How to reduce payroll taxes. How to reduce fees without breaking the law
A. Krupsky, Deputy Managing Director of PRADO Structural and Tax Consulting,
K. Rubalsky, lawyer PRADO Structural and tax consulting
Many organizations are trying to reduce tax payments by giving employees salaries in “envelopes”. Naturally, I don’t want to pay taxes to the budget, especially considering that the wages of employees have to be taxed several times. How to competently save on tax payments, our article will tell.
Tax planning when making wage payments to employees of the organization with a sufficient degree of conditionality can be divided into two groups: those associated with a change in the basis of payments to the employee and without such changes. The number of options related to the first group currently prevails over the second group, due to the tightening of tax legislation over the past five years in terms of reducing tax benefits.
But it should be taken into account if the consequences of changing the mechanism of payment of wages in part, for example, reduction of social payments, are hidden from the employee, the risk of sending a complaint to the authorized bodies with the requirement to check his current or former employer is significantly increased. At the same time, a high degree of employee awareness does not completely exclude the risk of such a complaint. To reduce the risk, it is recommended to declare other goals (increasing the degree of motivation of regular employees to work, etc.) rather than reducing the tax burden. Let us consider in more detail what planning options an enterprise can use in order to reduce tax payments.
Option No. 1: conclusion of a contract for the provision of services
The essence of this scheme is that instead of an employment contract, the company enters into a civil law contract with the employee on the provision of services for a fee. In this case, the employee is pre-registered as an individual entrepreneur and switches to the simplified tax system.
When switching to a simplified taxation system, individual entrepreneurs will pay a single tax, which is calculated based on the results of economic activity for the tax period. According to the Tax Code, if the object of taxation is income, it is set at 6 percent. In addition, they pay to the budget of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation in the form of a fixed payment in the amount approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. Currently, the amount of a fixed payment is set at 150 rubles per month. At the same time, 100 rubles is allocated to finance the insurance part of the retirement pension, and 50 rubles - to finance its funded part. The option has limited application possibilities, due to the difficulties encountered in the ongoing support in case the company has a large number of employees.
In this case, the UST will not be paid at all (Articles 236, 346.11 of the Tax Code).
Advantages:
- the company does not pay UST, contributions for compulsory pension insurance and contributions for compulsory insurance against industrial accidents and occupational diseases;
- payment of work and services of entrepreneurs reduces taxable profits;
- Entrepreneurs save on personal income tax.
Disadvantages:
- Entrepreneurs must pay taxes on their own;
- it is necessary to keep a book of income and expenses, as well as quarterly submit a single tax return, which is paid by switching to a simplified taxation system;
- it is necessary to formalize all employees of the enterprise as a BSP.
Option # 2: applying regression
The basis for formulating a conclusion about the possibility of tax savings with a significant increase in employee income is laid down in the provisions of Article 241 of the Tax Code: not a fixed UST rate is established, but a regressive rate scale: the higher the employee’s salary, the lower the rate.
Advantages:
- legalization of income of individuals, as a result, the ability to obtain loans under a mortgage.
Disadvantages:
- the employee is required to pay 13 percent of personal income tax on salary;
- the need for a significant increase in the tax burden: tax savings arise only after the fulfillment of tax obligations from a salary of at least 280,000 rubles.
Option number 3: payoutdividends
When replacing wages with dividends, the personal income tax rate decreases from 13 percent to 9 percent, and the UST is exempted. However, these payments can be made exclusively from the net profit of the company (they are not expenses that reduce the tax base for income tax).
For the purposes of this scheme, it is necessary to create a separate one, since the introduction of even a part of the staff into the founders of a really functioning company raises corporate issues. A newly created company concludes service agreements with a really functioning company (for the provision of services that are directly provided by the employees who are part of the founders).
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
- the need to introduce staff to the founders of a legal entity;
- the need to pay income tax.
Option No. 4: Making Payments from Net Profit
Clause 3 of Article 236 of the Tax Code establishes that payments of organizations in favor of individuals are not recognized as an object of taxation if such payments are not included in expenses that reduce the tax base for corporate income tax in the current reporting (tax) period. Such payments, according to the Tax Code, in particular, include: remuneration not stipulated by labor contracts, bonuses paid at the expense of funds (special purpose or earmarked income). Thus, a direct relationship has been established between the reduction of taxable profits and the calculation of UST.
At the same time, it is necessary to warn about possible abuses by replacing components of wages with payments from net profit. Strictly speaking, USTs are not taxed only on payments to individuals that are provided for in the Tax Code. All other payments in favor of individuals, one way or another, are associated with production results and are subject to inclusion in the composition of labor costs in accordance with the Tax Code, which inevitably entails the accrual of UST.
Advantages:
- the company does not pay UST, contributions for compulsory pension insurance and contributions for compulsory insurance against industrial accidents and occupational diseases.
Disadvantages:
- the possible result of optimization is only the difference between the UST and income tax in terms of the amounts paid;
- lack of payroll;
- the need to justify the lack of communication of the amounts paid and production results.
Option number 5: percentage scheme
In addition to a really functioning company No. 1, an organization No. 2 is created. The latter imitates its own bills and sells them to a company No. 1. A really functioning company sells, in turn, a bill to an employee also at face value. After a certain time (the term for issuing a bill), the paper is presented by the employee to company No. 2: interest income is “employee wage”.
