The concept and essence of tax policy at an enterprise

An accounting policy in tax accounting is a document that approves the set of methods chosen by the taxpayer for maintaining records of financial and business transactions.

The accounting policy for tax accounting determines the procedure for organizing accounting and document flow for operations related to the formation of the value of taxable bases, the set of methods (methods) permitted by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation for determining income and (or) expenses, their recognition, assessment and distribution, as well as accounting for other necessary for tax purposes of indicators of the financial and economic activities of the taxpayer.

Let's consider the main points that should be disclosed when developing accounting policies for tax accounting purposes. When giving recommendations, we will use the algorithms offered by the Accounting Policy Designer program provided by the ConsultantPlus legal system.

Accounting policy for tax purposes 2020

Organizational provisions:

1. For the purpose of generating information on tax accounting, the organization discloses within the specified section information that allows you to more accurately generate the necessary information both in general and for each of the taxes for which it is a payer.
2. Data on whether the organization is newly created or not is necessary in order to establish whether the organization's tax accounting policy is completely new or represents a modification of the old one. We note that the accounting policy is formed no later than 90 days from the date of establishment of the organization and is applied consistently from year to year.
3. Next, the organization must indicate the types of economic activities it carries out. This information, in addition to stating a fact, carries an additional burden. Depending on the specific type of activity, the organization will formulate the features of its accounting tax policy (primarily in terms of income tax).
4. For the same purposes - to characterize the characteristics of the activities of organizations taken into account when generating data on tax accounting for income tax - the organization must indicate information about whether it carries out transactions with securities and whether it incurs R&D expenses in the course of its activities.
5. For the purpose of generating information on the procedure for maintaining property tax records, an organization must indicate whether it has property subject to taxation on its balance sheet.
6. For the structural characteristics of the organization, as well as as information that will be taken into account in the future when generating information about the need to distribute tax payments, the organization must indicate in its accounting policies the presence (absence) of separate structural divisions, including those located on the territory of one subject of the Federation.
7. What follows is a block of questions, the answers to which characterize the procedure for organizing tax accounting. An organization can keep records of data either with the involvement of a third-party organization or a specially authorized person (in this case, their name should be indicated in the text of the accounting policy), or on its own. If tax accounting is carried out in-house, then it is necessary to indicate who exactly is doing this - an individual employee or a specialized service. In both cases, specification is necessary, that is, an exact indication of the employee’s position according to the staffing table or the name of the department in accordance with the structure of the organization.
8. An essential point is to indicate the method of tax accounting (automated or non-automated). When choosing an automated method, you must additionally specify the specialized program with which tax accounting is maintained.

How often does the tax accounting policy (TAP) change?

As for taxes, the policy for their accounting is also formed once, which contributes to consistency in their accounting. At the same time, no one prohibits organizations from changing their NUP annually.

This can be done both due to changes in tax legislation and due to optimization of enterprise taxation to reduce the tax burden.

Almost every year, companies have to revise their accounting policies (AP) for taxes:

1. For almost all taxes, the tax period is a year with rare exceptions (for example, for VAT it is equal to a quarter).
2. Tax legislation undergoes significant changes every year due to the introduction of a lot of various amendments, changes and additions to it. New chapters are also appearing. For example, starting next year, significant additions to the tax code are expected in connection with the transfer of the functions of the collector of mandatory wage insurance contributions from extra-budgetary funds to the Federal Tax Service.
3. In addition, the Tax Code provides for uniform accounting of income, expenses, assets and liabilities within one year. And the right to change the NUP annually can play into the hands of companies that, by changing their tax policy, can use it to optimize the taxes they pay to the budget in an official “white” way.

Of course, if nothing has changed, then there is no need to change the policy.

If a new tax accounting policy has been drawn up, then it can be applied from the beginning of the new year, therefore the order to approve the new policy from the beginning of the year must be drawn up no later than December 31 of the outgoing year.

Value added tax (VAT)

This section must be completed only by organizations that are VAT payers.

Periodicity

As part of the general provisions on the procedure for maintaining VAT tax accounting, the organization must indicate the frequency of renewal of the numbering of invoices. There are no strict restrictions in regulatory and legislative acts on this issue, so the organization has the right to indicate any of the proposed options - monthly, quarterly, annually, or with other frequency.

