How to write an application to the tax office: general rules and special cases

There are many situations when, together with or instead of a standard package of various documents, a tax specialist must also provide an application. According to federal law, a statement is considered a request, a person's demand that his rights be realized. Representatives of the authorities, in our case, tax specialists, are obliged to assist the citizen in this request. In other words, an application for the Federal Tax Service is an appeal containing a request for the exercise of rights and freedoms. In particular, this may be a request for a TIN, a requirement for a tax deduction or a benefit. In these and other cases, a competently and correctly drawn up statement will help. In the text we will look at the most common situations and show examples of what sample applications to the tax office should look like.

Sample applications to the tax office

Application to the tax office: general points

Many citizens believe that the application is drawn up in free language and written on a white sheet of paper by hand. This is not true - most applications to the tax office must be filled out according to instructions and specialized forms must be used for this. Regardless of what application you are preparing to submit to the inspector, you must remember the basic rules:

The upper right corner of the application is always occupied by the details of the tax department. To find out them, you can log on to the website nalog.ru and enter your address. The system will tell you which tax office the citizen belongs to at his place of residence, and, accordingly, will offer the details, address and operating hours of the branch.
The header of the application must contain the personal data of the applicant - here you need to indicate passport details, full name and TIN number. If a citizen does not have information about the payer identification number, he can use the “Find out TIN” service launched by the country’s tax service.
If the document is filled out by hand, it must be written in block letters, only black or blue ink is allowed, and it is forbidden to cross out or correct errors.
If a document contains several sheets, each must be endorsed with the citizen’s personal signature. Some applications are required by law to contain a certified autograph - for this the paper must be signed in the presence of a tax inspector.
Any information in the application must be current, reliable and verified. It is necessary to double check all information provided on the application, especially the numbers.

Now let's move on to the features of filling out and examples of statements that are used most often.

Algorithm for taxpayer behavior in case of doubt regarding the interpretation of tax legislation.

STEP 1 . So, you realize that you don't understand anything. You realize the problem. The main thing at this stage is to correctly understand the essence of the problem. Essence of the question.

Step 2 . Go to the website www.nalog.ru in the section “Explanations of the Federal Tax Service, mandatory for use by tax authorities . Letters from the Federal Tax Service agreed upon with the Ministry of Finance, or those in which their opinion coincides with the Ministry of Finance, are posted here. Also here are letters from the Ministry of Finance itself sent to the Federal Tax Service of Russia. Such letters are mandatory for use by tax authorities. Local tax authorities are required to comply with the clarifications included in this section. This requirement does not apply to taxpayers. But this is where you can find out a point of view on a controversial issue.

Step 3. Study case law. In Letter No. 03-01-13/01/47571 dated November 7, 2013, the Ministry of Finance indicated that in cases where written explanations of the Ministry of Finance or the Federal Tax Service of Russia on the application of tax legislation are not consistent with decisions, resolutions, information letters of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation or the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, tax authorities should be guided by the position of these courts. This requirement is mandatory for tax authorities. Inspectors must take into account judicial practice, starting from the day these judicial acts are posted on the websites .

STEP 4. Having summarized and analyzed the information received, formulate your request. It must be concise and at the same time contain complete and reliable information.

If you are an entrepreneur, you can start your request like this:

I, Individual Entrepreneur Galina Vladimirovna Ivanova INN 616105921837 on the basis of sub. 4 paragraphs 1 art. 32, sub. 1 clause 1 art. 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, please inform me on the issue.

And then - the crux of the matter. When preparing a request, it is advisable to include the “required answer” in advance. That is, to formulate the position that the taxpayer himself considers correct.

STEP 5 . Send it to the Federal Tax Service by registered mail to the address :

127381 Moscow, st. Neglinnaya 23 .

If the request is sent simultaneously to both the tax authority and the financial authority, then you should not indicate this: you may not receive a response at all.

