Interest-free loan - what is it, where to get it and what are the benefits of an interest-free loan?

Interest-free loan: basic provisions

The issuance of interest-free loans to employees is regulated by the Civil Code, namely the 1st paragraph of Chapter 42. The subject of the loan can be both money and things. In this case, an agreement must be concluded in writing between the employer and the employee (Article 808 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The contract must state that the loan is interest-free. Otherwise, the default interest rate will be equal to the refinancing rate (Article 809 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). However, there are exceptions. If the agreement of the parties does not contain a word about interest, then the loan will be considered interest-free when:

• the agreement was concluded between citizens for an amount less than or equal to 50 minimum wages, not for business purposes;
• Things are given on loan.

In addition, the contract must specify the return period. If such a date is not specified, the borrower must be prepared to repay the debt within 30 days after receiving a request to do so. Also, at his discretion, an employee can repay an interest-free loan (hereinafter referred to as the LO) ahead of schedule.

Loan agreement with employee

Despite the fact that when issuing a loan to an employee, the employer enters into an agreement with him, this has nothing to do with labor relations. Issuing a loan to an employee is a civil law agreement. The relationship between an employer and an employee, that is, respectively, a lender and a borrower, is regulated by Chapter 42 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to Art. 808 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the issuance of a loan to an employee is accompanied by the conclusion of a loan agreement in writing. The contract must specify the following conditions:

• loan amount;
• the period during which the employee is obliged to return the money,
• interest rate for the use of funds.

If at least one of the terms of the agreement is not specified, the loan agreement may be declared invalid.

In accordance with Article 809 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a loan agreement may be interest-free. That is, the employer has the right not to collect interest from the employee for the use of the money provided by him. However, such a condition must also be specified in the contract. If this condition is not specified, then the loan percentage will be determined depending on the key rate of the Bank of Russia.

The procedure by which a loan agreement is concluded is established by Chapter 42 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. When concluding such an agreement, the employer is recognized as the lender, and the employee is recognized as the borrower. With the conclusion of an agreement, both the lender and the borrower have certain rights and obligations. The responsibilities of the lender include transferring funds to the borrower, and the responsibilities of the borrower include returning the same amount of money, and in certain cases, interest. The loan agreement is considered concluded not from the moment the agreement is signed, but from the moment the funds are transferred to the borrower.

If an employee is given an interest-free loan, then he will have to repay only the due debt, and such a condition must be specified in the contract. If a loan is issued at a certain interest rate, then its size, as well as the procedure for paying interest, are also specified in the agreement.

Important! If the procedure for paying interest and terms are not provided for in the agreement, then interest will be paid every month until the borrowed amount is repaid, in accordance with Article 809 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

In addition, the agreement may specify a condition on the use of borrowed funds for specific purposes. In this case, the loan is recognized as a targeted loan, and the borrower must provide the lender with the opportunity to control the process of using funds.

One of the important terms of the contract is also the loan repayment period. If a specific repayment period is not specified, the loan will need to be repaid within 30 days from the date of submission of the request for repayment. You can only repay an interest-free loan early. If the loan is provided at a certain percentage, then it can be repaid ahead of schedule only with the consent of the lender (810 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

An interest-free loan was issued: accounting

Let's consider what entries an accountant should make for an interest-free loan to an employee. For settlements of loans to employees, the chart of accounts approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated October 31, 200 No. 94n provides for account 73.

The financial investment account is not used in transactions for interest-free loans issued to employees; this is indicated in the instructions for the chart of accounts for account 58. It is also necessary to pay attention to the reflection of transactions for personal income tax, which must be paid if the employer does not charge interest on the loan. Read more about personal income tax in the following sections.

Postings

Loans issued to employees are reflected in account 73-1 “Settlements on loans provided.”

Debit 73-1 Credit 50 (51) - a cash loan was issued to an employee;

Debit 73-1 Credit 91-1 - interest accrued on the loan;

Debit 51 (50) Credit 73-1 - loan and interest returned to the account or to the cash desk;

Debit 70 Credit 68 - personal income tax is withheld from material benefits.

Let's look at an example. On January 31, 2021, Svet LLC provided an employee with an interest-free loan in the amount of 100,000 rubles for a period of 4 months. The purpose of the loan is to purchase a car. The employee will repay the loan to the cashier in equal installments. The first payment was made on 03/01/2017. The refinancing rate is 10%.