Organizations engaged in the manufacture (production) of goods, works and services with a long production cycle (more than 6 months, according to the list approved by the Government of the Russian Federation), must provide in their accounting policies for determining the tax base upon receipt of an advance payment on account of upcoming deliveries of goods (performance of work, provision of services). This point can be recognized both as a general point for all operations, and as a separate (individual) one. When choosing the “general” method, the organization fixes in its accounting policy one of the proposed dates - either on the day of shipment or on the day of receipt of payment (full or partial). If an organization provides for the use of a “separate” method, then it has the right to use both of the above dates to determine the tax base. In this case, the text of the accounting policy must indicate for which transactions the tax base is determined on the date of shipment, and for which - on the date of payment.

Separate VAT accounting

Further points disclosed in the accounting policy regarding the procedure for maintaining tax accounting for VAT are related to the organization of separate VAT accounting for organizations that carry out transactions subject to and non-taxable with VAT, as well as types of activities for which different rates of this tax are applied. Accordingly, only organizations that have the above operations in their business practice should disclose in their accounting policies the specifics of tax accounting in this case. Consequently, the first point in disclosing in the accounting policy information about the procedure for maintaining separate accounting for VAT should be an indication of the fact that the organization has business transactions that are not subject to VAT (if there is taxable turnover), as well as transactions taxed at a rate of 0% (if there is transactions taxed at rates other than 0%).

Next, the organization needs to decide for itself whether it applies the so-called “5% rule” for the purposes of separate accounting (separate accounting of “input” VAT may not be carried out in those tax periods in which the share of total expenses on transactions not subject to VAT is less or equal to 5% of the total total production costs). Accordingly, ignoring this rule means that separate accounting is carried out regardless of the proportion of the ratio between taxable and non-taxable transactions. As a rule, the “5% rule” is used by those organizations whose share of non-VAT-taxable transactions is insignificant.

If an organization applies the 5% rule, then it needs to disclose some additional information in its accounting policies. The first point related to this concerns the expense register for the purpose of applying this rule. At the choice of the organization, this can be either a special sub-account allocated in the working chart of accounts, a separate accounting register, or another independently developed method. The choice of one of the options depends on the general order of organization of the accounting process.

Next, the base is determined in proportion to which the distribution of general business expenses is made. This indicator can be determined in proportion to the share of revenue from non-taxable transactions in the total volume of sales, in proportion to the share of direct expenses in the total amount of expenses, or in any other way adopted by the organization. The choice of method is made solely on the basis of the professional judgment of officials of the organization.

We note that when choosing the “share of expenses” as a base indicator, an organization can provide in its accounting policy for the creation of a special form (tax accounting register).

The next point related to maintaining separate accounting for VAT is determining the period for calculating the proportion of VAT to be deducted on fixed assets and intangible assets (intangible assets) accepted for accounting in the first or second month of the quarter. The organization can choose to determine the specified ratio between taxable and non-taxable turnover under VAT either on the basis of monthly data or based on quarterly results. The choice of option depends on whether the organization generates data on sales of goods, works, and services on a monthly basis or not. If not, then you should choose the option based on the “quarterly” proportion.

An organization has the right to maintain separate accounting of “input” VAT either in a special subaccount to balance sheet account 19 “VAT on acquired values,” or in a separate register, or in another independently determined order. The choice of this procedure depends on the organization’s accounting process.

The procedure for maintaining separate accounting of transactions for the sale of goods, works and services, subject to and non-taxable with VAT, must also be provided for in the accounting policy. By analogy with the above, such accounting can be carried out electively either in a special sub-account, or in a separate register, or in any other way. The choice of option is at the discretion of the organization.

Tax policy on VAT

The range of issues that need to be fixed in the VAT tax policy is not so wide. It does not apply to all taxpayers, but only to those who carry out transactions:

• subject to VAT at a rate of 0%;
• exempt from VAT;
• with a long production cycle.

The first and second must independently develop and consolidate the procedure for distributing “input” VAT on ordinary and “zero” and (or) non-taxable transactions, and the third must choose the moment for determining the tax base for advances on account of “long-term” supplies (common for all or for the day shipment).

Please note that the absence of separate accounting rules in an organization’s tax policy may lead to claims from inspectors and problems with tax deductions.

Read about the organization of separate accounting in the article “How is separate accounting for VAT carried out (principles and methods)?” .