STEP 6 . In a month or two, if the letter is forwarded to your regional Federal Tax Service, you will receive an answer. If there is no response within the specified period, then there is inaction, which the taxpayer has the right to appeal to a higher tax authority or to court (clause 1 of Article 137 and clause 1 of Article 138 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the complaint must ask to oblige the inspectorate to respond to the request.

STEP 7 . The answer suits you and you agree with it. Start working according to the information provided, and in this case, even if additional taxes are charged to you, you will be exempt from fines and penalties. In addition, any positive explanation can be used in court as confirmation of the taxpayer’s good faith.

STEP 8 . Are you not satisfied with the answer? You still have the right to do as you think and, if necessary, prove your case in court. Or you can try to challenge the clarification in court as a non-normative legal act.

Despite the fact that the Tax Code does not oblige the tax authority to give explanations, nevertheless, the practice has developed in such a way that it is the tax authority that actually explains the norms of legislation. From our practical point of view, it is better to write directly to the Moscow Federal Tax Service.

Next, the Federal Tax Service will send your request to the Federal Tax Service in your region, and it will give you an answer under the control of the Federal Tax Service.

It is this personal response that will give you a guarantee that if you comply with the recommendations of the tax authority and further additional taxes are assessed, you will be exempt from paying penalties and fines. Letters addressed to others can be used as arguments in disputes, but this is not 100% protection.

If there are different explanations from officials regarding your situation, this means that the tax legislation is imperfect, and you can insist on the application of the norm of paragraph 7 of Article 3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which states that all ambiguities and contradictions are interpreted in favor of the taxpayer.

If the letter is intended to guide local tax authorities, then such letters already affect the interests of an indefinite number of persons, and the courts are obliged to take them into account.

How long should I wait for a response from the tax authority? We are waiting for a response from the tax authority for 1 month. It should be borne in mind that you can be guided by written explanations from the competent authorities until the tax legislation changes. Tax planning is an ongoing process that begins before opening a business and ends with its liquidation.

As for the explanations of officials at seminars and in the media, the following should be taken into account. At the seminars, representatives of tax authorities and financial departments act as independent experts. Explanations given by tax authority specialists at seminars and published in the media do not constitute official explanations and do not exempt taxpayers from penalties and fines.

Obtaining a TIN

Every citizen of Russia, no matter whether a future (minor) payer or an existing tax payer, must register with the Federal Tax Service. To do this, you need to obtain a document - TIN. This can be done through the Federal Tax Service website. Within five days after the application, the tax service will be ready to provide the TIN. If a citizen prefers to interact with paper media or prefers to visit government agencies in person, he must download and fill out form No. 2-2-Accounting. We recommend downloading this form, like the form for any other application, exclusively from the official resource of the Russian Tax Service. In the case of an application for a TIN, it would be most advisable to type keywords in a search on the site and get a sample form from the first link. It looks like this.

The application for registration with the tax authorities is very simple to fill out.

Using an example, we demonstrate the upper part of the form that a citizen needs to fill out. Next comes a field in which information about the official representative of the payer is entered, if he cannot independently contact the Federal Tax Service, as well as fields for filling out by tax specialists. As you can see, nothing complicated.

Cover letters: what are they and why does the Federal Tax Service ask for them?

A cover letter is a paper that lists the submitted materials and explanations for them. This addition significantly facilitates the interaction of the tax service with taxpayers, since:

the list of submitted materials allows you to avoid possible misunderstandings regarding the completeness of the set of papers;
it is easier for office workers to register incoming correspondence, and tax officials will not have questions regarding the purpose of providing certain documents;
papers will reach the addressee faster.

Existing legislation does not establish a unified form of cover letter. But there are regulations that must be relied upon when carrying out document flow with the Federal Tax Service. This is >by order of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation No. ММВ-7-6/ [email protected] dated 06/13/2013.

