Transportation of employees to their place of work - accounting for costs when delivering employees

Delivery on a rotational basis

With a shift method, employees cannot come to work and return home every day. Therefore, organizations working on a rotational basis are required to transport employees from their gathering place to the rotation camp and back. This is stated in paragraph 2.5 of the Regulations approved by Resolution of the USSR State Committee for Labor, the Secretariat of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the USSR Ministry of Health dated December 31, 1987 No. 794/33-82. A similar procedure applies to employees who work in field (expeditionary) conditions.

Accounting

In accounting, reflect the costs of transporting employees to and from work on account 26 “General business expenses” (in trade organizations - on account 44 “Sales expenses”).

Depending on the method in which the organization transports employees to work and back, make the following entries in accounting:

Debit 26 (44) Credit 10 (02, 70, 68, 69…)

– the costs of delivering employees using their own vehicles are reflected;

Debit 26 (44) Credit 60 (76, 73)

– the costs of delivering employees using hired (rented) transport are reflected.

Accounting entries for certain travel-related transactions

We present in the table the main transactions associated with accounting for travel costs (in accordance with Article 164 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Content	D	TO
Calculation of compensation for travel expenses, including within normal limits	20(23, 25, 26, 44)	73
Payment of compensation to an employee	73	50(51)
Amount of compensation that is not accepted in tax accounting	91.2	73
Permanent tax liability	99	68
Costs of transporting employees using the company’s own transport	26 (44)	10 (02, 70, 68, 69)
Costs of delivering workers by hired transport	26 (44)	60 (76, 73)

A permanent tax liability arises when expenses are partially normalized, that is, part of the amount falls within the established standard, and part exceeds it.

Personal income tax and insurance premiums: rotation method

The cost of delivering employees to their place of work, working on a rotational basis, from the location of the organization (collection point) to the rotation camp and back is not taxed:

Personal income tax (clause 3 of article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 2, 2010 No. 03-04-06/68);
contributions for compulsory pension (social, medical) insurance (subclause “and” clause 2, part 1, article 9 of the Law of July 24, 2009 No. 212-FZ, letter of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated September 12, 2014 No. 17-3 /B-434);
contributions for insurance against accidents and occupational diseases (subparagraph 2, paragraph 1, article 20.2 of the Law of July 24, 1998 No. 125-FZ).

Situation: is it necessary to include the cost of transporting employees from their place of residence to the collection point and back to their income and withhold personal income tax from them? The organization uses a rotational work method.

Answer: yes, it is necessary.

The organization is not obliged to compensate for travel expenses for employees from their place of residence to the collection point (and back) (decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 17, 1999 No. GKPI 99-924). Therefore, if she pays such expenses, then, regardless of the tax system applied, personal income tax must be withheld from the amount of compensation (clause 1 of Article 210, clause 2 of Article 211 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

This position is confirmed by the Ministry of Finance of Russia in letters dated June 30, 2011 No. 03-03-06/1/384, dated February 2, 2010 No. 03-04-06/68, dated August 20, 2009 No. 03-04- 06-02/60, dated April 24, 2008 No. 03-04-06-02/41.

Advice: there are arguments that allow an organization not to withhold personal income tax on the cost of transporting employees from their place of residence to the collection point and back. They are as follows.

The rotation method involves working outside the place of permanent residence of employees (Part 1 of Article 297 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the employer is obliged to deliver employees to the shift site by any economically feasible transport (clause 2.5 of the Regulations approved by Resolution of the USSR State Committee for Labor, the Secretariat of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the USSR Ministry of Health dated December 31, 1987 No. 794/33-82). This obligation does not limit the right of the organization to independently determine the methods and methods of delivery, including from the place of residence to the collection point. Therefore, the costs of transporting workers from their place of residence to the place of assembly are not their income. Such payments can be considered as legally established compensation related to the employee’s performance of his job duties. This means that there is no need to withhold personal income tax from compensation for the cost of travel from the employees’ place of residence to the place of assembly (and back) (clause 3 of Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

To confirm the validity of compensation for travel expenses from the place of residence to the collection point (and back) and the lack of income for employees when receiving it:

record the payment of such compensation in the internal documents of the organization (for example, in a collective agreement);
organize travel for employees by economical transport (when using public transport, it is necessary that the travel document is one-time and individual - this will confirm its use only for business purposes and not for personal needs).