Corporate income tax

This section is filled out only by organizations that are payers of income tax. First, you need to indicate how information will be generated for the purposes of calculating the taxable base for income tax. These can be either specially designed tax accounting registers or accounting registers, supplemented, if necessary, with relevant details. The choice of one of the options depends on the organization itself, taking into account how its accounting procedures are organized and document flow is structured.

Next, the organization must indicate which reporting period it applies for income tax - monthly or quarterly. The choice depends solely on the organization itself and its desire to generate income tax indicators in one way or another.

Tax accounting policy for tax accounting purposes must contain the fact that the organization pays monthly advance payments for income tax. In this matter, there are no choice options, since those who are exempt from paying advance payments for income tax are directly named in paragraph 3 of Article 286 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Therefore, this moment is purely ascertaining in nature.

Organizations that have separate structural divisions located on the territory of different subjects of the Federation must disclose in their accounting policies information about the basic indicator in proportion to which (in addition to the residual value of depreciable property) the share of profit attributable to the separate division is distributed. An organization can choose either a share of the average number of employees in a department or a share of the cost of paying them. The choice of one of the options depends solely on the organization itself, depending on the professional judgment of its officials.

When and how should tax policy be changed during the year?

To understand in what cases it is possible and necessary to make changes to the tax accounting policy adopted for the year, consider the table below.

As can be seen from this table, in the middle of the year it is only possible to make an addition to the NUP of the enterprise for good reasons. And any company has the right to provide for changes to it when developing a tax accounting method starting next year by issuing a new order.

Accounting for income and expenses

What follows is a large block of questions related to accounting for the organization’s income and expenses. The first and most significant issue in this block is the method of recognizing income and expenses. Please note that only organizations whose average revenue from the sale of goods (work, services) excluding VAT over the previous four quarters did not exceed 1 million rubles can afford to freely choose one of the two methods. for every quarter. That is, those who can use the cash method, but want to use the accrual method. Other organizations are required to indicate the “accrual method” in their accounting policies on a non-alternative basis.

The next question concerns only organizations with a long technological cycle (production, the start and end dates of which fall on different tax periods, regardless of the number of days of production), for which stage-by-stage delivery of work (services) is not provided. Such organizations have the right to establish in their accounting policies the procedure for recognizing income by distributing them between reporting periods either in equal shares based on the number of periods, or in proportion to the costs incurred, or in another reasonable way. The choice of one of the options depends on the principles of tax planning determined by the organization independently.

Next, the point related to the procedure for recognizing losses from the assignment of the right to claim a debt before the maturity date is revealed. The indicator on the basis of which the normalization of the amount of loss is calculated can be calculated at the choice of the organization either on the basis of the maximum interest rate established by type of currency, or on the basis of rates on debt obligations confirmed by the methods provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 105.7 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (methods used in determination for tax purposes of profit in transactions to which the parties are interdependent persons). Moreover, if an organization uses the comparable market prices method for these purposes, then it must also establish comparability criteria (for example, the same currency, the same period, another similar indicator at the discretion of the organization).

For R&D expenses, an organization needs to specify how these expenses will be accounted for. There can be two options: either these expenses will form the cost of intangible assets (in this case, inclusion in expenses will be made through depreciation over a certain useful life), or as part of other expenses (in this case, inclusion in expenses will be made within two years).

An organization has the right to apply a coefficient of 1.5 to actual R&D expenses for the purpose of including them in expenses that reduce the taxable base for income tax. An appropriate indication of this fact should be made in the accounting policy. It must be remembered that when choosing to use this coefficient, the organization is additionally required to provide to the tax authority at its location a report on R&D performed, the costs of which are recognized in the amount of actual costs using a coefficient of 1.5. The specified report is submitted to the tax authority simultaneously with the tax return based on the results of the tax period in which the relevant R&D was completed. In this case, the implementation report is provided for each R&D and must comply with the general requirements established by the national standard for the structure of the preparation of scientific and technical reports.

The next question concerns the accounting treatment of rental income. At the choice of the organization, they can be taken into account either as part of income from sales or as part of non-operating income. As a rule, the choice in this case depends on how the specified income was recognized in accounting.

Recommendations for developing an organization's tax policy

When developing tax policy, we advise you to maintain a healthy balance between:

• the expediency of choosing certain accounting methods and the desire to bring accounting and tax indicators as close as possible;
• optimization of taxes and labor intensity for such optimization on the part of the company.

Example #2. How to reduce corporate income tax? What to do

The organization, before deciding to create reserves for doubtful debts for upcoming holidays and repairs of operating systems in order to reduce the current income tax, carried out an analysis of what such a decision could mean for the company. What was analyzed is shown in the table below.

