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Tax and accounting, postings

Tax accounting of equipment leased is regulated by Letter No. 03-11-04/2/71 of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated September 7, 2005, as well as by Law 164-FZ and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
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• Tax accounting of fixed assets in leasing
• Taxation VAT
• Taxation of profits
• Tax accounting for the lessee and the lessor
• Initial cost of the leased asset in tax accounting
• Tax differences
• Tax accounting of penalties under a leasing agreement
• Tax refund on leasing
• Specifics of taxation of financial and operational leasing
• Tax accounting with the lessor

Financial leasing is beneficial for enterprises not only because it allows you to purchase means of production quickly and with minimal initial investment. Leasing is used to optimize taxation. This article is about how to take full advantage of these benefits.

Penalties under the leasing agreement - postings

A leasing agreement is a type of rental agreement, according to which the lessor purchases equipment from the seller and provides it for temporary use to the lessee for a specified fee.
Often, for late payments in accordance with the leasing agreement, a penalty is provided in the form of a penalty. According to Art. 330 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a penalty is an amount of money fixed at the legislative or contractual level that must be paid by the debtor to the creditor in the event of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of obligations, including in case of delay in the next payment.

In accordance with current legislation, the lessor is not obliged to confirm the fact of the loss, nor to specify the amount. This is due to the fact that the concept of a penalty means the accrual of a certain percentage of the amount of the overdue payment under the agreement.

It should be borne in mind that the amount of penalties is determined individually in each specific case. But in most situations, the formula for their calculation is the same, regardless of the type of violated obligation of the lessee: the amount of penalties is equal to 1/300 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation of the amount of debt for each overdue day.

• If the amount of the penalty fixed by the agreement is too high, then this amount can be reduced in court.
• If neither the agreement nor the law stipulate sanctions for the defaulter, then penalties are collected for the use of third-party funds as a result of their illegal retention.
• In an enterprise that receives fines for violating the terms of a leasing agreement, they are reflected in accounting as other income.

The fine is charged by posting: Dt 76 Kt 91.1.

In an organization that pays fines for violated contract terms, these costs are reflected in accounting as other expenses.

The fine is charged by posting: Dt 91.2 Kt 76.

Payment of the fine from a bank account is reflected as follows: Dt 76 Kt 51.

In tax accounting, according to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, fines are recognized as non-operating expenses, which reduce taxable profit. This applies to enterprises subject to the general taxation system. For organizations using the simplified tax system, the object of taxation is the result of subtracting expenses from income.

The accounting reflection of entries for tax penalties is carried out depending on the period and types:

• penalties after closing the annual report are taken into account on 91 accounts;
• penalties for compensated types of taxes are recorded in 91 accounts;
• penalties for uncompensated taxes are reflected in account 99.

The financial activity of an enterprise is, first of all, the desire to make a profit. However, anticipating high incomes, every manager must remember his obligations, especially to the state. An attempt to save money through taxes will lead to liability of the legal entity, expressed in the form of sanctions.

Of course, besides tax evasion, there are other reasons that can lead to sanctions from the fiscal authorities:

• violation of the rules for managing income and expenses;
• late submission of reports;
• delay in payment;
• incorrectly calculated tax amount.

Each of the listed offenses is a reason for imposing fines. As for penalties, then, according to Art. 75 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, they can be issued exclusively for late payment of a tax or fee.

If the fine is an amount fixed by law, then the penalty usually causes accountants difficulties in calculating. The tax authority, of course, itself calculates how much the company owes, but many legal entities prefer to check the accuracy, since errors occur.

note

Clause 4 art. 75 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation directly states that the penalty is charged as a percentage of the amount of arrears in the amount of 1/300 of the refinancing rate for each calendar day, starting from the day of delay.

For debts of legal entities, the payment period for which came after September 30, 2017, a different scheme applies:

• late payment up to 30 days - 1/300 of the refinancing rate;
• over 30 days of delay - 1/150 of the refinancing rate.

