How to keep track of fuel and lubricants using fuel cards - a smart card for gasoline

This material will help you understand how fuel and lubricants are accounted for using fuel cards, what features exist, and we will give an example of accounting and calculation of the amount of fuel on OSNO/UTII. We'll tell you what the most common mistakes are and answer the most common questions.

Previously, both individuals and legal entities used special fuel coupons - it was convenient and allowed them to control fuel consumption. The coupons had a number of features:

• they were distinguished by a certain fuel limit;
• when refueling the car, liters of gasoline were drained;
• they reflected the unused fuel balance.

Today, coupons are used for one-time refueling of a car, and fuel cards have become widespread.

Accounting for fuel and lubricants using fuel cards: what is a fuel card?

A fuel card is a new way to refuel vehicles without constantly paying for fuel. The convenience of cards is as follows:

• Information about gasoline consumption is stored electronically on the card chip;
• You can view data on the fuel balance and refueling time at any time;
• The card can be issued by both individuals and legal entities;
• The speed of service at the gas station increases;
• When registering a larger limit, discounts apply;
• No need to report fuel receipts to management;
• Simplification of accounting (all data is available in the cardholder’s personal account).

The disadvantage of purchasing a fuel card is that gas stations set a certain schedule for the possibility of paying for fuel with cards.

How to get a fuel card?

Stages of card registration:

• Register an electronic wallet with an oil company.
• Create a personal account.
• Determine the parameters of the contract:

1. set a limit on the amount of fuel;
2. assign the card to a specific car (by car number - this way, if the card is stolen, the fraudster will not be able to use it);
3. choose a brand of gasoline.

• Top up your account (bank transfer, payment to your current account).

Fuel card accounting

The card itself (without the cost of fuel) refers to material and production costs and is assessed at actual cost. The cost of purchasing the cards will go towards expenses for ordinary activities.

The cost of the card is recorded on the basis of the invoice in the “Other expenses” account , and at the end of the month the total cost is added to the cost of purchased fuel.

Accounting for issuing fuel cards

The issue of a fuel card to an employee is not displayed on any accounting account, and no postings are made , since funds are not actually issued.

However, the issuance of cards is recorded in a journal, the form of which must be approved by the company’s management and contain the following columns:

• Model and state the number of the transport for which the card was issued, and which is used by the employee of the enterprise on the orders of his superiors;
• Full name of the driver, his personal signature;
• Date of issue of the fuel card to the driver;
• Date by which the card must be returned.

How are fuel costs reflected in accounting?

All information about transactions with such cards is accumulated in a special division of the company that issued the card to you.

At the end of each month, the fuel supplier company provides the client with the following documents:

• fuel delivery note
• invoices _
• an act in which mutual settlements are reconciled.
• report for the past month , which reflects all transactions with this card.

The documents listed above reflect the amount of fuel actually consumed by the driver.

It can be checked against the documents that your driver will provide you (they can be receipts from gas stations, waybills, and so on).

Fuel accounting is carried out on the basis of data taken from the delivery note and the transaction report for the past month. Fuel costs are written off upon provision of waybills.

The accounting entry for fuel accounting will contain the following points:

• payment for fuel (a bank statement about this transaction is provided).
• the purchased fuel is registered and is on the fuel card (the agreement you have concluded with the fuel company, a report and a delivery note, which will be provided to you by the fuel supplier, are provided).
• VAT is taken into account (an invoice or a corresponding entry in the purchase book is provided).
• offset of prepayment for fuel (an accounting certificate and a reconciliation report for mutual settlements are provided).
• write-off of fuel consumed during the month (based on the accounting certificate and waybill provided by the driver).

Accounting for fuel costs

Fuel refers to fuels and lubricants having the following characteristics:

• standard consumption;
• actual consumption.

Fuel costs are confirmed by waybills containing information:

• about the mileage of the car;
• about the make and number of the car;
• on the amount of fuel issued using the fuel card;
• remaining fuel when the driver leaves and arrives at the company;
• comparison of standard and actual fuel consumption;
• conclusion about excess consumption or saving of gasoline.

