The procedure for returning overpayments for personal income tax and insurance contributions to the Pension Fund and the Social Insurance Fund

Who should return the fee?

Contributions are divided into different types. The type of payment determines who should return it:

There is also such a contribution as a contribution in case of injuries and accidents. The FSS was responsible for it until 2021 and is now responsible.

IMPORTANT! There is no refund of overpaid pension contributions.

Letter dated 07/05/2017 No. BS-4-11/ [email protected]

The Federal Tax Service, in connection with incoming requests from territorial tax authorities and payers of insurance premiums regarding the issue of filling out calculations for insurance premiums, reports the following.

1. On the issue of reflecting in the calculation the amounts of expenses reimbursed by the territorial bodies of the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the FSS of Russia):

In connection with the adoption of Federal Law No. 243 of July 3, 2016 - Federal Law “On amendments to parts one and two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in connection with the transfer to tax authorities of powers to administer insurance contributions for compulsory pension, social and medical insurance” (hereinafter - Federal Law No. 243-FZ) powers to administer insurance premiums from 01/01/2017 are assigned to the tax authorities.

Federal Law No. 243-FZ introduced the concept of payment of insurance premiums into Article 80 of Part 1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Code), defined as a written statement or application of the payer of insurance premiums, compiled in electronic form and transmitted via telecommunication channels using enhanced a qualified electronic signature or through the taxpayer’s personal account, about the object of taxation of insurance premiums, about the base for calculating insurance premiums, about the calculated amount of insurance premiums and about other data serving as the basis for the calculation and payment of insurance premiums.

In this regard, by order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated October 10, 2016 No. ММВ-7-11/ [email protected], a form for calculating insurance premiums (hereinafter referred to as the calculation) was approved, which came into force on January 1, 2017.

Thus, the calculation includes information that serves as the basis for the calculation and payment of insurance premiums for reporting periods, starting from the 1st quarter of 2021, in particular, information on the amount of expenses of the payer for the payment of insurance coverage for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with with maternity, reimbursed by the territorial bodies of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia for reporting periods starting from the 1st quarter of 2021.

Amounts of expenses reimbursed by territorial bodies of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia for reporting periods up to 2021 are not reflected in the calculation.

In addition, according to clause 11.14. the procedure for filling out the calculation on line 080 of Appendix No. 2 “Calculation of the amounts of insurance contributions for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity” to section 1 of the calculation, the corresponding columns reflect the amounts of the payer’s expenses reimbursed by the territorial bodies of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia for the payment of insurance coverage for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity from the beginning of the billing period, for the last three months of the billing (reporting) period, as well as for the first, second and third month of the last three months of the billing (reporting) period, respectively.

In this regard, if reimbursement of the payer’s expenses is carried out in one reporting period for expenses incurred in another reporting period, these amounts must be reflected in the calculation for the reporting period in relation to the month in which the territorial bodies of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia made the specified reimbursement.

2. On the issue of filling out the calculation by payers registered in the territory of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, where the pilot project of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia is being implemented, which provides for the specifics of financial support, assignment and payment of insurance coverage:

According to clause 2.7. procedure for filling out the calculation of Appendix No. 3 “Expenses for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity and expenses carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation” and No. 4 “Payments made from funds financed from the federal budget” to section 1 calculations are included in the calculation submitted to the tax authorities when payers make expenses for the payment of insurance coverage for compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity.

At the same time, in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, where, in accordance with Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 21, 2011 No. 294, a pilot project of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia is being implemented, providing for the specifics of financial support, assignment and payment of insurance coverage (hereinafter referred to as a participant in the pilot project), payment of benefits for mandatory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity is carried out directly by the territorial bodies of the FSS of Russia.

Considering that payers of insurance premiums registered on the territory of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation - a participant in the pilot project, do not pay expenses for the payment of insurance coverage in case of temporary disability and in connection with maternity, respectively, appendices No. 3 and No. 4 to section 1 of the calculation do not are filled out and are not included in the calculation submitted by them to the tax authorities.

An exception is made for payers of insurance premiums who, during the billing (reporting) period, changed their address of location (place of residence) from the territory of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation not participating in the pilot project to the territory of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation - a participant in the pilot project, as well as payers of insurance premiums located on the territory of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation that are entering into the implementation of the above pilot project not from the beginning of the billing period.

In this case, filling out appendices No. 3 and No. 4 of section 1 of the calculation is carried out in accordance with sections XII-XIII of the Procedure.

