFL

> > > March 11, 2021 A sample of filling out 3-NDFL may be needed if you need to pay tax on income for the past year or return personal income tax.

To do this, a declaration is submitted to the Federal Tax Service. Let's look at the algorithm for completing the 3-NDFL declaration, as well as a sample of filling out the form. Documents and forms will help you: Drawing up a 3-NDFL tax return may be needed in 2 cases:

1. If in the reporting year personal income tax was paid in excess (and there is no way to return it through a tax agent) or expenses were incurred for which personal income tax can be reimbursed from the budget (property or social deductions). In this situation, it is important to understand how to fill out 3-NDFL so that there are no problems with tax refunds. It would be useful to get acquainted with a sample of filling out 3-NDFL for the corresponding deductions.
2. If in the reporting year income was received on which tax was not withheld (for example, from the sale or rental of property, from entrepreneurship, donations, winnings). In this case, you need to find out how to correctly fill out 3-NDFL for the income on which you need to pay tax. In this case, it is advisable to find a corresponding sample of filling out 3-NDFL.

How to fill out the 3-NDFL declaration on income received?

If the 3-NDFL tax return is prepared on the basis of income, the sheets related to income must be filled out. Example - Appendix 1 of the 3-NDFL declaration for income received in the Russian Federation. If it is possible to use the right to deductions for these incomes, you must also fill out the sheets corresponding to these deductions.

The declaration must be accompanied by documents confirming the correct completion of the 3-NDFL declaration, as well as copies of documents giving the right to deductions. The declaration is drawn up separately for each calendar year and submitted to the Federal Tax Service no later than April 30 of the following year (unless it is a holiday).

If for some reason it is not presented for any of the past 3 years (from 2016 to 2021), you need to fill out

Written explanation to the tax office regarding personal income tax (sample)

→ → Current as of: December 14, 2015 Tax authorities cannot conduct desk audits in relation to the submitted 2-NDFL Certificates, because These certificates are not a tax return or calculation (,).

However, this does not mean that inspectors do not study the received Certificates at all.

Moreover, if they identify any inaccuracies in them, they will ask the tax agent to provide written explanations on personal income tax ().

And it is better not to ignore such requests.

Otherwise, officials of an organization or individual entrepreneur may be fined in the amount of 2,000 rubles. up to 4000 rub. (). In fact, there are many reasons to ask the tax agent for clarification on personal income tax.

For example, the agent may be asked to explain why the amounts for a particular employee's income differ or why deductions were incorrectly applied. Or, for example, inspectors may inquire about the reasons for the reduction in the amount of personal income tax paid this year compared to that listed last year, if such a reduction exceeds 10% (). Written explanations on personal income tax are issued in any form.

The main thing is to give a reasoned answer. The Tax Code does not establish a deadline for providing explanations on personal income tax, but you should not delay your response. You can focus on the period allotted for giving explanations during a desk audit of the declaration - 5 working days from the date of receipt of the relevant request ().

A sample of possible explanations is given below. Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the city of Dmitrov MO 141800, MO, Dmitrov, st. Pushkinskaya, 73 from Snezhinka LLC INN 5007123456/KPP 500701001 OGRN 1125007509780 141800, Moscow region,

Dmitrov, st. Sovetskaya, 3 Contact person: Ch. accountant Snegurochkina E.P. Contact telephone number Explanations In response to your request for explanations (ref.

No. 13-15/12684 dated April 20, 2015) regarding discrepancies in the amount of withheld and transferred personal income tax, we inform you that in the submitted Certificate in form 2-personal income tax for Morozov E.M. contains a technical error. Withheld from the income of Morozov E.M.

Personal income tax is transferred to the budget on time and in full.

Results

If tax officials have questions regarding the reporting submitted to the Federal Tax Service (inconsistencies in figures, clarification with a tax reduction, declaration with a loss), they will ask the taxpayer for clarification. You should not ignore such a request (it is sent in the form of a demand): comprehensive explanations will help resolve questions and avoid possible checks caused by inconsistencies in reporting. Explanations can be given both on paper and electronically. But if we are talking about issues related to the VAT return, then taxpayers submitting such a declaration electronically must also provide explanations on it electronically.

