An individual’s declaration not submitted on time. What is the penalty for failure to file a tax return? For not providing

Today there are many tools that an accountant can use. However, in practice, there are malfunctions in the functioning of the software and human factors, all of which lead to violations of the Tax Code requirements. Accordingly, failure to comply with legal requirements requires the application of sanctions to those responsible. One of them is a fine for late submission of a declaration.

Normative base

In paragraph one of Art. 119 of the Tax Code establishes a fine for late submission of a declaration. This violation is considered the most common. As a sanction, the subject is charged with a monetary penalty in the amount of 5% of the unpaid amount determined in the reporting. The fine for late submission of the declaration is charged for each full or partial month from the date established for its submission. The recovery cannot be more than 30% of the specified amount, but not less than 1 thousand rubles. In addition, liability is provided for under the Code of Administrative Offences. In particular, according to Art. 15.5 a fine for late submission of a declaration is imposed on officials. Its size is 300-500 rubles.

Exceptions

It should be said that not in every case sanctions can be applied to the subject for violating the established deadline. Thus, taking into account the explanations present in the plenary Resolution of the Supreme Arbitration Court No. 57, the supervisory authority (Federal Tax Service) issued its clarifications. They, in particular, say that if the deadlines for submitting documents are violated, then use Art. 119 NK will be incorrect. So, for example, you cannot impose a fine for late submission of income tax returns for the first, second, third quarters. It is also not charged for certain months - from the 1st to the 11th. In addition, a fine cannot be applied for late submission of a property tax return on advance payments.

Explanations

The basis for non-application of sanctions is Letter of the Federal Tax Service No. SA-4-7/16692. It states, in particular, that Art. 58 (clause 3) of the Tax Code provides that the code may establish the payment of advance payments. The obligation to deduct them is considered fulfilled in the same manner as for repaying the tax amount. Failure to comply with deadlines for the payment of advances cannot be considered as grounds for prosecution for violation of the Tax Code. Art. 119 applies if there was a late submission of a tax return. The penalty, therefore, is established for failure to submit reports for the entire period, and not for its individual parts. The Federal Tax Service explains that Art. 119 does not cover acts that resulted in missing the deadline for submitting calculations for advance payments, regardless of how these documents are named in the chapters of the Tax Code.

Art. 126 NK

It establishes a fine for late submission of documents or other information established in the code and other legislative acts, if the act does not contain signs of violations provided for in Art. 129.4 and 119 NK. The amount of the penalty is 200 rubles. from each unsubmitted document. If you miss the deadline for submitting Form 2-NDFL certificates, Art. 126. That is, you will also have to pay 200 rubles for each paper.

Important point

In case of untimely submission of a declaration according to f. 3-NDFL, when the payer is an individual, he may be subject to a fine under Art. 119 NK. In this case, the reason for collection can be even a small amount that the agent forgot to keep in the budget. In this case, it will be absolutely unimportant whether the payer himself knew about it. The tax agent must notify the individual and the inspectorate of the impossibility of withholding. But not everyone does this. According to subparagraph 4 of paragraph 1 of Art. 228 of the Tax Code, citizens who receive other income from which personal income tax was not withheld must make calculations and payments in accordance with the amounts of such receipts. The fact that the payer has no idea that he has such an obligation does not relieve him of liability.

Letter from the Ministry of Finance

The fact that a payer who did not even know that he must make some deductions from his income may be subject to a fine is evidenced by the explanation of the Ministry of Finance. In particular, the Ministry of Finance writes that under Art. 226 (clause 4) of the Tax Code, the tax agent is obliged to withhold the calculated tax amount directly from the income of payers upon their actual payment. Clause 5 of the same article stipulates that if it is impossible to do this, the subject is obliged, no later than a month from the date of completion of the period in which these circumstances occurred, to inform about this in writing to the individual himself (from whose income the withholding is made) and to the control body ( Federal Tax Service). In this case, the obligation to calculate and pay personal income tax, as well as to submit a declaration, rests with the payer.