Thus, if an enterprise has significant sales volumes, many employees, a large fleet of fixed assets, good profitability indicators and high expectations of receiving large taxable profits, then the formation of reserves may well justify itself in terms of the labor intensity of the process and the material costs of providing it.

For enterprises with small sales volumes, a small number of employees, a small number of fixed assets and low profitability, it will most likely be inappropriate, from the point of view of even the labor intensity of the process, to form the above reserves, even if the accounting department in the previous composition takes on the additional burden of accounting for them.

Accounting for direct and indirect costs

What follows is a block of questions regarding the specifics of accounting for direct and indirect costs. To begin, the organization should approve the list of direct expenses, selecting them from the proposed list. At the request of the organization, this list can be either shortened or expanded as much as possible. Typically, the list of direct expenses for tax accounting purposes for income tax corresponds to a similar list accepted for accounting purposes.

With regard to direct costs associated with the provision of services, the organization has the right to provide for either their distribution to work in progress (WIP) balances, or to take them into account in full as part of current expenses. The choice of one of the options remains entirely at the discretion of the organization itself, based on its existing tax planning principles.

The organization also needs to disclose in its accounting policies the principles for the distribution of direct costs for work in progress. Depending on the characteristics of the production process, as well as on the basis of the professional judgment of officials, the organization has the right to choose any of the methods proposed in the list, or to approve its own method. In this case, it is possible to use different methods for distributing direct costs depending on the type of product produced.

If an organization has direct costs that cannot be unambiguously attributed to the production of specific products, this fact should be indicated in the accounting policy. In this case, an indicator should be provided on the basis of which such costs will be distributed between types of products. This indicator may be the wages of employees engaged in primary production, material costs, revenue, or another other indicator chosen by the organization based on the professional judgment of its officials.

Subject of the organization's accounting policy

The subject of the UE for taxes is everything that, one way or another, can affect the amount of calculated taxes, the documentation of tax transactions and their recording in tax registers, and at the same time:

• contains several accounting options offered to choose from in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. For example, trading organizations may choose the option of forming the cost of purchasing purchased goods, including the costs of their acquisition in the price or without them;
• The legislation does not provide an accounting procedure. Then it must be developed by enterprises themselves. For example, for companies engaged in production in NUP, it is necessary to register the distribution of other direct costs, such as rent of production premises, costs of electricity in production premises, which cannot be clearly attributed to the manufacture of one or another type of finished product: for its sale, warehouse balances and work in progress ;
• The Tax Code gives the right to choose an accounting option. For example, the formation of reserves for upcoming holidays or doubtful debts is not mandatory, therefore the accounting policy should reflect a positive or negative decision on their formation.

Inventory accounting

Let's move on to the block within which issues related to accounting for inventory items (TMV) are considered. First, let's look at the accounting of goods.

In relation to purchased goods, an organization has the right to establish the formation of their value in tax accounting both without taking into account additional costs for their acquisition, and taking them into account. In this case, the organization can choose whether all additional costs are included in the cost of purchased goods or only certain types of them. The list of additional expenses included in the cost of purchasing goods must also be established in the accounting policy. Typically, the choice in favor of one or another method of forming the value of goods depends on how their value was formed in accounting.

The next point is an indication of the method of evaluating the product during its sale. One of three methods is selected: unit cost, average cost, FIFO method. In this case, it is allowed both to use a single method for all types of goods, and to select an individual method for each group.

For raw materials and materials, the organization must also indicate how they are valued when written off. At the same time, the same methods that were used to evaluate goods are offered to choose from. Similarly, it is possible to use different assessment methods for different groups of raw materials and supplies.

In relation to low-value property (tangible assets of durable use that do not fall into the category of depreciable property), the organization must indicate how its value will be included in current expenses: at a time (by analogy with raw materials) or in equal shares over more than one reporting period. transition (based on the useful life or other economically justified indicator).

THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF FORMATION OF TAX POLICY OF AN ENTERPRISE Barchinova N.S.

