Offset and refund of tax overpayments: new rules

Is it possible to return overpayment of tax?

The content of the article

If a subject sees an overpayment of mandatory payments, then first it is necessary to figure out how it arose.

This may be the case if:

An error was made when paying tax.
If advance payments at the end of the year turned out to be more than in the annual declaration (for example, an overpayment of income tax or an overpayment according to the simplified tax system is reflected at the end of the year in the declaration under the simplified tax system).
Use of tax benefits when tax is simultaneously paid by a legal entity and withdrawn by decision of the Federal Tax Service, etc.

Overpayment of taxes can be refunded only when the tax authorities agree with this fact. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the Federal Tax Service must inform the payer about this within 10 days from the moment the excess payment is discovered so that he can make an appropriate decision. But in practice this happens very rarely.

However, the taxpayer himself has the right, if an overpayment is detected, to submit an application for a refund of the amount of overpaid tax. Before this, it is advisable for him to reconcile the calculations with the Federal Tax Service. You don’t have to do this, then the inspectors of the Federal Tax Service, if questions arise, will ask you to provide a number of documents that confirm the fact of the overpayment.

Important! The taxpayer must also remember that a refund of overpaid tax is possible only if three years have not passed since the overpayment.

If the overpayment occurred due to the fault of the tax authorities, then this tax amount can be returned within one month from the moment the taxpayer learned about it, or from the date the court decision entered into force.

However, in the latter case, the Federal Tax Service can take advantage of three months to verify the fact of the overpayment and make a decision on the refund.

What amounts returned are not income?

Organizations and individual entrepreneurs using the simplified tax system when calculating tax take into account income from sales and non-operating income under clause 1 of Art. 346.15, articles 249, 250 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

But they do not recognize in income:

amounts that are directly named in Art. 251 Tax Code (for example, the amount of repaid loans and credits), as well as received dividends and interest on government securities, clause 1.1 of Art. 346.15 Tax Code of the Russian Federation;
receipts that do not create economic benefits for the simplifier under Art. 41 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

On the second basis, the payer using the simplified tax system, according to the Ministry of Finance, has the right not to include in income such returned amounts as:

overpaid (or collected) tax and Letter of the Ministry of Finance dated June 22, 2009 No. 03-11-11/117;
a deposit made as security for an application for participation in the competition e Letter of the Ministry of Finance dated December 10, 2009 No. 03-11-09/393;
unjust enrichment resulting from the service provider due to unjustified inflation of tariffs for services and Letter of the Ministry of Finance dated October 11, 2007 No. 03-11-05/245.

In which case is it not possible to return the money?

There are also situations when the Federal Tax Service refuses to refund the overpaid tax. Quite often this is due to the fact that taxpayers miss the statutory limitation periods of three years - if the overpayment of taxes arose due to the fault of the enterprise, one month - when the inspectorate itself is to blame.

Here, proof of the time of discovery of the fact of overpayment of tax is of great importance. If the taxpayer has the opportunity to submit them, and they do not exceed the established deadlines, then through court proceedings it is possible to obtain the return of overpaid tax.

Answer

As a general rule, funds that an organization received into its current account by mistake must be returned. This is due to the fact that such money is transferred to the organization’s account without the grounds provided for by law or contract. This means that she has no legal rights to such funds. This follows from the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Such funds must be returned within a reasonable time after becoming aware of the erroneous crediting of funds. If the organization does not return the money mistakenly credited to its current account on time, the payer may charge it interest for the use of someone else’s funds. If funds are mistakenly credited to the organization's current account in accounting, make the following entry: Debit 51 Credit 76-2. Amounts received by mistake do not form the organization's taxable income (). They do not relate to either sales income or non-operating income (Article , Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If the accounts payable are not repaid by the organization in a timely manner and are not claimed by the creditor, then in accounting they are subject to write-off after the expiration of the limitation period. The general limitation period is three years (). The amount of written off accounts payable for which the statute of limitations has expired should be included in other income in the amount in which this debt was reflected in accounting (clause , PBU 9/99). In accounting, reflect the write-off of accounts payable by posting: Debit 60 (62, 66, 67, 70, 71, 76-4) Credit 91-1. When calculating the single tax under simplification, the amount of written-off accounts payable must be taken into account as part of non-operating income. This rule applies both to organizations that pay a single tax on income, and to organizations whose object of taxation is income reduced by the amount of expenses.

The rationale for this position is given below in the materials of the Glavbukh System

Refund or credit - which is better?