Bring this letter to the lower tax authorities.

Acting State Advisor of the Russian Federation, 2nd class S.L. Bondarchuk

Payment refund nuances

Overpayment of contributions is refunded only if a number of conditions are met:

• There are no arrears or debts on contributions. If there are arrears, then the overpayment first goes to repay them. And the remaining funds are transferred to the company's account.
• The overpayment can also be applied towards future payments.
• Funds contributed to the funds before 2021 do not count towards future payments. The reason is the transfer of control functions to the Federal Tax Service.

If you need to receive money from the fund, you must send a corresponding application to the territorial department.

Refund of overpayments incurred before the 17th year

Until 2017, the function of accepting insurance payments belonged to extra-budgetary funds. That is, to get a refund of the overpayment, you need to go to these funds. The request can be made in these forms:

• In person or with the help of a representative. You need to come to the territorial department of the desired fund (FSS or Pension Fund) and submit an application. If it is transferred by a representative, then the paper must be notarized. The advantage of this option is getting results in the shortest possible time. The downside is that you have to go to the fund.
• Via mail. You need to send a registered letter with a list of attachments and notification of receipt. Pros: You don’t need to come to the fund in person. The downside is that it takes time to deliver the letter.

The Fund must consider the application within 10 days. His representatives, if a decision is made to return, send the approved document to the Federal Tax Service. And the Federal Tax Service returns the overpayment.

Refund of overpayments incurred since 2021

Algorithm for returning funds sent to the Federal Tax Service:

1. Reconciliation of calculations. Needed to determine the size of arrears, if any. Their exact volume must be specified in the application.
2. Directing the overpayment to pay the arrears. The overpaid amounts are offset. It is carried out by the Federal Tax Service.
3. Submitting a return request. An application is drawn up according to f. KND 1150058.
4. Sending the application to the Federal Tax Service department. You need to go to the authority at the place of registration or registration of the legal entity/individual entrepreneur. The application can be sent by mail.

Tax payments are refunded using the same scheme.

The overpayment is returned to the organization's account. Therefore, this account number must be written down in the application. If the funds are returned to the individual entrepreneur, they are sent to the account used for commercial work.

General procedure for refund of insurance premiums

So, from January 1, 2021, all insurance premiums must be paid to the Federal Tax Service, except for payments related to injuries and accidents. In this regard, a separate chapter appeared in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, as well as references to contributions in the general provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Part 1). In this regard, deductions and refunds for them are regulated by Art. 78 and 79 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. That is, from 2021, the same rules apply to them as for taxes and fees.

Despite the fact that the rules apply to all payments, insurance ones have their own specifics, because:

• contributions paid from 2021, as before, are paid separately to the Social Insurance Fund and the Pension Fund;
• contributions paid to the Pension Fund are accounted for each person separately;
• During the transition period (2017–2019), the question arises about the return of insurance premiums that were transferred according to the old procedure, which works until 2021.

It is worth noting that insurance payments for accidents are still made by the Social Insurance Fund and are subject to the rules specified in the Law “On Compulsory Social Insurance against Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases” dated July 24, 1998 No. 125-FZ. The refund of funds for this type of insurance payments is stated in Art. 26.12 and 26.13 of this document.

So, as noted earlier, payment and return of insurance payments are made in the same way as taxes and fees, but clarifications on this issue have been introduced into the Tax Code of the Russian Federation:

• according to clause 1.1 of Art. 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the overpayment can be returned by offsetting it against the same contributions in advance;
• according to clause 6.1 of Art. 78, clause 1.1 art. 79 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, it is impossible to return the amount that was included in the reporting submitted to the Pension Fund, since this amount has already been taken into account and assigned to a specific person;
• according to clause 1.1 of Art. 79 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, if there are arrears in insurance premiums, the overpayment will be returned minus fines and penalties accrued for the same type of insurance payment.

The service that received the overpayment is obliged to inform the policyholder about the discovered fact within ten days from the moment it was discovered (clause 6 of Article 4, clause 3 of Article 26, clause 8 of Article 27 of Law No. 212-FZ). This fact can also be revealed during mutual reconciliation of calculations for insurance payments. If there is reason to believe that there was an overpayment, the payer may request a reconciliation. Such reconciliation is completed using forms 21-PFR or 21-FSS of the Russian Federation.