Accounting and transactions for the purchase and write-off of fuel and lubricants using fuel cards

In accounting, fuels and lubricants purchased using a fuel card are charged to account 10 “Materials” at actual cost and excluding VAT. The VAT allocated in the invoice is reflected independently on account 19 “VAT on purchased assets”.

Fuel will be capitalized on the same day when ownership of it was transferred to the company, since account 10 is intended to display data on the availability of materials in the company's property. This date may be specified in the contract. For example, the date of transfer of ownership rights to fuels and lubricants can be recognized as the day of actual payment - then subaccounts “fuels and lubricants in the supplier’s tanks” and “fuels and lubricants in the gas tanks of cars” are opened to account 10.

How to take into account the fuel received with the car

As a rule, when buying a car, the new owner receives not only the car itself, but also a certain amount of gasoline in the tank. If this is specified in the purchase and sale agreement, the accountant will be able to capitalize the fuel and lubricants without any problems.

But more often than not, fuel is not mentioned in the contract. What to do in this case? In practice, various approaches are used.

If there is not a lot of gasoline, then it is simply not taken into account, and the countdown of receipt and write-off of fuel and lubricants begins with the first refueling.

If the tank is almost full, fuel is taken into account. First, the volume is determined using the same methods as for inventory. Then they arrange either a free receipt or identification of surplus.

In the case of gratuitous receipt, the cost of fuel is recorded as the debit of account 10 and the credit of account 98 “Deferred income”. Subsequently, when writing off, entries are made to the debit of the “cost” account (20, 26 or 44) and the credit of account 10 “Materials,” as well as the debit of account 98 and the credit of account 91 “Other income and expenses.”

In tax accounting, fuels and lubricants received free of charge are taxable income (subclause 8 of Article 250 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If an organization shows surpluses identified during inventory, then in accounting they should be included in income and posted as the debit of account 10 and the credit of account 91. In tax accounting, it is also necessary to generate income on the basis of subparagraph 20 of Article 250 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Tax accounting of costs for purchasing a fuel card

The type of costs for the purchase of fuel cards must be fixed by order in the company’s accounting policy:

• material and production costs;
• vehicle maintenance costs;
• other production costs not related to the production process and sales.

VAT can be deducted if:

• an invoice confirming the purchase of a fuel card has been received;
• trade transactions are carried out using the card, and their cost is subject to VAT;
• The fuel card has been registered by the accounting department.

Recommendations for fuel accounting and working with fuel cards

If a company decides to use fuel cards in its work, it must take into account some nuances.

1. The company needs to plan accounts. To do this, a specialist must take care of opening an account and sub-account to track the circulation of fuel and lubricants along with a fuel card.
2. It is necessary to combine the company's policy with the following provisions: the cost of spending and writing off fuel and lubricants;
3. methodology for recording costs for these materials;
4. placing fuel cards on the company's balance sheet;
5. approval of the card recording journal;
6. the name of the warehouses where fuel is received;
7. if the company belongs to institutions operating under OSNO, then it does not have to follow the accounting rules 18/02.

In your accounting policy, you need to determine the costs on which taxes will be charged:

• all materials that were spent in excess of the established limit;
• fuel consumed within the limits of current standards;
• all cards (they are classified as cash costs or expenses for maintaining the functionality of vehicles).

The accounting department must maintain the following documents:

• waybill form (approved according to the form);
• fuel waste log;
• control log of fuels and lubricants issued in excess of standards;
• log of receipt of transport cards, their issuance, movement and write-off (in the columns indicate the date of issue to the driver along with his personal data, the date of receipt by the accounting department, the make of the car and its license plate number).

Tax accounting of fuel costs

The idea of ​​establishing a transport tax, the amount of which would be taken into account in the cost of fuel, appeared in 2010. This type of tax is regional, and therefore local authorities have the right to independently assert:

• rules for its calculation;
• machine power indicator for calculating the amount of tax at a certain rate;
• tax rate.

Today, fuel tax is a transport tax, and its amount directly depends on the vehicle’s power rating.

Accounting and postings for fuel and lubricants in a budgetary institution

Budgetary institutions have to justify the targeted expenditure of state budget funds. A feature of budget accounting for fuel and lubricant costs is the need to prepare special primary documentation filled out by an accountant and driver.