In addition to a tax refund, the taxpayer has the right to ask the Federal Tax Service to offset the amount of any overpayment of tax against the enterprise's existing obligations to the budget.

However, there is a limitation when crediting excess tax. It can only be done for taxes within one budget (federal, regional or local).

In most cases, the decision on a refund or offset is made only by the taxpayer (in the absence of tax debts). Therefore, what is better is a credit or a refund, each business entity decides independently, assessing the current situation in specific conditions, as well as the amount of overpaid tax.

In addition, it matters in what status the tax overpayment occurred. After all, if an excess payment was made by a tax agent, then he cannot take these amounts into account for obligations where he acts as a taxpayer. Only returns are possible here.

How to avoid overpayment

The “Taxpayer Personal Account” mobile application is available for iPhone and Android

Use the taxpayer’s personal account. Notifications about debt or overpayment are sent there. The tax office has a mobile application in which you can also track payments and contributions. It can be downloaded to iPhone or Android from the app store.
Carefully fill out receipts and double-check the tax amount.
Three months after filing the return, make a reconciliation with the tax office. It's free and can be ordered online.

How to identify overpaid taxes

As noted above, overpayment of tax can arise for a variety of reasons and can be identified either by the tax authorities or by the taxpayer himself.
Let's take a closer look at how to identify an overpayment by a taxpayer.

Many taxes require advance payments either monthly or quarterly. Therefore, overpayment of such taxes can be identified after the annual report has been compiled.

At the same time, many declarations require indications in the tax report of the amounts of advance payments and the amount of tax for the year, and therefore the report indicates the amount of the overpayment, if any.

The same situation arises if the report is clarified, as a result of which, due to a benefit or for some other reason (incorrect indication of the tax base), the amount of the taxpayer’s obligation to the budget is reduced.

Often, when transferring taxes, errors can be made in payment orders, so it is possible to identify overpayments of taxes if the money went to the wrong place by periodically checking with the budget for mutual settlements.

You can find out about the resulting surplus from the tax office or on your own:

The inspector can call or send a letter. When calling, it is important to write down where they called from, for what tax and in what amount the overpayment was made. Sometimes the tax office may require additional documents to check whether it is really an overpayment. In this case, there is no point in refusing. Alas, tax authorities rarely report identified overpayments themselves.
Through your personal account on the tax website. If an organization or individual entrepreneur has a qualified digital signature, you can open a personal taxpayer account for free. Through it, it is very convenient to track your relationship with the tax office - it will contain information not only about underpayments, but also overpaid amounts.

What amounts returned are not income?

But they do not recognize in income:

amounts that are directly named in Art. 251 Tax Code (for example, the amount of repaid loans and credits), as well as received dividends and interest on government securities, clause 1.1 of Art. 346.15 Tax Code of the Russian Federation;
receipts that do not create economic benefits for the simplifier under Art. 41 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

On the second basis, the payer using the simplified tax system, according to the Ministry of Finance, has the right not to include in income such returned amounts as:

overpaid (or collected) tax and Letter of the Ministry of Finance dated June 22, 2009 No. 03-11-11/117;
a deposit made as security for an application for participation in the competition e Letter of the Ministry of Finance dated December 10, 2009 No. 03-11-09/393;
unjust enrichment resulting from the service provider due to unjustified inflation of tariffs for services and Letter of the Ministry of Finance dated October 11, 2007 No. 03-11-05/245.

How to get back overpayment of overpaid taxes

If an organization or individual entrepreneur has discovered that the amount of taxes has been overpaid, then there are two possible scenarios: return the funds to your current account, or offset the excess to another tax (KBK).

Procedure for refund

If an organization decides that the overpaid tax must be returned back to the current account rather than offset, a special application for a tax refund is drawn up for this purpose.

A special KND form 1150058 has been developed for it. It was updated in 2021, and is currently more reminiscent of a declaration. The application must indicate the name of the company, the amount of overpayment, the BCC for the tax, and the details of the taxpayer’s current account.

The completed document is submitted to the Federal Tax Service in several ways:

In paper form personally by the taxpayer or his representative by proxy;
By post with notification of receipt;
In electronic form via the Internet, but an electronic digital signature will be required.

The process of refunding excess tax can be divided into several stages:

Determine that an overpayment has occurred. This can be done, for example, by requesting a tax reconciliation report from the Federal Tax Service. The document will show for what tax and in what amount the excess transfer of funds occurred.
Submit a return application. In it you need to indicate information about the company, the amount to be returned and the details of the bank account to which this should be done;
Submit the application to the tax office in person or through a representative, by mail or via the Internet;
After 10 days, receive the result of the application review. If the authority unlawfully refuses a return, prepare documents to transfer the case to court;
Within a month from the date of filing the application, the Federal Tax Service must return the funds to the current account;
If the time has expired, but enrollment has not been made, write a complaint to a higher inspection and prepare documents to transfer the case to court.