Let's calculate the material benefit (the day the loan was issued is not taken into account, Article 191 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) and personal income tax.

In February, the employee used the loan for 28 days.

As of February 28, 2017, the material benefit will be:

100,000 rub. × 28 days : 365 days × 2/3 × 10% = 511.42 rubles.

Personal income tax for February = 511.42 × 35% = 179 rubles. (tax amount is rounded).

On 03/01/2017, the employee repaid part of the loan and the total debt decreased (100,000 – 25,000 = 75,000).

As of March 31, 2017, the material benefit will be:

(RUB 100,000 × 1 day: 365 days × 2/3 × 10%) + (RUB 75,000 × 30 days: 365 days × 2/3 × 10%) = RUB 429.22

Personal income tax for March = 429.22 × 35% = 150 rubles.

Let's reflect the transactions with transactions:

31.01.2017

Debit 73-1 Credit 50 - 100,000 rub. - an interest-free loan was issued.

28.02.2017

Debit 70 Credit 68 - 179 rub. — personal income tax is charged on material benefits.

01.03.2017

Debit 50 Credit 73-1 - 25,000 rubles. — partial repayment of the loan.

31.03.2017

Debit 70 Credit 68 - 150 rub. — personal income tax is charged on material benefits.

Similar calculations and entries are made at the end of each month until the debt is fully repaid.

Taxation of material benefits

The MV amount is the tax base for personal income tax (Article 210 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The tax is calculated at a rate of 35% for residents and 30% for non-residents (clauses 2–3 of Article 224 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Thus, from the employee’s income, which the employer pays him monthly, the corresponding percentage of personal income tax from his MV from the BZ must be withheld. The amount of deduction cannot be more than 50% of income in cash, which is paid this month (clause 4 of article 226 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If the withholding amount exceeds the maximum, the balance is carried over to the next month. If it was not possible to withhold personal income tax during the tax period, the employer must inform both the tax office and the employee about this by sending them a 2-NDFL certificate. The employer pays the withheld personal income tax on the day of payment of income or the next (clause 6 of Article 226 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation); personal income tax cannot be paid in advance (clause 9 of Article 226 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Example 1 (continued)

The salary of resident V. A. Sokolov is 75 thousand rubles. per month. Salaries are paid twice a month: on the 15th and on the last day of the month. Thus, the transfer of personal income tax to the MV budget must occur no later than the specified dates in the following amounts:

04/03/2017 (since 04/01/2017 is a day off): 492 rubles. × 35% = 172 rub.

05/01/2017: 641 rub. × 35% = 224 rub.

06/01/2017: 182 rub. × 35% = 64 rub.

Taxation under an interest-free loan agreement

By issuing a loan at a zero rate, the company does not receive income; the employee’s debt obligation increases the amount of receivables. An employee who uses borrowed funds from the company receives material benefits under an interest-free loan agreement.

Material benefits result from savings on interest payments. According to Art. 212 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, such income is subject to taxation on a general basis. The company, as a tax agent, is obliged to:

• monthly, on the last days of the month, personal income tax is charged at a rate of 35% for residents and 30% for non-residents on the amount of interest saved. Accrual occurs throughout the entire contract period.
• withhold tax on all income of the borrower employee. The total amount of personal income tax withheld should not exceed half of the income paid;
• transfer accrued personal income tax to the budget the next day after deduction;
• submit a certificate to the Federal Tax Service in form 2-NDFL based on the results of the year.

The personal income tax calculator for the material benefit of a loan will help you calculate the material benefit.

Let's look at an example. An employee received an interest-free loan in the amount of RUB 150,000. for 3 months from February to May. According to the terms of the agreement, the loan is repaid in a lump sum. We will calculate the material benefit and the amount of personal income tax to be transferred to the budget.

The formula for calculating material benefits is: 2/3 of the Central Bank refinancing rate x loan amount/365 x number of days the agreement is valid.

February - Material benefit 150,000*(6/100*2/3-0/100)/366*28 = 459.02 rubles. Personal income tax 459.02*35% = 161 rubles.

March - Material benefit 150,000*(6/100*2/3-0/100)/366*31 = 508.20 rubles. Personal income tax 508.20*35%=178 rub.