From 2021, for a refund of overpayments on insurance premiums, you need to contact the Federal Tax Service, but, according to the law “On Amendments...” dated 07/03/2016 No. 250-FZ, refund of overpayments on fees that relate to the transition period (2017–2019) will be carried out by decision of the funds to which they were transferred (clause 1 of Article 21 of Law No. 250-FZ, letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 4, 2017 No. 03-15-05/19760, Federal Tax Service dated September 25, 2017 No. GD-4- 11/ [email protected] ).

For overpayments that were made to the Social Insurance Fund, you need to submit a refund application both to it and to the tax service. The procedure is specified in the letter dated October 13, 2017 No. 02-11-10/06-02-4386P, GD-4-8/ [email protected] Let’s consider it in more detail.

Let us imagine, as an example, a situation where an overpayment of an insurance payment to the Social Insurance Fund was made in 2021 for 2021. The payer submitted an application to the Social Insurance Fund within two days after the fund received the funds. In this case, the FSS will ask the tax service for information about the overpayment they have recorded and will verify the data. The period of inspection and its procedure are regulated by the same letter.

Further, if the overpayment is confirmed, the FSS makes a decision and sends it to the tax service. It is on the basis of this decision that the Federal Tax Service sends an application to the treasury to return overpaid insurance premiums.

You can also submit an application to the tax office, but in this case the service will simply redirect it to the Social Insurance Fund, and then everything will happen according to the above algorithm. The Federal Tax Service will send you a notification that the application has been forwarded.

Since 2021, Law No. 125-FZ has introduced separate articles devoted to the rules for refunds of insurance premiums for accidents. Having studied them, we can conclude that the contents of these articles are similar to the rules applied to taxes and fees specified in Art. 78 and 79 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Since this type of collection is handled by the FSS, the application for a refund must be sent there too.

Thus, during 2017–2019, refunds of insurance premiums can be made by:

• for amounts paid starting from 2021, the funds are returned by the tax service, but in agreement with the fund to which the payment was made;
• for amounts paid before 2021, the funds are returned by the corresponding fund;
• For amounts paid in connection with accidents in any period, the funds are returned by the FSS.

To contact any of the above authorities regarding the issue of overpayments, you need to submit an application according to the sample; each of them has its own unified form.

The application form for the Federal Tax Service is contained in the order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated February 14, 2017 No. ММВ-7-8/ [email protected] , but it is worth noting that in January 2019 an edition of the Federal Tax Service order dated November 30, 2018 No. ММВ-7-8/ appeared. [email protected]

Application forms to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation were approved by Resolution of the Board of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation dated December 22, 2015 No. 511p. It follows from it that in relation to contributions for pension and health insurance paid before 2021, the appeal should be drawn up in forms 23-PFR (if insurance premiums were overpaid) or 24-PFR (if there was an excessive collection).

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You need to contact the FSS regarding the issue of excessively accrued amounts by filling out an application in Form 23-FSS, approved by Order of the FSS of the Russian Federation dated November 17, 2016 No. 457.

So, it is possible to return the overpayment from the funds starting from 2021, based on the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. To request a refund, you need to submit an application to the Federal Tax Service, except for contributions for accidents. The accrual and payment of the latter continues to be supervised by the FSS; they are subject to law 125-FZ. During the transition period (2017–2019), the funds themselves deal with the issue of overpayments made before 2021. To do this, you need to submit an application to the appropriate authority in a special form provided by law.

Return Application

The application is drawn up strictly according to form 1150058, approved by Federal Tax Service Order No. ММВ-7-8/ [email protected] This form is used when the application is sent to the Federal Tax Service. It contains this information:

• TIN and checkpoint.
• Application number.
• Tax authority code.
• The article on the basis of which the refund is made.
• Reason for return.
• The amount of overpayment that needs to be returned.

If the application is sent to the Pension Fund, then it is executed according to f. 23-PFR. If the application is sent to the FSS, then f. 23-FSS, established by FSS order No. 457 of November 17, 2021.

Actions of an accountant when resetting insurance premiums

The company is included in the register of SMEs and operates in one of the most affected industries, it will receive a benefit for the 2nd quarter of 2020 in the form of a zero tariff for all types of insurance premiums.

In circumstances where April contributions have already been accrued and paid at regular rates, the accounting entries must be reversed. To do this, you can use the reversal method in accounting.

Reducing costs in accounting is achieved through the relationship of reversal and cancellation of a previously paid contribution.