How to offset overpaid tax

If the taxpayer decides not to make a refund of overpaid tax, he can offset it:

For further payment of the same tax;
To pay off a debt for another unpaid tax.

When performing an offset, you must follow the rule - a payment can only be offset within the budget of the same level. That is, an overpayment for a federal tax will be credited only to another federal one, for a regional tax - to another regional one, etc.

The Federal Tax Service has the right, if an overpayment is detected, to independently offset the underpayment of another tax. In this case, the company's consent is not required.

To make an offset, you must submit an application for tax offset using a special form KND 1150057.

To what account should the refund from the tax office be credited?

Refund of erroneously (excessively) paid funds

Refunds of funds transferred to the supplier by mistake are made on the basis of a letter from the customer , which indicates the payment document, its number, date and the amount paid by mistake.

The party that received the erroneous amount reconciles the calculations and deliveries. If excess money is discovered, the supplier returns it to the customer .

In the accounting department of the customer (buyer), the erroneously transferred money is reflected in account 76, the corresponding subaccount.

Posting a refund of funds erroneously transferred to the seller to the customer’s bank account will look like:

D-t 51 accounts and K-t 76 accounts - in the amount of excessively (erroneously) transferred funds.

The return of money through the customer's cash desk is recorded as turnover on the debit of account 50 and the credit of account 76.

Consultation on accounting entries for financial returns can be obtained from organizations specializing in consulting accountants or tax authorities. Qualified employees of these organizations will answer any questions you may have regarding accounting for the company’s funds.

Letter requesting refund of overpaid amount to supplier

Accounting for the return of overpayments of income tax for previous years

In 2012, according to a reconciliation with the tax office, an overpayment of income tax for previous years was revealed. At the same time, in accounting there is no difference between the debit and credit balances in account 68, the subaccount “Income Tax Calculations”. The organization submitted an application for a refund of the amount of overpaid tax to the tax office. In 2012, the tax inspectorate refunded her the amount of overpaid income tax. The organization applies PBU 18/02.

How to reflect this situation in accounting and tax accounting? An error of the previous reporting year, which is not significant, discovered after the date of signing the financial statements for this year, is corrected by entries in the corresponding accounting accounts in the month of the reporting year in which the error was identified. Profit or loss arising as a result of correcting this error is reflected as part of other income or expenses of the current reporting period (clause 14 of PBU 22/2010). In the situation under consideration, in 2012, based on the results of a reconciliation with the tax office, an overpayment of income tax for previous tax periods was revealed.

At the same time, in accounting there is no difference between the debit and credit balances of account 68, the subaccount “Calculations for income tax”, which apparently indicates that in case of overpayment of income tax based on the results of tax periods, there were no entries were made to adjust the income tax (Debit 68, subaccount “Calculations for income tax” Credit 99). According to the Instructions for the application of the Chart of Accounts for accounting financial and economic activities of organizations, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 31, 2000 N 94n (hereinafter referred to as the Instructions for the application of the Chart of Accounts), it is intended to summarize information on settlements with budgets for taxes and fees paid by the organization account 68 “Calculations for taxes and fees.” In this case, account 68 is credited for the tax amounts due on tax returns (calculations) for contributions to budgets, in correspondence with account 99 “Profits and losses”, and the debit of account 68 reflects the amounts actually transferred to the budget.

For an organization, the discovered and returned amount of income tax overpaid for previous years is an unexpected gift, but for an accountant it is an unpleasant surprise if this overpayment was not taken into account at the end of the tax period. Olga Podvolokina and Svetlana Myagkova, experts from the Legal Consulting Service GARANT, talk about accounting and tax accounting, as well as how to correct a mistake in this situation. Thus, since in accounting, income tax is accrued based on the results of reporting periods, then, accordingly, the organization, based on the tax return data, calculates the amounts subject to accrual in accounting and reflects the accrual (additional accrual) of tax for the first quarter, first half of the year , nine months on the debit of account 99 “Profits and losses” in correspondence with the credit of account 68 “Calculations for taxes and fees”.

Payment of advance payments for income tax is reflected in the generally established procedure - by the debit of account 68 in correspondence with the credit of account 51 “Current accounts”.