When to Provide Explanations

When conducting an inspection, the inspector has the right to request written explanations. Situations in which it is mandatory to provide an explanatory note to the tax office upon request (we offer a sample for NPOs) are specified in clause 3 of Art. 88 Tax Code of the Russian Federation:

1. Errors in submitted reports. For example, inaccuracies or inconsistencies are identified in the declaration. In this case, tax authorities require you to provide justification for these discrepancies or send a corrective report.
2. In the adjusting statements, the amounts payable to the budget are significantly lower than in the initial calculations. In such a situation, the inspector may suspect a deliberate understatement of the tax base and payments and will demand an explanation for the changes.
3. The submitted income tax return reflects losses. In any case, you will have to justify unprofitable activities to the Federal Tax Service, so you can prepare an explanatory note on losses in advance.

The inspection request must be responded to within 5 working days from the date of official delivery of the request - such norms are enshrined in clause 3 of Art. 88, paragraph 6 of Art. 6.1 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In special cases, the Federal Tax Service will have to notify the receipt of a tax request (Letter of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation dated January 27, 2015 No. ED-4-15/1071).

How to prepare an explanation for your tax return

Below are step-by-step instructions that will help the payer prepare an explanation of the tax return in response to the request of the Federal Tax Service.

Stage No. 1. Receiving an electronic request

The Federal Tax Service sends the request for clarification on the tax return electronically via telecommunication channels. Based on Art. 23 of the Tax Code, the payer is obliged to accept the request before the expiration of 5 days from the date of its sending. Therefore, accept the electronic demand and submit the acceptance receipt immediately as soon as you receive the electronic document.

If within 5 days the receipt of acceptance of the request is not sent to the Federal Tax Service, the fiscal service has the right to block the organization’s bank accounts and impose a ban on making money transfers.

Stage No. 2. Troubleshooting

Having received the request from the Federal Tax Service, carefully read its contents. In the electronic form of the request, the Federal Tax Service indicates an error code for which an explanation must be given:

1. Code 1 means that the records of the Federal Tax Service do not reflect the operation specified in the declaration. Also, code 1 can be used if there are errors that do not allow the Federal Tax Service to identify the invoice reflected by the payer.
2. Code 2 reports the presence of discrepancies between the data in section 8 (Information from the purchase book) and section 9 (Information from the sales book).
3. Using code 3 , you can determine whether there are discrepancies between sections 10 (Information from the journal of issued invoices) and 11 (Information from the journal of received invoices).
4. With code 4, the Federal Tax Service informs the payer about other errors made in the tax return if it is impossible to classify them according to the above criteria.

How to compose

When drawing up an explanatory note, we are guided by the following rules:

1. We compose a response on the organization’s letterhead. If there is no such form, in the header of the document we indicate the full name of the institution, INN, KPP, OGRN and address.
2. We indicate the number and date of the requirement for which the explanatory note is being drawn up. It is permissible to write a response to several tax requests at once.
3. If there are errors or inconsistencies in the report, double-check the report to eliminate typos or typos.
4. In the descriptive part of the explanatory note, we reveal in detail and consistently the circumstances of the situation that needs to be explained.
5. When answering a request, rely on the facts and document the circumstances. Attach copies of documents to the answer, if any. For example, attach to the explanatory note a copy of the additional agreement to the contract with the provision for increasing prices.

If the inspector requires an explanatory note regarding inconsistencies in the value added tax return, the response will have to be sent electronically. An exception to the rules is reserved for organizations that report VAT on paper. If the institution reported electronically, but provided a response to the request on paper, then the tax office will consider such explanations not provided. Such norms are prescribed in the Letter of the Federal Tax Service dated January 27, 2017 No. ED-4-15/1443.

Sample of a response to a tax request for clarification

As mentioned above, there is no unified response form for giving tax explanations, so you can compose it in any form. It is worth noting that the form of the response must be extremely correct and standard in terms of the rules for preparing such papers.

