Probably each of us has encountered the purchase and sale of a car at least once in our lives. And if many people bought a new car, then mostly used cars have to be sold. Naturally, in connection with the sale of vehicles, many owners often have questions about taxes. Today we will look at the most common example, when a car owner bought something, as well as a number of other most common cases. Let's find out whether in these cases it is necessary to pay the ill-fated 13% tax to the state or whether car enthusiasts still have the opportunity not to pay taxes.
How long do you need to own a car to avoid paying tax when selling it?
In recent years, rumors have emerged among car enthusiasts that in order to avoid paying tax after sale, you must have owned the vehicle for more than 5 years.
Actually this is not true. In Russia, the Tax Code still applies, which states that income from sold property owned by citizens for more than 3 years is not subject to tax. As for the five-year period, this applies to real estate.
Let us recall that on January 1, 2016, amendments to the tax legislation came into force, which extended the period of ownership of real estate, after the sale of which income is not subject to taxation.
So, now, according to current legislation, in order to sell an apartment, house or land without tax, you must be the owner of the property for at least 5 years. That's where rumors began that a similar rule would apply to cars. This is wrong.
To begin with, let us recall that, according to the current Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Part 17.1 of Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), income from the sale of other property owned by the taxpayer is not subject to taxation three years or more. According to the law, vehicles fall under other property.
Accordingly, if you have owned a car for 3 years or more, then no matter how much the car was sold for, you do not have to submit even a zero return to the tax office at your place of residence and, of course, are not required to pay. Moreover, it is worth noting that the period of ownership of a car is not calculated from the beginning of the year (calendar year), but precisely from the moment when you became the owner of the car (the date of signing the purchase and sale agreement, which is included in the traffic police database at).
So, for example, if you bought a car on September 1, 2015, then on September 1, 2018, you can safely sell your car without subsequently paying the 13 percent income tax levied on personal income.
How to reduce the tax amount when selling a car that has been owned for less than 3 years?
Now let's look at a more common option, when car owners sell a car that they have owned for less than 3 years.
In this case, according to the current Tax Code of the Russian Federation, income from the sale of a car is subject to taxation. If you sold a car that you bought less than three years ago, you will not only have to submit a 3NDFL tax return to your district tax office (IFTS at your place of permanent registration), but also, if you do not apply a tax deduction (more on this below), pay a 13 percent tax.
How is tax calculated after selling a car? The formula for calculating personal income tax is simple. Here's what it looks like:
Tax amount = Tax rate x Tax base
In our case, the tax base is the sales amount of the car (specified in the sales contract), and the tax rate is 13 percent.
Accordingly, if you sold a car that was owned for less than 3 years for 500,000 rubles, then the tax base is equal to 500 thousand rubles. As a result, in order to calculate the tax on this amount, you need 500,000 x 0.13. We will receive 65,000 rubles.
But, fortunately, the Russian Tax Code has provisions that allow you to reduce the tax base. That is, you have the opportunity to reduce the amount of income that is subject to taxation.
For example, according to Part 2 of Article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, you can take advantage of a deduction after the sale of a car in the amount of 250 thousand rubles. This is the maximum tax deduction per year. That is, if you sold several cars, then the amount of 250,000 rubles will be common for the entire total income from the sale of cars.
For example: if you owned a Toyota Corolla for less than 3 years and sold it for 850,000 rubles, then by taking advantage of a deduction of 250,000 rubles, you can reduce the tax base: 850,000 - 250,000 = 600,000 rubles.
As a result, you will pay tax on the amount of 650,000 rubles: 84,500 rubles.
Do I need to pay tax if the car was bought for 100,000 rubles and sold less than 3 years later for 200,000 rubles?
No. According to Part 2 of Article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the seller of property (in our example, a car) is provided with a property deduction in the amount of 250,000 rubles per year. Accordingly, if you sold a car for less than 250,000 rubles, you do not have to pay the 13% tax, despite the fact that you owned the vehicle for less than 3 years.
How to pay tax on several cars sold during the year?
Let's assume that you sell 2 cars in one year. For example, Toyota Corolla for 850,000 rubles and VAZ-2109 for 100,000 rubles. Let's say that you have been the owner of these cars for less than 3 years. Accordingly, according to tax laws, you must pay a 13 percent income tax on the sale of cars, which is levied on individuals who have owned the property for less than 3 years.
However, according to Part 2 of Article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, you can also use a tax deduction to reduce income that is subject to taxation. As a result, the amount you received from the sale of two cars (950,000 rubles) can be reduced by 250,000 rubles. As a result, you will have to pay:
(950,000 - 250,000) * 0.13 = 91,000 rubles.