A fuel card serves as both a payment and accounting document. According to the law, budgetary organizations are required to place an order for fuel and lubricants through bidding or without them, but then the total amount of the order must be below 100 thousand rubles per quarter. This means that to prove the expenses incurred, you need to have bidding results or documents confirming the estimated (planned) cost of the order . The organization prepares an estimate taking into account the planned indicators used when calculating the volume of costs for fuel and lubricants, and after checking them, the main manager of funds must approve the estimate.

Fuel and lubricants must be spent within the approved standards; each budgetary enterprise must have an internal local act on fuel and lubricant consumption standards. The institution has the right to introduce separate correction factors to fuel consumption standards, justifying their use and proving the production need for their establishment.

The accounting department of a budgetary institution keeps separate records of fuels and lubricants depending on the areas of their use in a separate account 010503000 “Fuels and lubricants” . Fuel and lubricants are charged at actual cost. VAT paid on the purchase of fuel and lubricants is not included in this cost only when the fuel is paid for from income from taxable business activities of the institution and used in taxable activities.

Gasoline and diesel fuel are accounted for at a negotiated price due to some features associated with large purchases of these fuels and lubricants for cash and non-cash payments, as well as using fuel cards.

How to write off fuel and lubricants in accounting and tax accounting - postings

Before writing off fuel and lubricants from accounting (no matter what, accounting or tax), you need to determine how much of them was actually consumed. To do this, a calculation is carried out for each car in which the remaining fuel available in the tank at the beginning of the period is summed up with the total volume of receipts in this tank for the period and the remaining fuel present in the tank at the end of the period is subtracted from it. In accounting, the entire resulting amount can be written off as an expense.

When including fuel and lubricants in expenses for tax accounting purposes, the requirement of justification for their volumes must be met (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 27, 2014 No. 03-03-06/1/2875). How can you justify the expense? Comparing it with the normative one, i.e., the one that should take place when performing certain work under certain conditions.

The standard consumption in relation to the actual use of vehicles is a calculated value, depending on the actual volume of work performed, the applied fuel consumption standards and correction factors reflecting the peculiarities of the work conditions. Standards can be developed independently, but most often for such calculations, standards approved by the Ministry of Transport of Russia are used (Order No. AM-23-r dated March 14, 2008).

Focusing on standard consumption makes sense not only for tax accounting purposes, but also for monitoring how the driver uses fuel. Deviations in one direction or another from the standard are inevitable, but they should not exceed reasonable values. In case of significant deviations, either there must be convincing explanations, or the driver must be held responsible for the overrun.

How to correctly write off fuel and lubricants in accounting? Expenses that deviate slightly from the standard are included in costs:

Dt (20, 23, 25, 26, 44) Kt 10.3.

In this case, a specific cost account is selected depending on what specific tasks a particular car is intended to perform and according to what scheme accounting is organized in the organization.

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This also includes justified overspending. If it is proven that the overspending committed by the driver was committed by him in his own interests, then he may be presented with a claim for compensation for material damage caused to the employer:

Dt 73.2 Kt 10.3.

If a legal entity does not apply PBU 18/02, under which expenses both accepted and not accepted for taxation are collected in tax accounting on cost accounts, then it is more convenient for him to assign only those expenses that will be taken into account for taxation to cost accounts in accounting, and non-acceptable (in terms of fuel and lubricants these will be excess expenses) collected on account 91:

Dt 91 Kt 10.3.

An example of accounting for fuel and lubricants using a fuel card

On June 4, the company entered into an agreement with the gas station for the use of a fuel card and immediately paid the cost of the card (118 rubles, including VAT 18 rubles). Servicing the card is free; ownership of gasoline is transferred to the company at the time the car is refueled. The card is assigned to the KamAZ-5320, which delivers goods to customers.

On June 05, the card was issued to the company and handed over to the driver.

On June 30, an advance was transferred to the card (5,900 rubles, including VAT 900 rubles).

Throughout July, the driver was issued with a card 380 liters of diesel fuel worth 15 rubles/liter, including VAT 2.29 rubles:

• 07 – 180 l for 2700 rub. (VAT – 412 rub.);
• 07 – 200 l for 3000 rub. (VAT – 458 rubles).