April - Material benefit 150,000*(5.5/100*2/3-0/100)/366*30 = 450.82 rubles. Personal income tax 450.82*35%=158 rub.

The total amount of personal income tax to be transferred to the budget is 497 rubles.

Interest-free loan for home purchase

Taxation of personal income tax for MV has exceptions specified in subsection. 1 clause 1 art. 212 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. One of them is that if the purpose of the BP is defined as the construction or acquisition of housing in our country, as well as land for its construction, then the MV for such BP is not recognized as income. In this case, the employee to whom such a work permit was issued must have the right to a property deduction. This deduction must be confirmed by a special notice issued by the tax authority, the form of which was approved by order of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation dated January 14, 2015 No. ММВ-7-11/ [email protected]

Thus, until the employee brings the specified notice, the accountant withholds personal income tax from him every month from the MV according to the BZ. After confirmation of the right to a property deduction, personal income tax is not accrued, however, the employer cannot return previously withheld personal income tax amounts, since they are not considered excessively withheld in accordance with clause 1 of Art. 231 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. You can return personal income tax amounts that were withheld before the notification was provided yourself at the tax office at your place of residence. Such clarifications are given in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated March 21, 2013 No. 03-04-06/8790.

Tax payment rules

When receiving funds from the employer without accruing interest, the employee receives a material benefit. This does not apply to the situation when the money is used to purchase or construct housing. In other cases, it is paid when applying for an interest-free loan to a personal income tax employee by the recipient of the money. Features of tax payment include:

• tax is paid upon partial or full repayment of the debt;
• the company independently withholds and transfers personal income tax to the budget for its employee, since it acts as his tax agent for this type of collection;
• a citizen does not need to independently prepare and submit a tax return to the Federal Tax Service;
• tax can be withheld from the salary of a hired specialist, but the total amount transferred to the budget monthly cannot exceed 50% of the citizen’s salary;
• if a company cannot withhold tax for various reasons, then the tax inspectorate specialists must be notified about this, after which the employee usually has to deal with the calculation and transfer of the fee;
• the tax is levied on the amount represented by the interest savings, and such material benefit must be correctly calculated.

If a tax deduction is issued by an employee, then he is exempt from the need to pay personal income tax. But this is only possible if money is given to buy a home or pay off a mortgage.

Interest-free loan in kind: taxation

An employee’s knowledge book can be issued to the company’s goods, materials, fixed assets, etc. The things transferred must be defined by generic characteristics, that is, they cannot be unique with specific characteristics that only they have. A non-monetary loan can be repaid in money or the same things. The main qualities of the transferred items should be indicated in the contract (name, grade, quantity, size, etc.) so that the borrower returns the corresponding property.

When issuing this type of work permit, the employer must take into account some taxation nuances. As for income tax, the transfer of money or things as a loan is not considered an expense (clause 12 of Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), and repayment of the loan is not considered income (clause 10 of Article 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Cash loans are not subject to VAT (subclause 15, clause 3, article 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Under a non-monetary loan agreement, the employer's property becomes the property of the employee. In paragraph 1 of Art. 39 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the sale is equated to the transfer of ownership of things, and, according to subparagraph. 1 clause 1 art. 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the sale is called an object for VAT. Therefore, the transfer of things under the BZ agreement is subject to VAT. The price of the transferred property is determined as the current market price. When calculating such VAT, the employer has the right to deduct the corresponding input VAT that he paid when purchasing valuables transferred under the BZ.

Example 2

01/01/2016 V. A. Sokolov received ceramic tiles produced at the Voskhod LLC enterprise, where he works, as a BZ. The cost of the tiles was 135,000 rubles. without VAT. The loan term is 1 year. The employer must pay VAT to the budget in the amount of 135,000 rubles. × 18% = 24,300 rub.

Interest-free loan in kind: accounting

The accounting value of the transferred assets may or may not correspond to their assessment in the business contract. If a difference exists, it will be reflected in other income or expenses. In accounting, transactions on business history are reflected as follows:

Example 2 (continued)

The book value of the tiles was 105,000 rubles. Let's assume that the refinancing rate did not change throughout the year and amounted to 9%. Then the personal income tax amount will be equal to: 35% × 2/3 × 9% × 159,300 = 3,345 rubles. The accountant recorded the following entries:

Accounting for personal income tax payments (postings). examples of personal income tax calculation.