But 250,000 rubles is not the only tax deduction that can be used by those car owners who have sold cars that have been owned for less than three years.
The fact is that by paragraph 2 of part 2 of Article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when calculating the tax, the taxpayer has the right to reduce the taxable base (that is, the amount for which the car was sold) by the amount of documented expenses actually incurred by him related to the acquisition of this property.
Naturally, in this case it will not be possible to take advantage of the tax deduction of 250,000 rubles. That is, if you own a car for less than three years, then after selling it you can reduce your tax base by the amount you spent on purchasing it. Accordingly, if you sell a car for less than you bought it for, you are not required to pay income tax.
But not everything is so simple in our kingdom. Don’t rush to rejoice and run quickly to the tax office after selling the car, proving your expenses for purchasing the car with the help of one sales contract.
Did you know that one purchase and sale agreement may not be enough? After all, today it can be printed on any printer, fortunately the state has long allowed the sale of a car under contracts drawn up in ordinary written form.
The fact is that the tax office will check your actual expenses for purchasing a car in detail to make sure that the information you provide is accurate.
So, along with the purchase and sale agreement, you will have to provide other documents that confirm the actual payment for the car when purchasing it. For example, you should provide the following documents to the Federal Tax Service(in the presence of):
- - Payment receipt
- - Check
- - Payment order with a bank mark indicating that you deposited money into the operating cash desk
- - Act of transfer of funds
- - Receipt
- - Any documents indirectly confirming the purchase of the car
Unfortunately, it just so happens that the tax inspectorate sleeps and dreams of getting to the bottom of the documents confirming your expenses when buying a car. As a result, motorists who decide to underestimate the tax base by confirming the actual costs of purchasing a vehicle are simply denied this type of deduction.
And they have no choice but to take advantage of the usual deduction in the amount of 250,000 rubles. There is, of course, an even more dreary and time-consuming option. For example, go to court. But that is another story.
So, in order not to prove to the tax authority in the future how much you bought your car for, never throw away any documents related to the purchase of the vehicle. Even if your once new car has expired its factory warranty. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for you to prove to the tax office the actual costs you previously incurred to purchase the car.
What documents can be used to confirm the purchase of a car from an individual?
Many car owners often do not know how to confirm the actual expenses incurred when purchasing a car from an individual. If when buying a car at a car dealership, questions usually do not arise, since the dealer issues all the necessary receipts, payment orders and acts of transfer of property, which are usually quite satisfactory for the tax authority when deciding on the application of a property deduction, then regarding the expenses when purchasing a car from individuals , there are usually a lot of such questions. After all, individuals should not, when making mutual payments, give each other any receipts for concluding a car purchase and sale transaction. As a result, the tax office often denies deductions to car owners.
The whole point is that you must prove that the seller accepted money from you when purchasing the car. For example, this can be explicitly stated in the purchase and sale agreement. To do this, it is enough to write: “All mutual settlements under the agreement have been made in full.”
But it would, of course, be better when purchasing a car for the parties to exchange receipts for mutual settlements made. You can also draw up an act of transfer of funds and vehicles. As a result, the more pieces of paper you provide to the tax authority, the better. This way you will have a better chance that you will not be denied a deduction according to the law. Otherwise, you will only be able to take advantage of the standard deduction in the amount of 250 thousand rubles.
How to confirm expenses for a car purchased from an individual entrepreneur?
In recent years, more and more purchase and sale transactions have been concluded between individuals and individual entrepreneurs. Including transactions related to the purchase and sale of cars. As a result, many car enthusiasts do not know what documents to submit to the tax authority after selling cars purchased from individual entrepreneurs in order to receive a tax deduction from the amount previously spent on purchasing the car.
You must first understand who you actually purchased the car from. For example, if the car was initially registered to an individual entrepreneur and in the purchase and sale agreement instead of the personal data. If the details of an individual entrepreneur are indicated, then mutual settlements according to the law between an individual entrepreneur and an individual must be confirmed by a cash receipt or a payment order for a bank transfer.
Naturally, in this case, if you provide the tax authority with one purchase and sale agreement, you will most likely be denied a deduction.
If the purchase and sale agreement does not include an individual as an individual entrepreneur, and the car was previously registered to an individual (and not to an individual entrepreneur), then for deduction to the tax authority it is enough to provide the purchase and sale agreement. But, alas, if it does not contain the phrase “all mutual settlements have been made” or the like, then the tax authority, as a result of checking the purchase and sale agreement you provided, has the right to refuse a tax deduction.