The arising income is taxed by employees at a rate of 13 percent, and UST is not paid (such payments are not remuneration for labor or for services rendered). In addition, the amount of interest within the limits established by the Tax Code reduces the taxable profit of the company “B”.
Advantages:
- the company does not pay UST, contributions for compulsory pension insurance and contributions for compulsory insurance against industrial accidents and occupational diseases.
Disadvantages:
- Interest No. 2 company will pay out of its profits;
- lack of accruals to the pension fund;
- the newly created company No. 2 must conduct other activities in order to avoid being accused of exclusively trading in its own securities, which is suspicious. Simulated securities must be secured by assets of company No. 2.
Option number 6: employee benefits in the form of a scholarship
This method is logical to apply in enterprises in which there is a staff turnover. Legally, the option is to execute a student agreement in addition to the employment contract with the employee. In this case, the costs of training the employee will not be subject to personal income tax and UST only when the training is carried out in the interests of the employer. According to paragraph 3 of Article 217 and subparagraph 2 of paragraph 1 of Article 238 of the Tax Code, personal income tax and UST are not subject to compensation payments in respect of the costs of employers to improve the professional level of employees. Therefore, if the training is carried out according to the decision of the employer, “salary” taxes are not required. After all, it is the employer who determines the need for professional training and retraining of personnel for their own needs (Article 196 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). This means that such training is always carried out in the interests of the employer. The courts also confirm the correctness of this approach (decisions of the FAS of the North-Western District of June 19, 2003 in case No. A13-7990 / 02-21, of August 29, 2005 in case No. A05-17293 / 04-18 and FAS of the Moscow District dated December 27, 2002 in case No. KA-A40 / 8508-02).
However, the tax authorities do not think so. There is a letter of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of Russia dated April 24, 2002 No. 04-4-08 / 1-64-P758, according to which personal income tax should be charged on the cost of training in secondary and higher educational institutions, as well as when an employee receives an adjacent and second profession. It is possible that this conclusion will be projected for the situation under consideration. When installing this option, you should limit the amount of the scholarship to the amount of wages: a different order will definitely cause suspicion among the inspectors.
Advantages:
- lack of obligation to pay UST and personal income tax on payments made.
Disadvantages:
- the size of the scholarship established should not significantly exceed the amount of wages;
- the need to develop directions for retraining.
Option number 7: conclusion of a lease
The method is based on the conclusion, in addition to the employment contract, of a property lease agreement. The subject of the latter is the provision by an individual (employee) for a fee to the employer for the temporary use of his own property. The option is suitable for companies that have not accounted for part of their fixed assets in their own records (this is the most common situation with computers).
Payments made under civil law contracts, the subject of which is the transfer of ownership or other property rights to property (property rights), as well as agreements related to the transfer of property (property rights) for use, are not subject to UST taxation. At the same time, payments under these agreements the company can reasonably take into account for tax purposes on income tax (subparagraph 10 paragraph 1 of article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
The limitation in the scope of application of this method is the need to comply with the condition of leasing only personal property by an individual. Otherwise, the inspecting authorities may raise the question of the need to register an individual as a self-employed person in connection with entrepreneurial activities.
Advantages:
- lack of obligation to pay UST from payments made.
Disadvantages:
- the need for the presence and use in the company of property not capitalized on the balance sheet of a legal entity.
Today I want to talk about an unusual and little-known way to save the family budget - abouttax savings. We are all taxpayers and most of us pay personal income tax (PIT), which is 13% of the income received. As a rule, the employer pays income tax for us, but in some cases, when you independently receive income (selling property, an apartment, land, a car, securities), you must calculate and pay income tax yourself.However, few people know that taxpayers, in addition to the obligation to pay taxes, also haveright tax refund.
Did you know that part of the money paid for tax (PIT) can be returned to from the state budget using tax deductions.
A taxpayer may refund part of the tax withheld from his income to the budget of the Russian Federation if he receives income taxed at a rate of 13%. (Articles 218-221 of the Tax Code.)
The state owes money to many of us, and we don’t even suspect about it. Of course, no one will specifically tell about this and persuade you to take your money. We do not know our rights, we are losing our money and these are our problems, not the state.
So, all citizens who are payers of income tax have full right in certain tax situations get tax deduction.
In what cases you can get a deduction, see the infographic.
Tax deduction - This is one of the types of tax benefits, namely the amount established by law, by which taxpayer income taxed is reduced. The amount of the deduction depends on the tax situation. There are 5 types of tax deductions in total.
- Standard deductions - granted to privileged categories of citizens and citizens with children.
- Social deductions - are provided to the taxpayer if he has in the tax period expenses for training (his or his children), treatment (his or his family members), purchase of medicines, his purchase of a voluntary medical insurance policy, voluntary pension insurance and voluntary contributions for the funded part of the pension.
- Property Deductions - are provided to taxpayers in transactions with property (sale or purchase of an apartment, room, house), in the payment of interest on a mortgage loan, in the sale of other property, as well as during the construction and repair of housing.
- Professional Deductions – provided to authors of works.
- Deductions related to losses of previous years on operations with securities (stocks, bonds, mutual funds)
Now look who can take advantage tax deductions, and what amounts can be returned from the state budget tofamily budget.
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These were social and property deductions.
But to whom standard deductions are supposed. Data for 2011 and 2012. You will be able to return 13% of the tax deductions provided.