Wiring used

Money received as a result of the return of an overpayment must be taken into account. They are recorded on account 69. In particular, these postings are used:

• DT69 KT51. The posting is recorded when the contribution is paid. Overpayments are reflected in debit.
• DT51 KT69. Return.

Overpayments that are not recorded as expenses when establishing the tax base are not considered non-operating income.

Refund of overpaid amounts to the Federal Tax Service from the beginning of 2021

The procedure for returning overpaid contributions to the Federal Tax Service corresponds to the procedure carried out in relation to taxes. The declarative procedure for claiming overpaid amounts is used.

After the decision to return is made, funds from the overpaid amounts are sent to the company’s bank account specified in the application. Branches of organizations that have separate current accounts conduct operations independently, without involving the parent body. Return of individual entrepreneur amounts is carried out to the account used by the entrepreneur when conducting commercial activities.

Interest on late transfer of refund

The Federal Tax Service and the Social Insurance Fund may be late with the return of insurance payments. In this case, the company can present the amount of interest determined depending on the size of the late payment and the duration of the delay itself. The amount of interest is determined by the standard formula used when establishing penalties:

Amount of overpayment * number of days of delay * 1/300 of the refinancing rate

The interest rate can be set only when the money has arrived in the company’s account. This is due to the fact that the amount of the penalty depends on the length of the delay. The corresponding calculation rules are established by Part 9 of Article 27 of Federal Law No. 212 dated July 24, 2009. The money is transferred by the Treasury of the Russian Federation on behalf of the funds.

IMPORTANT! Government agencies must return the money to the organization’s account. Funds accrued as late interest cannot be offset against future payments.

Example

The company overpaid contributions by 2,700 rubles. An application for a refund was sent. They were supposed to arrive on February 10th, but in fact they only arrive on February 20th. The company makes these calculations:

• Number of days of delay – 10.
• Percentage: 2,700 * 10 * 1/365 * 9%. = 6.66 rubles.

Interest will be accrued from the date that is the last day of transfer of the overpayment.

Refund from the Social Insurance Fund of overpayments for “injury” contributions

Employers also pay insurance premiums for employees for “injuries” (from industrial accidents and occupational diseases) - they are transferred directly to the Social Insurance Fund. A refund of overpayments for social insurance contributions of this type is also possible. It is carried out without the mediation of the Federal Tax Service, through the interaction of the employer directly with the Social Insurance Fund.

The rules governing the return of overpayments on insurance premiums to the Social Insurance Fund practically repeat those established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in relation to insurance payments for compulsory medical insurance, compulsory medical insurance and VNiM, which are administered by tax authorities. They are established by the provisions of Art. 26.12 and 26.13 of the Law of July 24, 1998 No. 125-FZ (respectively - for overpaid and overcharged contributions).

Applications for refund (in the form approved by the FSS order No. 457 dated November 17, 2016) are submitted within 3 years from the date of payment of excess amounts. For overcharged premiums, an application is submitted within 1 month after the policyholder becomes aware of the fact of excess collection. Decisions on refunds are made by the Social Insurance Fund within 10 days; amounts are returned to the employer’s bank account within 1 month after submitting the application.

Errors that occur when returning an overpayment

The organization must process the refund of the overpayment correctly. Otherwise, she will not receive any money. Let's look at common mistakes made during registration:

• Submitting an application for a refund of amounts paid before the 17th year to the Federal Tax Service. The latter began to be responsible for contributions only from January 1, 2017. Extra-budgetary funds are responsible for payments made before the 17th year. Therefore, the application must be sent specifically to these funds.
• Submitting an application for a refund without specifying the amounts. All amounts are specified through reconciliation of calculations. In particular, the application must indicate the exact amount of the overpayment and the amount of the arrears, if any. If the reconciliation is carried out incorrectly, then a difference is formed between the amount in the application and the amount in the personal account/registration.
• The wrong application form is being used. To draw up an application to the Federal Tax Service and extra-budgetary funds, different forms are used. When choosing a form, you must also take into account what kind of contribution is planned to be returned: for temporary disability or for injury.

All errors lead to a slower return process. If the application is sent to the wrong place, you will have to submit the application again.

How to use an overpayment: refund or credit

In accordance with Art. 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the taxpayer has a choice of what to do with the identified amount of overpayment:

• offset against future payments or covering current debt
• return to bank account

The organization can exercise this right within three years from the date of the overpayment.