That is why, regardless of who you purchase a car from, it is so important to have on hand not only the purchase and sale agreement, but also other documents confirming the actual costs of purchasing the car.
Is it necessary to provide a 3NDFL declaration when selling a car that has been owned for less than three years?
Yes, regardless of the amount of tax (even if the tax after the sale of a car is 0 rubles), when selling a car that has been owned for less than three years, you are obliged to submit a 3NDFL tax return to the tax authority at your place of residence at the end of the tax period, indicating in It contains all the information about the sale of the vehicle. Otherwise, you may face a fine of 1000 rubles!!!
The requirement to pay transport tax applies to all Russian citizens, including residents of the city of Moscow. His government has established benefits for a separate category of individuals and legal entities, which is reflected in regional regulations. The tax rate is determined by the type of vehicle and its power.
General provisions
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The term “vehicle” means a self-propelled technical vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine.
Its main purpose is to transport people and transport goods of various weights along trackless communication routes. The right to drive it arises from the day you receive your national driving license.
What it is
The wording “transport tax” means one of the types of mandatory payments established by the legislator. The obligation to pay it has been imposed on car owners since January 1, 2003.
It is accrued from the date of registration of the vehicle with the traffic police, which transmits the relevant information to the Federal Tax Service. Funds are contributed to the regional budget in accordance with instructions, namely articles.
The executive authority of each subject, including the city of Moscow, individually establishes:
- The amount of transport tax.
- Deadlines for payment of vehicle tax.
- Reporting form.
- Tax benefits.
At the federal level, the object of taxation, the procedure for calculating the tax base, the tax period, and the limits of tax rates are determined.
In the city of Moscow, the tax rate for a vehicle is per horsepower:
An interested person can familiarize himself with the information he requires on the official website of the Federal Tax Service, where explanations are given about the payment of transport tax and the specifics of the procedure.
Who does it apply to?
Its size is determined by the engine power indicator, which is indicated in the vehicle passport or registration certificate and actual power.
In some cases, a small difference in data leads to a significant increase in the amount of transport tax.
Many taxpayers are interested in the question of how to avoid paying transport tax legally for a powerful engine? In accordance with the tax article, its size can be reduced or increased depending on the engine power and category of the vehicle by the standard of the subject of the Federation, but not more than 10 times.
One way to reduce its size is to use benefits provided by the state. Its essence lies in the application of a special coefficient established for various categories of citizens.
They should apply if the actual power of the vehicle does not correspond to the power indicated in the PTS.
To reduce its size, the car owner should:
Along with the application, a general passport, documents for the vehicle, and an independent expert’s opinion are submitted. The applicant, upon completion of the procedure, must notify the Federal Tax Service office at his place of residence about the change in data.
Preferential categories
Transport tax benefits are established in accordance with the instructions of the article.
Each subject of the Federation has the right to independently establish them, for which they must introduce the appropriate norms into local legislative acts. They provide the grounds for application to taxpayers.
In accordance with the instructions of the article, a vehicle that:
- Specially equipped for a person who has a disability.
- Provided by your local social security office to a person receiving a pension. A prerequisite is the installation of an engine with a power of less than 100 hp.
Russian citizens must submit an application to the territorial office of the Federal Tax Service at their place of residence to apply for a transport tax benefit.
It is considered for 10 days, after which a definite decision is made. The benefit is provided for one vehicle, regardless of its power and age.
In the city of Moscow, benefits are established for one vehicle owned by:
| Indicators | Description |
| Veterans and disabled people | Great Patriotic War; military operations that took place in hot spots on the territory of the Russian state and beyond its borders |
| Heroes of the Russian Federation and the former state - USSR | citizens awarded Orders of Glory 3 degrees |
| Former prisoners of places of forced detention | created by fascist Germany and its allies, if they did not reach the age of majority while in them |
| Persons who participated in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster | — |
| Disabled people of groups 1 and 2 | — |
| One of the parents, adoptive parents and guardians of a child recognized as disabled since childhood | including a child declared legally incompetent |
| One of the parents or adoptive parents of a child from a large family | — |
| Vehicle owners | whose power is less than 70 hp. |
| Persons who participated in testing nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, eliminating the consequences of accidents at nuclear installations | on technical weapons and military facilities as part of special risk units |
| Persons who have become disabled or have suffered radiation sickness | during any type of work related to testing nuclear installations and weapons, space technology |
| Residents of the special economic zone | — |
| Transport companies | engaged in the transportation of passengers on public public transport, with the exception of taxis |
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Important nuances
Regulation of general and specific issues regarding the payment of transport tax is carried out by the instructions of Chapter 28 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Articles 356-.