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To refund excessively paid tax, you must:
- Get a certificate of income from the place of work in the form of 2-personal income tax;
- Fill out a tax return in the form of 3-personal income tax
- Collect a set of documents confirming the right to a tax deduction
- Apply for a tax deduction;
- Submit an application for income tax refund to your personal account;
Standard and property tax deductions
can be obtainedeither with the tax authority at the end of the year, or with the employer before the end of the year.
Social tax deductions
mainly provided by the tax authorities at the end of the year in which the related expenses were incurred.
You can return tax deductionwithin 3 years after the occurrence of the tax situation.
Check out the interesting infographic on this topic.
Click on the picture, it increases.
So keep in mind that many of us have money in the state. Budget, but as a rule, we don’t know anything about it. The state gives us the right to return part of our money. Do not miss this opportunity, take advantage of this information, save your money and return it to your. Remember? !
Save on taxes - means saving your money and returning it from the State Budget to your wallet.
About how to return each typetax deduction I will explain in detail in future posts.
How to get the standard tax deduction told
The increase in insurance premiums intended for private entrepreneurs in 2013 caused a negative reaction from small businesses. They began to go into the shadows en masse. Perhaps the situation will be improved by the new law on the reduction of insurance premiums, which has been working since the beginning of 2014. About how you can save on taxes, we will try in this article and figure it out.
The best known way to save money is to consider premiums.
Entrepreneurs at UTII and STS, as before, will reduce taxes regarding the amount of insurance premiums paid quarterly. Simplified IP tax in the absence of employees will be reduced by the entire amount of the insurance premium. With workers, it will be reduced by no more than 50%. At the impute of IE without employees, the entire amount of the insurance premium is reduced tax, and not more than half with the presence of employees. And only on the amount of contributions that were paid for the employees. The main condition remains unchanged, which is that taxes can be reduced by the amount of contributions that was paid in the period for which taxes are calculated. You can calculate the tax, taking into account the above, on the page.
Where else can you save?
The only way to reduce the amount of income for entrepreneurs on the simplification is to draw up agency agreements with buyers and suppliers. Ownership of work, goods, services and other property rights, as well as funds in agent transactions, does not transfer to the agent, which means that the money received by the agent as payment for work, goods and services cannot be income. This is confirmed by Article 251 of the Tax Code.
The agent takes into account only the amount of his remuneration in taxable income, which resembles net profit. With this approach, the IP agent will not only reduce the tax base, but also the amount of contributions of an additional 1%, because it also has a dependence on the amount of income. In this case, there is no need to buy goods before selling them. Consequently, much less working capital is needed.
When an agency contract is disadvantageous
Not all transactions by entrepreneurs can be converted into agent form. For example, with government agencies, you obviously can not conclude an agency agreement. In addition, such an agreement is not always convenient to conclude, because the client will have to report the amount of the agency fee, but the buyer does not always have a desire to talk about the amount that will be earned from him. Here it is necessary to agree that it is not very convenient to share information about where the goods were purchased, for what amount, and how much was earned. Although in this case there are exceptions, for example, if it is a supply from abroad. At the same time, the client has the ability to refuse to conclude an agency contract, because this can complicate his workflow.
How will the Federal Tax Service react
Naturally, during the audit, especially if we are talking about entrepreneurs who work on the system of income on the simplified tax system at a tax rate of 6%, tax authorities will especially carefully check all documentary evidence relating to the agent transaction. The main thing here is the correct design. It must also be remembered that such transactions require specialized workflow and accounting. You must have a valid agency agreement, agent reports with or without a dedicated commission plus an act on agent fees.
Other features of the workflow are also there. For example, if the goods are transferred to an agent, it is necessary to draw up non-invoices, in this case, an act of transfer must be drawn up for safekeeping or a commission.
But the verification of the simplified tax system, made according to the system of revenues minus expenses, is not so interesting for tax authorities. Indeed, often, even when the agency contract is reclassified to ordinary, the amount of expenses incurred can be put into expenses that are taken into account in taxation. The amount of tax will remain the same.
How to save on payroll taxes
How to save on payroll taxes
Tax optimization is a matter of concern to all business owners, regardless of its level and type of activity. At any enterprise where employees are present, sooner or later the question arises of how to save on payroll taxes. The simplest and most well-known way to solve the problem (salary "in envelopes") can lead to a conflict with employees or problems with regulatory authorities. Are there other methods to reduce payroll taxes?
How to save on payroll taxes and not overdo it
According to legislative norms, the obligation to pay insurance premiums from wages is imposed on employers of state and private structures. For low-income companies, this is a serious financial burden. It is not surprising that many of them are trying in one way or another to reduce it, often resorting to illegal methods.
If we consider the situation on the part of the employee, then he is worried about the size of wages, but he is not at all interested in the amount of taxation. The employer, in turn, acts as a tax agent and is obliged to calculate insurance premiums from the employees' salaries, the amount of which directly depends on the total amount. Therefore, he is constantly looking for ways to save on payroll taxes.
The planning for the payment of taxes on the salaries of employees can be divided into two categories: with or without a change in the grounds for payment. The first category is most often applied in practice. This is due to the fact that the state system is constantly tightening the tax system. At the same time, tax benefits are reduced, which has been observed over the past five years.