Note from the author! The refinancing rate is the percentage of loans granted to other banks approved by the Central Bank.

Tax arrears * calendar days of delay * 1/300 (1/150) of the refinancing rate.

Sanctions are assessed the next day after the payment deadline.

For example, Tsvetnoy Mir LLC paid VAT in the amount of 20,365 rubles for July on October 13. According to paragraph 1 of Art. 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, VAT must be paid no later than the 25th day of the month following the reporting month. Therefore, this had to be done before August 25, 2021.

After checking the calendar, the accountant calculated the number of days of delay - 48, starting from August 26. Since this debt was formed before September 30, 2021, the refinancing rate will be calculated in one way and will remain 1/300, regardless of the number of days.

A penalty is an amount of money that must be paid in excess of the amount of overdue taxes (Clause 1, Article 75 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). But it happens that the payment of penalties is also provided for in business contracts (for example, a purchase and sale agreement).

We will tell you in our consultation what kind of entries are formed in accounting when calculating penalties.

In accordance with the Chart of Accounts (Order of the Ministry of Finance dated October 31, 2000 No. 94n), the amounts of tax penalties due are reflected in the debit of account 99 “Profits and losses” in correspondence with the account for accounting settlements with the budget for taxes.

Debit account 99 – Credit account 68 “Calculations for taxes and fees”

Moreover, since analytical accounting for account 68 is carried out by type of tax, the credit of this account indicates the type of tax for which penalties were accrued.

Debit account 99 – Credit account 68, sub-account “VAT”

Debit account 68, sub-account “VAT” - Credit account 51, etc.

Debit of account 99 – Credit of account 68, subaccount “USN”

When calculating penalties on contributions, accounting entries will also consist of a debit to account 99, but for a loan you need to indicate account 69 “Calculations for social insurance and security”

Penalties under contracts

When calculating penalties in accounting, the entries may be different if we are not talking about a violation of tax laws, but about non-fulfillment of the terms of business agreements concluded between counterparties.

After all, sanctions for violation of the terms of the contract (fine, penalty, penalty, etc.) are other income or expenses, depending on whether these amounts are due for accrual or payment (clause 7 of PBU 9/99, clause 11 of PBU 10 /99). Therefore, in the entries for calculating penalties for late payments under the contract, it will not be account 99, but account 91 “Other income and expenses” (Order of the Ministry of Finance dated October 31, 2000 No. 94n).

Debit of account 91 “Other income and expenses”, sub-account “Other expenses” - Credit of account 76 “Settlements with various debtors and creditors”, sub-account “Settlements on claims”

Debit of account 76 – Credit of account 91, subaccount “Other income”

Penalty or, more commonly, interest is money that is collected as a fine from the payer for late payment within the deadlines established by law. They may be charged taxes and insurance premiums.

They are calculated for each day that elapses from the date when the payment was due until the day the debt is repaid. Calculated based on the refinancing rate.

In this article we will look at the nuances of their accounting and the main entries for the calculation and payment of penalties for taxes.

The penalty is a percentage ratio of 1/300 to the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The payer transfers the amount of penalties voluntarily or compulsorily (without the payer’s consent, the money is written off from his current account), simultaneously or after paying off debts on taxes or insurance fees.

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According to PBU 10/99, they are recognized as other expenses in accounting and are reflected in the debit of account 99 “Profits and losses” and the credit of accounts 68 and 69. These expenses cannot be recognized in tax accounting.

In other words, these penalties do not reduce the firm's taxable income.

The opinion that the amounts of the listed penalties should be reflected in the debit of account 91 “Other expenses” and credit 68 and 69 has become widespread in accounting practice. If you take into account penalties specifically for this account, a permanent tax liability (PNO) arises, which complicates accounting.

The main argument for reflecting penalties on 91 accounts is the definition of sanctions in the Tax Code, which includes the concept of “fine”. And on account 99 you can reflect tax sanctions. In income tax reporting, such amounts are combined into one category.