In accordance with them, the tax rate is established by regulations of the constituent entity of the Federation depending on the technical characteristics of the vehicle.
These include:
- Year of issue.
- Engine power.
- Gross tonnage.
- Category.
- Expiration date as of January 1 of the current year.
Legal entities must pay transport tax at the end of the tax period, that is, before February 1 of the coming year. The norm is provided for by the instructions of Article 363.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
They must submit a tax return for the past tax period, drawn up on a unified form. It was established by order of the Federal Tax Service, which was issued on December 5, 2016.
If the transport tax is not paid on time or is not paid in full, then the car owner is subject to administrative sanctions. It is expressed in the imposition of a fine, the amount of which is 20% of its total amount.
Malicious tax evasion entails:
An individual can register a vehicle in the name of a child under the age of majority. According to the provisions of the article, he has the right to participate in tax relations through his legal representative, who are his parents or persons replacing them. They pay the transport tax instead of the minor child on his behalf.
When we buy a car, we often don’t think about what other expenses await us in the near future. You will immediately have to purchase an MTPL policy, without which you cannot drive the car, and, if desired, also a comprehensive insurance policy: it is short-sighted to leave a new car without protection, especially if it is not stored in a garage or in a guarded parking lot.. But, as you know, there is one more mandatory payment - annual transport tax.
WHO PAYS AND HOW MUCH
As soon as the car is registered with the traffic police department, information about this is sent to the tax authority at your place of residence. In other words, the owner of a vehicle becomes a taxpayer only after receiving license plates (Article 357 of the Tax Code). Accordingly, if the car is not registered for some reason, there is no need to pay tax. When the owner has several vehicles, tax is paid for each one. It doesn’t matter whether you use the car or whether it’s gathering dust in the garage. The tax inspectorate itself calculates how much each motorist must pay, based on the regulations of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation where the taxpayer lives. General tax rates are established in Article 361 of the Tax Code (see table).
As you can see, the more powerful the engine, the higher the amount you will have to pay. How true this principle is can be debated, but here we will talk about specific things.
You often come across the fact that the tax amount is calculated incorrectly. As a rule, in such cases, tax authorities refer to the source data provided by the traffic police. If the tax payment request incorrectly indicates the engine power of your car, contact the traffic police department with a request to make changes to the registration documents. After this, you must present them to the tax office with a request to recalculate the payment amount. It's troublesome, but there is no other way.
Regional authorities have the right to increase or decrease the original federal rates, but not more than five times. As a rule, in most regions they have already been increased to the maximum. Along with this, local authorities can establish benefits for certain categories of citizens or completely exempt them from paying taxes. Many regions, in addition to the standard benefits - for Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of Russia, disabled people and veterans of the Great Patriotic War, as well as persons who received a car through social security authorities, establish additional ones. For example, the Moscow authorities exempted those who purchased a car with an engine with a power of less than 70 hp from paying taxes. To exercise this right, you must contact the tax office at your place of residence with an application. If you have several cars, the benefit can be provided only for one, and the rest are taxed in full.
WHEN AND HOW TO PAYThe car owner is required by law to pay tax every year. If you owned a car for less than a year, the tax amount is reduced. For example, a car was registered in August and deregistered in December of the same year. The tax will be calculated for five months, but if it is purchased and registered with the traffic police, for example, on January 15, and deregistered for sale on December 2 of the same year, the tax will have to be paid for the entire year - the month of registration is considered full.
In the event of a car theft, it is necessary to submit a supporting document from the internal affairs bodies to the State Traffic Inspectorate, and then the owner will be exempt from paying tax while the car is being searched.
The tax office, having received information about the purchase of a car, sends a notice to the place of residence of its owner, which indicates the amount of tax and the deadline for payment. The latter is established by local authorities in each region. In the Moscow region, for example, tax for 2008 had to be paid no later than March 31, and in Moscow no later than July 1. Payment is made through the bank using the details specified in the notice. If it is not completed on time, the tax authority will present the car owner with an additional requirement with penalties.
Everything seems clear, but it happens that car owners do not receive a tax receipt. To avoid possible friction with the tax authorities regarding penalties, it is better to contact the inspectorate yourself before the expiration of the payment deadline and receive a receipt. So, frankly speaking, it’s calmer. Although, according to the law, this is not the concern of the car owner.