Exemption from punishment

In order to hold the person who received the income accountable, the Federal Tax Service must prove the fact that a violation occurred. The control body must find out what actions/inactions resulted in non-compliance with the requirements. In Art. 109 of the Tax Code provides that if the subject is not guilty of committing a violation, he cannot be held accountable. In Art. 111 of the Tax Code establishes the circumstances under which Art. 109. This means that if the payer was not notified by the agent about the impossibility of making a deduction, then the issue of imposing a penalty is decided taking into account his guilt.

Exceptional circumstances

The payer may violate legal requirements due to:

1. Force majeure, natural disasters and other emergency situations.
2. Being in a state in which the subject could not be aware of his behavior or control his actions, due to illness.
3. Execution of written explanations on issues of calculation, payment of mandatory contributions or on other situations related to the application of the provisions of the Tax Code, which were given to the subject personally (or related to an indefinite number of persons) by the Federal Tax Service or another authorized body within their competence.
4. Other circumstances that may be recognized by the tax authority or court as excluding guilt.

This list, despite the presence of paragraph 4 in it, is considered by many officials to be exhaustive. In this regard, payers who did not submit a declaration under f. 3-NDFL, they are fined on the basis that ignorance of the law does not exempt from liability. In such cases, experts recommend requesting a 2-NDFL certificate from the company that paid the salary or other income. The information that will be present in the document will show whether tax was withheld from these proceeds.

EUND

A single declaration is submitted by those entities that did not have any movement of funds in their accounts during the tax period. In this case, we are talking not only about income, but also about expenses. If, after submitting the reports, it was discovered that the enterprise had carried out a business transaction, for example, the shipment of products, it needs to provide updated documentation.

But the control body sometimes does not accept these reports, demanding to present the primary ones. In such situations, the Federal Tax Service may impose a fine for late submission of the VAT return. As explained by the authorized authorities, the EUND is submitted in accordance with paragraph 2 of clause 2 of Art. 80 NK. If an enterprise does not carry out transactions that result in the movement of funds in bank accounts or cash desks, it has the right to file a simplified (single) declaration instead of each tax return. If a taxable item is discovered for the period in which the reporting was submitted, the payer has the obligation to make changes to the documentation and submit it in the manner prescribed in Art. 81. If the subject has done this, then he cannot be charged a fine for late submission of the VAT return. Such reporting will be considered updated.

Deadlines

A separate case was discussed above when a fine cannot be imposed for late submission of a VAT return. In 2015, the amount of penalties did not undergo any changes. The legislation, however, establishes deadlines after which the amount may increase. For example, the fine for late submission of a VAT return in 2015 was 5% of the imputed tax amount, but not less than 1000 rubles. This value was established for entities that missed up to 180 days from the date of reporting. This deadline is also set for other fees. For example, the fine for late submission of a declaration under the simplified tax system for 2014 was also 5% of the imputed amount, but not less than 1000 rubles. If the payer does not submit documents for more than 180 days, then the percentage increases significantly. This procedure also applies to each imputed fee. For example, the fine for late submission of a transport tax return will be 30% of the deduction amount. Here, too, the size of the sanction should not be less than 1 thousand rubles.

Is it possible to reduce sanctions?

The legislation provides for cases when the payer can reduce the amount of the fine. They are established in Art. 114 NK. For example, if a fine is imposed for late submission of a declaration to the Federal Tax Service, as a rule, the payer is notified. At the inspection, the subject gets acquainted with the inspection report against signature. After the payer has signed this document, he has two weeks to file a petition to reduce the imputed amount.

Extenuating circumstances

The fine for late submission of the 2013 VAT return, as well as the 2016 one, can be reduced by at least half. In Part 1 of Art. 112 the following conditions are provided:

What are the last factors? For example, the most common circumstances allowing to reduce the fine for late submission of the 2014 UTII declaration were:

1. Committing the first violation of the Tax Code.
2. The subject has dependents. In addition to minors, these include children under 23 years of age if they are studying full-time.

The more circumstances are indicated, the higher the likelihood that the amount of recovery will be reduced by more than half. For example, in practice there are many cases when the fine was reduced by 4 times.

Other measures

In addition to monetary penalties, the subject’s bank accounts may be frozen. This opportunity is provided by the Federal Tax Service in accordance with Art. 76 NK. Clause 3 of this article establishes the right of the inspectorate to suspend transactions on accounts in the payer’s bank if the declaration has not been submitted after 10 days after the date provided for by law. It should be said here that all debit transactions are blocked on the account. That is, you can deposit funds.