In addition, there are formats approved exclusively for messaging via telecommunications channels. Appendix No. 5 to >letter of the Federal Tax Service dated August 10, 2016 No. GD-4-11/ [email protected] ).

Another example of an exclusively electronic type of explanation is a sample cover letter for the audit report to the tax office, the format of which is approved by the information message dated December 25, 2019 No. IS-accounting-21, the audit report in online form is sent along with the accompanying document, but if you submit it on paper, no additional clarifications on the approved format will be needed.

Certificate of absence of debts

A document indicating that a citizen has no debt to the state may be needed in a number of cases, for example, for mortgage lending. To obtain such a certificate, you need to contact the territorial Federal Tax Service with a corresponding application. There is no strict form for paper yet, but the tax office recommends following the same content and structure of the request.

Even such a simple application requires tax details at the top right

Procedure for filing a complaint online

First, let's look at the procedure for filing a complaint via the Internet, which is offered by the website of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation:

Go to the website of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation nalog.ru. Select the status of the applicant - individual / individual entrepreneur / legal entity.
Select “filing a complaint to the tax authorities” from the list that opens in the middle part of the screen.
The window that opens contains links to the most common situations:

file a complaint against the actions/inaction of the tax authorities.

In the newly opened window, you will be able to familiarize yourself with the requirements for filing a complaint, as well as the methods (to the office or window at the Federal Tax Service, by mail, by TKS, through the taxpayer’s personal account) and options for filing it (in person or through a representative).

appeal a tax audit decision

ask for another question

This service will provide you with a form to fill out:

appeals in accordance with the Federal Law of May 2, 2006 No. 59-FZ “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation”;
requests for information in accordance with Federal Law No. 8-FZ of February 9, 2009 “On ensuring access to information on the activities of state bodies and local governments.”

This block can also be accessed from the main page of the website of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation (electronic services, “contact the Federal Tax Service of Russia”.

It was not possible to solve the problem with the help of objections and complaints, my further actions.

In this block, the taxpayer will be able to familiarize themselves with the procedure for appealing to the judicial authorities in cases where appeals to the Federal Tax Service did not bring the desired result.

It should be noted that these “frequently occurring situations” will be the same for all categories of taxpayers.

Features of filing a complaint through the taxpayer’s personal account

Filing a complaint through your taxpayer’s personal account is quite simple:

go to the taxpayer’s personal account
select “feedback”
select the item in the direction of the relevant complaint
a page will open on which you need to fill in all the required information (we discussed what needs to be indicated in the complaint at the beginning of this article).

All fields marked with a red asterisk are required (

Installment or deferment of tax payments

Before December 1, most citizens are required to pay for certain types of taxes, for example, on land, transport or property. But it happens that a person finds himself in a difficult situation when the financial situation becomes extremely unstable. In this case, you can contact the tax office with a request to postpone the date of tax payment or break the amount into smaller parts. You must bring an application to the institution using the following form.

An application requesting a deferred payment will be on one sheet of paper.

The form of this application is very simple; you can also download it from the official website of the Federal Tax Service. You can discuss filling out the second part of the document with the tax inspector, telling him about your current life situation.

Important point! The state can provide deferred or installment payment when we are talking about the amount of debt that does not exceed the value of the citizen’s property, in addition to what cannot be collected (a single apartment, for example).

Application for deferment or installment payment of taxes

Every fall, taxpayers receive letters reminding them that it is time to pay their land, property and transportation taxes. However, if a person has become a victim of a natural disaster or for other reasons finds himself in a dire financial situation, the Federal Tax Service may defer or extend the payment of taxes.

A deferment or installment plan is granted for an amount not exceeding the value of the debtor’s property. Except for property that cannot be foreclosed on by law (for example, the only residence).

To take advantage of a deferment or installment plan, you need to write an application in the form recommended in Appendix No. 1 to the procedure for changing the deadline for paying taxes (Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated September 28, 2010 No. MMV-7-8 / [email protected] ).