On the last day of July (July 31), the gas station sent the following to the company:

• invoice;
• acceptance certificate, which specifies the volume and cost of the issued fuel and lubricants;
• report on fuel card transactions.

Accounting entries

Accounting for fuels and lubricants by enterprises on OSNO

Costs for fuel and lubricants are included in:

• Material costs (when transport services are provided). Written off taking into account the material valuation method adopted by the company;
• Other costs of production and sales (when the transport is operated for the needs of the company). Written off at the actual purchase price (excluding VAT).

For the purpose of calculating profit tax, fuels and lubricants are taken into account at the purchase price excluding VAT, if it is included in the price and highlighted in a separate line in the settlement document. VAT is deductible on the invoice. The cost of fuels and lubricants is included in the costs on the day the waybill is accepted for accounting or as goods/works/services are sold, the cost of which includes fuels and lubricants, if the costs of fuels and lubricants are recognized as direct.

When waybills are accounted for (there must be receipts from the gas station), the cost of consumed fuel is included in the costs that reduce the taxable base for income tax.

The specified procedure for writing off fuel and lubricants is used in companies that calculate tax using the cash and accrual methods, since when using a fuel card, by the time the fuel is actually issued, the money for it has already been paid.

Accounting for fuel and lubricants by companies using the simplified tax system

Firms using the simplified taxation system “Income minus expenses” have the right to include the costs of fuel and lubricants as expenses , but they must be documented.

Companies using the simplified tax system “Income” (6% rate) are prohibited from reducing the tax base by the amount of costs for fuel and lubricants.

Fuel costs are written off when calculating the tax payable, just as in the case of enterprises on the OSNO, but there is one indispensable condition for recognizing costs on the simplified tax system - their payment. VAT on such costs also reduces the tax base for the simplified tax system.

Accounting for fuel and lubricants by companies on UTII

Fuel costs do not have any impact on the calculation of the taxable base for UTII due to the fact that the object of UTII taxation is imputed income.

Accounting for fuels and lubricants by organizations on OSNO/UTII

Fuel costs in companies that simultaneously use OSNO and UTII must be distributed, but costs for fuels and lubricants that relate to only one of the types of activities are not subject to distribution.

To the calculated part of the costs for the type of activity that is subject to UTII, you need to add the amount of VAT that is not allowed to be deducted.

Expenses for fuel and lubricants: documentation, accounting

Income tax

According to paragraphs. 2 p. 1 art. 253 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, costs associated with production and sales include costs for the maintenance and operation, repair and maintenance of fixed assets and other property, as well as for maintaining them in good (up-to-date) condition.

In accordance with paragraphs. 11 clause 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, other expenses associated with production and sales include the costs of maintaining official transport (road, rail, air and other types of transport).

As a general rule, expenses for tax purposes are recognized as justified (economically justified) and documented expenses incurred (incurred) by the taxpayer (clause 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Thus, the Tax Code does not establish a maximum amount of expenses for fuel and lubricants. For profit tax purposes, expenses actually incurred by the taxpayer, expressed in monetary form and confirmed by supporting documents, are recognized.

Why do we need fuel consumption standards?

The establishment of standards for the consumption of fuel and lubricants at an enterprise is an element of internal control, since it makes it possible to exclude uncontrolled consumption of fuel and lubricants and abuse by drivers and other workers servicing vehicles.

The norms for the consumption of fuel and lubricants are established by order of the manager (individual entrepreneur). When establishing standards, an enterprise has the right to use:

— information on fuel consumption from the vehicle’s operating manual;

— results of tests carried out by technical specialists of the enterprise;

— methodological recommendations “Standards for the consumption of fuels and lubricants in road transport”, put into effect by Order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated March 14, 2008 No. AM-23-r.

Note. The application of these methodological recommendations is the right of the taxpayer, but not the obligation (see letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated January 27, 2014 No. 03-03-06/1/2875)

For different brands and types of cars that a company has, different sources of information may be used.

The manager’s order on fuel consumption standards must be brought to the attention of drivers against signature. A copy of the order must also be submitted to the accounting department.

