Income declaration: who is obliged to report
For officially employed citizens who do not have other income, drawing up a declaration is irrelevant, since the employer has assessed and withheld tax on their income. The following must submit a 3-NDFL report for the year to the Federal Tax Service:
- Individual entrepreneurs using OSNO, UTII (if they receive income that does not fall under the declared special regime), simplified tax system (if the basis for using the simplified tax system has been lost);
- Private practitioners or self-employed citizens, for example, lawyers, attorneys, teachers, tutors, etc.;
- Ordinary individuals who received income that was not taxed. For example, sellers of real estate that they have owned for less than 3 years, persons receiving income from renting out property, or other income should declare income.
Form 3-NDFL is also filled out by citizens who decide to take advantage of benefits to return part of the funds spent on the purchase of housing, education, treatment, etc. from the amounts of previously paid tax.
Submitting a 3-NDFL declaration is an obligation to confirm income and a right to receive a tax refund. This commonality of different purposes ends when it comes to the timing of the submission of the declaration. If the document for the return of personal income tax is of an application nature (issued - received a deduction) and the filing deadlines in this case are not established (but we must not forget about the three-year limitation period), then for confirmation of income and tax calculation they are strictly limited. This aspect will be discussed in the article. Having figured out who should submit an income declaration, let's talk about the timing of its submission and the features of its preparation by different categories of payers.
Who is the report expected from?
Among those who are required to report their income are individual entrepreneurs, notaries, and lawyers who have established law offices. Also, citizens who in 2020 sold real estate that was owned for less than the minimum period of ownership (to sell a single home under the new rules, it is enough for 3 years to pass from the date of its purchase) or vehicles, or who received expensive gifts not from close relatives or income from abroad (for example, they worked in another country, while being tax residents of the Russian Federation), rented out property.
How to fill out an income tax return
You can declare income for 2020 using an updated form developed by tax authorities and approved by Order No. ММВ-7-11/822. The updated version of the personal income declaration form can be found on our website. It also provides information about the features of the document, the transformations made, the subtleties of filling it out, as well as a sample of filling out the declaration.
Unlike an ordinary citizen, who issues a 3-NDFL only when receiving income, a businessman is required to submit a declaration of income as an individual entrepreneur even if a loss is received. You will have to fill out a form with zero values, since failure to submit a declaration may result in a fine or account blocking. All the nuances associated with the preparation of Form 3-NDFL by an entrepreneur and the timing of its submission are discussed in the consultation dedicated to this issue.
Civil servants declare their own income (and expenses) in a special way. The formation of declarations of this category is determined by methodological recommendations for filling out an income declaration. The article published on our website and dedicated to this topic examines the features of drawing up income statements for employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, civil servants and citizens applying for government positions.
On paper and digitally
The declaration can be submitted either in paper or electronic form. In the latter case, on the website of the Federal Tax Service nalog.ru, in the “Individuals” section, you can download the “Declaration” program, which will help prepare the necessary documents. In addition, you can use the taxpayer’s personal account. It allows you not only to submit the documents themselves, but also to track their verification.
Since 2020, taxpayers have the opportunity to submit income declarations through multifunctional centers of state and municipal services (MFC). The day of submission of such a tax return is considered the day it is received by the multifunctional center. An MFC employee, at the request of the taxpayer, must put a mark on the copy of the tax return indicating the acceptance of documents indicating the date.
Questions regarding the preparation of the 3-NDFL declaration
Filling out an income statement often confuses the average person. Let us explain questions to which it is not always possible to find out the answers. For example, not everyone knows what the taxable amount of income in the declaration is.
The individual indicates this amount as income received in sheet A of the declaration on page 080. As a rule, it is equal to the total income (page 070) subject to taxation. The opposite interpretation of the taxable amount will be if a citizen issues a 3-NDFL to receive a deduction. In this case, sheet A indicates the taxable amount of income not for payment, but for return. Its value will be equal to the difference between the amount of income received and the amount by which the tax base is reduced (for example, when providing property or social deductions).
The column “occupation of the child” in the income statement of civil servants often causes confusion, although this is just a statement of the child’s status. If he does not go to kindergarten or school, then his status is “dependent”. The status of a child attending a preschool institution is “kindergarten student (preschool educational institution) No. …”. The occupation of adult non-working family members of a civil servant is defined as “unemployed” if it is recognized as such by the employment service. In other cases, this column is filled in with the phrase “temporarily not working.”
You can learn how to fill out a declaration to return the deduction when purchasing an apartment here. And this article explains in detail how to get a deduction for treatment.
Who files the declaration?
If a citizen works officially, he does not report taxes on his own: the tax agent, the employer, does this for him. But in some cases it will be necessary to report to the individual himself. The following categories of citizens submit a declaration:
- persons conducting individual economic activities (entrepreneurship) who are not registered as a legal entity;
- lessors (individuals) who rent out real estate, cars, buildings, and so on;
- notaries, private detectives and other citizens engaged in private practice;
- citizens of the Russian Federation permanently residing on its territory, but receiving income from abroad;
- other categories of individuals whose income is subject to taxation.
Some citizens are exempt from submitting a declaration to the tax authority:
- an individual, if the tax base (income) received for the year does not exceed 30 thousand rubles;
- employed citizens;
- non-residents - persons living abroad most of the time - more than 183 days a year.
Where and when should I submit my declaration?
To submit a declaration, you must select the tax office that is located at the place of residence (registration) of the individual. In addition, there are several available ways to submit information:
- on one's own;
- by proxy, most often through special offices;
- by mail;
- if you have an electronic signature via the Internet.
The declaration is submitted within the deadline established by law - before April 30 of the year following the reporting period. If the declarant has the right to a deduction and wants to use it, the declaration must be submitted before the end of the reporting year.
Mandatory tax return submission
The requirement for the mandatory submission of a tax return in form 3-NDFL applies, in particular, to foreign citizens engaged in labor activities for hire from individuals for personal, household and other similar needs not related to business activities, on the basis of a patent (clause 1 Article 229, 227.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
These citizens are required to submit a tax return if (clause 8 of Article 227.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation): the total amount of personal income tax payable to the relevant budget, calculated on the basis of income actually received from the specified activity, exceeds the amount of fixed advance payments paid for the tax period ( calendar year); the taxpayer leaves the territory of the Russian Federation before the end of the tax period, and the total amount of tax payable to the relevant budget, calculated on the basis of income actually received from the specified activity, exceeds the amount of fixed advance payments paid; the patent was revoked in accordance with Federal Law No. 115-FZ dated July 25, 2002 “On the legal status of foreign citizens in the Russian Federation.”