Text of a scientific article

Effective financial management of a company can only be carried out if all its financial processes and relations, including tax, are planned. Tax policy is an element of a company’s financial strategy; the company’s financial performance depends on it, since a rationally drawn up tax policy can have a positive impact on the financial condition of companies. This topic is widely covered in the scientific literature; it was considered by such authors as E.S. Vilkova, M.V. Romanovsky, S.A. Sirotkin, I.I. Bablenkova, L.S. Kirina, A.V. Bryzgalin A.V., V.R. Bernik, A.N. Golovkin, S. Aksenov, L. Bityukova, A. Krylov, I. Laskina, etc. At the same time, modern authors consider mainly the theoretical foundations of tax planning, and insufficient attention is paid to practical issues of optimizing the tax policy of commercial organizations. The tax policy of the company significantly depends on the tax policy of the state. The directions of tax policy and further development of tax systems are usually formed in accordance with the specifics of the tasks that need to be solved at a given stage of the socio-economic development of states. The development of a company's tax policy and its implementation will make it possible to mitigate the influence of the external environment on the tactical and strategic conditions for the functioning of an economic entity, as well as to ensure a balance between the fiscal and regulatory functions of taxes. Researchers interpret the concept of “tax policy” differently. Thus, Professor I. A. Blank defines the company’s tax policy as an integral part of the financial strategy, which consists in choosing the most effective options for making tax payments in the presence of alternative options for its economic activities1. The approach in which tax policy is defined as an integral part of the financial strategy of the enterprise is interesting, but the influence of the tax policy of the enterprise is much wider. In particular, tax policy affects not only the financial, but also the social sphere of the company, its reputation as a tax payer, etc. Researchers also distinguish tax policy as opposed to accounting policy, in particular, Professor Ya. V. Sokolov identified two types of accounting policy : for financial accounting and tax purposes2. Only their harmonization will make it possible to neutralize the negative impact of tax consequences on the company’s economic activities. The main objectives of the company's tax policy are presented in Fig. 1. Tax policy is an integral part of the company's financial management, and is carried out using developed accounting policies for tax purposes. The formation of the tax policy of any company is based on a tax planning system, the purpose of which is to optimize tax obligations by combining business development strategy and legal requirements of the state. Rice. 1 — Main objectives of the company’s tax policy3 Tax planning is an integral part of the financial planning (budgeting) of the company, aimed at streamlining and optimizing tax payments using methods permitted by law. The tax planning process consists of several interrelated stages, presented in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 — Tax planning process4 Planning involves the use of the following methods (Fig. 2): replacement of the tax subject; changing the type of activity; replacement of tax jurisdiction; choice of accounting policy. Rice. 3 — Tax planning methods In the process of forming a company’s tax policy, four stages are distinguished: organizational and preparatory, research, planning and development and main (Fig. 4). Rice. 4 — Stages of formation of a company’s tax policy5 At the first, organizational and preparatory stage, the apparatus of the company’s tax policy is formed. At the second, research stage, basic research is carried out: tax legislation is studied, the necessary information is collected, analytical tables are compiled, and a system of indicators is selected. At the third, planning and development stage, a plan is drawn up for the formation of the main elements of tax policy, taking into account environmental factors and the tax legal field. At the fourth, main stage, the calculation, analysis and management of tax bases is carried out for groups of taxes, combined according to certain characteristics; formation of tax calendars; drawing up tax models and assessing the effectiveness of tax policy. Zaika V.S. The process of tax policy formation is divided into the stage of developing a tax strategy, determining tax tactics and assessing its effectiveness. At the stage of developing a tax strategy, the goals and objectives of the organization are determined, the main directions of its activities are identified; the choice of organizational and legal form and form of ownership is carried out; the management structure is determined; the location of the organization and its structural divisions is specified; The organization’s accounting policy is formed for tax purposes6. At the stage of determining the company’s tax tactics, the “tax field” is formulated; calculation, analysis and identification of areas for managing tax bases for various groups of taxes are carried out; tax benefits provided by law are analyzed and the effectiveness of their application is assessed; optimal tax and accounting options are determined; a tax payment plan and tax calendar are drawn up; rational directions for the allocation of assets and profits of the organization are determined. At the stage of assessing the effectiveness of tax policy, the magnitude of deviations of actual results from planned ones is established, and their causes are analyzed; a system of indicators characterizing the effectiveness of the developed methods is determined and the current tax policy of the company is adjusted7. In the practice of financial and economic activities of Russian taxpayer companies, four types of tax strategies have developed: - high tax risk associated with illegal methods of tax evasion; — a strategy of non-payments or delays, when non-tax transfers of funds temporarily take priority over tax ones; — moderate risk strategy; — a risk-free strategy for high-quality administration. Thus, the procedure for developing accounting policies for tax accounting purposes depends on the individual characteristics of the company’s activities. Based on the nature of the company’s activities, those developing this accounting document must identify those issues that need to be disclosed as fully as possible, and which of them should not be touched upon. Ultimately, a rationally drawn up accounting policy provides an objective opportunity for taxpayers to exercise their own rights related to legal exemption from tax or the choice of the most profitable forms of business activity and will help optimize the company’s tax payments and, as a result, increase the efficiency of business activities. _ 1Blank I.A. Fundamentals of financial management. In 2 volumes. T. 2 / I. A. Blank. — 4th ed., erased. - Moscow: Omega-L, 2012. - P. 205. 2Sokolov Y.V. Accounting profit as an incentive to economic reflex. URL: https://www. library. tane. edu. ua/ images/nauk_vydannya/v6mEn8.pdf (date accessed 04/09/2016) 3Developed by the author based on data from Sirotkin S.A. Financial management at the enterprise. Financial management at an enterprise: textbook / S. A. Sirotkin, N. R. Kelchevskaya. - M.: UNITY-DANA, 2011.- P.212. 4Bolshukhina I.S. Tax planning: textbook. - Ulyanovsk: Ulyanovsk State Technical University, 2011. - P.35. 5Zaika V.S. Methodology for forming and assessing the effectiveness of tax policy of oil and gas organizations. Abstract of dissertation. - Yoshkar-Ola, 2010. - P.9. 6Lyukmanov K.M. Formation of a tax strategy in the accounting and analytical system of the enterprise. Abstract of dissertation. - Orel, 2013. - P.9. 7Zaika V.S. Methodology for forming and assessing the effectiveness of tax policy of oil and gas organizations. Abstract of dissertation. - Yoshkar-Ola, 2010. - P.9.