For each case of excessive consumption of fuel and lubricants (the so-called “burnout”), the driver must write an explanatory note. If the manager (another responsible official appointed by order) recognizes the legitimacy of the “overburn,” then the accounting department, based on the corresponding order, will write off fuel consumption in excess of the norm as an expense. A decision may also be made to cover the “burnout” by saving fuel and lubricants in the following months.

The procedure for accounting, write-off of fuel and lubricants and documentation should be established by a local document of the enterprise. This may be a section of an accounting policy, a separate standard or another internal administrative document.

About the waybill

According to paragraph 2 of Art. 6 of the Charter of Automobile Transport and Urban Ground Electric Transport (Federal Law No. 259-FZ of November 8, 2007) it is prohibited to transport passengers, luggage, and cargo by buses, trams, trolleybuses, cars, and trucks without issuing a waybill for the corresponding vehicle.

Thus, by virtue of the law, a waybill must be issued when a vehicle transports passengers, luggage, and cargo.

Mandatory details and the procedure for filling out waybills are approved by Order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation dated September 18, 2008 No. 152.

A waybill is issued for each vehicle used by a legal entity or individual entrepreneur for the transportation of goods, passengers and luggage by road and urban ground electric transport in urban, suburban and intercity communications (clauses 9, 10 of Order No. 152).

The waybill is issued for one day or a period not exceeding one month (clause 10 of order No. 152).

Mandatory details of the waybill and their description are given in paragraphs. 3 – 8 of Order No. 152. Thus, the waybill must contain the following mandatory details:

— name and number of the waybill;

— information about the validity period of the waybill;

— information about the owner (possessor) of the vehicle;

— information about the vehicle;

— information about the driver.

In particular, information about the vehicle includes odometer readings (full kilometers driven) when the vehicle leaves the garage (depot) and enters the garage (depot).

Documenting

Depending on the method of acquisition, the posting of fuel and lubricants is carried out on the basis of:

— supplier invoice (Debit 10-3 Credit 60);

— cash register receipt (indicating the quantity, brand, price and total cost of fuel and lubricants) attached to the driver’s advance report (Debit 10-3 Credit 71).

Write-off of fuel and lubricants is carried out at the end of each month in the following order:

1) the accountant calculates the amount of fuel and lubricants to be written off for each driver within the established standards, based on waybills or tachograph readings;

2) regarding overexpenditures, explanatory notes from the drivers are submitted to the accounting department with the manager’s order to write off (not write off) as expenses;

3) based on the calculation and individual orders, the accountant writes off fuel and lubricants for each driver (Debit 20, 26,23, 44, etc. Credit 10-3);

4) a general act is drawn up for the write-off of fuel and lubricants for the corresponding month, which indicates the total quantity of fuel and lubricants (by brand, type) and their total cost in rubles. The act is approved by the head of the enterprise.

Question 1. A wholesale enterprise has 3 trucks equipped with tachographs. Can we calculate fuel consumption based on vehicle mileage data not from waybills, but from tachographs?

Yes, you can.

A tachograph is a control device installed on board vehicles. Designed to record speed, travel time, route, distance traveled, etc.

Regardless of the driver, the tachograph records the speed and distance traveled. The document issued by the tachograph is objective, automatically generated, and protected from falsification. If you have a document issued by a tachograph, there is no need for an accountant to process the waybill to determine the actual consumption of fuel and lubricants.

Question 2. We have concluded an agreement with a fuel and lubricants supplier. We make payment and receive an invoice and invoice for fuel and lubricants and coupons. How do we take into account fuel and lubricants for drivers?

Upon receipt of the invoice and invoice from the supplier, the following entries should be made in accounting:

Debit 10-3, subaccount “Fuels and lubricants in coupons” (cash desk) Credit 60 – for the cost of fuels and lubricants;

Debit 19-3 Credit 60 – for the amount of VAT claimed.

Coupons should be capitalized against the balance in account 006.

As tickets are issued to drivers, the following entries are made in the records:

Credit 006 – tickets were issued to a specific driver according to the statement;

Debit 10-3, subaccount “Fuels and lubricants in coupons” (driver) Credit 10-3, subaccount “Fuels and lubricants in coupons” (cash desk).