Another “pro” in favor of accounting for penalties on account 99 is the reliability of reporting. If the amount falls on 91, the taxable profit base is underestimated, since other expenses are taken into account in expenses.

At the same time, the amounts of sanctions on account 99 do not form expenses. This does not contradict the main objective of accounting - the presentation of unconditional and genuine information about the financial performance of the organization.

As mentioned above, penalties should not reduce income taxes. Therefore, it is better to use posting D99 “Tax sanctions” K 68.4 “Income tax”. If the organization decides to account for them on account 91, the posting will look like: D91 “Other expenses” K 68.4.

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Current as of: December 18, 2021

Leasing is a popular form of financing capital investments. After all, without incurring significant one-time costs compared to the value of the property, the lessee, having concluded a leasing agreement with the lessor and paying lease payments, will receive the necessary property for temporary possession and use (Article 2 of Federal Law No. 164-FZ of October 29, 1998).

We will show you with examples in our consultation how to keep accounting records for the lessee if the object is accounted for on the balance sheet of one or the other party to the agreement.

Tax accounting of fixed assets in leasing

The first obvious tax advantage of leasing for the tenant is that he does not pay property taxes. In most cases, the item remains on the balance sheet of the lessor.

The relations of the parties to a financial lease agreement are regulated by Federal Law 164-FZ and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. According to these legal documents, rental objects can be non-consumable items that do not lose their natural properties during operation, with the exception of natural resources.

Fixed assets in leasing remain the property of the lessor at least until the end of the contract. Upon completion, the item can be purchased (or not) by the lessee at a residual value of no more than a quarter of the initial price.

Tax accounting of equipment leased is regulated by Letter No. 03-11-04/2/71 of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated September 7, 2005, as well as the above-mentioned legislative acts. Fiscal obligations are assigned to one of the parties between whom the leasing agreement is concluded. In tax accounting, equipment transferred under financial lease is placed on the balance sheet as a fixed asset. In addition, the associated costs of delivery, installation and other costs accompanying the process of transferring the item are taken into account. They are borne by the lessor (LD) or he compensates them to the lessee (LP), including them in the total amount of the initial cost of the equipment.

Taxation VAT

The procedure for calculating VAT is the same for ordinary and financial leases. Based on Articles 171 and 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, several conditions are put forward for granting the right to deduct:

• The property is transferred to the lessee (tenant), who is a VAT payer.
• The leasing service was actually provided during the tax period.
• The service is reflected by the lessee in its accounting.

The lessor provided an invoice for the amount of the lease payment (rent) in accordance with Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Taxation of profits

The balance holder is determined by agreement of the parties to the agreement - it can be the lessor (owner) or the lessee. The procedure for taxing profits depends on who takes the item into account.

If the balance holder is LD, then the full amount of the accrued payment is taken into account by him as part of expenses. LP makes similar accruals, but the leasing payment is divided into the number of periods for repaying obligations (monthly) according to the selected payment scheme (annuity, progressive, regressive).

The lessee includes the amount of the monthly payment among other production and sales expenses.

Tax accounting of leased property on the balance sheet of a private enterprise is somewhat more complicated. The lessee determines the appropriate depreciation group. The book value corresponds to the LD's costs of acquiring the item and bringing it to a state of operational suitability. The lessor depreciates the property using the method he chooses, including these amounts as expenses. In this case, it is allowed to use an accelerating factor of no more than 3, with the exception of items belonging to the first three groups (it is advisable to include this condition in the text of the contract).

LP also includes in its expenses the lease payment for a given tax period minus accrued depreciation.

Payers of the unified agricultural tax (UAT) and business entities using the simplified tax system also have the right to include leasing and VAT payments in their expenses after paying these amounts.