At the same time, the legislation establishes the order of collection of funds from the debtor. The fine imposed by the tax authority is in the third stage. The decision to cancel the blocking must be made no later than 1 day after submitting the declaration.

Controversial issues

In the new edition of Art. 119 of the Tax Code establishes that the fine for late submission of a declaration is calculated based on the amount of tax not paid within the period specified by law. This provision was absent from the previous article, which gave rise to controversy. It was not entirely clear at what point sanctions should be determined - on the day of completion of the deadline or the actual filing of reports. If the tax has been paid in full, but the declaration has not been submitted, the fine will be 1000 rubles. If part of the amount was deducted, the amount of the sanction is determined by the difference between the amount actually paid and the imputed amount of the obligatory payment.

Conclusion

The tax legislation clearly establishes the deadlines for filing a return. Such strict regulation is due to the fact that mandatory contributions from individuals and legal entities constitute a significant share of budget revenues. Accordingly, the state strives to ensure proper control over the timeliness of receipts. Violations, as can be seen from the article, can be caused by various circumstances. The law, of course, provides for certain possibilities for payers to reduce sanctions. In addition, the Tax Code establishes a number of responsibilities for control bodies. But as practice shows, circumstances are often not taken into account. In this regard, it is better to do everything on time: both pay taxes and submit reports on them. In this case, there will be no proceedings or problems.

Violation of deadlines for filing tax reports is punishable by law. In this case, various penalties and administrative sanctions are provided.

What are the consequences of late filing of reports with the tax authorities in 2019? Failure to submit a tax return on time is considered a misdemeanor punishable by law.

In 2013, new standards of liability for this offense were established. Having started to operate in 2019, they continue to be applied in the year 2019.

Required information

In case of late submission of a declaration to the tax authority, the guilty person is punished with a fine.

Its size is determined as five percent of the unpaid tax amount under this declaration for each overdue month.

Moreover, the total percentage does not exceed thirty points. At the same time, the minimum fine for late submission of reports to the tax office cannot be less than one thousand rubles.

Even the fact of a slight delay, in which five percent of the unpaid tax is significantly less than a thousand rubles, does not matter.

Before changes were made to the Tax Code, there was a dual interpretation of the exact amount of the fine that must be paid.

According to one version, the fine should have been assessed on the amount of tax debt accumulated at the time of filing the declaration.

Another, more popular, version involved charging a fine on the amount of total tax debt, without direct connection to the declaration.

The new edition of tax legislation has clarified in detail the principle of calculating fines for late submission of tax reports.

That is, any misinterpretations of the procedure for applying penalties are excluded.

An important addition to the new edition of the Tax Code is an explanation of who faces penalties for delaying reporting to the tax office.

From now on, not only taxpayers, but also all persons whose responsibility is to file a tax return are subject to liability.

That is, three categories of citizens fall under responsibility:

• taxpayers;
• tax agents;
• tax evaders.

Thus, a legal entity that is not the payer may be subject to a fine.

This is due to the fact that when provided to a client indicating VAT, the organization is obliged to file a declaration for this tax, as if it were the payer of it. The same requirement applies to individual entrepreneurs.

Previously, this offense was also punishable, but the maximum liability was a fine of two hundred rubles. Changes in the law have tightened penalties for late submission of tax reports.

What it is

Tax reporting is tax returns and other reports submitted to the tax office.

Every organization or individual entrepreneur submits tax reports based on the type of activity performed, as well as the presence or absence of assets (tangible property).

The tax reporting submitted differs depending on the applied taxation regime:

The stages of tax reporting preparation are:

• checking the completeness and accuracy of primary documentation;
• making necessary amendments to primary documents;
• preparation of tax and accounting reports;
• submission of reports.

Depending on the type of tax, a calendar year, quarter, or month is recognized as a tax period. At the same time, a tax period may include several reporting periods.

Upon completion of these, payment is required. A tax return is a written statement by a taxpayer.

The information provided serves as the basis for the calculation and payment of taxes.

Advance payment calculation is a written statement from the taxpayer regarding the calculation base, the calculated amount of advance payments, applied benefits and other information necessary for the calculation and payment of advance payments.