The obligation to pay transport tax arises upon receipt of a tax notice. Let's say it was sent from the inspectorate by mail in a simple letter - and did not reach the addressee. Having not received information about tax payment, the inspectorate, within six months, goes to court with a demand to collect the debt (Article 48 of the Tax Code). The car owner can refer to the fact that the notification of payment of transport tax should have been handed over, confirming the fact and date of receipt (as recorded in the Tax Code), but this was not done. However, you will have to pay. If the taxpayer avoids receiving the notification, the tax authorities send the document by registered mail. In this case, it is considered to have been received by the addressee six days from the date of dispatch. This is easy to prove: the post office at your place of residence stores information about registered letters. There was no registered letter? What claims could there be... In this way, you can avoid paying arrears and penalties, but you will have to pay the tax itself.
There are rare cases when a notification about payment of transport tax does not arrive for several years. Article 113 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes the statute of limitations for bringing to responsibility for non-payment of taxes - three years. Therefore, in 2009 you cannot be required to pay the debt for 2005.
Be that as it may, I do not advise taking the matter to court. Not to mention the fact that paying tax is the responsibility of every citizen, the tax inspectorate can cause considerable trouble: for example, a willful defaulter may be restricted through the court from traveling abroad. So it’s better to check the deadline for paying the transport tax established in the region and, if you haven’t received a notification from the tax office, go there, as was said, yourself and pay the tax. The receipt should be kept. Just in case...
Russians have been paying transport tax for almost a century, while the quality of roads in the country remains at a low level, especially in regions remote from the center of the country, and, in addition, the government introduced fuel excise taxes, which made fuel more expensive for consumers, although in many countries the cost of gasoline is diesel fuel is already included in the transport fee. This double taxation raises questions among many, as well as a desire to reduce or avoid paying taxes. Some categories of citizens are exempt from the duty, others can reduce the rate. How to avoid paying car tax and do it legally, read this article.
To understand how to reduce or not pay transport tax at all, you need to understand when the obligation to pay tax arises, what the amount depends on and how the duty is calculated. Firstly, if a citizen has registered his car with the traffic police, i.e. registered the car, then the owner is obliged to pay a fee. Therefore, it does not matter at all whether the car actually exists or whether it burned out, drowned, whether the equipment is in working order, whether it has been disassembled into parts, whether it is in a garage or is constantly operated by the owner, “sold by general power of attorney”/rented out, whether there is insurance, technical inspection, etc. .d. In all listed (and unlisted cases), the tax is charged to the person in whose name the car is registered.
Secondly, the amount of payment, according to Russian legislation, is regulated at the regional level, so even in neighboring regions of the federation the rate varies. The amount of duty in our country is determined based on several criteria:
- engine power;
- cost of the vehicle;
- places of registration of equipment;
- preferential driver category (if there is a benefit).
From this follows the scheme for calculating transport tax. You can use an online calculator or calculate everything yourself according to the following scheme:
- Determine the tax base based on the number of horsepower or cubic meters indicated in the vehicle registration certificate.
- Find the transport tax rate in the region where the car is registered on the website of the Federal Tax Service.
- Calculate the tax period. If the car was purchased at the beginning of July, then the owner will only pay the fee for six months.
- Check the availability of confirmed benefits that reduce the amount of tax.
- Apply an increasing factor if the car cost three million or more, and corresponds to a model included in the list of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
- The tax amount is equal to the product of the tax rate by the number of horsepower, the increasing coefficient and the period of ownership of the vehicle, expressed in full years.
Payment of taxes is mandatory for any citizen of the Russian Federation. In case of delay or non-payment, the Federal Tax Service will send a notification to the taxpayer demanding payment of the tax as soon as possible. In six months, the fate of the defaulter will be decided by the court, and then by the bailiffs, who will claim the entire amount of the debt with the daily penalties and fines accrued on it.
When do you not have to pay duty?
- The car is not registered with the traffic police or removed from it, and the reason why this happened is not important and does not affect the fact that the citizen does not pay transport tax.
- If the taxpayer owns a car that has been stolen or stolen (upon providing the appropriate document from law enforcement agencies), the fee is not charged from the month following the theft.
- When the PTS on the basis of which the tax is calculated contains information that does not correspond to reality. In such a situation, the owner can challenge the need to pay the fee by presenting evidence to the Federal Tax Service or prove the unnecessaryness of the payment through the court. Separately, we note that you should not deliberately enter incorrect data into the document: sooner or later the lie will be revealed, which will lead to a criminal case and a fine.
- If a Russian is an individual entrepreneur, he uses rented vehicles for work or his employees drive personal vehicles registered in their name.
- If the car owner has a federal or regional benefit, according to which the owner of the vehicle is exempt from paying the fee.
Who is exempt from paying the transport tax?