How to calculate taxes when leasing

The first thing you need to pay attention to when resolving issues with paying taxes when leasing is on whose balance sheet the leased property is taken into account. The Law on Leasing (Federal Law No. 164-FZ of October 29, 1998 “On Financial Lease (Leasing)”) allows the parties to decide for themselves who will take into account the subject of leasing - the lessor or the lessee (Clause 1, Article 31 of the Law). Obviously, the procedure for calculating depreciation, the procedure for paying property taxes, and much more depend on this issue. Therefore, we will consider the tax consequences through the prism of the terms of the balance sheet holder agreement.

The property remains on the balance sheet of the lessor

The main obligation of the lessee under the agreement is the transfer of lease payments. At its core, this fee is a payment for the use of property, in other words, rent. Accordingly, these payments are taken into account in the same manner as regular rent - on the last day of the reporting period (clause 10, clause 1, article 264, clause 3, clause 7, article 272 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). However, this is only possible if the contract does not stipulate that the monthly lease payment includes part of the redemption value of the property. Then only the portion of the contribution attributable to the rent can be included as expenses. And the part that constitutes the fee for obtaining ownership of the property will need to be taken into account through depreciation after receiving the property.

It should be noted here that the debate about whether it is necessary to separate the purchase price from the lease payment in the contract and what to do if this is not done has been going on for quite a long time. But in 2005, the Ministry of Finance nevertheless admitted that it was necessary to proceed from the terms of the agreement and there was no need to divide the indivisible. Later, the Federal Tax Service recognized this (see letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 09.11.05 No. 03-03-04/1/348, letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 01.09.06 No. MM-6-03 / [email protected] ). Thus, if the agreement does not say a word about the redemption value, but it provides for the transfer of ownership of the leased property to the lessee, then the latter can still take into account the entire lease payment as expenses.

VAT on the lease payment is also deductible in a similar manner. If the payment amount is not divided into components, then the entire VAT can be deducted at the end of the tax period (Article 163 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The basis for the deduction is an invoice and an act of acceptance and transfer of property (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 04.04.07 No. 03-07-15/47). If the payment is divided, then only the part that relates to the rental payment is deducted. And VAT attributable to the redemption value can be deducted after the value of the property is formed on account 08. After all, it is then that the condition for reflecting the acquired fixed asset in accounting will be met (clause 1 of Article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The property is transferred to the balance of the lessee

Now let's see what happens if the property is taken into account by the lessee. In this case, the Tax Code gives him the right to begin depreciating such property (Clause 10, Article 258 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, depreciation charges can be calculated with an increasing factor of 3 (clause 1, clause 2, article 259.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), and the initial cost will be equal to the amount of expenses for the acquisition of property made by the lessor (clause 1, article 257 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This means that in the leasing agreement, if it provides for the transfer of property to the balance of the lessee, it is necessary to indicate the value of the property and the obligation of the lessor to transfer documents (certified copies) about the amount of expenses for its acquisition, delivery, bringing it to a state in which it can be used for its intended purpose .

Depreciation charges accrued by the lessee will reduce his taxable profit in the general manner - monthly, based on the accrued amounts, in the same way as for his own fixed assets. But in the future, when taking into account the leasing payment, it will need to be reduced by the amount of monthly depreciation (clause 10, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). And if the redemption price is allocated as part of the lease payment, then the payment taken into account in expenses is also reduced by it.

The transfer of leased property to the balance sheet of the lessee imposes on him another tax obligation - to pay property tax (clause 1 of Article 374 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). As for VAT, it is deducted in the same manner as when accounting for the leased asset on the lessor’s balance sheet.