In arbitration practice, there are examples of court decisions in which the courts recognized as lawful the actions of organizations that did not withhold personal income tax from compensation for travel expenses of employees from their place of residence to the place of assembly and back (see, for example, the resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the West Siberian District dated February 13, 2009. No. F04-482/2009(20348-A81-14), dated November 22, 2007 No. F04-7996/2007(40258-A75-7), dated February 28, 2007 No. F04-892/2007(31914-A81 -42), Northwestern District dated April 12, 2006 No. A05-17066/05-22).

Situation: is it necessary to withhold personal income tax from the cost of transporting employees from their place of residence to their place of duty and back? Employees have the opportunity to get to their shift location independently. The organization does not create a collection point.

Answer: yes, it is necessary.

If employees have the opportunity to independently get to the place of shift (the rotation camp is not a place of limited transport accessibility), then payment for travel by the employer is recognized as the employee’s income in kind (clause 1 of Article 210, clause 2 of Article 211 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

It is explained this way.

Compensation payments provided for by law and related to the employee’s performance of work duties are not subject to personal income tax (clause 3 of article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Article 302 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation defines a list of guarantees and compensations for persons working on a rotational basis. This list is closed. Payment for travel of employees from their place of permanent residence to the place of rotation work and back is not provided for by this norm. Consequently, the organization is not obliged to compensate for the costs of travel of employees from their place of residence to the place of duty (and back). This conclusion is confirmed by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 17, 1999 No. GKPI 99-924. It turns out that payment for travel in this case is not considered a compensation payment established by law.

Based on this, if an organization pays such expenses, then, regardless of the taxation system applied, personal income tax must be withheld from compensation.

This conclusion is confirmed by letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 26, 2013 No. 03-04-06/5379, dated June 22, 2009 No. 03-03-06/1/418, dated May 8, 2009 No. 03-04-06 -01/112.

Advice: there are arguments that allow an organization not to withhold personal income tax from the cost of transporting workers from their place of residence to their place of duty, regardless of whether they have the opportunity to get there on their own or not. They are as follows.

The rotation method involves working outside the place of permanent residence of employees (Part 1 of Article 297 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the employer is obliged to deliver employees to the shift site by any economically feasible transport (clause 2.5 of the Regulations approved by Resolution of the USSR State Committee for Labor, the Secretariat of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the USSR Ministry of Health dated December 31, 1987 No. 794/33-82). This obligation does not limit the organization’s right to independently determine delivery methods and methods, including from residence to place of work. Therefore, the costs of transporting employees from their place of residence to their place of duty are not their income. Such payments can be considered as legally established compensation related to the employee’s performance of his job duties. This means that there is no need to withhold personal income tax from the amount of compensation for the cost of travel from the employees’ place of residence to the place of shift (Clause 3 of Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

To confirm the validity of compensation for travel expenses from the place of residence to the place of duty and the employees’ lack of income when receiving it:

record the payment of such compensation in the internal documents of the organization. For example, in a collective agreement the following can be stated: “The employer undertakes to compensate the cost of travel for an employee from his place of residence to his place of duty (back) in the amount of actual expenses incurred for travel by rail by the shortest route in a reserved seat carriage of the train. The cost of travel is compensated upon presentation of a railway ticket by the employee”;
Organize travel for employees by economical transport (for example, a reserved seat train carriage).

Insurance premiums

Reimbursement to employees for their travel expenses is made within the framework of the employment relationship. And payments within the framework of labor relations are recognized as subject to taxation with insurance premiums (subclause 1, clause 1, article 420 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The exception is the amounts specified in Art. 422 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the list of which is exhaustive. Since in Art. 422 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the amount of payment for travel to and from work is not indicated; financiers came to the conclusion that compensation to employees for travel costs is subject to insurance premiums. The same position is stated in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 18, 2019 No. 03-03-06/1/2093.

