What taxes are the premium subject to? In what cases: answers and features of taxation

Home / Labor Law / Payment and Benefits / Bonuses

Back

Published: 04/08/2016

Reading time: 6 min

0

3123

Bonuses are one of the best ways to stimulate workers , which has a positive effect on the effective functioning of the entire enterprise as a whole.

The bonus system is developed for each enterprise separately, taking into account the goals and objectives set for its employees. Employers take into account several factors at once, such as efficiency and achievement of goals, labor indicators, and the conditions under which bonus funds are issued.

There are often cases when employees remain dissatisfied with the amount of accrued bonus funds and even write complaints to the labor inspectorate. To avoid such troubles, the employer needs to foresee possible conflict situations in advance and draw up bonus regulations adjusted for controversial issues.

The possibility of rewarding for effective and conscientious work is laid down in Article 22 of the Labor Code.

The procedure for paying cash bonuses must be clearly stated in the employment contract, taking into account the opinions and wishes of the entire team (in accordance with Article 144 of the Labor Code).

The following types of bonus incentives are distinguished.

• Systematic Based on the results of the work performed
• For length of service

What types of awards are there?

There are two main groups of rewards.
Labor bonus . A one-time bonus may be given for introducing new technology or performing one-time work that is not part of daily duties.

Often, the employer introduces rewards for exceeding the production or sales plan. The bonus is an agreed percentage of the salary; it is paid not once, but monthly.

Social bonus . This type of bonus is not related to work achievements. The remuneration is paid one-time for any reason. For example, February 23, March 8, New Year, birthday and so on.

What kind of bonuses are there and how else can employee incentives be expressed?

Incentives that serve the purpose of stimulating employees are divided into 2 main types:

• material (monetary or in kind), representing various types of additional payments;
• intangible, which can be expressed in a declaration of gratitude, placement on the honor board, assignment of an honorary title, awarding a diploma, medal or memorial sign.

Among material incentives, the leading role is given to bonuses. But there may also be other types of cash payments, expressed, for example:

• in bonuses to the salary or tariff rate established for a certain period;
• additional payments for length of service.

Among bonuses in relation to the regularity of their payment, there are 2 main groups:

1. Regular (systematic), accrued and paid at a certain frequency (month, quarter, year). All issues related to such bonuses are regulated by the employer’s internal regulations on incentive payments. Special instructions (decisions) for calculating such bonuses are not needed. If the conditions stipulated by the internal regulations on bonuses are met, they must be accrued without fail.
2. Irregular (one-time), which can be named in the internal regulatory act on bonuses as included in the remuneration system, but their accrual requires additional information on indicators essential for bonuses. Therefore, for such bonuses it is necessary to draw up a separate document justifying the employee’s right to receive a bonus, and to make a separate decision on this document by the head of the organization.

According to the sources through which bonuses are calculated, they can be divided:

• included in expenses that reduce the income tax base - this will include bonuses related to the employee’s labor achievements, both included in the remuneration system and not included in this system;
• attributable to net profit - such attribution applies to bonuses for non-production purposes, paid not for labor achievements (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 24, 2013 No. 03-03-06/1/14283).

For information about what bonuses are included in the calculation of average earnings, read the material “Are bonuses taken into account when calculating vacation pay?”

Where to find out about awards

A bonus is not a salary, and the employer is not obliged to pay it monthly. When hiring an employee, he is introduced to the Labor Regulations and other local acts, including the provisions on bonuses or the collective agreement, which spells out the procedure for bonuses (Article 68 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

The provision must describe all one-time and monthly bonuses that the employee may qualify for. And most importantly, the employee must understand what needs to be done to receive the bonus.

Premiums: what an accountant needs to pay attention to

For length of service, special labor merits, or for holidays, memorable dates, etc., the employer has the right, at its discretion, to issue incentive (congratulatory) bonuses to employees. Payments are made based on an order signed by the head of the company. For this purpose, standard templates No. T-11 (for one employee) and No. T-11a (for several employees) are used. It is allowed to develop your own forms for such orders in the company, but taking into account the requirements of Federal Law No. 402 of December 6, 2011, Art. 9. Read the article in more detail: → Form T-11 and T-11a. Order on bonuses for employees in 2021.

The prescribed rules and regulations on the procedure for bonuses in local acts and employment contracts of the company are also taken into account. Mostly, this fact brings clarity and transparency to the grounds for applying bonuses and allows one to avoid labor disputes. Any changes (missing information or conditions) are made to the employment contract by separate agreement of the parties. At the same time, legal regulation regarding bonuses is carried out in accordance with the Tax and Labor Codes of the Russian Federation.