But the solution to the question of how to save on payroll taxes, and its possible consequences should not be hidden from the employee. A reduction in the amount of tax contributions will automatically entail a reduction in social payments. The application of schemes to save wage taxes without notifying an employee may cause dissatisfaction with sending complaints to state bodies with a request to check the activities of the employer. Awareness of the employee does not completely exclude the risk of such a complaint. Setting risk goals to employees that are more significant than reducing tax revenues will help reduce the likelihood of risk to a minimum. How to save on payroll taxes using certain planning methods, using employee motivation for this, we will look at examples.
Why do many people prefer to save on payroll taxes using “envelope” schemes
High rates of premiums are the main impetus for employers in finding methods that contribute to tax evasion. One of the easiest options is to pay salary “in an envelope”. This significantly reduces financial losses. This option is to some extent beneficial to the employee of the company, since it contributes to savings in the payment of personal income tax. The “in envelope” salary payment scheme is as follows: the salary is partially transferred to the employee’s bank account, and the remaining amount is paid in cash or transferred from the accounts of shell companies. In this scheme, payment systems and banks can be used in which they open accounts for employees.
With this scheme, employers feel somewhat safe. They rely on the fact that disclosing such a scheme to the tax authorities will be difficult even if there is any suspicion. To some extent, this method justifies itself. Most hired professionals today are interested in legalizing their income and do not want to participate in envelope schemes. The technical equipment of banking systems makes it easy to track all money transfers. What schemes are used by the employer in order to save on payroll taxes can be found out using a voice recorder, photo or video camera, which are available on almost every mobile phone. Using any of these technical means, the employee can easily collect the necessary evidence of the illegal actions of the employer.
Many employers' beliefs about how to save on payroll taxes can be considered misconceptions. For example, such:
1. To hide from the employee the fact of applying the salary payment scheme “in the envelope” is easy and simple
Sometimes the employees themselves express a desire to receive part of their wages “in an envelope”, especially if the entire amount is paid immediately and in cash. The payment of salaries in part in cash and in part by transferring to the employee’s card is explained as a separate transfer of bonus and salary.
In the column of the employment contract, where it is necessary to indicate the amount of wages, they usually write the following wording: “according to the staffing table”. If an employee asks questions about a specific salary and payment system, the employer applies excuses about salaries and bonuses. The "envelope" scheme in this embodiment is simply obvious. Further, she can find documentary evidence if the employee requests a 2-personal income tax certificate or documents confirming the amount of wages. It is especially easy to identify a discrepancy if you track pension transfers or check the statements of non-state pension funds through the State Services portal.
2. The employee himself is interested in receiving a salary in this way
It is believed that employees understand the need for informal payroll. Given the rather large amounts of personal income tax, the employee will prefer a higher salary “in envelope” to official accruals, some of which “go to the state”. In conditions when there is not enough money for many needs, workers count every penny.
Contrary to such assumptions, in reality, hired employees do not take into account the accrual of personal income tax. On the contrary, there are a number of significant incentives for obtaining legal salaries. This makes it possible to rely on higher payments for dismissal associated with the reduction. Thus, the “white” salary increases the attractiveness of social guarantees.
Another point that worries workers is that when paying salaries “in envelopes”, the employer gets the opportunity for unauthorized delays when settling with an employee for an unlimited period. At the same time, the arisen debt on “envelope” wages cannot be proved. This “binds” the employee and makes him work further in the hope of receiving his money in the future. Such cases become a strong argument in favor of legal salaries with 13 percent deductions to state funds.
The state, through legislative acts, is working towards employees in these matters, while simplifying the work of regulatory bodies. The Federal Law under the number 186 of July 29, 2015 enables hired employees to apply to arbitration courts to recognize a company that owes salary in bankruptcy. You can use this opportunity only in case of legalization of salaries.
3. Only former employees complain about salary “in an envelope”
As a rule, information about salary payments “in envelopes” comes from former employees of companies offended by the management. But working professionals who are unhappy with such a remuneration system can also file a complaint.
The risk zone also includes employees who work in the company informally (without an employment agreement). An example of such a situation may be the case of 05.22.15 No. A32-43283 / 2014, considered in the AC of the Krasnodar Territory, when witnesses were given by employees who did not conclude an employment agreement with the company.
Sometimes informants for salary schemes “in envelopes” are applicants for vacancies, who were informed at the final interview about partial salary payments “in envelope”. One of these applicants filed a complaint at the same time against five companies where he was interviewed. Another informant filed a complaint against the enterprise, attaching to it a photo of the questionnaire, which contained information about the “white” and “black” salaries and that sick leave and vacations would be paid only from the official part of the salary. This statement was accompanied by a dictaphone recording of a conversation between the employer representative and the applicant with all the details of the salary payment.
Stakeholders may include relatives of company employees, their neighbors, and ex-wives. For ex-wives, legalization of spouse's income makes it possible to receive the due amount of alimony without resorting to derogatory requests for financial assistance. This is especially true if the accrual of child support coincided with a decrease in spouse's income. In this case, ex-wives often conduct their own investigation and provide a lot of evidence of expenses and unofficial income of the spouse, up to the current accounts to which funds are transferred.
4. Without official documents, employees will not be able to prove the payment of wages "in an envelope"
Based on this, it can be concluded that it is enough to simply refuse to issue documents proving official employment to an employee. But this fact is not significant for legal proceedings, as as evidence the employee can provide a photo report with the results of his work, information about the payment of salaries, about the placement of his workplace and a photo of a locker with personal belongings.