Related costs

It is no secret that the use of property is associated with associated costs - for repairs, maintenance, insurance, and the like. The lessee can take into account all these costs in his expenses without any specific indication in the contract. The only exception is insurance costs. Here you will need a direct entry in the contract stating that insurance costs are borne by the lessee. The fact is that the lessee bears current expenses, as well as expenses for all types of repairs “by default” (Clause 3 of Article 17 of the Law). This means that a separate indication of this in the contract is not required. Let us recall that repair costs are included in other expenses in the reporting (tax) period in which they were incurred. At the same time, the tax base is reduced by the actual costs incurred (clauses 1 and 2 of Article 260 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

But with regard to insurance, Article 21 of the Law does not stipulate the rule about who “by default” pays for insurance, so a clause in the contract is required. If available, the lessee will take into account insurance costs when taxing profits. Moreover, if the leased asset is taken into account on the balance sheet of the lessee, then these expenses are written off on the basis of subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 263 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. And if the property remains on the lessor’s balance sheet, then the basis for accounting for insurance costs will be subparagraph 7 of paragraph 1 of Article 263 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In both cases, insurance costs are recognized in the reporting (tax) period in which funds were transferred or issued from the cash desk to pay insurance premiums (clause 6 of Article 272 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). But if the contract is concluded for a period of more than three months, the amount of the insurance premium must be distributed in proportion to the number of calendar days of the contract in each reporting period and taken into account evenly (clause 6 of Article 272 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Depreciation of property after the end of the lease term

After the end of the leasing period, the property may become the property of the lessee. And this is where many accountants have difficulties. Especially if the leased item was on the balance sheet of the lessee, and depreciation was accrued on it. Is it necessary to calculate depreciation again, this time as for your own fixed asset? Let's figure it out.

So, if the agreement contains a condition on the transfer of ownership of the leased asset to the lessee, then after such a transfer the leased asset ceases to be such and becomes ordinary property. Accordingly, if this property meets the other conditions necessary to recognize it as a depreciable fixed asset (used as means of labor for production or management; useful life more than 12 months; cost more than 20 thousand rubles), depreciation can and should be calculated on it .

The second problem that arises in such cases is how to determine the initial cost of the former leased asset. It all depends on the terms of the contract. If it provides for a redemption value (it does not matter how it is paid - with each payment or one-time), then it will be the initial cost of such OS. Accordingly, depreciation will be charged on it, and it will become the basis for calculating property tax.

And if the contract says nothing about this, then the situation becomes even simpler. Indeed, by the time the asset is received, the costs for it have already been fully taken into account in expenses (through leasing payments and, if the object was taken into account on the balance sheet of the lessee, depreciation charges). This means that the initial cost is zero. In this case, the tax base for property tax will also be zero.

Tax accounting for the lessee and the lessor

Typical entries in the lessee's NU are summarized in two tables. If the leased item is on the balance sheet of the lessee, then they will look like this:

The table shows that the taxation of leasing costs provides for their inclusion in the costs of paying arrears of lease payments.

If the balance holder is the lessor:

Initial cost of the leased asset in tax accounting

In the ideal case of a finance lease, the initial cost is equal to the estimated amount of all lease payments. In real life, situations may arise that complicate the tax accounting process.

Article 257 (clause 1) of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation directly states that the initial cost includes all the lessor’s expenses incurred in the process of bringing the facility to operational readiness. Cost items may include, in addition to the purchase price from the seller, delivery, installation, setup, etc.

In the process of use, an item is sometimes completed, reconstructed, modernized, technically re-equipped, or partially liquidated. All these processes entail additional costs and affect the amount of leasing payments. Its original cost remains unchanged.

If the financial lease agreement is valid for more than a year (tax period), taxation is distributed in equal shares by month. This recommendation is contained in the Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No. 03-03-06/1/645 dated November 21, 2008.

If the contract provides for the redemption of an item after its expiration, then the redemption value can be distributed between leasing payments. This significantly reduces the income tax burden, increasing the company's depreciation expenses.

Under the terms of the financial lease agreement, LD may increase the amount of lease payments. He has the right to do this if he carries out completion, additional equipment, reconstruction, modernization, etc.

If an item is taken into account on its balance sheet, it also charges depreciation on it.

If an already operating facility is transferred to a financial lease, the basis for determining its initial value is the residual value (less depreciation already incurred) plus all additional costs to make it operational.