Based on the supplier’s (gas station) report on the gasoline actually poured into each car:

Debit 10-3 “Fuel and lubricants in tanks” (driver) Credit 10-3 “Fuel and lubricants in coupons” (driver).

At the end of the month, the actual consumption of fuel and lubricants is written off within the established norms based on the accountant’s calculations:

Debit 20, 23, 26, 44, etc. Credit 10-3 “Fuels and lubricants in tanks” (driver).

Legislative acts on the topic

Legislative acts are represented by the following documents:

Write-off order

An order for the write-off of fuel and lubricants is issued taking into account the write-off methodology adopted by the organization. If a decision is made to refuse waybills, the document must first reflect this fact. Here is a sample order reflecting the use of technical means of monitoring the operation of a vehicle, which were discussed above.

LLC "Rassvet"

ORDER No. 5

Moscow

June 1, 2020

On establishing a procedure for calculating volumes of fuel consumption

I ORDER: 1. From 06/01/2019, calculate the volumes of fuel consumption based on actual indicators, using the technical means specified in the appendix to the order. 2. In case of technical failures and breakdowns, calculations should be made according to the standards in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Transport of Russia dated March 14, 2008 No. AM-23-r, taking into account the amendments that were current at the time of use of the document. 3. The engineering service ensures monitoring and timely repair of technical control equipment. 4. The deputy manager for economic affairs shall ensure control of the use of fuels and lubricants according to standards in the event of failures and breakdowns of technical control means.

Director of Rassvet LLC Krasnogorov M.P.

The following have been familiarized with the order:

chief engineer Martynov A.A. Deputy Director for Housekeeping O.I. Krivitsky chief accountant Mikhalkova T.V.

FILES

Common mistakes

Error No. 1: At an enterprise that simultaneously applies the OSNO and UTII tax regimes, VAT on expenses for fuel and lubricants was deducted in relation to the tax base for only one of the types of activity.

Comment: The amount of VAT allocated in the invoice for such an enterprise must be distributed according to the methodology described in clause 4, 4.1 of Art. 170 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Error No. 2: The budgetary institution accepted gasoline and diesel fuel for accounting at actual cost.

Comment: Gasoline and diesel fuel should be accounted for at a negotiated price, this is due to the large volume of their purchases for cash, non-cash payments and payment by fuel card.

Accounting: purchase of fuels and lubricants

In accounting, reflect the issue of cash with the following posting:

Debit 71 Credit 50

– funds were issued on account for the purchase of fuel and lubricants.

Within three working days from the end of the period for which the accountable amounts were issued, the employee is required to report on expenses (clause 6.3 of Bank of Russia Directive No. 3210-U dated March 11, 2014). To do this, he must submit an advance report to the accounting department either according to the unified form AO-1, ​​or according to the one that the organization has developed independently. Cash receipts indicating the quantity, brands and cost of fuels and lubricants, dates of purchases, etc. must be attached to the advance report.

In accounting, reflect purchased fuels and lubricants in subaccount 10-3 “Fuel”, opened to account 10 “Materials”. If the gas station issued an invoice to the employee, issued to the organization, then VAT can be deducted (clause 1 of Article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, do not include the VAT amount in the cost of fuel and lubricants (clause 5 of PBU 5/01). Take it into account separately on account 19 “VAT on purchased valuables.” Do the same if the VAT amount is indicated in a separate line of the cash receipt confirming the purchase of fuel and lubricants.

If there is no invoice, capitalize the fuel and lubricants at the price indicated on the cash receipt, including VAT (clause 6 of PBU 5/01).

Reflect the receipt of fuels and lubricants purchased in cash by posting:

Debit 10-3 Credit 71

– fuels and lubricants are capitalized (based on the advance report).

Situation: at what rate should the cost of fuel and lubricants purchased by an accountable person for foreign currency be taken into account in accounting?

In accounting, purchased fuels and lubricants are taken into account at actual cost (clause 5 of PBU 5/01). If fuels and lubricants were purchased for foreign currency, their value must be converted into rubles on the date of acceptance for accounting (clauses 4, 5 of PBU 3/2006). This date is the day of approval of the accountant’s advance report (clause 6 of PBU 3/2006).