But in practice, there are cases when a laid-off employee who informally worked for the company and received a salary “in an envelope”, just in case, presents a package of documents to the regulatory authorities. They can be transmitted in the form of printouts from the accounting program with indicators of salaries and bonuses paid by the employer. In legal practice, there is a case when an employee of the company submitted to the regulatory authorities, together with a statement, evidence of the fact of receiving the salary “in an envelope”, as well as a printout from the accounting program and a copy of the motivation letter approved by the company's seal with details of the salary payment. Some former employees manage to submit copies of unofficially paid salaries to the legal authorities.
5. Even after an employee complaint, proving the use of the “envelope” salary scheme is not easy
In this case, it can be assumed that any unfounded statements by employees cannot harm the employer. And if at the same time he is too lazy to make a complaint with any inspection, then the employer has nothing to worry about at all.
The only thing a lazy worker is capable of is accessing the Internet. It retains almost everything that was granted open access. Typically, such information is on special sites (http: //onlineinspektsiya.rf) or forums where employees discuss their employers (http://msk.rab2rab.ru and http://antijob.net). Based on the information from these portals, you can make a list of companies that use the "in envelope" salary scheme. Supervisory authorities register such companies and first of all subject them to verification, since the reviews on these sites are similar in content to those statements on the legalization of labor and salaries that are received by labor inspection bodies.
The site http://gderabotaem.ru belongs to one of those Internet resources where employee reviews about their companies are published with information about real and shadow salaries. Even on the basis of information from positive reviews, regulatory authorities can extract incriminating information about the enterprise. This can be a comparison of real salaries for each post separately with official reporting. Such information can be taken on all sites with job offers (http://rdw.ru).
If a discrepancy between the offer and the official salary is revealed, then the company will have to choose the lesser of evils: recognize the use of the "envelope" scheme or declare that this offer is a fraud. There are employees in such situations who want to take advantage of the situation and declare their demand for official salaries.
How to save on payroll taxes so that both the employee and the manager are satisfied
Option No. 1. Salary in the form of a scholarship
This option consists in the simultaneous execution of a pair of contracts with each employee (academic and labor). The scheme works under the condition that the training of a “future specialist” is necessary for the company to work effectively (training criteria may include an internship, a period in office, an increase in the level of professionalism, retraining, etc.). Under the training contract, the employee receives scholarship accruals, which, according to the current legislation, are not subject to tax deductions (social payments and income accruals). Moreover, the amount of the scholarship paid may exceed the amount of accrued wages. When deciding to save on payroll taxes in this way, one must keep in mind that multiple excesses of the amount of the scholarship compared to the paycheck can cause a check organized by the tax service.
The most common way to save money on payroll taxes is to decide the heads of companies working in industries with high staff turnover or with a shortage of specialists. This may explain the need for training, retraining, etc.
Option No. 2. Special deferral of salary and payment of compensation
Violation by the employer of the terms of payments stipulated by the labor contract may be the basis for compensation payments. Their size should exceed 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate. There are examples when the real percentage of compensation prescribed in the contract with the employer increases many times.
The principle of operation of this scheme, which allows saving on payroll taxes, is to deliberately withhold paychecks, which is compensated by payments for which you do not need to pay tax fees. According to current regulations, compensation payments do not need to be made in the form of personal income tax. The result of such an operation is a tax-free financial bonus to the employee. This scheme can be applied in companies where salaries are paid not twice a month, as required by law, but only once, or where advances significantly exceed the amount of the second payment.
Option number 3. Savings due to the contract of lease of personal property of the employee
If the company owns property (office equipment and other equipment) that is not on the balance sheet of a legal entity, then in this case a lease agreement for the use of personal equipment of an individual is concluded with the employee of the company. This contract is concluded as an addition to the labor agreement. At the same time, payments partially covering the employee’s salary are listed as compensation for the use of property. This scheme allows you to save on payroll taxes, since this category of company expenses is not taxed and can help reduce the amount of tax charges on profits (STS mode, “income minus expenses” object).
The practical application of this scheme is possible subject to legal norms regarding the property of an individual. Otherwise, the inspecting bodies of the employee will be regarded as entrepreneurial activity, and he will be required to pay income tax.
Option number 4. Hiring SP
You can save on salary taxes by registering employees as private entrepreneurs who have entered into an agreement with the company to provide services that correspond to their official duties. This makes it possible to reduce tax payments by almost half. According to the simplified taxation system, a private entrepreneur transfers only 6% to the state budget instead of 13%.
Option number 5. Salary from profits
By paying wages, the amount of which is not indicated in the employment contract, the company is able to reduce the actual profit. In this case, the company can also save on payroll taxes and insurance payments. As for the employee of the company, in this situation he is obliged to pay tax on his salary as an individual. In accordance with the rules of taxation, with a salary of 10 thousand rubles, net of net rates, only 9,220 rubles are paid. It should also be remembered that, on the basis of Article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the income of individuals is not subject to a single social tax, but income derived from professional activities should be included in expenses as payment for the work of company employees. In this case, a company applying a profit-based payment scheme in order to save on taxes must provide evidence of the absence of a connection between production profit and employee benefits.