Information about incentives can be entered into the employees’ work book. Payments of cash bonuses are formalized and made using forms No. T-49, form No. T-53 (settlement and payment document), No. KO-2 (RKO - expense cash order) and by bank transfer.

Is it necessary to draw up a bonus clause or a collective agreement?

Nobody bothers you to pay a bonus without a collective agreement or Regulations. But the employer is at risk. Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes that all expenses, including bonuses, must be documented, in which case they can be accepted to reduce the income tax base.

When checking, a Federal Tax Service employee may not agree to include the bonus as an expense if he does not see it either in the labor agreement, in the collective agreement, or in the Regulations on Bonuses.

Therefore, write down the bonus procedure and amount of remuneration in one of three documents.

• Employment contract - if you fix the bonus in this document, you will be obliged to pay it, otherwise the employee has the right to go to court. The size and order of bonuses can be changed only by mutual agreement.
• A collective agreement is a multilateral agreement and is even more difficult to change.
• The bonus clause is signed by the employer, so it is easy to make changes to it.

Keep records of exports and imports in the Kontur.Accounting web service. Simple accounting, payroll and reporting in one service

Accounting rules for bonuses

For bonuses of a production and non-production nature, the reflection in accounting will be different. If monetary remuneration relates to wages, then it is included in the cost price. A credit is usually designated 70. And there can be several debits: 44, 28, 26, 25, 20.

Two sources are allocated for non-production payments. We are talking about either undistributed income for previous periods, or for the reporting period, but for the current activities of the enterprise.

The payment amount is classified as past expenses if its basis is a decision of the founders or an order of a director vested with appropriate powers.

If, after paying absolutely all contributions, there remains a free part of the profit, it is disposed of by the owners in any case. When the reporting period comes to an end, the decision to pay bonuses is made.

How to make a bonus payment

Formalize a one-time incentive with an order for the payment of a one-time bonus. The order can be drawn up in free form or you can use the standardized forms T-11 to encourage one employee or T-11A to encourage a group. In your order please indicate:

• Full name, position and department of the employee being awarded;
• the reason for the promotion;
• type - in our case, premium;
• amount - in numbers and words.

The employee must read the order and sign it.

Accounting for bonuses

Barboy A. Ya. tax consultant, auditor, lecturer of professional seminars

As a rule, bonuses are the most effective tool for increasing employee motivation and thereby increasing their productivity. Therefore, employers willingly include this type of remuneration in their remuneration system and are willing to bear the additional costs associated with this. But not all types of bonuses can be included in expenses.

The right of employers to reward their employees is provided for in paragraph. 4 hours 1 tbsp. 22 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. However, this document does not define a specific list of types of incentive payments. So, in Art. 191 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation lists only some types of incentives for employees who conscientiously perform their duties. Such payments include bonuses and gratitude; rewarding with a valuable gift or certificate of honor; The nomination for the title “Best in the Profession” has not been forgotten either. At the same time, there are other types of employee incentives that may be acceptable in each specific case. For example, these could be additional payments, bonuses, allowances for high qualifications, knowledge of foreign languages, length of service in the organization, etc. In a word, every employer has complete freedom in choosing incentive payments for their employees.

GOOD TO KNOW

The decision to pay a non-production bonus is made by the head of the organization.

Consequently, any payments of this nature can be established by an employment contract, collective agreement or other internal regulatory document. The most important thing is that these payments correspond to their intended purpose, helping to stimulate employees in terms of increasing their professionalism and conscientious attitude towards their duties, allowing employers to most effectively approach the attraction of the necessary highly qualified specialists, and minimizing staff turnover.

Let’s say right away that in practice, one of the most common aspects in organizing work on paying bonuses is documenting the reward system. In this case, the fundamental document is the Regulations on bonus payments to employees of the organization. This document refers to internal local regulations that establish the types of possible bonuses, the frequency and basis for their payment to employees and, of course, the calculation procedure.

GOOD TO KNOW

The possibility of paying non-production bonuses does not have to be reflected in the bonus regulations.

How to factor it into expenses?