However, if reimbursement of travel expenses to and from work is provided for by the legislative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, decisions of representative bodies of local self-government, compensation for travel costs is not subject to insurance premiums. In a letter dated October 18, 2018 No. BS-4-11/ [email protected] , the Federal Tax Service of Russia considered the situation when employees of state educational organizations in the Tula region are compensated for the cost of travel to and from work. Tax officials indicated that such compensation is provided for by the Law of the Tula Region dated September 26, 2013 No. 1989-ZTO “On Education.” Therefore, she is not subject to insurance premiums on the basis of subsection. 2 p. 1 art. 422 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation as a compensation payment related to the performance of labor duties, established by a legislative act of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

According to the courts, payment for travel to and from work is of a social nature and therefore is not subject to insurance premiums (decrees of the Supreme Court of the North-Western District dated 09/03/2018 in case No. A13-21721/2017, Far Eastern District dated 11/23/2015 in case No. A59-92/2015 (Decree of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated February 24, 2016 No. 303-KG16-261 refused to transfer the case to the Judicial Collegium for Economic Disputes), the Court of Justice of the West Siberian District dated January 20, 2015 in case No. A45-8089/2014) . But the disputes considered in these court decisions relate to the period when insurance premiums were calculated and paid in accordance with Federal Law No. 212-FZ of July 24, 2009. But tax authorities do not recognize such judicial practice (letters from the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated September 14, 2017 No. BS-4-11 / [email protected] , dated August 23, 2017 No. BS-4-11 / [email protected] ). Therefore, following it will certainly lead to controversy.

Personal income tax and insurance premiums: non-shift method

Situation: is it necessary to withhold personal income tax from the cost of transporting employees to their place of work and back? The organization does not use a rotation method, but organizes the delivery of personnel at its own expense.

The answer to this question depends on whether employees can independently get to their place of work and back by public transport or not.

If this is not possible, do not withhold personal income tax from the fare amount. This is due to the fact that in the absence of public transport, the cost of travel for employees to their place of work and back is not an economic benefit (income) of the employee (Article 41 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This opinion is also shared by the Russian Ministry of Finance (letters dated March 6, 2013 No. 03-04-06/6715, dated November 24, 2011 No. 03-03-06/1/778, dated October 20, 2011 No. 03-03 -06/1/680). The courts adhere to a similar point of view (see, for example, decisions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the East Siberian District dated July 15, 2008 No. A19-13528/07-30-F02-3200/2008, Northwestern District dated February 18, 2008 No. A21 -3559/2007, Ural District dated January 29, 2008 No. Ф09-9195/07-С2).

If employees can independently get to their place of work and back by public transport, personal income tax must be withheld from the cost of transporting employees. According to regulatory agencies, the cost of free delivery of employees at the initiative of the organization is their income received in kind (letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 12, 2011 No. 03-04-05/6-728, dated July 17, 2007 No. 03- 04-06-01/247 and Federal Tax Service of Russia dated September 24, 2010 No. ШС-37-3/11928). It must be included in the tax base for personal income tax (clause 1 of article 210, clause 2 of article 211 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Employees receive income regardless of whether their delivery is provided for by the labor (collective) agreement or not. The organization is obliged to withhold tax at the expense of any cash payments in favor of the employee (clause 4 of Article 226 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

However, the obligations of a tax agent for personal income tax arise for an organization only if it can determine the amount of income received by each employee (clause 8 of the information letter of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated June 21, 1999 No. 42). Thus, in order to withhold personal income tax, the organization must take into account its costs for transporting personnel on a daily basis and distribute them among each employee brought to work on a given day. In letter dated July 17, 2007 No. 03-04-06-01/247, the Russian Ministry of Finance recommends determining the amount of such income based on the total cost of travel and data from the work time sheet (other similar documents).

An exception to this general case is the following situation. If an organization provides free transportation to work and back for disabled people who are unable to get to work and back on their own, such services can be classified as measures for the rehabilitation of disabled people (Article 9 of Law No. 181-FZ of November 24, 1995). At the same time, the cost of services for the rehabilitation of disabled people paid for by organizations is not subject to personal income tax (clause 22 of article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Thus, the organization does not have the obligation to withhold personal income tax when paying for transportation of disabled people to their place of work and back. A similar conclusion is contained in the letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated November 16, 2007 No. 28-11/109498.

Situation: is it necessary to charge insurance premiums for the cost of transporting employees to their place of work and back at the expense of the organization? The organization does not use a rotation method.