Accounting (mod = 186, id = 6813)

In accounting, the receipt of erroneously transferred funds, which the organization is obliged to return, should be reflected in the debit “Current accounts” in correspondence with “Calculations for claims” ().

If funds are incorrectly credited to the organization's current account, make the following entry in accounting:

Debit 51 Credit 76-2

– funds mistakenly credited to the organization’s current account are taken into account.

Incorrectly received funds in accounting do not belong to the income of the organization. This is due to the fact that in accounting income is recognized as an increase in the economic benefits of the organization (). However, when erroneously transferred money arrives in the current account, its purpose is not determined. They do not relate to income from ordinary activities or other income (). The organization is obliged to return them, therefore such amounts cannot be recognized as income in accounting. In addition, in relation to these funds, the income recognition conditions given in PBU 9/99 are not met. An exception to this rule is funds received, which the organization has the right to. Reflect them in accounting depending on the purpose of the funds received (advance payment, accounts receivable with an expired statute of limitations, etc.).

When returning erroneously credited amounts, there is also no need to reflect them as expenses. This is due to the fact that in relation to such funds the conditions for recognizing expenses given in PBU 10/99 are not met.

In accounting, reflect the return (write-off) of funds previously credited to the current account by mistake by posting:

Debit 76-2 Credit 51

– funds previously mistakenly credited to the organization’s current account are written off.

This is stated in the Instructions for the chart of accounts (,).

postings for transfer to budget income

Please tell me. We are a budgetary institution, a third party (not our employee) caused damage to property, the court found him guilty and ordered him to compensate for the damage. The person compensates for the damage in small amounts through the cash register. We made the accrual on account 205.04 (the amount of forced withdrawal). And what kind of posting should we transfer to budget income if we are not the income administrator? We are a subordinate institution, recipients.. Can non-administrators use account 210 02? Or should we compensate for the damage through 303 05? If you do it through posting 210 02, then in the balance sheet the amount already returned and transferred to income dangles in this account.. Many questions arise..

not allowed: 148n 178. This account is intended for the administrator to account for budget income

(administrator of sources of financing the budget deficit) operations for receipt of
payments administered by him
, as well as settlements with financial authorities for funds received into the budget on the reporting date.

There are no problems with account 21002000, because the instructions (clause 179) stipulate that “Write-offs of amounts of administered revenues credited to the budget at the end of the financial year are reflected in the credit of the corresponding analytical accounts of account 021002000 “Calculations for budget revenues” with financial authorities" and the debit of account 040103000 "Financial result of past reporting periods." problems arise precisely when reflecting through 30305000; at the end of the year this account is not written off anywhere and remains “hanging”.

There is an interesting paragraph in the description of account 30305000.

“the amount of settlements between the administrator of budget revenues, exercising separate powers for the administration of cash receipts, and the administrator of budget revenues (recipient of budget funds), exercising separate powers for accrual and accounting of payments to the budget, issued by Notices (f. 0504805), are reflected accordingly on the credit of the account 030305730 “Increase in accounts payable for other budget revenues”, corresponding to the analytical accounting account 030404100 “Internal revenue settlements”,

030404400 “Internal settlements on income from disposal of non-financial assets” with correspondence on the debit of the corresponding analytical accounts of account 030404100 “Internal settlements on income”, 030404400 “Internal settlements on income from disposal of non-financial assets”, account 030305830 “Reduction of accounts payable on other receipts in budget".

if we omit the fact that this paragraph is written strangely (it seems that the person himself is confused in the words), and remove the strange combinations of words and concepts from there, then it turns out that you first need to find an income administrator

, transfer the funds to the administrator’s personal account and exchange a notice with him, then transfer the transfer amount to the budget from 30305000 to 30404100 and calmly close 30404100 at the end of the year to 40103000. If you do not do this, then your funds sent to the budget will simply hang on “uncleared” account in the FC.. they will have uncleared ones, you have a stuck 30305000..

This is such a sad song for today.

Return of the social security amount to budget posting revenues

2.5.4 Order No. 8n Dki for reimbursement of the amount to budget revenue

Budgetary and autonomous institutions transfer funds received from the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia if previously cash expenses were made by institutions in the status of a recipient of budget funds (before changing the type) at the expense of budget funds. More about this in recommendation No. 1.

Reflect the transfer of funds from the Federal Social Insurance Fund of Russia to the personal account of the recipient of budget funds as a restoration of cash expenses. Reflect transactions in accounting in accordance with the material given in recommendation No. 1. Accounting records depend on whether the authority of the budget revenue administrator has been transferred to the institution or not.