Deadlines

Taxpayers are required to provide tax returns and calculations no later than twenty-eight days from the end of the relevant reporting period.

In the case where taxpayers calculate the amount of monthly advance payments according to the profit actually acquired, they are required to submit tax returns within the period determined for the payment of advance payments.

Tax returns based on the results of the tax period must be submitted no later than March twenty-eighth of the year following the completed tax period.

Any delay is considered late and late submission. Even if the documents were submitted the next day after the deadline.

Current standards

Failure to submit a tax return within the established deadline will result in a fine. This is defined in Article 119, Clause 1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (ed.).

The amount of the fine is equal to five percent of the tax amount not paid within a certain period of time, subject to payment based on the results of the declaration.

Moreover, the fine for failure to submit annual reports to the tax authorities is charged for each full and partial month from the due date of submission.

The maximum fine is thirty percent of the tax amount, the minimum amount is one thousand rubles.

The established procedure for submitting a tax return is considered as the object of a tax offense.

If tax agents submit other documentation (information, calculations) to tax authorities, then they cannot be fined under Article 119 of the Tax Code.

It is also necessary to distinguish between a tax return for the tax period and the calculation of an advance payment based on the results of the reporting period. Late submission of an advance payment calculation cannot be punished under Article 119 of the Tax Code.

If mitigating circumstances are identified when determining the final amount of the fine, and may be used.

According to these provisions, the fine can be reduced even in comparison with the minimum amount of one thousand rubles, determined by Article 119 of the Tax Code. A fine for late submission of a declaration cannot be paid from budget funds.

For them, a violation is fraught with a warning or an administrative fine.

Consequently, expenses associated with late filing of a tax return are reimbursed by the head of the organization or the chief accountant.

What are the penalties for late submission of reports to the tax authorities?

Taxpayers who fail to submit required reports to the Federal Tax Service on time are subject to penalties.

If the delay in sending the declaration is more than ten days, then the tax authority has the right to suspend transactions on all bank accounts of the “unconscious” taxpayer.

It becomes possible to resume work with bank accounts only after eliminating all tax violations.

Sanctions from tax authorities for failure to submit reports on time are prescribed in Article 119 of the Tax Code. But they are used only in relation to tax returns.

The amount of the fine varies depending on the period of delay. But if you are late by just a few days, the fine is calculated as for a full month.

Late submission of advance payment calculations is punishable in accordance with. The fine in this case is fifty rubles for each document not provided.

Exactly the same principle applies to fines for late submission of other tax reporting, in addition to tax returns.

Provides for late submission of tax reports and administrative fines. They can be used simultaneously with tax sanctions, without replacing each other.

That is, administrative fines are levied in a clearly established amount and in no way depend on the amount of taxes.

For not providing

Article 119 of the Tax Code states that failure to submit reports on time will result in a fine in the amount of five percent of the unpaid tax amount.

In this case, the maximum is thirty percent of the unpaid tax fee, the minimum is one thousand rubles.

An important feature is the submission of a VAT return. From 2019, these reports must be submitted only electronically.

That is, even a paper version of a tax return submitted on time is equivalent to one not submitted. The fine is imposed on the organization or individual entrepreneur.

But in addition, the responsible official is at risk of receiving a fine or warning (Article 15.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, 300-500 rubles).

In case of late delivery

It explained that even if taxes are paid on time, late filing of a tax return is punishable by a minimum fine of one thousand rubles.

At zero form

If there is no activity for the tax period, you must submit a zero tax return.

According to the fine for not providing it, it is equal to one thousand rubles. In addition, tax inspectors can apply Article 126, paragraph 1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

And collect two hundred rubles for each report not provided. Additionally, officials are fined for failure to submit zero reports. They are subject to an administrative fine of three hundred to five hundred rubles.

Providing explanatory notes

Provides for the possibility of reducing the fine. To do this, the organization or individual entrepreneur must provide an explanatory note explaining the reasons for the delay.

If, after considering the stated facts, tax inspectors consider the delay to be justified, then the conditions may be recognized as excluding or moderating guilt.

An explanatory note is drawn up in any form. But at the same time, it is advisable to describe the circumstances of the situation in as much detail as possible.

You need to start with what kind of reporting and for what period was submitted untimely. Next, you should indicate the reasons that caused the delay.

