What is a social tax deduction and when can you use it?
In Russia, citizens' incomes, with some exceptions, are taxed at 13%.
But sometimes the state allows you not to pay this money or return previously transferred ones. Tax deduction of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Article 219. Social tax deductions are a part of income that is not taxed. Accordingly, if you apply for a certain amount, you will receive 13% of it. Social tax deduction is available if you spend money on the following purposes.
Charity
You can apply for a tax deduction if you transferred funds:
- charitable organizations;
- socially oriented non-profit organizations for activities permitted by NPOs in Russia;
- non-profit organizations that work in the field of science, culture, physical education and amateur sports, education, healthcare, protection of human rights and freedoms, social support for citizens, environmental protection and animal protection;
- non-profit organizations for the formation or replenishment of target capital;
- religious organizations for statutory activities.
A tax deduction can be claimed for the entire amount of money spent. But this does not mean that you will get back everything you spent - only 13% of it. There is one more restriction: deductions are allowed for no more than 25% of annual income.
Let's say you receive 800 thousand rubles a year. If you transferred 150 thousand to charity in 12 months, you can deduct the entire amount and return 13% of it - 19.5 thousand. If you transferred 250 thousand to an NGO, the deduction will be 200 thousand, since it cannot exceed a quarter of the annual income. Therefore, the maximum return is 13% of 200 thousand, or 26 thousand.
Education
You can receive a deduction for training:
- your own - up to 120 thousand rubles per year, which will return you 15.6 thousand;
- brother or sister - up to 120 thousand;
- children - up to 50 thousand for each, which will be 6.5 thousand.
Almost any educational organization is suitable - from a university to a driving school and courses. But she must have a license.
You can apply for a deduction within three years from the date you spent. And if the training is multi-year and long-term, then it is more profitable to pay a small amount every year rather than pay in a lump sum. Because in the latter case, the deduction can only be received for the year in which the payment was made.
Let's say you are a student at a university where annual tuition costs 50 thousand rubles. But you can give 200 thousand at once. If you transfer 50 thousand every year, you can receive 6.5 thousand rubles four times. If you pay the entire amount - then once, 15.6 thousand.
Treatment and purchase of medicines
You can get your money back if you went to a medical institution that is located in Russia and has the appropriate license. Moreover, the deduction is due not only for direct payment for services and medications prescribed by a doctor - you can also return part of the expenses for voluntary medical insurance.
A deduction is provided for expenses for treatment of oneself, a spouse, minor children, and parents. But payment documents must be issued in the name of the recipient. The statute of limitations for receiving a deduction is three years. The maximum amount is 120 thousand, that is, 15.6 thousand to be issued. An exception is expensive treatment, for which you can claim the entire amount spent as a deduction and receive 13% of it. What is considered an expensive treatment is established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 04/08/2020 No. 458 of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Pension
The deduction is issued if you paid:
- pension contributions under a non-state pension agreement for oneself, spouse, children, parents, grandchildren, grandparents;
- insurance premiums under a voluntary pension insurance agreement for oneself, spouse, parents, disabled children;
- additional insurance contributions for funded pension.
The amount of the deduction cannot exceed 120 thousand rubles per year.
Life insurance
You can return part of the money paid under a voluntary life insurance contract concluded for a period of more than five years. A contract drawn up for yourself, your spouse, children or parents is suitable. The maximum is the same: 120 thousand rubles.
Independent assessment of qualifications
If you have undergone an independent assessment of your qualifications for a fee, you can reimburse part of the costs. The maximum deduction amount is 120 thousand rubles.
NK RF Art. 219
In accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 219 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a benefit in the form of a social deduction in most cases can be declared when filing a tax return for the reporting period. At the same time, when applying to the employer, deductions for expenses for treatment and training, as well as those associated with the payment of pension (insurance) payments to non-state funds, can be used earlier.
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Article 219 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation allows pension contributions, as well as insurance premiums for voluntary life insurance, to be classified as social deductions by which the personal income tax paid is reduced. Moreover, we are talking about contributions paid to non-state pension funds, and, importantly, about part of the payments directed to the funded part of the pension. These rights are defined in sub. 4 and 5 paragraph 1 art. 219 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
How much can you get when applying for several social tax deductions?
In one year, you can get a deduction for several social expenses. But the maximum in this case will be 120 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Article 219. Social tax deductions of thousands for everything. That is, if you spent 120 thousand rubles on education, then you will no longer be able to get a deduction for the rest. But there are exceptions.
Children's education, charity expenses and expensive treatment do not add up to this maximum. Deductions for these expenses are available in addition to 120 thousand.
What documents are needed to receive a social tax deduction?
In all cases, you will need a 2‑NDFL certificate about income and withheld taxes for the year. You can take it from your employer or find it in your personal account on the tax website, where it will appear after March 1. The rest depends on what kind of deduction you are applying for - you will need copies of the documents listed below, unless otherwise noted.
Charity
- donation agreement Social deduction for charity expenses;
- payment documents: checks, receipts, bank statements, payment orders;
- documents confirming the status of the recipient and the purpose of the donation.