Personal income tax (TC RF, part 2, chapter 23, article 210) Download tax explanations on standard tax deductions (TC, RF, part 2, chapter 23, article 218) Download tax explanations on standard tax deductions (TC, RF, part 2, chapter 23, Article 218) Download tax explanations on social tax deductions (TC, RF, part 2, chapter 23, article 219) Download tax explanations on investment tax deductions (TC, RF, part 2, chapter 23, article 219.1) Download tax explanations on the personal income tax declaration ( Tax Code, Russian Federation, Part 2, Chapter 23, Article 229) Postings for withholding personal income tax from dividends Amount Debit Credit Name of operation Dividends accrued to Ivanov 4500 75 68 Dividend tax withheld Dividends paid to Ivanov 4500 68 51 Tax payable is transferred to the budget Example of personal income tax accrual from the interest received on the loan, the Company received a short-term loan from Ivanov I.A. in the amount of 200,000 rubles.

Loans for employees: few taxes, many transactions

The material was prepared by specialists from ZAO Consulting Group Zerkalo under the leadership of General Director Pereletova I.V.

Published: “Economics and Life Question-Answer” magazine, 9

The organization has invested in the construction of a residential building and plans to provide loans to its employees to purchase apartments. How will this affect the calculation of personal income tax and other taxes? Should we reflect the issuance of a loan in some documents (for example, in a certificate of income of an individual)? Please explain with an example how to calculate the amount of interest and what transactions need to be made. (L. Onishchenko, Moscow region)

* An individual who has received a loan from an organization may receive “conditional income” in the form of material benefits. Material benefits arise from savings on interest if the amount of interest for the use of borrowed funds is less than ¾ of the refinancing rate established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on the date of receipt of the loan, or 9% per annum when issuing a loan in foreign currency (Article 212 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The determination of the tax base when receiving income in the form of material benefits, expressed as savings on interest when receiving borrowed funds, is carried out by the taxpayer (Article 212 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). That is, the organization does not have the obligation to transfer personal income tax to the budget for material benefit. This is explained by the fact that if an individual is not an employee of an organization, then the organization cannot find funds to transfer taxes to the budget. An organization can withhold money from its employees' wages (upon their written request). The taxpayer within the time limits determined by sub. 3 p. 1 art. 223 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (that is, on the date of payment of interest on borrowed funds), but at least once during the tax period established by Art. 216 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (year), is obliged to calculate and pay personal income tax on the material benefits received from savings on interest.

Moreover, since the organization is still a tax agent in accordance with Art. 230 of the Code, she is obliged to submit the relevant information to the tax authority.

Note that the Methodological Recommendations on the procedure for applying Chapter 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (which were approved by Order of the Ministry of Taxes of the Russian Federation of November 29, 2000 No. BG-3-08/415, canceled this year) allowed the taxpayer to authorize the organization that issued the borrowed funds to participate in relations regarding the payment of personal income tax for material benefit as its authorized representative. In principle, despite the cancellation of the Methodological Recommendations, any person can appoint his authorized representative in tax legal relations on the basis of Art. 26 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. An authorized representative of a taxpayer - an individual exercises his powers on the basis of a notarized power of attorney (Article 29 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If, in accordance with the established procedure, the lender organization is appointed as an authorized representative of the taxpayer in relations with the payment of personal income tax, then from the amount of material benefit such an authorized representative determines the tax base, and also calculates, withholds and transfers to the budget the amount of calculated and withheld personal income tax. The assessed tax amount is withheld from the taxpayer by the authorized representative from any funds paid to the taxpayer.

Taxation of material benefits is carried out at a rate of 35% (clause 2 of Article 224 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). When determining the amount of material benefit, the refinancing rate established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on the date of receipt of borrowed funds is taken into account. The tax base is the difference between the amount of interest calculated based on ¾ of the refinancing rate and the interest actually paid under the loan agreement.

The benefit is reflected in the personal income tax forms-1 and personal income tax-2 according to income code 2610 and on the taxpayer’s personal card.

In this situation, an organization can withhold tax on material benefits when paying wages to an employee, while the withheld amount of personal income tax cannot exceed 50% of the payment amount (clause 4 of Article 226 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The amount of personal income tax withheld from wages is recorded in the debit of account 70 “Settlements with personnel for wages” and the credit of account 68 “Calculations for taxes and fees”.