The arguments may be different, but they all must be supported by facts. You can additionally attach any documents, certificates, reports, etc.

Other important factors can also be mentioned. For example, the fact that taxes were paid in full on time, there was no intent to commit an offense, the violation of deadlines occurred for the first time.

Of course, in most cases the liability for late filing of tax returns is not too high. But, firstly, the imposition of any fine is not advisable.

And the most unpleasant thing is the blocking of current accounts. That is, the inability to carry out monetary transactions on these accounts and the inaccessibility of available funds.

Therefore, it is better to submit reports immediately after the end of the reporting period than to pay for even minor violations of deadlines.

In 2019, it is April 30, and the calculated amount of personal income tax must be paid by July 15. For late declaration of income, as well as for non-payment of personal income tax, fines are provided (Articles of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Let's consider what it is, the fine for failure to submit 3 personal income taxes in 2019.

Let us remind you, just in case, that the income declaration must be submitted for the previous year (that is, in 2019 we are submitting a report for 2018).

If a zero declaration has not been submitted

A zero return is a return for which no fees need to be paid, for example, when the deduction fully covers the income received. To put it simply: you received money last year that needs to be declared, but you will not pay tax on it, since it all fits into the amount of your tax deduction. And although in this case there is no need to pay any money to the state, it is necessary to report to the tax office.

The fine for failure to submit a 3-NDFL declaration will be 1,000 rubles (Article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The Federal Tax Service requires the provision of a zero declaration to confirm the absence of personal income tax for payment - this is how they control what is happening.

Penalty for failure to submit 3-NDFL

If the documents are submitted to the inspection later than the due date, and they include the amount due for payment to the government agency, then you will have to pay 5% for each day of delay. At the same time, the law establishes a limitation - the fine for late filing cannot be more than 30% of the calculated tax and cannot be less than 1,000 rubles (Article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Remember, if you have not submitted a declaration, then you will have to give 1000 rubles to the state in any case, even if you do not need to pay tax. This is the law providing for 3-personal income tax for individuals in 2019.

Non-payment or incomplete payment of personal income tax is subject to a sanction in the amount of 20% of the tax amount (Article 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The sanction is applied if the violation is discovered by the Federal Tax Service. If you yourself repaid the debt along with late fees, then no additional penalties will follow and no fine will be imposed for late submission of the 3-NDFL declaration by an individual.

Penalties for late payments to the state will be 1/300 for each day of delay - for the first 30 days of delay, then - 1/150. Since 2016, the refinancing rate has not been independently approved, but is equated to the key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. From December 14, 2018, the key rate is 7.75%.

For violations of the procedure for declaring income electronically or for errors in calculations, a penalty is also provided - it will amount to 200 rubles.

Criminal liability for non-payment of personal income tax

If the tax was not paid intentionally, then you will be fined 40% of the unpaid amount. If the amount due is more than 600,000 rubles, but you have not filed reports and paid nothing, then you face criminal prosecution.

Sanctions for officials

Late filing of 3-NDFL by government employees entails an administrative fine in the amount of 300 to 500 rubles.

The law provides for a fine for individual entrepreneurs for late submission of a declaration. Conducting any business activity is accompanied by the submission of reports. Thus, the state strives to ensure that all types of reporting are submitted on time. Stimulating entrepreneurs is one of the main tasks of the government in order to ensure the normal functioning of all government structures.

Types of sanctions

The amount of the fine depends mainly on the document that was not submitted to the government agency within a certain time frame. In order to avoid getting into trouble, before starting a business, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic provisions of the laws, with the rules for maintaining and registering an entrepreneur.

If you do not register on time and at the same time conduct business, you will face a sanction in the amount of 10 thousand rubles. Plus, you will need to pay 10% of the profit received during the business. But the minimum threshold amount is set at 40 thousand rubles. So, in order to avoid unpleasant situations and losses, it is wise to initially do everything in accordance with the law.

If the individual entrepreneur does not submit the declaration on time, he will also face penalties. If the company has an accountant, then he is always aware of the deadlines for submitting reports of any type. But if, nevertheless, an individual entrepreneur has taken on all the responsibilities of an accountant, then he will have to answer for it himself.