Option number 6. Salary with interest on the total income of the company
How to save on payroll taxes when paying dividends from operations with securities, many entrepreneurs are thinking, because this system is quite complex, multi-stage and needs to create an additional organization. Under such a scheme, an additionally created organization sells to a real company a simulated bill of exchange, which must be secured by the corresponding assets. In turn, the company sells purchased promissory notes to employees at face value. After that, the employee presents the purchased bill of fictitious company and receives a percentage of income equal to his salary. The advantage of this scheme for the employer is the absence of payments at tax rates and the reduction of taxable profits. But company employees under such a scheme are deprived of social financial protection provided by the state.
Option number 7. Issue of dividends
Another way to save on payroll taxes is to pay payroll as a percentage of the company's profits. In this case, the company is completely exempt from tax payments to the social insurance account and to the Pension Fund. The tax dividend rate is currently 13%, and until 2015 it was 9%.
The introduction of such a scheme requires the creation of an additional limited liability company, the founders of which will be employees of a real company. Salary as a percentage of profit should reflect the amount for the services provided by employees.
Option number 8. Opening an offshore company
Insurance premiums are not paid by a non-resident company, since it is not registered with the state and is not recognized by insurance agencies. Payment of personal income tax is a personal obligation of the entrepreneur who receives income. He must submit a declaration and pay tax before the end of the specified period, but no later than April 30 and July 15, which extends the deferral of payment to one and a half years.
An offshore company in a foreign bank opens card corporate accounts to a specific recipient. Money is transferred to a bank card as travel or hospitality expenses, an accountable amount, etc. Personal income tax is not levied on such payments, because they do not belong to the income category and funds were not received to a personal account. An employee of the company in one of the Russian ATMs can withdraw money or spend it by bank transfer using a bank card. This method is another tip on how to save on payroll taxes.
Financial expenses under this scheme make up about three percent, not including commissions when transferring funds to an offshore company. But interest rates can fluctuate.
In the event that an employment contract is concluded with an individual recipient of funds or a civil contract is drawn up, the offshore company, for its part, can quietly legally transfer money to a card owned by one of the Russian banks. Money transfers can be designated as salary, payment for services, compensation, material assistance or a fee for the work done. For all types of payments listed, except for compensation, the employee still has to pay personal income tax.
Basically, the goal of all the schemes presented is to increase the income of company employees or legalize salaries “in envelopes”. If for a long time the employee received his income in the form of an official salary, then when switching to another payment system he may be confused by the apparent uncertainty regarding salary issuance, employment records, seniority, job status, vacation pay, medical insurance, social benefits and pension accumulations.
But the company is trying to compensate for any inconvenience financially or in other ways. For an employee, companies can save a part-time job and a lower salary, but their income when using one of the schemes to save on payroll taxes will increase significantly. The amount of unofficially paid income fully compensates for vacation, sick leave and monthly pension savings.
In fact, the company will begin to share with its employees the savings from the used scheme. If an employee previously received his salary informally, the company does not pay any compensation, and all the profit from the savings goes to the company.
How to save on payroll taxes without fear of tax officials and employee anger
It is believed that any accountant is competent in calculating payroll, but experience has shown that problems of the following nature may arise:
Lack of efficiency in work and incorrect entry of information on all parameters - vacation, work schedule, business trips, overtime and other working hours.
In 70% of cases, the average earnings are incorrectly calculated due to ignorance or non-compliance with calculation methods.
Incorrectly calculated payroll leads to incorrect taxation.
In 50% of cases, tax amounts are incorrectly calculated due to a lack of knowledge of tax legislation or practical skills.
Effects:
Incorrect payroll for company employees.
Incorrect tax calculation for each employee.
Incorrectly accrued salaries in favor of an employee of the company entails a reduction in income tax. As a result of unjustified calculations, it is necessary to submit clarifying documents to the tax inspectorate or to expect additional assessments of tax, penalties and interest due after verification.
In this case, you are better off contacting accounting professionals who will solve these problems in two ways. In St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, Accounting Resource is dealing with accounting problems.
Our accountants specializing in payroll for company employees always check and analyze the calculated data.
In order to identify any discrepancies, our experts have introduced control procedures, thanks to which a quick request is made for information regarding a specific calculation to verify the reliability of the data.
The qualifications of our employees allow us to deeply understand the specifics of controlling tax authorities, which makes it possible to quickly respond to controversial issues regarding tax assessment.
If you have doubts about the correct payroll or taxes, or you just need to make sure the accuracy of the calculations, call us and we will help you. All payroll services will be free for you (as a pleasant bonus). We will help to quickly correct any situation, make the right and timely decision on the transition to outsourcing wages with a full and detailed report in the form of figures and specific facts.
In almost 85% of cases, problems exist, and it is better to learn about them in a timely manner.
Benefits of the chief accountant when transferring payroll outsourcing:
Give us the most routine and time-consuming procedure. More than 90% of accountants want to free themselves from the obligation to calculate salaries and do more important things for the company.
There is an opportunity to rationally use your working time.
The responsibility for the accuracy of the calculations and for the quality of work is removed.
There is no need to solve personnel issues on the vacancy of an accountant accruing wages, and to look for him a replacement for a vacation or sick leave.
There is no need to control the employee.