* The material benefit received by an individual from saving on interest is not subject to Unified Social Tax (Clause 1, Article 236 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Regarding the issue of paying VAT on interest received from employees for using a loan, it can be said that, in accordance with subparagraph. 15 clause 3 art. 149, as well as sub. 1 item 2 art. 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the specified interest is not subject to VAT. Moreover, paragraph 28 of the Methodological Recommendations for the Application of Chapter 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (approved by Order of the Ministry of Taxes of the Russian Federation of December 20, 2000 No. BG-3-03/447) determines that fees for the provision of a loan of funds are not subject to VAT taxation, but the provision of services for the provision of loans in other forms are subject to VAT.

For profit tax purposes, interest received by an organization under a loan agreement is in accordance with clause 6 of Art. 250 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with non-operating income. The procedure for recognizing such income using the accrual method is established by Art. 271 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to clause 6 of which, for loan agreements that are valid for more than one reporting period, for the purpose of calculating profit, income is recognized as received and is included in the corresponding income at the end of the corresponding reporting period.

Suppose an organization calculates monthly advance payments for income tax based on the actual profit received. Reporting periods for such organizations are one month, two months, three months, and so on until the end of the calendar year (clause 2 of article 285 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Consequently, non-operating income in the form of interest under a loan agreement is recognized for profit tax purposes on a monthly basis and there are no differences in the recognition of income in the form of interest under a loan agreement in accounting and tax accounting in this case.

* The algorithm for calculating the amount of interest (simple, without capitalization) due for a loan issued can be used as follows (set out in the Regulation of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated August 4, 2003 No. 236-P “On the procedure for the Bank of Russia to provide loans secured by collateral to credit organizations (blocking) securities"):

C% (or SCB%) =In x N

, Where:

C% - the amount of interest for the period from the date of loan repayment (or the last payment of part of the loan) to the date of repayment (or payment of the next part) of the loan;

SCB% - the amount of interest based on 3/4 of the rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for the period from the date of loan repayment (or the last payment of part of the loan) to the date of repayment (or payment of the next part) of the loan (for calculating material benefits):

In - the amount of interest for 1 day in the calculation period (from one payment to another);

In (Central Bank) - the amount of interest for 1 day, based on 3/4 of the rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (for calculating material benefits):

N is the number of calendar days in the time period from the day following the day the loan was granted until the day the loan (part of the loan) is repaid, inclusive

In this case, In( or In (CB) = Ok x ik : Nk, where:

Ok — the balance of the loan debt at the beginning of the k-th day of using the loan;

Nk is the number of calendar days in the calendar year on which the k-th day of the time period falls from the day following the day the loan was issued until the expected day of loan repayment, inclusive (365/366);

ik is the interest rate on the loan at the beginning of the k-th day of the time period from the day following the day the loan was granted until the expected day of repayment of the loan (part of the loan), inclusive (in percent per annum);

ik(CB) - Interest rate on the loan, based on 3/4 of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

Example. The loan was issued to an employee of the organization on February 1, 2005 in the amount of 50,000 rubles. for 10 months (312 days) at 7% per annum. The principal is repaid in equal monthly installments along with interest.

We present the calculation of interest and material benefits when repaying a loan in installments (Table 1).

Table 1

* To record settlements with employees of the organization for loans provided to them, the Chart of Accounts provides account 73 “Settlements with personnel for other operations”, subaccount 73-1 “Settlements for loans provided”.

The amount of a loan provided to an employee of an organization in cash is reflected in the debit of account 73, subaccount 73-1, in correspondence with account 50 “Cash”.

Analytical accounting for account 73 “Settlements with personnel for other operations” is maintained for each employee of the organization.

In accordance with clause 7 of PBU 9/99 “Income of the organization” (approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 6, 1999 No. 32n), interest received for providing the organization’s funds for use is operating income. These incomes, in accordance with clause 16 of PBU 9/99, are recognized in accounting if the conditions specified in clause 12 of PBU 9/99 are met. In this case, for accounting purposes, interest is accrued for each expired reporting period in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

The amount of interest accrued under the loan agreement is reflected in accordance with the Chart of Accounts under the credit of account 91 “Other income and expenses”, subaccount 91-1 “Other income”, in correspondence with account 73, subaccount 73-1.