Category 1. Preferential categories of the population. Federal legislation includes disabled people of groups I and II; parents of large families with children of three or more are included in the list, as well as citizens serving in the military, and veterans of the Great Patriotic War, and liquidators of accidents at nuclear power plants (in Chernobyl, on "Mayak"), etc.
In the constituent entities of the federation, the list of categories of beneficiaries varies: for example, in the Kemerovo region, in relation to one passenger vehicle with an engine power of up to 250 hp. old-age pensioners, disabled people of the third group, various public organizations, and in Yaroslavl - low-income families with a large number of children are exempt from paying the duty; in Karelia, to obtain an exemption, you must be a social or military pensioner, and in Tomsk, you must be the owner of a pneumatic or tracked vehicle. To find out whether the car owner is among the beneficiaries, you need to select the desired region and city on the Federal Tax Service website.
Category 2. Owners of the following vehicles (their complete list is presented in Article 358 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Part 2)) - rowing boats; “passenger cars” intended for disabled people with an engine up to 100 hp; sea or river vessels used for fishing; registered agricultural machinery (tractors, livestock and milk tankers, etc.); equipment involved in road repairs.
Category 4. Owners of heavy-duty equipment: tax exemption is valid from 2015 to 2019. The benefit applies to both individuals and organizations. It covers vehicles weighing 12 tons and heavier that are included in the tax register of equipment that causes damage to roads, while the owners of such vehicles pay approved contributions, the amount of which for the tax period must be greater than the accrued tax.
Category 5. A foreigner is the owner of a car that has license plates from another country (i.e. the car is not registered in Russia). This situation is possible for those residents of our state who have a residence permit or other citizenship.
Category 7. The owner of a leased car (the fee is paid by the leasing company, which owns the equipment during the term of the contract). However, it is worth remembering that the transport tax is most likely already included in the amount of each leasing payment, and with interest.
Category 8. A citizen using a car by proxy. Exception: if the tax office is notified of the fact of transfer and the corresponding permission, then the obligation to pay the fee is transferred to the trustee.
If a car owner falls into the category of beneficiaries, then you need to fill out an application for tax exemption and take it to the tax office at the place of registration of the owner. You must notify about the availability of the benefit before the first of April next year.
Video - Who has benefits when paying transport tax?
If you register a car with the traffic police of a neighboring region...
If you register a car with the traffic police of a neighboring region, where the tax rate is lower, then in most cases you will not be able to save money. As we wrote above, the amount of the transport fee depends on the place of registration of the owner. Today, the highest taxes are in the two capitals of Russia: for a car registered in Moscow with a 150 hp engine. a resident of the region will pay 35 rubles for 1 force, in Yaroslavl - 28, in the Kemerovo region - 14, and in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug - 7 rubles.
But, despite the fact that according to current laws it is allowed to register a car in any region of Russia, without being tied to the place of residence of the owner, this information will still be sent to the Federal Tax Service at the place of registration of the owner, therefore the tax is calculated from the rate that is established in the region of official residence of the car owner. Consequently, this option is suitable only for Russians whose relatives live in a city that is attractive in terms of tax levels, and one should not forget that in the event of the death of the “dummy” owner, the rights to the car pass to his heirs.
If the car is expensive...
If the car is expensive, then you can try to reduce the duty. With the so-called “luxury” tax, if a citizen paid more than 3 million rubles for a car, when calculating the fee, the Federal Tax Service takes into account not only the above criteria, but also the make and year of manufacture of the car, applying an increase factor to the regular rate. This practice was established in 2015. The Ministry of Industry and Trade annually on March 1 publishes a list of expensive vehicles for which the tax levy will be higher.
The list includes 909 models; a year ago it included 708 cars. For example, the fee for a Ford Explorer Sport - 2015 (engine power - 345 horsepower) together with the increasing coefficient will amount to almost 57 thousand rubles in the capital. For a three-year-old BMW M6 convertible, the tax rate has doubled, and it will cost the owner 150,000 rubles. Rolls-Royce Dawn (2014) has an increasing factor of 3, and therefore the duty on this car is one of the highest - 257,000.
Table 1. Increasing coefficients for expensive cars
| Average cost of a passenger car | Year of manufacture of the car | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02.03.2017 | 01.02.2017 | no more than 1 year | no more than 5 | no more than 10 | no more than 20 | |
| from 3 million to 5 million rubles inclusive | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.5 | - | - | - |
| from 5 million to 10 million rubles inclusive | - | - | - | 2 | - | - |
| from 10 million to 15 million rubles inclusive | - | - | - | - | 3 | - |
| from 15 million rubles | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
This list does not take into account the technical condition of the car and its contract price; officials sometimes even include non-existent models in the list (for example, the five-year-old Audi PC6, although this model has not been produced since 2010). If the car costs less than three million or has been involved in a serious accident, but is included in the list, the tax will still be calculated with an increased coefficient.