An organization applying the simplified tax system, when paying bonuses to its employees, has the right to take them into account as expenses for tax purposes in accordance with paragraphs. 6 clause 1, clause 2 art. 346.16 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Moreover, in paragraph 2 of Art. 255 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides a list of some types of bonuses, which is open, which means that other remunerations can be taken into account on its basis. At the same time, it is important for tax purposes to take into account the requirements of paragraph 1 of Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In this regard, “simplified” companies must necessarily establish clear bonus conditions for each specific type of incentive. In addition, it is necessary to have documents confirming the actual fulfillment by employees of the organization of the conditions that require bonuses. Moreover, if a bonus is assigned and paid for production results, then for this the employer must fulfill a number of conditions. Let's name the main ones.

Firstly , it is necessary to develop an internal local regulatory document. Such a document may be the Regulations on bonuses or one of the clauses of the collective agreement. Bonus conditions can also be specified in the employment contract concluded with each employee upon hiring. In order to minimize claims from tax authorities, we recommend establishing the grounds for paying bonuses using indicators that can be realistically measured. For example, early fulfillment of the production plan, sales plan, overfulfillment of the scope of work with specific planned and actual indicators. It is important to avoid vague language. For example, such as “for high performance in work.” This document must also establish the sources of payment of the designated premiums, their sizes and calculation procedure.

Secondly , in accordance with Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, documents confirming the employee’s fulfillment of the conditions for bonuses must be available. Such documents may include a memo or a petition with actual performance indicators of the employee, submitted by the immediate supervisor.

IMPORTANT IN WORK

If a bonus is awarded to employees on the occasion of a holiday, birthday, anniversary, etc., is one-time and non-productive in nature, then the costs of paying such a bonus should be classified as other expenses.

Thirdly , we should not forget about the list of expenses that are not accepted for tax purposes, which are named in Art. 270 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This applies to bonuses paid to employees from net profits, special purpose funds and earmarked proceeds. In other words, even if the payment of such bonuses is provided for by the relevant internal local regulations, the organization still does not have the right to take them into account as expenses for tax purposes.

Fourthly , in order to generate a complete set of documents confirming the costs of assigning and paying bonuses, it is necessary to issue an appropriate order or instruction from the manager. To prepare this document, along with standard forms No. T-11 or No. T-11a (for bonuses for a group of employees), you can also use independently developed forms approved by the head of the organization.

IMPORTANT IN WORK

Premiums of a non-production nature are subject to insurance contributions for compulsory social insurance from NS and PZ.

Quite often, organizations also pay their employees bonuses based on work results for the calendar year - the so-called thirteenth salary. This bonus in its essence is also an incentive payment, since it is aimed at increasing the motivation of employees and encouraging them.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that, subject to the specified conditions, organizations using the simplified tax system have the right to take into account all types of production bonuses as part of their labor costs. In addition, in order to minimize the tax risks of the “simplified”, they must be economically justified and documented. Let us recall that in tax accounting under the simplified tax system such expenses are recognized in the reporting (tax) period when they were actually paid to employees (Article 347.17 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

GOOD TO KNOW

Typically, bonuses are paid in cash in the month following the month in which they are accrued, often together with wages.

In what cases is a premium a guaranteed payment?

Thus, if the corresponding internal local regulatory document defines the regularity of bonus payment (once a month, quarterly, annually), then such a bonus is a guaranteed cash payment for employees. In this case, the employer does not have the right to evade such payment, since he voluntarily assumed such an obligation.

If in the above documents the condition for paying a bonus is formulated not as a direct obligation of the employer, but only mentions his right to accrue it in accordance with the organization’s remuneration system, then such wording relieves him of the obligation to regularly pay the bonus. Moreover, in case of payment, the execution of the corresponding order by the manager is also necessary.

As we can see, in order to avoid problems in the future, the employer should be extremely careful when drawing up not only an employment contract with an employee, but also other personnel documents. The following clause regarding bonuses can be stated in the employment contract:

GOOD TO KNOW

Any non-production bonuses, even if they are not provided for in the employment contract (or) collective agreement or local regulations, but are paid by order of the manager, are included in the base for calculating insurance premiums.

“Bonus payments to employees of Standard LLC are carried out in accordance with the current regulations on bonuses in the organization and in accordance with the order of the manager. Before concluding this agreement, the manager familiarizes the employee with the contents of this provision, with which the applicant expresses agreement with his signature.”

…..

The regulation on bonuses must have its own structure, determined by the employer, since there is no standard form for such a document. However, guided by established practice, we will point out certain mandatory points that are necessary in its content and that must be taken into account when compiling it. We will present the main recommendations for the preparation of this important document in a step-by-step format.

GOOD TO KNOW

Labor legislation directly provides for the payment of only bonuses for conscientious performance of labor duties.