Table 2 shows the entries for recording the issuance and repayment of a loan by an employee (with the withholding of personal income tax on material benefits from wages) for the conditions of our example.

table 2

The obligation to pay personal income tax (NDFL) is assigned to people who have income in the Russian Federation.

The procedure for calculating and paying this tax is regulated by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Chapter 23. The rules for maintaining accounting records are established by law dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ, and the Chart of Accounts is approved by order of the Ministry of Finance dated October 31, 2000 No. 94n.

An accountant needs to know how personal income tax is calculated, as well as the entries by which it is reflected in the financial statements.

An enterprise that makes payments of any income to an individual (resident or non-resident) is, according to tax law, a tax agent. Calculation, withholding and payment of personal income tax to the budget involve making certain entries in the company’s accounting.

How to calculate the material benefit of an interest-free loan

The material benefit is calculated at the end of the borrowing period. For ruble loans, the interest rate must be less than or equal to 6.16% per annum, for foreign currency loans - less than or equal to 9% per annum.

It is necessary to follow the procedure for calculating material benefits for an interest-free loan:

Read about concluding a loan refinancing agreement in the article: loan refinancing in 2021. Read where to get loans for non-working pensioners here.

With preferential interest

Preferential interest on a loan is a percentage significantly lower than 2/3 of the key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on the day of repayment of the debt. A gratuitous loan also carries a preferential interest rate.

For clarity, it is necessary to give an example. Enterprise N. issues to its employee, citizen F, an interest-free loan in the amount of 200,000 rubles, with a total repayment period of 1 year. But, when concluding the agreement, the parties agreed that Zh. would pay the debt in installments - 50,000 rubles at the end of each quarter.

The payment repayment schedule is as follows:

Thus, he receives material benefits 4 times - at the end of each quarter. The benefit amount is as follows: 50,000 * 6.16% * 90/366 = 757 rubles. It is from this figure that you will need to pay tax.

Since the amount to be returned at the end of each quarter is the same, the figure for the resulting material benefit will not be much different. However, you do not need to pay tax at the end of each quarter. This will need to be done before 15.07 next year.

Between individuals

Citizens often lend each other certain amounts. But rarely does anyone think that there is a material benefit from the fact that the loan was taken out from a friend and not from a bank.

There are several important features to consider. This:

Legal entities

The law does not provide for the emergence of material benefits for legal entities if they enter into an interest-free loan agreement with each other. Therefore, it is beneficial for enterprises to receive such a loan.

They gain not material, but economic benefit. But it is not included in the list of income that should be taken into account when calculating corporate income tax. In addition, the resulting economic benefit also does not fall into the tax base for calculating VAT.

Personal income tax

The obligation to pay income tax arises only for citizens. Material benefit arises if the borrower saves on interest on funds borrowed from a legal entity. You must pay income tax on this benefit.

According to Art. 224 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the “standard” interest rate for personal income tax is 13% of the amount of income received. But with material benefits the situation is somewhat different.

In Art. 224 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation states that the income tax rate, when calculating it from the material benefit received, is as follows:

Tax withholding occurs immediately upon receipt of the benefit. That is, if the parties have agreed that the borrower repays the entire amount of the debt at once, at the end of the borrowing period, then this date will be considered the date of receipt of the benefit.

If the parties agreed among themselves that the client will pay the debt in parts, then the date of payment of each part will be considered the date of receipt of the benefit, and, therefore, the date of tax withholding.

If a preferential loan was issued by a certain organization to its employee, then the lender, that is, the organization, will be the tax agent of the applicant and will have to fulfill the obligation to withhold, calculate and pay income tax for him.

In all other cases, the borrower himself fulfills this obligation. He must submit a declaration to the Federal Tax Service indicating the amount of benefit received.

This must be done before April 30 of the following year after receiving it. You also need to pay the tax yourself before July 15 of the following year after receiving the benefit.

But what if the borrowing period is several years, and the client pays off the debt in installments? In this case, the benefit will arise every year, and before 30.04 of each year it is necessary to submit a declaration, and before 15.07 - to pay the tax.

For clarity, it is necessary to give examples:

Important! Only tax is charged on material benefits; insurance and pension contributions from this amount are not calculated or paid.