It indicates the form of changing the payment deadline and duration, the name of the tax, the amount, and the grounds for granting a deferment or installment plan.

Interest is charged for using the deferment.

Tax deduction

The procedure for returning thirteen percent for income tax payers can be associated with various events: the purchase of real estate, payment for medical or educational services, and so on. The two types of deductions we have named are property and social, the most common. They allow you to return quite significant sums of money - for example, the maximum for property return is 260 thousand rubles.

Read more about property deductions in our article.

Tax service employees accepted applications from citizens in free form until 2021. Now a fixed form has come into effect, according to which the application form must be filled out. We recommend downloading the form from the official website of the tax service nalog.ru, since third-party sources pose a risk of receiving inappropriate paper. The application is included in the standard package of documents for receiving a deduction, so its incorrect spelling may become grounds for refusal to return the funds. The format of this statement is somewhat similar to a declaration, but it is intuitive and should not cause any difficulties.

The first page of the application with the citizen’s personal data

The application is drawn up on several sheets, which must contain the citizen’s data, the full amount of the deduction for which he is applying and the year of expenses incurred. Next, indicate the contact details and address of the payer, the current account for the refund, the name of the bank, the budget classification code and the number of sheets and attachments that make up the application. We remind you that each page is certified by a signature.

In what cases can the tax office request explanations?

Inspectors of the Federal Tax Service are ordinary people who act in accordance with the regulations entrusted to them when conducting desk processing of incoming data from taxpayers. They may have questions in the following cases:

Due to the fact that the declaration is only a confirmation of the events that occurred in the life of the taxpayer during the reporting period in terms of his receipt of one or another type of one-time or periodic income, most often the tax authorities have their own information regarding the individual, obtained from various competent sources.

Over the course of 90 days of a desk audit, this information is verified with the information presented in the report, which does not always coincide with each other. If such inconsistencies are discovered, inspectors will immediately send a letter demanding explanations regarding the discrepancies that have arisen.

Important! How to write a letter to the tax office for clarification, sample. The letter is drawn up in the classic form on a blank A4 sheet, in printed (preferably) or handwritten form in compliance with the regulations for conducting official correspondence and can be drawn up by both an individual and a legal entity.

Sample explanatory note to the Federal Tax Service

Despite the fact that administrative measures for missing deadlines are not provided in this case, all explanations should be provided as soon as possible in order to avoid postponing the overall period for consideration of the declaration.

Providing benefits

A number of taxpayers are legally entitled to tax benefits - for example, a complete cancellation or reduction in the amount of payments for land, property or transport taxes. Tax inspectors will definitely tell every citizen whether he can qualify for the so-called “fiscal amnesty”. If the answer is positive, you should immediately submit an application for benefits to the Federal Tax Service. It looks like this.

Filling out an application to receive benefits is a matter of two minutes

The application must indicate personal data, as well as attach a copy of the document on the basis of which the citizen is applying for a tax break. This can be a pension or veteran's certificate; in regions where benefits are provided to large families - a corresponding certificate.

Reduced tax payments

If reporting to the fiscal service is the basis for reducing the taxes transferred by the enterprise, then the Federal Tax Service specialists will immediately demand clarification. A downward change in budget revenues will also be grounds for inviting a manager. He will have to provide the tax office with explanations on the financial and economic activities of the enterprise.

Attention! When receiving such a request, it is necessary to quickly create an explanatory document. It requires a detailed description of all the factors that became the reason for reducing the taxes transferred, accompanied by evidence (documentation or financial argumentation). If you delay sending the letter, a desk audit may be initiated, often lasting more than one month.

The explanatory document may indicate the following reasons for changes in tax payments:

Increased costs due to falling profits. The reasons for this are, for example, the creation of divisions, stores, increasing production, expanding the scope of activity, etc. This also includes an increase in the cost of equipment, materials, and replacement of suppliers.
Loss in the transfer of taxes on earnings due to a drop in the level of employees, their layoffs, and restructuring of the legal entity.
Reduction in profits due to termination of contractual relations with buyers of goods or services. In this case, a duplicate of the additional agreement to the agreement on termination of the transaction should be attached to the explanatory letter.