The answer to this question depends on whether or not the transportation of employees to and from work is determined by the technological features of production.

If the need for delivery is due to the technological features of production (i.e., employees have no other way to get to their place of work and back), it cannot be considered as a free service provided in the interests of employees. It does not matter whether the organization’s obligation to transport employees to the place of work and back is stipulated in the labor (collective) agreement or not. In this case, the cost of transportation does not fall under the criteria of the amounts taken into account in the calculation base for insurance premiums (Part 1, Article 7 of the Law of July 24, 2009 No. 212-FZ, Clause 1 of Article 20.1 of the Law of July 24, 1998 No. 125-FZ). Consequently, the object of taxation by insurance premiums does not arise in this situation.

If an organization delivers employees to their place of work on its own initiative in the absence of technological production features, then include the cost of delivery in the calculation base for insurance premiums. Calculate contributions even if the organization’s obligation to transport employees to their place of work is not specified in the labor (collective) agreement. After all, the cost of transportation services provided solely in the interests of employees is not included in the list of amounts not subject to insurance premiums. In addition, transportation of employees to their place of work occurs within the framework of the employment relationship. This conclusion follows from Part 1 of Article 7 and Article 9 of the Law of July 24, 2009 No. 212-FZ, paragraph 1 of Article 20.1 and Article 20.2 of the Law of July 24, 1998 No. 125-FZ. The correctness of this approach is confirmed in the letter of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated May 13, 2014 No. 17-4/OOG-367 and the letter of the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia dated April 14, 2015 No. 02-09-11/06-5250. The judges agree with the officials (see Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated May 10, 2011 No. 17950/10). For more information about calculating contributions to compulsory pension (social, medical) insurance from the cost of services provided to an employee, but not specified in employment contracts, see What payments should be paid for compulsory pension (social, medical) insurance.

Personal income tax

Payment for employees' travel to and from work can be made by the company in two ways: by reimbursing employees for their travel expenses and by paying the travel directly to the transport organization.

Reimbursement

If the employee pays for his own travel to and from work, and the company reimburses him for the expenses incurred, this means that the employee has the opportunity to get to work on his own. This means that the company thereby relieves him of the need to incur corresponding costs. That is, the employee receives an economic benefit, which is recognized as income for tax purposes (Article 41 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The tax base for personal income tax includes all income of an individual received by him in cash and in kind, or the right to dispose of which he has acquired (Clause 1 of Article 210 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The list of income not subject to personal income tax is contained in Art. 217 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. It does not specify the amount of compensation by the organization to employees for their travel expenses to and from work. Based on this, the Russian Ministry of Finance in the commented letter came to the conclusion that such compensation is subject to personal income tax in accordance with the generally established procedure. Similar clarifications are contained in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 18, 2019 No. 03-03-06/1/2093.

Payment directly to the transport organization

Payment by companies for an employee (in whole or in part) for goods (work, services) refers to income received in kind, but with one condition: such payment must be made in the interests of the employee (subclause 1, clause 2, article 211 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, in order to resolve the issue of taxation of personal income tax for workers’ travel to and from work, transferred by the company directly to the transport organization, it is necessary to find out in whose interests it is made.

If the place of work is located far from public transport routes, workers do not have the opportunity to independently get to the place of work and back. In such a situation, travel is paid in the interests of the employer, which means that employees do not have income subject to personal income tax. The Russian Ministry of Finance agrees with this (letter dated 09/07/2015 No. 03-04-06/51326). But the company can pay the transport organization for the travel of employees and when they have the opportunity to independently get to their place of work and back. In this case, payment for travel can be regarded as made in the interests of the employee. Accordingly, the issue of taxation of income in kind will arise (subclause 1, clause 2, article 211 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). However, the company will not be able to determine the amount of this income for each employee by dividing the amount transferred to the transport company by the number of employees. This is confirmed by the conclusions made by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Ural District in resolution No. F09-849/08-S2 dated 02/21/2008 (Decision of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated 04/03/2008 No. 4176/08 refused to transfer the case for review). The court considered the following situation.