VAT from the lessee

Leasing payments include VAT, which, based on Art. Art. 171, 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the enterprise can offset it from the budget. The monthly payment under the contract includes not only the redemption amount of the equipment, but also the services of the lessor. In this case, the amount of VAT to be offset will be higher than when applying for a loan from a bank. If supporting documents are correctly prepared, VAT on leasing is refundable in full.

However, in practice there are cases when the tax office tries to separate the VAT from the lease payment in the context of rent and payment of fixed assets. But the Ministry of Finance, in letters dated November 15, 2004 No. 03 - 04 - 11/ 203, dated November 23, 2004 No. 03 - 03 - 01 - 04/ 1/ 128, clarified the impossibility of such a division and confirmed the organization’s right to use the deduction in full . Since 2004, Russian arbitration courts have adhered to the same conclusion.

When the property under a leasing agreement is on the balance sheet of the lessee, VAT is deducted monthly. Based on the invoice, the deduction amount is entered into the purchase ledger.

Tax deduction for leasing

A tax deduction is an amount by which payments to the budget can be reduced. The deduction is mainly applied in relation to VAT. The amount of payment of value added tax is reduced by the amount of goods and materials received or services provided.

The leasing system is structured in such a way that the budget must always return VAT to the leasing companies. When paying suppliers for expensive property, they repay VAT on its full cost. After leasing the equipment, the company receives payments significantly less than its value. Thus, the VAT deduction on leasing from the lessor is always greater than the payment.

Reimbursement of VAT when leasing from a lessee in the case where the property is transferred to the recipient’s balance sheet is also fraught with problems. The condition for VAT reimbursement is the fact that inventory items are credited to the organization’s balance sheet or services are provided to it. In this case, companies constantly have VAT to reimburse under the leasing agreement until its expiration.

Problems of VAT refund from the budget arise in cases where the taxpayer cannot provide a complete package of documents or some of them do not comply with the requirements of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Leased property must be fully involved in activities subject to VAT. Then the tax on rental payments is refunded in full. Sometimes an organization conducts its activities in several directions, including those that are not subject to VAT. In this case, the tax on leasing payments is subject to proportional distribution to all types of production. VAT on preferential activities is not deductible.

How to return VAT on leasing

When filling out a VAT return, VAT on leasing payments is subtracted from the amount of tax accrued on sales and advances. In the case when the amount of VAT deduction exceeds its amount payable, according to Art. 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, this amount can be submitted for reimbursement, that is, returned from the budget.

VAT refund on leasing is possible only if the following conditions are met:

• the invoice issued by the lessor complies with the requirements of Art. 169 Tax Code of the Russian Federation;
• there is confirmation of payment;
• the property is accounted for by the lessee;
• the fixed asset is used by the organization in activities subject to VAT.

To return the amount from the budget you must:

• Write an application to the Federal Tax Service for a refund in any form indicating the amount.
• Provide a leasing agreement, a certificate of acceptance and transfer of fixed assets, documents confirming payment of monthly payments.
• Record the refund amounts in the purchase ledger.
• Submit invoices, work completion certificates, completed in accordance with the law.

An enterprise may be denied a VAT refund if it is in the process of bankruptcy, if the payment under the agreement was made with bills of exchange, assignment agreements or with loans.

VAT on assignment

The assignment of a lease is an assignment. The need for this action arises in most cases due to the insolvency of the lessee. According to paragraph 1 of Art. 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the transfer of rights to property is subject to VAT.

In case of an assignment agreement, the tax base is established on the basis of Art. 154 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The value is defined as the difference between the amount of the original contract and all payments under it, including advance payments.

According to Art. 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a new party to the agreement can claim VAT for deduction on the amount of remaining payments under the leasing agreement if there is an invoice.

VAT on early repayment of leasing

When purchasing leased property early, accounting features arise for both the lessee and the lessor and they depend on whose balance sheet the object was recorded on.