Experts predict an increase in the coefficients listed in the law, which is associated with stable inflation, and therefore an increase in the cost of cars, therefore, if the cost of a car exceeds three million rubles, you can use the following ways to reduce the tax on “luxury”:
- Before purchasing a car, check whether it is on the ministerial list(the model being purchased may not even be there, despite the high cost, but, nevertheless, on March 1 of next year, when the ministry publishes a new list, the brand may already appear there);
- If you choose a car a year older, it may not have such a powerful engine. If, after all, a luxury car is your dream, you need to calculate the duty in advance and plan it in the family’s annual budget;
- Register the vehicle in the name of a relative who is a beneficiary. But, if the engine power exceeds 100-150 hp. (this is the threshold for almost all preferential categories of citizens in various regions), the tax will be charged on every extra cubic meter or horsepower above the specified limit.
How else can you reduce the amount of transport tax?
If a citizen’s car is not included in the list of luxury cars (according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade), there are several ways to reduce the state duty by reducing, firstly, engine power, since the tax rate in the regions depends on this value. When finding out the official power of a car engine in the year the car was manufactured, you need to add up the prime numbers indicated on the unit and divide the resulting amount by 8.5. To determine engine parameters in kilowatts, the number of hp. you need to either divide by 0.735 or multiply by 1.35962.
- Check the numbers in the accounting documents– suddenly there will be significant inaccuracies: this happens quite often. The method can be applied if 1) the employees of the institution that issued the passport made a mistake in the papers, or 2) the engine power has changed during the operational period. In the first case, you need to make an official request to the distributor (dealer) or manufacturer of the equipment to carry out a special diagnostic procedure or contact an expert institution authorized to conduct such studies (if the traffic police resists and does not accept the answer from the official manufacturer of the equipment). In the second case, you should immediately contact independent specialists authorized to conduct such research. When assessing the condition of the car, experts will identify and indicate not only the actual engine power, but also the level of wear and the expected period of subsequent operation. After the calculations have been carried out, the expert organization will prepare a conclusion, which will indicate the stages and algorithm of the engine diagnostics, calculation formulas, and additional comments from a specialist; final conclusions with a description of the numerical data obtained during the analysis. Having received the conclusion, it must be submitted to the department responsible for vehicle registration, and after verification, make changes to the title and service book, then control the transfer of data to the tax office. In this case, there are practically no legal disputes.
- Structurally change the engine— reduce the power of the internal combustion engine, modify the electronic control. Of course, in order to carry out such an operation, you must first request permission from the traffic police department, and then contact a service station that has a license to carry out such procedures and issue conclusions on making technical changes to the car.
- Replace the motor with a less powerful one. Of course, you will first have to buy a new one from official manufacturers (dealers), and the engine must have all the necessary documentation for registration. Therefore, when purchasing a unit, it is worth taking with you a knowledgeable person who can evaluate the authenticity of the manufacturer’s certificate, the compliance of the new engine with the car’s model line/the availability of the manufacturer’s official permission to replace an engine of a different brand, and compliance with environmental legislation during operation. Considering all these difficulties, after the official replacement of the engine and the reduction of the tax burden, some motorists install the same engines, since anyway, when stopping a vehicle, traffic police officers do not check the compliance of the engine serial numbers and related documentation, and, moreover, do not check with the tax authorities. The new engine remains in stock, and if the need arises again to present the car to the registration department of the traffic police, the engine is quickly installed back.
- Depower the engine, that is, technically modify it according to the factory design. Please note that such an operation is carried out only with the official permission of the State Traffic Inspectorate and in car services certified to carry out this type of activity.
Secondly, travel along city roads by transit, that is, put transit numbers on the car, deregistering it with the local traffic police. However, this method has many disadvantages. The driver receives transit numbers for a period of 5 to 20 days, they need to be renewed. To do this, you need to make a corresponding request to the head of the traffic police department. But extending the validity of “transit cards” is not an obligation, but the right of the manager, therefore, if there are no compelling reasons, the citizen will most likely be denied an extension, and the lack of numbers threatens with administrative penalties.
On the Internet you can find several more common tips for reducing state fees. Let's look at them.
If the inspectorate has not sent a notification to pay the tax...