Step 1. At this stage, the manager must establish to whom and for what to pay bonuses. In the regulations, it is desirable to show not only the maximum list of bonuses, but also the conditions for bonuses, indicate the categories of employees receiving bonuses, breaking them down by position or department. It is also necessary to indicate the types of bonuses: one-time (one-time) or periodic (monthly, quarterly, annual).

It would not be amiss to indicate in this document the conditions under which an employee can be deprived of a bonus. It is advisable to provide for appropriate document flow in this provision.

Step 2. At the second stage, you should decide on the amount of bonus payments. In this case, premiums can be either fixed or calculated with an established calculation algorithm. It is also advisable to stipulate in the regulations that the size of the bonus in each specific case is set by the head of the organization, defining its limit. For example, no more than the employee’s salary.

Step 3. Procedure for accounting for bonuses. At this stage, it is important to determine the period for paying bonuses, because when working on the simplified tax system, the organization uses the cash method of accounting for expenses in accordance with clause 2 of Art. 346.17 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Based on the foregoing, it is important to remember that bonuses reduce the tax base under the simplified tax system only if they are related to production results, since such a bonus is a component of wages. This is a requirement of Art. 255 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is mandatory for “simplified” residents on the basis of clause 2 of Art. 346.16 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

GOOD TO KNOW

The types, sizes and other key points of the bonus procedure in an organization can be regulated by local regulations, for example, regulations on bonuses.

Bonus after dismissal

We consider it necessary to indicate that the bonus is paid only to those employees who are in an employment relationship at the time the bonus is awarded. The employer has every right to do this. This means that the organization has the right not to pay bonuses to resigned employees. Such a condition, prescribed in the relevant internal local regulatory act, cannot be considered as infringing on the rights of employees.

If desired, the employer can also do otherwise, i.e., pay bonuses to resigned employees, and establish as the basis for paying the bonus that at the time the bonus is calculated, the employment relationship is considered to be ongoing.

POSITION OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

A reference in an employment contract to the employer’s local regulations means that the corresponding payments are provided for in the contract.

Employees, having become familiar with this condition by signing an employment contract or having read the relevant internal local regulations of the employer, have the right to decide on the beginning (continuation) or termination of employment relations with this employer. If they disagree with the decision made by the employer and quit early, before the bonus is calculated, they thereby agree with not receiving it, without even confirming their opinion with a signature.

Example from practice.

Excerpt from the Regulations on bonuses approved by the General Director of Standard LLC: “The bonus is provided for an employee who has worked in the organization for more than one month in the reporting year.” The employee quit before the order was issued to pay the bonus under clause 3 of Art. 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation on an application for dismissal (at one’s own request).

A dispute arose between the manager and the employee, the decision of which was made in court. The court took into account the fact that at the time of issuing the order to pay the bonus for 2013, there were no labor relations between the parties, which gave grounds for the court to make a decision not in favor of the resigned employee.

GOOD TO KNOW

The wage relationship can be considered established if, from the terms of the employment contract, it is possible to reliably determine what amount of wages is due to him for the amount of work actually performed.

Bonus by decision of the director

It often happens in practice that the decision on bonuses is made by the general director based on his subjective judgments. In addition, these payments are sometimes not supported by any calculations. In this case, for the purpose of taxation by the simplified tax system, these payments are not accepted, because they are unfounded, not documented, and therefore do not satisfy paragraph 1 of Art. 252, Art. 255, 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, even if they are of a production nature.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

Labor costs include incentive accruals, including bonuses for production results, bonuses to tariff rates and salaries for professional excellence, high achievements in work and other similar indicators.

Clause 2 of Art. 255 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Awards for the holiday

The question immediately arises: is it possible for “simplified” tax purposes to include as expenses bonuses to employees of an organization paid in connection with professional holidays, significant dates, personal anniversaries, as well as incentives for employees for success in sports, etc.? According to financiers and regulatory authorities, these bonuses cannot be classified as expenses for tax purposes, because these payments do not depend on the results of the work performed (see letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 22, 2012 No. 03-04-06/6-329, dated May 28. 2012 No. 03-03-06/1/281, dated 04/23/2012 No. 03-03-06/2/42). The arbitrators also accept the position of financiers and regulatory authorities and indicate that such payments are not related to specific results of work and are one-time in nature, and therefore cannot be taken into account as expenses (Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the East Siberian District dated May 2, 2012 No. A74-2038 /201).

• Back
• Forward