Education
- payment documents <Letter> Federal Tax Service of Russia dated November 22, 2012 No. ED‑4‑3/ [email protected] ;
- educational institution license;
- training agreement, if concluded;
- documents confirming relationship if you receive a deduction not for your education.
Treatment
If you paid for medical services <Letter> Federal Tax Service of Russia dated November 22, 2012 No. ED‑4‑3/ [email protected] :
- an agreement for their provision, if concluded;
- a license of a medical institution, if its details are not in the contract;
- certificate of payment for medical services (original).
If you bought medications:
- prescription for drugs with a stamp containing the phrase “For the tax authorities of the Russian Federation, Taxpayer INN” (original);
- payment documents;
- papers confirming the degree of relationship, if necessary.
If you paid for VHI:
- payment documents;
- contract;
- papers confirming the degree of relationship.
Pension
- payment documents For expenses on non-state pension provision, voluntary pension insurance and voluntary life insurance;
- agreement with a non-state pension fund;
- an extract from a personal pension account;
- papers confirming the degree of relationship.
Life insurance
- payment documents Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated April 30, 2020 No. 03‑04‑05/35928;
- an agreement with the insurance company indicating the details of the company’s license;
- papers confirming the degree of relationship.
Independent assessment of qualifications
- payment documents Federal Law of July 3, 2016 No. 251-FZ;
- extract from the Register of Qualification Assessment Centers;
- agreement with the assessment center;
- certificate of qualification.
Article 219
1. The maximum amount of social tax deduction for training (together with the other two - treatment costs and expenses for non-state and voluntary pension provision) is 120,000 rubles. per calendar year. As we have already said, if during the tax period the taxpayer did not pay for treatment, did not buy medicines or health insurance, and also did not enter into non-state or voluntary pension insurance agreements, then all 120,000 rubles. can be claimed as a tax deduction for education.
A donation agreement concluded between a donor and a non-profit organization, or a will, may provide for the transfer of securities that meet the criteria established by law and (or) real estate in accordance with the terms of the donation agreement or will to replenish the formed target capital.
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How to get a social tax deduction
Depending on the type of deduction, you can receive it in two ways.
Through the employer
In this case, your company's accountant will temporarily withhold tax from your paycheck until you reach the limit. Through the employer, you can apply for deductions for education, treatment, pension and insurance contributions.
First, you need to receive a notification confirming the right to deduction, which you will later bring to the accounting department. To do this, you need the documents listed above and send the corresponding application to the tax office. This can be done in person, via mail or through your account on the Federal Tax Service website.
The latter is easiest. To do this, you need a non-qualified electronic signature, which can be issued here on the website. Click on your last name, first name and patronymic to go to your profile page. Scroll to “Get EP”. The process takes, according to the site administration, from 30 minutes to a day.
After this, you can issue a notification. Select the “Life Situations” button, then “Request a certificate and other documents” and “Get a certificate confirming the right to receive social deductions.”
Then you will need to indicate how much money you spent, who your employer is, and also attach all the necessary documents.
The notification will be ready within a month. It must be collected from the tax office and, together with the application for a deduction (written in free form), transferred to the accountants of your company. Then they will do everything themselves.
Through the tax office
In this case, you apply for a deduction directly to the Federal Tax Service. If approved, the entire amount will be transferred to you in one lump sum. To achieve this, you need to contact the inspectorate with a package of documents and a 3-NDFL declaration. Again, this can be done in person, via mail or online on the tax office website. The easiest one, of course, is the latter.
Lifehacker has the most detailed instructions on how to apply for a deduction through your personal account, with pictures.
The Federal Tax Service must review the documents within a month and approve or reject the deduction. But inspectors also have the right to conduct a desk audit, which will lengthen the process to three months from the date of filing the papers. If everything is in order with the documents, the money will be transferred to you within 30 days after approval.
Deadlines for providing deductions
You should think about receiving compensation only after filing a 3-NDFL declaration with the territorial body of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation.
This means that you can only receive it in the next year after the year in which the expenses were incurred; this is the tax period for personal income tax.
Interesting information: Types and conditions for obtaining tax deductions. Restrictions and registration procedure
The period for consideration of applications regarding the provision of social deductions is no more than 1 month on the basis of clause 6 of Art. 78 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
The law does not provide for a mandatory desk audit upon applying for a social deduction.
However, the practice of carrying them out is very common. In accordance with Art. 88 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the period for conducting such an inspection is 3 months.
Only after conducting an inspection and making a positive decision, inspectors count down the month-long period for transferring money.
As a result, the period for receiving money ranges from 2 to 4 months, although the courts have repeatedly noted that the double interpretation of the provisions of Art. 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is not allowed and the period for payment of the deduction is 1 month.
If the inspector delays the consideration of the application and does not make a decision at the end of the month, the applicant has the right to appeal to a higher body of the Federal Tax Service, or directly to the court.
The deduction can be issued for the previous 3 years.