If the inspectorate has not sent a notification to pay the tax, then it is still better to pay it by finding out the amount of the transport tax in person or by sending a written request to the inspection. Firstly, it happens that the notice is sent to the former owner, or to the wrong person, or the document is simply thrown into a neighbor's box. Secondly, it is worth remembering that if a taxpayer’s personal account is open on the Federal Tax Service website, then he will not receive paper notifications.
The Federal Tax Service Inspectorate very rarely “forgets” about taxpayers, and if it does, then since 2015 individuals must themselves report to the tax service about their movable or immovable property, and therefore pay taxes on time, also in the interests of the owner. Therefore, if a citizen does not receive a tax notice, while his car has been registered for more than a year, this is a reason to contact the tax office to find out whether the owner is a debtor. Subsequently, a situation may arise that the owner of the car will be sent a tax notice for several years with penalties and fines, and judicial practice on such issues is controversial. Of course, you can wait until the statute of limitations for tax collection expires (three years), but even in this situation, before you become a law-abiding payer, you will have to pay the transport fee for three years.
Sample of a completed TN declaration (title page)
Sample of a completed declaration on TN (section 1)
Sample of a completed TN declaration (section 2)
If the car belongs to a minor...
If the car belongs to a minor, then the tax will be paid by his legal representatives (parents, adoptive parents, guardians, trustees) after registering the vehicle with the traffic police.
This explanation is given in letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 18, 2015 No. 03-05-06-01/28396, dated August 28, 2008 No. 03-05-06-01/27. However, the law does not limit the possibility of re-registering a car to a minor. A citizen will be able to evade the tax only if the child belongs to a preferential category exempt from paying tax, for example, is a disabled person of the first or second group.
If you sell a car, then...
If you sell a car, then tax will be charged to the previous owner until the new owner re-registers the car in his name or the previous owner stops registering it in his name. How to do it? Ten days after the sale of the car, the previous owner needs to come to the traffic police with an agreement on the transfer of ownership and write a statement. The sold car is no longer registered with him, and new data is transferred to the Federal Tax Service.
In conclusion, we note that in the automotive sector, legislation is under development and therefore constantly changing. For example, soon deputies are proposing to add to the above tax calculation criteria also taking into account the environmental class of the car. Since October 2016, tax control rules have been in effect, according to which legislators assigned responsibility for actions that resulted in non-payment of duties, ignorance of new rules, or transmission of incorrect information about the place of residence to the owner of the car. Therefore, the best option for any car owner is to be interested in changes in this legal area and, in the event of a controversial or conflict situation, contact a tax consultant.
It is known that owning a car also involves certain financial obligations. These include the mandatory payment of transport tax.
To pay, or not, if the car is not registered with the traffic police. In light of sad events, this issue is felt more and more acutely for the huge army of our car enthusiasts.
Transport tax collections are falling and, according to last year’s data, are already less than 50%. In conditions of high debt burden of the population, rising prices after devaluation, collections will fall even more.
To pay tax or not
In this regard, many car owners have a question: is it necessary to make this payment if you do not use the car?
To this effect, the MFR has prepared a letter No. 03-05-06-04/9050, dated February 18, 2016. From its contents it follows that the car tax is paid in any case, regardless of whether the owner used it or not.
The logic is based on the fact that transport tax, by law, relates to property taxes. This means that it is paid regardless of the time the person drives the car. Even if after purchase the car has been sitting in a garage or parking lot for a whole year, you still have to pay tax on it.
In this regard, the Federal Tax Service reminded that the obligation to pay transport tax ceases when the car is deregistered. In this case, the former owner of the car will no longer receive payments starting from the next month.
In addition, no tax is paid when a car is stolen. Naturally, there must be documentary evidence from law enforcement agencies.
As for the new owner, the tax calculation for him will be carried out depending on when he registered the car. If all documents were completed before the middle of the month, then payments begin to be calculated from this month.
When the car was re-registered after the 16th, the tax office will begin to calculate the tax based on the next month.
For reference
Transport tax for cars is calculated based on engine power. Each region determines its own rates for each engine horsepower.
In addition, there is a certain increasing factor (from 1.1 to 3), which is derived depending on the cost of the machine and the year of its production. For example, for luxury cars, the cost of payment increases three times.
The owner of the car is not required to file any declarations regarding transport tax. He will receive a tax notice by mail, which will contain the total amount due and bank details.
The tax itself must be paid before December 1. For example, for 2015, payment must be made by the beginning of winter 2016.
There is no need to inform the tax office about the purchase or deregistration of a car. All necessary information is transferred there from the relevant traffic police department automatically.
