Determining the date of sale for the purpose of calculating VAT

General rule for determining the timing of VAT payment

VAT payers, as well as tax agents for this tax (with some exceptions), pay VAT, as a general rule, monthly in the amount of 1/3 of the tax amount payable to the budget at the end of the reporting quarter.

These amounts are transferred no later than the 25th day of each month of the quarter following the reporting quarter (clause 1 of Article 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). For example, based on the results of the fourth quarter of 2021, the organization must pay VAT to the budget in the amount of 30,000 rubles. Accordingly, the tax must be transferred in the following order.

Payment in unequal installments

According to the Information Notice of the Tax Inspectorate, value added tax can be paid in unequal installments. But the main thing is that the required amount is paid by the due date and credited to the required cash register. That is, you can pay the entire amount in the first month and not pay for two more months. Or pay half in the first month and half in the second month of the entire required amount for the quarter. Let's look at an example.

Example 2.

Success LLC filed a value added tax return for the 1st quarter of 2021. In the declaration in the first section, the amount indicates the amount of tax that must be paid to the budget in the amount of 38,000 rubles. To pay tax to the budget you need to divide 39,000 by 3 months. 39000/3=13000 rubles. Thus, tax payment will be made as follows:

• Until April 25 - 13,000 rubles;
• Until May 25 - 13,000 rubles;
• Until June 25 - 13,000 rubles.

But you can do it another way: pay, for example, 20,000 rubles before April 25, 6,000 rubles before May 25, and another 13,000 rubles before June 25. The law does not prohibit such splitting if there is an amount in the taxpayer’s personal account of at least 1/3 of the tax amount for the quarter in each month of the quarter following the reporting one, until the 25th day.

Payment of VAT in 2021: payment deadlines in the table

Here are other VAT payment deadlines for 2020:

VAT payment deadlines in 2021: table for accountants

The Tax Code establishes the deadlines for transferring VAT in 2018. The tax must be paid no later than the 25th day of each month (Clause 1, Article 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If the 25th is a day off or holiday, then the money can be transferred with impunity on the next working day. Below is a table with the deadlines for paying VAT for 2021:

Deadline for payment of “import” VAT

When importing goods from the EAEU countries, it is necessary to pay “import” VAT no later than the 20th day of the month following the month of registration of imported goods/payment deadline under the contract. In 2021, VAT on the import of goods from the EAEU countries is paid within the following terms:

Let's list the dates in the table:

VAT payment deadline for the first quarter of 2021

VAT is calculated based on the results of the quarter and transferred to the budget in equal shares no later than the 25th day of each of the three months following the reporting quarter.
If the 25th falls on a non-working day, the VAT payment deadline is postponed. The tax must be paid no later than the first working day following the non-working day (Clause 7, Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In 2021, the amount of VAT accrued for payment to the budget for the first quarter must be transferred in equal installments no later than April 25, May 25 and June 25. Moreover, April 25, 2021 falls on a Saturday, so the last day for paying the first third of VAT for the first quarter of 2021 is April 27, 2021.

Get access to the accountant's Practical Encyclopedia for free for 3 days

This is a generally established procedure that follows from the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Article 163, paragraph 1 of Article 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). However, some organizations and individual entrepreneurs may transfer VAT for the first quarter of 2021 to the budget later than usual.

According to Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated April 2, No. 239, the entire month of April was declared non-working. The following period from May 1 to May 5 falls on non-working holidays and weekends. This means that VAT can be paid on the first working day - May 6.

Organizations and individual entrepreneurs that continue to operate during non-working periods (Presidential Decree No. 239) pay the first third of VAT for the first quarter according to the old rules - no later than April 27.
Table 1. VAT payment deadlines including non-working days in 2020

The deadline for submitting the VAT return for the first quarter of 2021, in contrast to the deadline for its payment, has been postponed for all taxpayers. You can report VAT for the first quarter of this year no later than May 15. The same deadline - May 15 - is established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 24, 2021 No. 570 for the submission of logs of received and issued invoices.

Deadline for payment of VAT by tax agents

As we have already said, all tax agents transfer VAT within the same time frame as ordinary payers of this tax. However, if an organization or individual entrepreneur needs to perform the functions of a tax agent as a result of the acquisition of works (services) from a foreign company that is not registered with the Russian Federal Tax Service, and at the same time the place of sale of these works (services) is recognized as the territory of the Russian Federation, then “agency” VAT is required pay on the same day when the remuneration of the foreign company is transferred (clause 4 of article 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Let’s say that a company transferred money to a foreign company for work performed on 12/09/2020. Accordingly, “agency” VAT on this remuneration is paid no later than this day.

When does the ban on paying VAT in installments apply?

Restrictions on the payment of 1/3 VAT are contained in Art. 174 Tax Code of the Russian Federation:

1. For payers specified in clause 5 of Art. 173 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
2. For companies that are trading partners of foreign counterparties that are not registered as a tax payer in the Russian Federation, if the latter perform work or provide services for them. In this situation, Russian companies are tax agents in relation to their foreign partners.

For the listed categories, separate deadlines have been established for the final settlement of the VAT budget:

• for the first group - until the 25th day of the month following the quarter;
• for the second group - at the time of transfer of money for work or services performed.

You must report VAT to the inspectorate at the place of registration no later than the 25th day of the month following the tax period.

So, it is legally permitted to pay VAT in equal installments in the 3 months following the reporting quarter. In addition, you can make a full tax calculation in advance. However, such rules do not apply to some categories of taxpayers.

Similar articles

• Features, terms and procedure for paying VAT to the budget
• How to calculate VAT penalties?
• Nuances of VAT restoration when switching to the simplified tax system
• How to calculate VAT correctly - formula and example?
• How to calculate VAT at a rate of 18% of the amount?