There are many other factors that can lead to a drop in profits. Just a few of them are listed above. To correctly write an explanatory document, you will need to take into account the individual characteristics of each situation.

Refund or credit of tax paid in excess

In the process of fulfilling tax obligations, citizens may overpay - for example, round the tax amount up or not know that they are entitled to a benefit. A simple typo in documents can also lead to overpayment. The tax office itself can report this, but if the payer discovered the overpayment earlier, he can write a corresponding statement. The overpayment amount can be requested to be returned or “transferred” to account for another type of tax. The application form should not cause any difficulties.

An overpayment application is similar to a tax deduction form

Such an application can be submitted within three years from the moment (day) when the overpayment took place. The tax authority will return the excess amount for the month. However, he can be notified of the overpayment to the Federal Tax Service electronically. You need to go to the portal of the Federal Tax Service, go to the section of the same name - “Overpayment/Debt” and fill out the form online.

Video - Make an application for a refund of overpaid personal income tax

How to write an explanation in response to a notification to the tax office - sample

The letter must necessarily contain the following information:

In the header of the document, in the upper right corner, you must write an appeal in the form: “To the Head of the Federal Tax Service No. (code of the inspectorate to which the taxpayer is assigned) for the city (city and region of location of the tax service department) from (hereinafter - or passport details of the individual indicating place of permanent registration or name and all details of a legal entity or individual entrepreneur).

Housing sales contract

Next, the document is completed with accompanying official papers and sent to the Federal Tax Service inspection in the same way as the initial report was submitted.

A letter to the tax office for clarification - a sample can be viewed on the official website of the Federal Tax Service inspectorate. It should be noted that in the absence of real examples at hand, the letter risks being rejected.

When drawing up an explanation to the tax office regarding property tax, a form and a sample of an already drawn up and accepted letter from third parties should always be at hand.

How to file a complaint to the Federal Tax Service, sample

It is permissible to write a complaint to the tax service in any form. But at the same time, certain rules established by Article 139 of the tax legislation must be observed. The document must contain information about the applicant (anonymous names are not accepted for consideration), the Federal Tax Service employee who violated the law, state the essence of the problem, and put forward specific demands. The writing style is purely businesslike, without lyrical digressions, without threats and abuse.

Registration of a document with the fiscal authority

Sample letters to the tax office are drawn up as follows:

The “header” of the explanatory letter is placed in the upper right side of the A4 sheet. In this section, you must indicate the Federal Tax Service number, the position of the authorized employee to whom the message is addressed and the city where the tax office is located. Below is the author of the application (full name), his passport details and registration address (legal entities and individual entrepreneurs write their name and details).
Next, in the middle of the sheet, the name of the document “Explanation” is indicated.
The title reveals the essence of the appeal. It is necessary to reflect all facts confirming the accuracy of the previously submitted information. If the taxpayer agrees to the adjustments, then the documentation to which the amendments were made and which amendments were made should be identified. If employees of the fiscal authority have several questions for the business entity, the answer can be formatted in the form of a numbered list of explanations.
Under the text of the main part, you must provide a list of attached documentation to confirm the amendments made or the correctness of the original data. This section should be titled "Applications".
Below, under the text of the letter, the taxpayer must sign and write the date the document was drawn up in the format day, month, year.

Personal account of the tax service

Citizens have access to a convenient personal account, which allows them to independently obtain information about the presence of debts or charges. Creation of payment documents is available. In addition, taxpayers are able to conduct necessary financial transactions via the Internet. The account saves time by not having to visit physical establishments in person. To log in, open the official website and provide your credentials.

Entrance to the office.

If you have any questions, please contact the contact center.