1. First, on the left or right (it doesn’t matter) you need to indicate the addressee, i.e. exactly the tax office where the response is sent. Here you need to enter its number, as well as the region and locality to which it belongs.
2. Next, the sender of the letter is indicated: the name of the company, its address (actual), as well as the telephone number (in case the tax inspector has any additional questions for clarification) is written.
3. Further in the answer you should refer to the request number (and the tax service always assigns numbers to such documents), and its date (note: not the date of receipt, but the date of preparation), and also briefly outline the essence of the question.
4. After this, you can proceed directly to giving explanations. They should be written in as much detail as possible, with all the necessary links to documents, laws, regulations, etc. The more carefully this part of the answer is prepared, the greater the chance that the tax office will be satisfied with it.

In no case should you give unreliable or deliberately false information in your answer - they will be quickly detected and then immediate sanctions from the tax authorities will follow.

After the explanation is given, it is necessary to certify the letter with the signature of the chief accountant (if necessary), as well as the head of the company (required).

What happens if you don’t respond to the Federal Tax Service’s requirement?

No matter how much the inspectorate threatens with punishment, tax officials cannot fine or issue an administrative penalty for the absence of an explanatory note:

• Article 126 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is not a basis for punishment, since the provision of explanations does not apply to the provision of documents (93 Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• Article 129.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is not applicable, since a request for written explanations is not a “counter check” (93.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• Article 19.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses is not an argument; punishment is applicable only in case of failure to appear at the territorial inspection.

Similar explanations are given in paragraph 2.3 of Letter No. AS-4-2/12837 of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated July 17, 2013.

Personal income tax accrued incorrectly

The error occurs infrequently, but still occurs. If the tax authorities have discovered an incorrectly calculated tax, the organization will have to not only prepare an explanatory note, but also generate corrective statements (certificate 2-NDFL).

For such a situation, an explanatory note in any form is suitable. If you don’t know how to write an explanatory note correctly, a sample will help you cope with the task.

Errors and discrepancies regarding VAT

Value added tax is the fiscal liability where accountants make the most mistakes. As a result, discrepancies and inaccuracies in reporting are inevitable.

The most common mistakes are when the amount of tax accrued is less than the amount of the tax deduction claimed for reimbursement. In fact, the reason for this discrepancy can only be the inattention of the person responsible for issuing invoices. Or a technical error when uploading data.

In the explanatory note, please include the following information: “We inform you that there are no errors in the purchase book, the data was entered correctly, timely and in full. This discrepancy occurred due to a technical error when generating invoice No.____ dated “___”______ 20___. Tax reporting has been adjusted (indicate the date the adjustments were sent).”

Reporting discrepancies

Quite often there are situations when the same economic indicator has different values ​​in the presented forms of fiscal reporting. Such discrepancies are caused by the fact that for each tax, fee, contribution, individual rules for determining the taxable base are established. And if tax authorities require you to provide an explanatory note on this issue, provide explanations in free form. In the text, indicate specific reasons why the discrepancies arose.

Also, the reason for such inconsistency may be different norms and rules of tax accounting in relation to a number of specific situations. Write down the circumstances in an explanatory note.

It is welcome to provide explanations with references to the norms of the current fiscal legislation. Even if the company is wrong (incorrectly interpreted the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), the Federal Tax Service will provide detailed explanations, which will help avoid larger mistakes and fines in future activities.

Reducing the tax burden

This issue is of particular interest to tax authorities. Thus, representatives of the Federal Tax Service constantly monitor the volume of revenues to the state budget. If they decrease, the reaction is immediate: demands with the provision of an explanatory note, an invitation to the manager to a personal meeting with a representative of the Federal Tax Service, or an on-site desk audit (a last resort).

In such a situation, you cannot hesitate; you must immediately provide explanations to the Federal Tax Service. In the explanatory note, describe all the circumstances and facts that influenced the reduction in tax payments. Confirm the facts with documents or provide economic justification. Otherwise, the Federal Tax Service initiates an on-site inspection, which may take several months.

What to write in an explanatory note:

1. Reduction of salary taxes. The reasons may be staff reduction, enterprise restructuring, or reduction in wages.
2. A decrease in profits may occur due to termination of contracts with customers. A copy of the additional agreement on termination of the contract should be attached to the explanatory note.
3. Increased costs as a result of decreased profits. The justification may be expansion of activities (increasing production volumes, opening a new branch, division, retail outlet), changing suppliers or increasing prices for inventories and raw materials (attach copies of contracts).

There can be quite a few reasons for reducing the tax burden. We will have to look into each specific case.