And most importantly, the company gets an excellent alternative to the current situation for a reasonable price! Payroll is done more carefully and professionally, which gives a high guarantee on the accuracy, efficiency and timeliness of payments, the absence of underpayments and overpayments to employees and to a budget organization.
Time and attention of the chief accountant are released for the really main things:
Control, tax security and reduction of economic risks,
Organization and control of accounting processes in the company, etc.
Additional advantages of the company from outsourcing services:
Tax risks are reduced.High qualifications, the effectiveness of actions and organizational processes in calculating taxes, salaries, and filing tax reports will help to avoid debts to regulatory authorities. It also minimizes the calculation of penalties, blocking a bank account and other measures.
Full confidentiality is ensured.The circle of people aware of the size of salaries is limited to authorized persons of the company.
Costs are reduced.A constant search for methods to save on payroll taxes reduces profit losses. There is no need to use 1C: ZUP software.
Shifted financial responsibility.If any mistake occurs due to the fault of our specialists, then we take all the compensation for the damage caused. Warranty obligations are fixed by the contract and voluntary liability insurance policy for 30 million rubles.
The company's reputation as an employer is always impeccable.All obligations regarding employees are fulfilled on time and in full. Full transparency of calculations.
What is included in salary outsourcing:
- Accompanying services:
Preparation of salary and tax payments in the Bank-Client system;
HR records management (documenting personnel movements and deviations; drawing up a time sheet; keeping a vacation balance);
Representation in tax authorities in case of calling the general director to the salary commission / escorting him to the IFTS;
Written advice and support in case of labor disputes with employees.
- Calculation:
Advance payroll;
Salaries, remuneration under GPC agreements;
Holidays, severance pay, business trips, compensations, sick leave payments, etc .;
Taxes and contributions.
- Preparation:
Individual checklists and their address distribution to employees (by e-mail);
Help 2-personal income tax and in free form at the request of employees;
Payroll for advances, salary;
Interim employee benefits;
All types of payroll reporting in the IFTS, PFR, FSS (including electronic change).
- Control:
Quarterly reconciliations with extrabudgetary funds;
Regular monitoring of your settlements with tax authorities so that you do not have debts to the state;
Operational control of feedback from tax authorities through the electronic reporting system (even before letters of inquiry of the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate arrive at your legal address).
- Consulting:
Clarifications on previously made calculations;
Written explanations of the requirements of the law with regard to payroll and taxes, as well as the related contract;
Oral advice on labor law in an unlimited volume, including on the optimization of salary taxes.
- Interaction with government agencies:
Compensation from the Social Insurance Fund of money paid as temporary disability benefits;
Interaction with tax authorities and extrabudgetary funds in case of questions regarding the reporting of your company.
There is not a single founder, manager or chief accountant who, at the sight of tax returns, would not think about how to reduce the amount in the “Total” column, because, as you know, money is not superfluous.And in the conditions of the global financial crisis - even more so. We talked about fresh and safe ways to save on “salary” taxes with Lyudmila Budanova, chief editor of the tax analysis analytical department of the Berator editorial office.
- Tell me, please, how can you classify the options used to reduce the tax burden?
- There are various ways to reduce the tax burden. Some of them are absolutely legal, since they were deliberately provided by lawmakers, enshrined in the Tax Code. This, for example, tax deductions, benefits, reserves. Others are associated with gaps and inconsistencies in the rule of law. They, in the language of Ostap Bender, are "relatively honest." Still others violate the rule of law and may result in liability, even criminal. Of course, we recommend that taxpayers use only those optimization schemes that do not go beyond the law.
- It is no secret that many schemes of legal tax evasion are well known to both firms and tax inspectors, but the norms of the Tax Code are constantly changing. Will there be new opportunities for optimizing “salary” taxes from January 1, 2009?
- You are right, in the tax legislation and in the Tax Code in particular amendments are made more often than in other normative acts. The most significant changes, according to tradition, come into force on January 1 of each year. The coming 2009 will not be an exception. Some changes will be beneficial for both firms and employees. For example, they cease to tax PIT and UST on payment by the company of interest on housing loans to employees, employee training and voluntary contributions to the funded part of the retirement pension. Once again, the possibility of establishing the per diem amount by the organization itself will become relevant.
- Let's talk about these schemes in more detail. How can help in buying housing reduce taxes?
- Since 2009, they have not taxed PIT on interest that loans are paid by the company for its employees (Section 40, Article 217 of the Tax Code). At the same time, the amount of interest should be included in expenses when taxing profit, but within 3 percent of the wage fund (paragraph 24.1 of article 255 of the Tax Code). In addition, the amount of interest compensation is not subject to UST (subparagraph 17 clause 1 of article 238 of the Tax Code). Thus, if we replace part of the employee’s salary with reimbursement of interest on the purchase (construction) of housing, we can get significant tax savings. Let us explain the above with an example.
Suppose, an employee of the company "Dandelion" Ivan Ivanov (resident) took a loan to purchase a home. Monthly, he must pay the bank interest in the amount of 10,000 rubles. The company may refund him this amount.
Suppose Ivan Ivanov’s salary is 30,000 rubles a month. "On hand" he
receives 26,100 rubles (minus 13%).
Part of the salary can be replaced by compensation for interest. The total amount of payments to the employee will be 28 506 rubles: 18 506 rubles - salary, 10 000 rubles - interest reimbursement for a "housing" loan. As a result, Ivan Ivanov will receive the same amount: 26,100 rubles (10,000 + (18,506 - 13%)), and the company will save monthly on payments of 1,494 rubles (30,000-28,506), and this is not counting savings on personal income tax and UST from this amount.