It is also necessary to submit reports to insurance funds in a timely manner. If you do not submit the report on time, the fine will be calculated based on the amount of contributions for the previous 3 months. In this case, the minimum fine amount is 1,000 rubles, and the maximum will be calculated as 30% of contributions to the insurance fund for the last quarter.

By the 20th day of the first month, it is necessary to submit a report on the average number of employees at the enterprise. If this is not done on time, the fine will be 200 rubles. The fee seems to be meager, but in addition to penalties, the responsibility of persons who are late is provided. A similar fine may be imposed for late reporting to the tax service. Since you need to submit 5 documents, the total amount will be 1,000 rubles.

Return to contents

If you do not submit your return on time...

The law provides for a fine for late filing of an individual entrepreneur’s declaration. The relationship between an individual entrepreneur and the Tax Service is regulated by the Tax Code, which spells out all the subtleties and conditions for conducting legal business.

It is important to understand that the overdue reporting deadline does not matter, that is, it makes no difference at all whether you are a day late or a month late. Payments will be the same in these situations. Under favorable conditions for the entrepreneur, the sanction will be at least 1,000 rubles. But this amount can be increased if you were unable to pay taxes or did not have time to pay them. In this case, the amount will depend on the period of overdue payments.

Let's look at an example of a calculation. The entrepreneur was 2.5 months late in submitting his reports. Of the total amount due for tax of 20 thousand, he paid only 3 thousand. So, let's start with the fact that 3 full months of delay will be used in the calculations. The late fee is 5% of the unpaid tax. Thus, we get: 20,000-3,000 = 17,000 - this is arrears. 17,000*0.05=850*3 months= 2550 rubles.

When assessing a sanction, what matters is the reason that led to the delay, or rather, whether this action was intentional or unintentional.

If it is established that the incorrectly calculated amounts were indicated deliberately in order to reduce tax liabilities, the amount will be increased by 40%.

If an entrepreneur submitted reporting documents on time under the simplified tax system, but incorrectly indicated the amount to be paid, then the fine for him will be 20% of the amount of the arrears.

In accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities are required to pay taxes and declare their income and expenses in reporting documents. Failure to timely provide information to the tax authorities entails a penalty in accordance with the law in the form of a fine.

Tax system of the Russian Federation in 2018

There are several taxation systems for individual entrepreneurs:

• UTII;
• PSN, etc.

In accordance with the chosen scheme, it is necessary to pay taxes, keep records of financial receipts and expenses, and monitor the timely submission of the required documentation to a government agency. Otherwise, a penalty will be charged for failure to file a tax return.

The tax rate, reporting documents and deadlines for submitting papers to the Federal Tax Service are different for each system. However, the consequences are the same. Ignoring the declaration of income and other financial transactions entails liability under Russian legislation.

Penalties

What penalties are provided by law?

Sanctions for failure to submit a tax return on time

As of 2018, the late fee is 5% of the unpaid amount for each full or partial month during the reporting period. The maximum amount is 30% of the declared amount. The minimum amount is 1000 rubles and does not depend on the final result.*

There are three main measures for late submission of a tax return that are applied by the Federal Tax Service:

• Fine provided for in Article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
• Blocking of any transactions on bank accounts, the conditions and regulation of which are prescribed in Art. 76 tax code.
• Administrative liability aimed at individuals, in accordance with Art. 15.5 Code of Administrative Offences.

The penalty for failure to file a declaration ranges from 300 to 500 rubles, depending on the circumstances (amount of tax debt, repetition of the offense, mitigating circumstances, etc.).*

Late filing of tax returns without tax arrears

Delay in filing reporting documents with zero indicators entails certain consequences. The fine in such a situation is fixed and amounts to 1000 rubles.*

Many people believe that if you transfer the required amount of taxes on time, but do not submit the declaration at the right time, then the 5 percent fine multiplied by zero debt will be zero. In reality this is not the case. You may be charged with a standard fine of 1,000 rubles.* Therefore, you should not abuse this; it is better to submit your declaration within the prescribed period.