If the parties have agreed that the lessor accounts for fixed assets on its balance sheet, then early repayment requires postings in the following sequence:

• The lessor writes off the initial cost of the asset, depreciation charges, and residual value; carries out other sales for the amount of early repayment; allocates VAT for payment to the budget.
• The lessee reflects the transfer of ownership; calculates the amount of early payments based on the invoice, indicating the FPR (deferred expenses) on the account, and allocates VAT from it. In this case, the VAT amount is set for reimbursement, and the amounts according to the terms of the contract are debited from the RBP account to the cost accounts.

If the parties have agreed that the lessee takes fixed assets into account on its balance sheet, then early repayment is recorded as follows:

• The lessor transfers the asset to the lessee, charges early payments, issues an invoice, and charges VAT to the budget.
• The lessee performs the actions described in two paragraphs above.

In both described cases, the transaction is not an advance payment and VAT is offset from the budget or paid on the basis of an invoice.

Tax differences

The difference in accounting and tax accounting for leasing lies in the different approach to the concept of expenses. In accounting, these are understood as regular payments under a finance lease, and NU is the amount of accrued depreciation. With a nonlinear (progressive or regressive) system of calculations between LD and LP, these values ​​may not coincide - in practice this most often happens. Ultimately, at the end of the contract, they are equalized, but temporary differences between tax and accounting arise. They entail uneven fiscal obligations. The amounts of taxes according to accounting and NU do not match.

In particular, this situation arises already in the initial period of operation of leasing equipment, when the rental payment has already been made, and the accountant begins to calculate depreciation only from the next month after the facility is put into operation.

Experts recommend reducing the amount of temporary difference by subtracting depreciation from the lease payment when calculating income tax if the property is on the balance sheet of the company. In this case, the accountant may refer to subparagraph 10 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Tax accounting of penalties under a leasing agreement

If one of the parties violates the terms of the leasing agreement, the counterparty has the right to impose financial sanctions. They can be spelled out in a special way in the text of the agreement, but in practice and by default they are accepted as one three hundredth of the discount rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, accrued on the amount of debt for each overdue day. If the penalty, fine or penalty required by the creditor is beyond reasonable limits, the sanctions can be challenged in court.

In the tax accounting of the recipient of the penalty, it is taken into account in “other income.” Accordingly, like any other additional profit, it is taxed, regardless of what system the enterprise has adopted (STS, OSN).

Postings for penalties are reflected in the correspondence of accounts:

• Dt76 – Kt91.1 – accrual of a fine (forfeit, penalty);
• Dt51 – Kt76 – crediting funds to a bank account.

The payer of the penalty classifies it as other expenses:

• Dt91.2 – Kt76 – charging a fine;
• Dt76 – Kt51 – transfer of the amount of penalties from a bank account.

In this case, the profit tax base is reduced by the amount of the sanction, since in fact it represents losses.

Property on the balance sheet of the lessee

A reduction in income tax occurs due to leasing payments even if the property is on the balance sheet of the lessee. But some restrictions apply.

According to accounting requirements, property accepted on the balance sheet, including those received under a leasing agreement, should be depreciated. Depreciation amounts are accrued from the next month. The useful life is determined in accordance with the general procedure. Factors such as expected use and physical wear and tear are taken into account. If the terms of the contract do not provide for the repurchase of the fixed asset, the depreciation period may be set only for the period of the lease. That is, the useful life will be equal to the rental period.

How is the lessee's income tax calculated? Payments should be taken into account minus the amounts of accrued depreciation (clause 10, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Otherwise, illegal tax savings will occur, since depreciation deductions are already taken into account when determining the taxable base.

If the company uses the cash method in accounting, then the entire amount of lease payments is taken into account as expenses. And it doesn’t matter who has the property on their balance sheet. Any amount of the lease payment transferred is recognized as expenses. This factor is explained by the fact that in an organization, using the cash method, depreciation can only be charged on property owned. If this condition is not provided for in the leasing agreement, payments are considered as expenses in full.