There are certain restrictions:

• overpayment of premiums cannot be transferred to another type of insurance, for example, an overpayment under compulsory medical insurance cannot cover the debt under compulsory insurance
• Contributions of the same type of insurance can be sent towards future payments (including for existing penalties and fines), for example, by overpaying insurance premiums for OSS, you can pay off fines only for this type of insurance
• Before returning the overpayment to the current account, the inspection clears off existing debts
• it is necessary to promptly contact the tax office or fund with a request for a refund, since the liquidated enterprise or the former owner will not be able to return the overpayment, this position is set out in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated April 12, 2018 No. 03-02-07/1/24222
• The individual entrepreneur retains the right to a refund of the amount of overpayment of contributions even after closure
• Individual entrepreneurs who have overpaid contributions “for themselves” are guided by the general refund procedure

Companies whose activities are carried out in the industries most affected by the spread of COVID-19 were set a zero tariff on insurance premiums for April, May and June. If the company transferred the contribution, the Federal Tax Service promised to offset the amounts against future payments without contacting the inspectorate. (see Who is exempt from paying taxes and contributions for the second quarter of 2020)

Additional Information

When filing a return, you must take into account that this procedure involves a statute of limitations. It is valid for 3 years from the date of payment of contributions. Refunds can only be made during this period.

What to do if an overpayment occurred to an entrepreneur who closed his individual entrepreneur and was removed from the register? And he can return the money. The return is issued to the individual who owned the individual entrepreneur. To receive money you need to go to the arbitration court.

The Federal Tax Service is obliged to send a notice of overpayment to the payer. The corresponding provision is contained in Article 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Refund of contributions paid before 2021

Before the transfer of tax administration to the Federal Tax Service, enterprises made contributions to extra-budgetary funds. To return funds overpaid before 2021, you must contact the fund in whose account the overpayment occurred. In order to obtain accurate information about the balances of amounts on personal accounts in the funds and determine the status of settlements for contributions, penalties and fines, a reconciliation is carried out.

The taxpayer receives the overpayment amount from the Federal Tax Service on the basis of a document approved by the fund. The decision on return is made by the fund within 10 days after receiving the application, followed by sending the document to the Federal Tax Service. Dispatch is made the next day after approval and registration of the decision. After receiving the document, the Federal Tax Service informs the UFK about the details for returning the amounts.

Deadlines for refunding overpayments of taxes (contributions)

Based on clause 6 and clause 6.1 of Article 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the tax authority must return overpaid taxes (insurance contributions) within one month from the date of receipt of the application of the taxpayer (payer of contributions). And the taxpayer (policyholder) has the right to submit an application within 3 years from the date of excessive payment of taxes (insurance contributions) - clause 7 and clause 14 of Article 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Tax authorities make decisions on the refund of overpaid taxes within 10 working days after receiving an application from the taxpayer or from the moment of signing the act of joint reconciliation of tax calculations (if carried out).

The decision to return amounts of overpaid (collected) insurance premiums, penalties and fines for reporting (calculation) periods expired before January 1, 2021 is made by the relevant bodies of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the policyholder’s written application for return.

In accordance with clause 2 of Article 21 of Federal Law No. 250-FZ, if the amount of overpaid insurance premiums arises as a result of the insurance premium payer providing an updated calculation, the period is calculated from the day the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation completed a desk audit of the specified calculation (Letter of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation dated 04/26/2017 No. NP-30-26/5935).

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Refund to the taxpayer of the amount of overpaid tax (contribution) if he has arrears on other taxes (contributions) of the corresponding type or arrears on the corresponding penalties, as well as fines, is made only after the amount of the overpaid tax (contribution) is offset against repayment of the arrears (clause 6 and clause 14 of article 78, clause 1 of article 79 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

In the event that the refund of an overpaid tax (contribution) was made in violation of the deadline, interest will be charged on the amount of overpaid taxes (insurance contributions) that was not returned to the taxpayer (payer of insurance contributions) within the established period of time, at the rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in force on the days violation of the return period (clause 10 and clause 14 of Article 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Thus, the provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provide for periods during which the taxpayer can exercise his rights to a refund and which are, in fact, of a preclusive nature (Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated March 24, 2017 No. 9-P).

The provisions of Article 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation do not prevent the taxpayer, in case of missing the established deadline, from filing a claim in court for the return of the overpaid amount from the budget, and in this case the general rules for calculating the limitation period apply - from the day when the person learned or should have learned about the violation of his rights (clause 1 of Article 200 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated June 21, 2001 No. 173-O, Letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated June 20, 2017 No. 03-02-08/38182).

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