A slightly different situation is observed when taxes are calculated based on prepaid payments. The final amount of profit and taxes is unknown, therefore an individual entrepreneur or legal entity is obliged to repay the advance tax. In such circumstances, a fine of 1000 rubles. they won't, but Art. 126 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation can establish a sanction of 200 rubles.*

Statute of limitations for unfiled declarations

Regardless of what tax system the individual entrepreneur uses and what tax he has not paid (personal income tax, VAT, etc.), the maximum statute of limitations is 3 years. However, not many people understand from what moment the countdown begins.

The maximum period for claims from tax authorities is 3 years

Important! The counting period is from the beginning of the tax period, which follows the period when taxes should have been paid and the declaration submitted.

Example: the company did not pay tax for 2017, so the last day is March 28, 2018. However, the statute of limitations must be counted from January 1, 2018, when the new reporting period began.

How to pay a fine for filing a tax return late

First of all you will need:

• details for transferring funds;
• payment receipt;
• required amount.

Step-by-step instructions for repaying the established fine:

1. You can find out the reason and the exact amount at the Federal Tax Service branch or on the official website of the organization www.nalog.ru in the taxpayer’s personal account. Ignorance about the fine does not exempt you from paying it, so it is better not to delay your visit to the inspectorate.
2. Payment can be made through any bank (a receipt is needed) or using a current account (you need to specify the details for transferring money). Payment information can be clarified by calling the hotline, on the tax website or at the office of the institution. It is recommended to keep the receipt for payment of the fine until the statute of limitations expires (3 years).
3. A few days after the operation, you need to clarify the receipt of payment.

Using this algorithm, you can pay a fine for failure to submit property tax returns, as well as land, transport, unified and any other type of government fees. Having an electronic signature, you can not only pay fines and taxes, but also submit the necessary reporting documentation.

Note! The tax penalty can be reduced or completely eliminated legally by applying to an arbitration court.

Payment can also be made through the State Services portal if the citizen has a verified account. The principle is approximately the same as when repaying through LKNP on the Federal Tax Service website. There are no additional commissions or fees for using the service.

How to reduce the amount or not pay a fine

In accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation, there are several mitigating circumstances:

• difficult situation (family difficulties, health problems, etc.);
• threats or violent coercion;
• difficult financial situation;
• other circumstances (first offense, presence of dependents, etc.).

Important! Dependents are minor children, incapacitated relatives in their care, or persons under 23 years of age studying full-time in state educational institutions.

In an application to reduce the fine, it is recommended to indicate the maximum number of reasons for non-payment of the fine. This increases the chance of a positive decision on the application. If you document the presence of special circumstances that influenced the delay in the declaration or payment of tax, then the chance of a positive decision and a reduction in the final amount is good.

Important! To submit an application to reduce the penalty, the taxpayer is given 14 working days from the date of drawing up the Act on the offense.

After this period, it is almost impossible to challenge the established amount. The only chance to file a petition after a longer period of time is to prove the impossibility of filing it on time. To do this, you need to confirm your stay in a hospital, outside the country, in an emergency situation, etc.

Filing an application to reduce the amount or liquidate the debt to the arbitration court

If the inspection decision is erroneous or inaccurate, it can be challenged by filing a corresponding request with the arbitration court. You need to prepare an evidence base (payment receipts, bank statements, etc.) to confirm that you are right. The lack of necessary information and documentation to support the plaintiff’s position will have a negative impact. In practice, more than half of such requests are not satisfied.

Sanctions for late submission of other reporting documents

In addition to punishment for the absence of a tax return, government agency employees have the right to demand payment or a refund for forms 2-NDFL (200 rubles for each certificate not submitted) and 6-NDFL (1000 rubles for each month).* Entrepreneurs also need to take this into account so as not to fall under penalties. These offenses primarily affect large enterprises.

How to avoid fines in the future

To avoid finding yourself in a similar situation again, you must:

• clarify the deadlines for submitting reporting documents;
• monitor regular recording of financial transactions;
• timely payment of taxes.

An important place in this is given to professional control of the financial side of the business. If the company is large enough, then it is advisable to create an accountant position or an entire department on staff. For small companies or individual entrepreneurs, cooperation with agencies that provide one-time calculations and preparation of reporting documents is suitable. You can also hire a remote employee or enlist the help of a competent freelancer.

If the business turnover is small, then you can cope on your own. The main thing is to carefully monitor deadlines and fill out the documentation correctly.

*Fine amounts are current as of August 2018.