Tax officials assessed additional personal income tax to the company on the amount of travel expenses for employees due to the fact that they have the opportunity to get to work by public transport. At the same time, they included in the tax base the entire amount that the company transferred to the transport organization. But the courts of three instances indicated that the amount of payment due to the transport company under the contract includes not only the cost of travel, but also remuneration, covering various expenses and losses associated with the execution of the specified contract. In addition, transport services provided by one legal entity to another legal entity cannot be considered identical to the services provided by transport organizations to individuals. Based on this, the courts invalidated the tax authorities’ decision to assess additional personal income tax.

The company cannot personalize the income of each employee in any other way, since it does not have any data for this. It turns out that when paying for employees’ travel to and from work directly to a transport company, when employees have the opportunity to get to work on their own, there is no object of personal income tax taxation due to the impossibility of determining the tax base.

BASIC: shift method

When working on a rotational basis, the costs of transporting employees from their place of residence or collection point to their place of work and back can be included in other costs associated with production and sales (subclause 12.1, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The only condition is that this obligation of the organization must be provided for in the collective (labor) agreement (letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 16, 2013 No. 03-03-06/1/17142, dated September 2, 2011 No. 03-04-06/0 -197, dated June 30, 2011 No. 03-03-06/1/384, dated May 8, 2009 No. 03-04-06-01/112).

A similar procedure applies in cases where employees work in field (expeditionary) conditions.

An example of how expenses for transporting employees to and from work are reflected in accounting and tax purposes. The work is carried out on a rotational basis. The organization applies a general taxation system

The work of Proizvodstvennaya LLC is organized on a rotational basis. The organization pays income tax quarterly. The collective agreement states that the organization provides transportation for employees from the gathering place to the rotational camp and back. To transport employees, “Master” rents a bus. In June, the cost of renting a bus was 118,000 rubles. (including VAT – 18,000 rubles).

The accountant made the following entries in the organization’s accounting:

Debit 26 Credit 76 – 100,000 rub. (RUB 118,000 – RUB 18,000) – a fee has been charged for renting a bus for delivering employees working on a rotational basis;

Debit 19 Credit 76 – 18,000 rub. – input VAT on rent is taken into account;

Debit 68 subaccount “Calculations for VAT” Credit 19 – 18,000 rub. – VAT is accepted for deduction on expenses associated with the production and sale of products.

When calculating income tax for the first half of the year, Master’s accountant included the bus rental fee among other expenses. The accountant did not withhold personal income tax from the cost of delivery to employees. Contributions for compulsory pension (social, medical) insurance and insurance against accidents and occupational diseases were not charged.

Situation: is it possible to take into account the costs associated with renting housing when calculating income tax? The organization uses a rotation method. During delivery to the place of work, employees spend the night in rented premises.

Answer: yes, you can.

BASIC: non-shift method

As a general rule, expenses for travel of employees who do not work on a rotational basis to their place of work and back are not taken into account when calculating income tax (Clause 26, Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

There is an exception to this rule. Thus, the costs of transporting workers can be included as expenses when taxing profits if they:

due to technological features of production;
provided for by labor (collective) agreements.

This procedure is established by paragraph 26 of Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Thus, if the delivery of employees to work and back is determined by the technological features of production, then the costs of such delivery can be taken into account as part of labor costs, provided that this is provided for in the labor (collective) agreement.

A similar conclusion follows from paragraph 25 of Article 255, paragraph 26 of Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and is confirmed by letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 18, 2015 No. 03-03-06/14664, dated August 31, 2012 No. 03-03-06/1 /449, dated November 24, 2011 No. 03-03-06/1/778.

Situation: how to justify for profit tax purposes that the costs of transporting employees to their place of work and back are determined by the technological features of production?

Such justification could be, for example:

the organization's remoteness from populated areas;
use by the organization of a multi-shift (continuous, night) operating mode.

The organization (in particular, due to the hazardous nature of production) may be located far beyond populated areas. The consequence of this may be the lack of public transport routes between the places of permanent residence of employees and the location of the organization. Accordingly, in such a situation, employees simply will not be able to come to work by public transport.

In a multi-shift mode, the operating hours of public transport may not coincide with the time by which a number of employees should report to work. And, if a person works at night or early in the morning, he will also not be able to get there by public transport.

Therefore, if an organization, due to technological features, operates in a continuous (night) mode or is located outside populated areas, the costs of transporting employees to and from work can be taken into account when taxing profits.