Depreciation

Now let's turn to the procedure for accounting for depreciable property (fixed assets and intangible assets). The first question concerns the procedure for forming the initial cost of fixed assets. The organization has the right to establish a list of expenses for the creation of fixed assets that are not included in their initial cost. At the same time, we note that failure to include any type of expense in the initial cost of fixed assets may lead to disagreements with regulatory authorities. So disclosing this information in accounting policies may involve additional risks.

If an organization operates in the field of IT technologies and meets the criteria established by paragraph 6 of Article 259 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, then it has the right to choose the option of accounting for the cost of electronic computer equipment as expenses: either as part of material expenses or in the form of depreciation. Moreover, if the option of accounting as part of material expenses is chosen, then inclusion in current expenses can be made electively, either at a time, or in certain shares over more than one reporting period, based on the service life or other economically justified indicator.

If an organization leases or plans to lease fixed assets, it needs to indicate how it will depreciate non-recoverable capital investments in leased fixed assets (permanent improvements). Such depreciation may be based on either the useful life of the leased asset or the useful life of the permanent improvement itself. The choice of one of the options is made by the organization independently.

The organization has the right to provide for a review of the useful life of an object of depreciable property based on the results of its reconstruction, modernization or technical re-equipment, as well as not to carry out such a review.

In relation to fixed assets that were previously operated by previous owners in the same capacity, the organization can establish a special procedure for determining the useful life - taking into account the service life of the previous owner. In this case, this option is not mandatory, and for the specified objects the organization can establish a general procedure for determining such a period (that is, without taking into account the period of previous operation).

In the next block, we will consider the information that needs to be disclosed regarding the procedure for calculating depreciation. To begin with, one of two methods is selected: linear (even distribution over the useful life) or non-linear (accelerated write-off in the first years of operation). It must be remembered that with the non-linear method, depreciation is accrued not individually for each fixed asset object, but in groups.

Accordingly, when choosing a non-linear method, the organization faces the need to disclose additional information. In particular, it may provide for the liquidation of a depreciation group with a total balance of less than 20,000 rubles. (with a one-time transfer of the under-depreciated balance to non-operating expenses) or not to do this (in this case, depreciation will be charged until the cost is fully repaid). The choice of option is entirely at the discretion of the organization.

The organization has the right to provide for the use of a “depreciation bonus” (one-time inclusion in expenses of part of the cost of depreciable property). Its application (subject to the restrictions imposed by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) is possible both in relation to the initial cost and the costs of increasing it. It is also possible to use bonus depreciation only in one of the two indicated areas.