Types of income on which personal income tax should be charged (posting)

Most often, accountants are faced with the need to calculate taxes and make correct entries in several cases. Such income of individuals (residents and non-residents receiving income from sources in the Russian Federation), from which personal income tax is subject to withholding, includes (clause 1 of Article 208 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• Wages and other income established by the employment contract, as well as remuneration for the performance of other duties, provision of services, performance of work under GPC agreements with individuals.
• Material benefit in the form of interest savings due to receiving an interest-free loan from the employer.
• Dividends and interest paid by an enterprise to individuals.
• Other income listed in the specified article of the Tax Code.

Salary: personal income tax postings

Let's first consider the withholding of personal income tax and its posting using the example of wages. The employer is obliged to independently calculate the amount of income tax payable and transfer it to the budget. The personal income tax rate on wages in the general case is: 13% for a resident employee (clause 1 of Article 224) and 30% of the income of a non-resident employee (taking into account the exceptions of clause 3 of Article 224 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The withholding of personal income tax from wages is reflected by the following posting:

• Dt 70 Kt 68/NDFL – personal income tax is withheld.

For example, Ivan Sergeevich Petrov received a salary for January of 30,000 rubles. This employee is a resident of the Russian Federation and has one child aged 5 years.

Personal income tax is calculated as follows: the difference between the employee’s income and the child deduction is multiplied by the tax rate.

• (30,000 – 1400) x 13% = 3718. Thus, personal income tax on wages is 3718 rubles.

The tax withholding transaction will look like this:

• Dt 70 Kt 68/NDFL – 3718.00 personal income tax was accrued from the salary of Petrov I.S.

No later than the next day after payment, the salary tax is transferred by the agent to the budget:

• Dt 68/NDFL Kt 51 – 3718.00 tax is transferred to the budget.

Personal income tax withheld: posting from material benefits

An enterprise can provide an employee with a low-interest or interest-free loan for a short period. In this case, the employee has a kind of profit - material benefit in the form of savings on interest. To account for the loan, account 73/1 “Settlements on loans provided” is used in correspondence with accounts 50 or 51:

• Dt 73/1 Kt 50(51) – loan issued to employee
• Dt 73/1 Kt 91/1 – interest accrued on the loan if the loan is interest-bearing
• Dt 50 (51, 70) Kt 73/1 - the employee returned the loan amount and interest.

On the day the loan is repaid, personal income tax is withheld from the income paid to the employee by the employer at a rate of 35% (for interest-free loans and those where the interest rate is less than 2/3 of the key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation):

• Dt 70 Kt 68/NDFL – personal income tax is charged on material benefits on the loan
• Dt 68/NDFL Kt 51 – tax transferred to the budget

Personal income tax withheld: posting for payment of tax on dividends

Dividends recognize the profit of the founders of the organization. The personal income tax rate is 13%, and for non-residents - 15%.

In the entries when withholding personal income tax from an individual's dividends, Debit indicates account 70 if the founder is an employee of this company, or account 75 if the founder does not work for the organization. Personal income tax is paid to the budget no later than the next day after the payment of dividends to the founder (Article 226 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

• Dt 84 Kt 70 (75) – dividends accrued to the founder
• Dt 70 (75) Kt 68/NDFL – personal income tax withheld from dividends
• Dt 70 (75) Kt 50(51) – dividends paid to the participant
• Dt 68/NDFL Kt 51 – the tax is transferred to the budget.

Personal income tax on a loan to an employee

When an employee receives an interest-free loan from an employer, or when the interest rate in the contract is set at less than 2/3 of the refinancing rate, the employee receives a material benefit. The benefit arises from savings on interest on the loan. The employer is obliged to withhold personal income tax from this savings and transfer it to the budget.

Important! The tax rate on an employee’s material benefit will depend on his status. If the loan was received by a resident, then personal income tax will need to be withheld at a rate of 35%, and if the borrower is a non-resident - then at a rate of 30%.

The benefit arising to the employee and personal income tax are determined on the last date of each month during the entire term of the loan agreement. If the calculation is made depending on the refinancing rate, then the rate that is set on the calculation date is taken into account. It should also be remembered that the refinancing rate from 2021 is considered equal to the key rate. Moreover, the value of this indicator changes quite often and before starting the calculation it is necessary to clarify its size (