It should also be noted that the condition for paying employees for travel must be provided for in an employment (collective) agreement.

Such conclusions can be drawn based on the provisions of Article 252, paragraph 25 of Article 255, paragraph 26 of Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated August 31, 2012 No. 03-03-06/1/449, dated November 24, 2011 No. 03-03-06/1/778, dated May 11, 2006 No. 03-03-04/1/435.

Reducing income tax by compensating employees for travel expenses to their place of work

When an employer assumes responsibility for providing workers' compensation, it must clearly understand in advance how this will affect its tax base and how records will be maintained. In accordance with tax accounting, the employer has the right to include travel expenses for employees in calculating the income tax base only in two cases:

The employer is obliged to compensate employees for travel to work in accordance with the employment contract or internal regulations that relate to labor relations between the organization and employees;
The employer is obliged to organize travel due to the fact that the employees themselves do not have the opportunity to get there by public transport. Most often this is typical for factories or heavy industries that are located outside the city. And also when work takes place in several shifts, some of which occur at night, when public transport is not functioning.

VAT deduction when paying for travel tickets

Situation: is it possible to deduct input VAT when paying employees working on a rotational basis the cost of travel tickets? Employees travel to their place of work independently.

The answer to this question depends on how payment for travel tickets is organized:

the organization independently purchases tickets (including through an accountable person);
the organization compensates the employee for the cost of the tickets he purchased.

If an organization purchases tickets independently, the following rules apply. VAT deduction is possible if there is an invoice (clause 1 of Article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If you pay for a ticket in cash, the employee will not be given an invoice. And the possibility of deducting VAT on the basis of a strict reporting form (ticket) with an allocated tax amount is provided for in the legislation only for business trips (clause 18 of section II of Appendix 4 to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 No. 1137). At the same time, in letter dated October 10, 2008 No. 03-07-11/333, the Russian Ministry of Finance recognized that when paying employees working on a rotational basis, the cost of travel tickets, the organization can deduct tax on the basis of a ticket with an allocated amount of VAT.

If an organization compensates an employee for the cost of tickets purchased by him, do not deduct VAT. In this case, one of the conditions for deducting input tax has not been met - registration of assets for which the deduction is applied (paragraph 2, paragraph 1, article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). For more information about this, see Under what conditions can input VAT be deducted?

simplified tax system

The tax base of simplified organizations that pay a single tax on income, expenses associated with transporting employees to and from work will not be reduced (clause 1 of Article 346.18 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Organizations that pay a single tax on the difference between income and expenses can take such expenses into account. If they deliver employees with their own transport - according to subparagraph 12 of paragraph 1 of Article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, if by rented transport - according to subparagraph 4 of paragraph 1 of Article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Situation: is it possible to simplify the payment for services under an agreement concluded with a transport company to deliver employees to their place of work and back?

Answer: yes, you can.

If such expenses are provided for in a collective (labor) agreement, then they can be included in labor costs (subclause 6, clause 1, article 346.16, clause 25, article 255 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The main condition: the fact of delivery must be documented, and the corresponding costs must be economically justified (clause 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Documentary evidence may include:

an agreement concluded with a transport company;
certificate of completion;
employee travel cards;
other documents.

The Russian Ministry of Finance adheres to a similar point of view in letter dated August 31, 2007 No. 03-11-04/2/217.

What travel expenses are reimbursed to employees?

In Russia, according to the law, there are several types of compensation to employees for expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties. Article 165 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation explains in what cases the expenses for travel of employees to and from work are compensated, and contains an exhaustive list of compensation payments, among which transportation costs are separately highlighted.

What compensation is provided for transportation costs:

reimbursement of expenses for operating an employee’s personal car;
compensation for travel to and from work, including by public transport and taxi;
payment of travel expenses in terms of purchasing tickets (air, railway, land, water and other types of transport);
payment for tickets to and from the employee’s place of rest;
reimbursement of travel expenses to the place of work when moving to another area.

There are no restrictions on amounts for each type of compensatory additional payments, and employers independently set standards for employees. These norms should not contradict the current provisions of labor legislation and are fixed by local orders for the organization.

We will analyze the features of providing each type of compensation payments and the procedure for how to apply for compensation for travel to and from work correctly.