By the way, the amount of interest compensation is also not taxed by the UST. That is, the company will also save UST in the amount of 2600 rubles (10,000 x 26%) per month.
However, you can use this method only until January 1, 2012. After this date, the rules that exempt from tax reimbursement of interest on "housing" loans will cease to apply (Article 7 of the Law of July 22, 2008 No. 158-ФЗ "On Amending Chapters 21, 23, 24, 25 and 26 of the Part the second Tax Code of the Russian Federation and some other acts of the legislation of the Russian Federation on taxes and fees ”).
You can learn more about how to save on any of the existing taxes from the new tax-saving berator. In addition to ways to reduce the "traditional" taxes (VAT, "salary" taxes, taxes on profits, property and transport), it describes in detail the possibilities of reducing the tax burden by simplists and exchangers.
- Does paying for employee training also help reduce the tax burden?
- Quite. The fact is that from January 1, 2009, UST and personal income tax are not subject to the payment of basic or additional professional education by employees. For this, a Russian educational institution must have a license, and a foreign one must have an appropriate status. Which programs are basic and which are optional, explains article 9 of the Law of July 10, 1992 No. 3266-1 “On Education”.
So, the main professional programs include: primary vocational education, secondary vocational education, higher professional education (undergraduate programs, specialist training programs and master's programs) and postgraduate professional education.
The additional educational program includes work programs for training courses, subjects, disciplines (modules).
Replacing part of the salary with employee training for any of these educational programs can save on “salary” taxes.
You can conclude a training contract not only with your employee, but also with any person who is looking for work. This document should provide for the obligation of the “student” after three months after graduation, to conclude an employment contract with the company and work for at least a year in it. If these conditions are not met, then the training costs, which were previously taken into account when calculating income tax, must be included in non-operating income.
- You mentioned voluntary contributions to the funded part of the pension. In what order do they need to be paid and how do they save taxes?
- From October 1, 2008, anyone can voluntarily increase their future pension through additional insurance contributions to its funded part. You can do this in person or through a company where a person works. The amount of contributions is not limited.
The state volunteered to co-finance pension savings of citizens, but not more than 12,000 rubles per year for each person. And for those who have reached retirement age, but have not applied for a pension, the amount will be increased four times. That amounts to 48,000 rubles per year. Moreover, it is not necessary to withhold personal income tax from this money (Section 38, Article 217 of the Tax Code).
Since 2009, employers will also be able to pay additional pension contributions to their employees. Amounts can be any, but only 12,000 rubles per year for each employee are exempted from the unified social tax (subparagraph 7.1. Paragraph 1 of article 238 of the Tax Code). No need to tax them and personal income tax (paragraph 39 of article 217 of the Tax Code). The decision to co-finance future employee pensions by the company must be executed by order of the head or reflected in a collective or employment contract.
We note that voluntary contributions of the employer can be attributed to a decrease in taxable profit, but they are normalized: only the amount not exceeding 12 percent of labor costs can be taken into account (clause 16 of article 255 of the Tax Code).
So, if an employee decides to transfer voluntary contributions, the company will be able to save UST. To do this, you need to replace part of the employee’s salary with voluntary pension contributions. If such contributions will amount to 1000 rubles per month, then for the year the company will save 3120 rubles (12,000 x 26%).
In addition, amendments to the Tax Code will allow citizens to receive a social tax on personal income tax in the amount of 120,000 rubles per year for paying additional contributions to the funded part of the retirement pension.
- Please tell us about tax savings using per diem.
- As you know, from the beginning of next year the rationing of per diem for taxation of profits is canceled. Recall that prior to this date it is allowed to take into account only 100 rubles per day in business tax expenses on business trips in Russia (Government Decree No. 93 of February 8, 2002).
UST is not charged for any amount of per diem that the company decides to pay (subparagraph 2, paragraph 1. Article 238 of the Tax Code). Therefore, if your company employs employees who often travel on business trips, then paying them a per diem will save on UST and income tax. To do this, it is enough to replace part of their wages with per diem.
For example, Pyotr Petrov works at Dandelion. He often travels on business trips to a Dandelion branch in another city (on average, four times a month). Petro Petrov's salary is 10,000 rubles per month. By order of the head, the daily subsistence allowance was set at 1,500 rubles per day for business trips in Russia. We calculate how much the company will save by replacing part of the employee’s salary with per diem.
From the employee's salary you need to pay UST in the amount of 2600 rubles (10,000 x 26%) per month. When replacing part of the salary with per diem, the single social tax will amount to 1040 rubles ((10,000 - 1,500 x 4) x 26%). Thus, the company will save UST in the amount of 1,560 rubles (2,600 - 1,040) per month in payments to Petr Petrov.
The amount of savings when using this method depends on the size of the per diem with which you decide to replace part of the wage. The larger the per diem, the greater the savings. However, keep in mind: in order not to arouse suspicion on the part of the inspectors, the size of the per diem should be reasonable and economically justified.
At the same time, rationing of per diems for personal income tax purposes has been maintained. The per diem tax is not kept within the previous limits: 700 rubles per day for business trips in Russia, 2500 rubles per day for business trips.