The lessee's income tax can be reduced through the use of accelerated depreciation. But for this it is necessary that the useful life of the object exceeds 5 years. That is, the property received must belong to the 4th and higher depreciation groups. The permissible accelerated coefficient should not be higher than 3.

In some situations, leased property requires modernization and inseparable improvements. For the purpose of determining income tax, such costs incurred by the lessee depend on the terms of the agreement:

1. If the costs incurred by the lessor are not compensated, then the lessee has the right to increase the cost of depreciation property. Accordingly, the costs will be higher.
2. If the costs are compensated, then they cannot be taken into account in tax accounting.

Separable improvements applied to the received object are the property of the lessee and can be carried out by him without the consent of the other party.

Tax refund on leasing

Tax savings for the lessee arise automatically if he is not the balance holder. In addition, all of his costs for acquiring the property in the form of rent payments are considered direct expenses and reduce the profit tax base. But that is not all. You can reduce leasing taxes by receiving a VAT refund.

Article 258 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation indicates the right to carry out depreciation of the balance holder of an item, including accelerated depreciation. In this case, the cost of the fixed asset is determined as the total lease payment excluding VAT. Thus, the right to a budgetary reimbursement (deduction) of this tax is indicated. This is possible if several conditions are met:

• Operation of the facility by a VAT payer.
• Availability of correctly completed receipt documentation for financial lease.
• Registration of the leased object for accounting.
• Confirmation of payment for property by the lessee, including transfer and acceptance certificates, agreement, etc.

Theoretically, problems with compensation should not arise, but in real life they sometimes occur. The most common reasons for refusal are:

• non-cash payment (mainly in cases with cars);
• ambiguous confirmation of payment or the very fact of leasing relations;
• bankruptcy of the lessee organization;
• the company's attraction of large financial borrowings.
• lack of monthly acts confirming the provision of financial lease services (for real estate).

Of course, complete tax evasion through leasing is impossible, but a significant reduction in the fiscal burden is possible.

Tax accounting for VAT during leasing: nuances

VAT is paid in relation to the “actual sale” of goods or services (clause 1 of Article 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The lessor recognizes its income, subject to VAT, in accordance with the frequency of receipt of payments under the contract with the lessee (clause 15 of PBU 9/99). It does not matter whether funds were actually received from the counterparty (clause 12 of PBU 9/99).

Thus, the lessor will not be able to issue a general invoice for the entire cost of the leasing contract immediately after the object is put into operation by the lessee - neither in the case of registering the object with the counterparty, nor in the case of leaving the object on its balance sheet. As a consequence, VAT allocated to the cost of the entire leasing contract cannot be immediately deducted by the lessee.

In turn, an invoice can already be issued for each leasing payment subject to VAT. Tax amounts here are accepted for deduction on the general basis reflected in subparagraph. 1 item 2 art. 171 and paragraph 1 of Art. 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The fact that if the lessee registers the object, the amount of VAT under the leasing contract is immediately reflected in the debit of account 19 in correspondence with account 76 (“Leasing obligations”) does not matter. What plays a role here is not who has the object on their balance sheet (and who owns it by right of ownership), but whether an invoice has been issued for the amount of the transaction (payment).

It is useful to pay attention to a number of nuances when accepting VAT for deduction by the lessee.

Specifics of taxation of financial and operational leasing

Tax accounting of financial leasing is regulated by Article 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. It differs from the operational form in that during the term of the contract the accrued amount of depreciation must be at least three-quarters of the cost of the item.

The tax treatment of ordinary finance leases is described above. In the operational form of leasing, the accrual of fiscal obligations is somewhat different. Profit is calculated monthly, based on the payment amount, rental period, price of the item, depreciation and its initial cost. VAT is also charged on each rental payment according to the current rate.

The amount of depreciation during operational leasing is always less than the lease payment - otherwise LD will incur losses.