With regard to the depreciation bonus, it is possible to either establish a lower threshold for the initial cost of fixed assets and expenses for its increase to which it applies, or waive such a limitation. In the latter case, it will be applied to all fixed assets (except for those for which there is a direct ban on its use in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Organizations that have fixed assets that meet the criteria given in paragraphs 1-3 of Article 259.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation have the right to apply appropriate increasing factors to depreciation rates.

If several increasing factors can be applied to a fixed asset for different reasons, the organization must choose only one. This can be the maximum, minimum or other intermediate coefficient.

In relation to absolutely any major depreciable fixed assets, an organization can establish the use of coefficients that reduce the depreciation rate. At the same time, the accounting policy should indicate a list of groups of depreciable property in respect of which such coefficients are applied, as well as a link to the document containing this list.

Expense reserve

The next block of this section concerns the formation of expense reserves. The organization has the right to create the reserves listed in the list or not to form them. When choosing to “form” in the accounting policy, additional information must be disclosed.

Organizations that form a reserve for the repair of fixed assets must additionally indicate whether they accumulate funds for particularly complex and expensive repairs of fixed assets over more than one reporting period or not.

Organizations that form a reserve for warranty repairs and warranty service are required to indicate the period during which they sold goods (work) with a warranty period. The size of this period, depending on the characteristics of the organization, can be either three or more years, or less than three years. This information is necessary to calculate the maximum percentage of deductions to the reserve for warranty repairs and warranty service.

Also, with regard to the reserve for warranty repairs and warranty service, it is necessary to indicate the direction of use of the unspent part of the reserve, that is, whether its balance is transferred to the next year or not. The choice in this case remains at the discretion of the organization.

Organizations that create a vacation reserve must disclose the methodology for its formation - whether it is formed in a uniform manner throughout the organization or is carried out individually for each employee. You can freely choose any of the proposed options, based on the organization’s accepted accounting process scheme.

Organizations that form a reserve for the payment of remuneration for long service must provide a criterion for clarifying its unspent balance carried over to the next reporting year. Such a criterion may be the amount of remuneration per employee, or some other method justified by the organization. The choice of criterion is at the discretion of the organization.

The question regarding the criterion for clarifying the unspent balance of the reserve that is carried over to the next reporting year must also be answered by organizations that form a reserve for the payment of remunerations based on the results of work for the year. Such a criterion may be the amount per employee, a percentage of the profit received, or another other economically justified indicator. The choice of criterion in this case also remains at the discretion of the organization.

Accounting for transactions with securities

Next comes the block related to accounting for securities transactions.

If a transaction with securities meets the criteria for a transaction with financial instruments of futures transactions, then the organization independently classifies the specified transaction for tax purposes as a transaction with securities or a transaction with financial instruments of futures transactions and makes an appropriate note about this in its accounting policy. The choice in this case is based on the professional judgment of officials of the organization.

In relation to securities that are not traded on the organized securities market, the organization must indicate in its accounting policies the methods for determining their settlement prices. The selection options are presented in the attached list. The organization has the right to choose absolutely any option. In this case, it is possible to use different methods for determining the settlement price depending on the type of securities.

For securities being disposed of, the entity must indicate the method of write-off: either the FIFO method or the unit cost method. It is advisable to apply the unit value valuation method to non-equity securities that assign an individual volume of rights to their owner (check, bill, bill of lading, etc.). On the contrary, the FIFO method is more suitable for equity securities (stocks, bonds, options). After all, they are placed in issues, within each issue they all have the same denomination and provide the same set of rights. At the same time, it is preferable to use the FIFO method when it is expected that prices for securities being sold will decline.

If an organization carries out transactions for the sale of securities with the opening of short positions on them (that is, the taxpayer sells a security in the presence of obligations to return securities received under the first part of the repo), then the organization must indicate the sequence of closing these positions (purchase of securities of the same issue (additional issue) for which a short position is opened). Closing short positions is done either using the FIFO method or at the cost of the securities for a specific open short position. The choice in this case is left to the discretion of the organization itself.

If an organization has transactions with non-negotiable securities for which it is impossible to determine the place of conclusion of the transaction, then it has the right to pre-fix in its accounting policies the place of conclusion of the transaction. This may be the territory of the Russian Federation, the location of the buyer, seller, or another agreed location. It must be remembered that if it is still possible to determine the place of the transaction, then the right to choose the organization is not granted.