Deadline for payment of VAT by organizations and individual entrepreneurs under special regimes in 2021

Taxpayers under the simplified tax system and UTII are exempt from paying VAT. But in some situations, special regime officers still have to pay VAT:

Read also

25.12.2019

When is the tax payment due for the tax period - 3rd quarter?

In general, quarterly VAT is paid in 3 stages. The amount of tax to be transferred to the budget is divided into 3 equal parts and transferred no later than the 25th day of each subsequent month after the expiration of the tax period.

This method of tax transfer reduces the financial burden on the organization and makes it possible to spend funds gradually. However, not everyone can use it. For example, taxpayers who have received an exemption from VAT, or persons who are not VAT taxpayers, who are required to pay the tax upon voluntary presentation of it to the buyer with an invoice, pay the entire amount one-time - until the 25th day (inclusive) of the first month after the end of the reporting quarter.

Also, VAT is transferred as a one-time payment when importing goods. Payment is made at customs simultaneously with customs payments.

Tax agents for VAT pay tax within the same time frame as taxpayers in general, that is, before the 25th day of each month following the reporting month (letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated November 1, 2010 No. 03-07-08/303). However, for tax agents who purchased work or services from foreign organizations that are not registered with the tax authorities of the Russian Federation and paid for them in money, there are some peculiarities. They pay VAT simultaneously with the transfer of funds to a foreign person (Clause 4 of Article 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If the tax agent purchased work or services on the territory of Russia from a foreign organization and pays the counterparty in a non-cash manner, then VAT is paid in the traditional manner (letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated April 16, 2010 No. 03-07-08/116, paragraph 1 of Article 174 Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The deadlines for paying VAT for the 3rd quarter of 2021 for traditional sales are as follows:

• the first part should be transferred no later than October 25;
• the second - no later than November 27 (11/25/2017 is a Saturday, and 11/26/2017 is a Sunday);
• the third - no later than December 25.

The first and third payment deadlines fall on working days, so there are no transfers to subsequent days provided for in Art. 6.1. Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The second tax payment deadline falls on Saturday, November 25, 2017, therefore, according to Art. 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, payment is postponed to the first working day, which falls on November 27, 2017.

The tax office accrues the amount of tax in the taxpayer’s “Settlements with the Budget” card also within the time limits provided for the transfer of tax.

Sanctions for violating the VAT payment deadline in 2021

Companies that fail to remit VAT on time may receive a fine of 20% of the unpaid amount (clause 1 of Article 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In addition, penalties are charged for each day of delay:

• in the amount of 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate - for the first 30 days of delay;
• in the amount of 1/150 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation - for the remaining days of delay.

The Federal Tax Service has the right to demand that the arrears be written off from the current account. In this case, the missing tax amount will be debited from the company's current account.

Tax payment deadlines

Let us now study in more detail what deadline for payment of VAT is established by the Russian legislator. There is an erroneous point of view according to which business settlements with the state for the tax in question should be carried out before the 25th day of the month following the reporting period - quarter. An appropriate deadline has been established for collection reporting. The deadline for paying VAT, based on the provisions of the law, is extended by 3 months. In each of them, 1/3 of the tax calculated for the reporting period - quarter is paid.

It may be noted that the procedure and deadlines for paying VAT in the Russian Federation are sometimes adjusted by the legislator. Thus, until 2015, calculations had to be made before the 20th day of the month following the corresponding tax period. At the same time, the new VAT payment deadline applies to payments for the 4th quarter of 2014. Thus, entrepreneurs who pay the fee in question should carefully monitor changes in legislation.

An important nuance when settling VAT payments with the state is that the deadline for paying the corresponding fee for businesses that do not pay this tax by default, but have issued invoices with it, does not extend for 3 months. These organizations must pay the entire tax amount for the previous quarter at once.

So, we have looked at the most important nuance of a company’s work with VAT - payment deadlines. What else can an entrepreneur pay attention to? It is very important to comply with the deadlines for paying VAT to the budget, but in some cases a company may not have such obligations due to the emergence of the right to deductions. Let's study this aspect in more detail.

Is it possible to pay VAT early?

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation (paragraph 2, clause 1, article 45) allows for the possibility of early payment of VAT, as for other taxes (except personal income tax). This means that the organization is not prohibited from paying the entire amount of this tax in the month following the reporting quarter. You can do it differently and pay 1/3 of the amount in the first month, and the remaining 2/3 in the second.

It should be taken into account that if the transfer of VAT in installments is made late, the taxpayer will be charged penalties for late payment (Article 75 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, information message of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated October 17, 2008).

How is VAT paid?

Payment of VAT by 1/3 (in parts) is made within 3 months following the end of the tax period.
Each payment, in accordance with clause 1 of Art. 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, must be submitted before the 25th day of the next month. If this date falls on a weekend or holiday, the payment deadline is postponed to the first working day (Clause 7, Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Example:

If in the 3rd quarter VAT is declared for payment in the amount of 90,000 rubles, then in the future you will have to pay the quarterly tax in the following tranches:

• until October 25 - 30,000 rubles;
• until November 25 - 30,000 rubles;
• until December 25—RUB 30,000.

The principle, as can be seen from the example, is simple: the VAT calculated based on the results of the quarter should be divided into 3 equal shares and added to the budget during the quarter following the reporting one.

This article will help you fill out the VAT payment form.

For a diagram of accounting entries for accounting for the accrual and payment of VAT, see ConsultantPlus. If you do not already have access to this legal system, an online trial is available for free