How to pay less VAT. How to reduce VAT and maintain profits. Deduction of "input" tax

Instructions

Free your company from VAT. This method is provided for by law and is based on Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. An enterprise has the right to be released from taxpayer obligations if certain conditions specified in the article are met.

Contact the Federal Tax Service to obtain a VAT permit, which will be valid for 12 months or until the corresponding right is lost. This method of reducing value added tax is not suitable for those organizations that, in the course of their activities, cooperate with companies that pay VAT. The fact is that you will not be able to issue invoices to such companies indicating tax amounts, and they will not be able to indicate VAT on purchased goods.

Perform operations with received . According to paragraph 15, paragraph 3, Article 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a loan is not a transaction subject to VAT. In this regard, an agreement is concluded between the buyer and seller for the amount of the advance payment. Next, instead of a novation agreement, the loan is returned to the buyer through a transfer to the supply agreement.

Use a commercial loan. It is often used if a large batch of goods or expensive fixed assets were sold during the tax period. In this case, the seller and buyer agree to reduce the cost of the product by providing a deferred payment. The amount of interest is equal to the amount of the discount.

Carry out transactions with goods in bulk. When selling goods for which a tax rate of 18% is charged, a minimum markup is established. At this time, the buyer offers the seller another product, subject to a 10% tax, with a maximum markup. Carrying out such a transaction will significantly affect the amount of tax.

Sources:

• how to reduce VAT payment

Surely, many people believe that it is impossible to reduce VAT and, moreover, it is illegal, however, this opinion is wrong. In accordance with the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, any organization has the right to reduce the total amount of VAT by certain deductions established by law.

Instructions

To reduce the total amount by the added amount, it is necessary to accept VAT to. First of all, you need to know that according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, deductions that reduce VAT are recognized as the purchase of goods (works or services) for resale; acquisition of goods (works or services) for internal use.

Filling out the invoices that you receive must include allocated VAT and only in accordance with clauses 5, 5.1 and 6 of Art. 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Moreover, if an invoice is issued for the provision of work or services, then a special act on the performance of such services or work must be attached to it. And in the case when the invoice is accepted in view of the purchase of goods, it must be accompanied by a delivery note.

There are situations in practice when certain amounts for purchased goods or services are paid in advance. In such cases, it is necessary to charge VAT at the time of receiving the advance, and only then transfer the funds to the budget. Accrued VAT on the sale of work, goods or services, when payment is made in advance, can be deducted. For such a deduction, as established by law, no payment is required.

You need to know that when transferring an advance for certain services, work or goods, the accountant is required to make entries D68 (Calculations for value added tax) and K76 (Calculations for VAT on advances received). And the supplier is obliged to issue an invoice within a certain number of calendar days (5 days) and calculate VAT after receiving the advance payment.

Video on the topic

Sources:

• how to reduce VAT tax

Value added tax is an indirect tax that is charged on almost all types of goods and is a heavy burden for the entrepreneur and the end consumer. There are several legal and proven schemes that allow you to minimize VAT and reduce tax pressure. At the same time, it is important not only to know these methods, but also to be able to use them correctly, otherwise you may come under the close attention of the tax inspectorate.

Instructions

Take out a loan instead of getting an advance. Upon receipt of an advance payment, the buyer is obliged to pay VAT on this amount, which the seller is obliged to pay in the future. At the same time, he is deprived of the opportunity to deduct tax from an incomplete payment amount until final payments are made not only in money, but also in goods or services. In this regard, it will be easier to conclude a loan agreement for the amount of the advance in order to avoid VAT. The date of repayment of borrowed funds should be close to the date of final delivery of the goods.

In this case, it is necessary to note in the purchase and sale agreement that the goods are supplied without receiving an advance payment. This method of minimizing VAT is very risky, since operations for issuing loans very often pay attention to the tax authorities, who consider this scheme as a method of tax evasion. In this regard, it must be economically justified.

Use a written earnest money agreement instead of an advance. According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, where the deposit is described as a means of securing obligations and cannot be accepted as an advance payment, VAT is not charged on such a transaction. Also, receiving a deposit is not included in the income tax base.

Establish in the sales contract another reason for the transfer of ownership of the product. According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, ownership rights arise at the moment of transfer of goods, unless otherwise specified in the contract or legislation. If you specify a different procedure for transferring ownership, you can get a deferment in paying VAT to the budget, since according to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, tax can only be charged upon the sale of goods and transfer of ownership rights.

Replace the purchase and sale agreement with a commission agreement or agency agreement. This method of minimizing VAT is suitable for companies that resell goods, while the counterparty must be an organization that uses a special tax regime.

Value added tax is calculated by the enterprise in accordance with Chapter 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The organization is obliged to pay to the budget an amount that is calculated taking into account the tax rate, income, expenses and deductions of the company taken for the reporting period. Taking these factors into account, the amount of VAT can be reduced by minimizing the tax base, applying reduced rates or increasing the amount of tax deductions.

Let us recall that the amount of VAT that must be paid to the budget is the difference between the VAT accrued on the sale of goods and deductions, that is, VAT presented by suppliers (Clause 2 of Article 171, paragraph 1 of Article 173 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This means that in order to reduce the VAT payable, you need to either increase deductions or reduce the amount accrued upon sale.
But saving by increasing deductions is almost impossible. After all, by increasing deductions, you pay less to the budget, but more to suppliers. And you can only get a deduction without buying anything with the help of fly-by-night companies, but this is not worth talking about - the illegality of such methods is known to everyone.
But you can reduce the VAT charged on the sale of goods, and reduce it radically, to zero. We will now talk about how to do this. But the problem is that if you don't pay VAT, you can't claim the tax on your customers. Because of this, they lose deductions. As a result, buyers will either refuse to work with you altogether or demand a significant reduction in price. And as a result, saving on VAT will not lead to an increase in your company's profits.
That's why legal VAT optimization is possible only if one of two conditions is met:
(or) you have customers who don't need. Who is this? First of all, those who are not recognized as VAT payers are individuals, as well as companies and entrepreneurs (Clause 1 of Article 143, paragraphs 2, 3 of Article 346.11, paragraph 4 of Article 346.26 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Deductions, as a rule, are not needed by banks, insurance companies, as well as most state and municipal institutions - schools and institutes, hospitals and clinics. All these establishments, although recognized as VAT payers, are mainly engaged in activities not subject to VAT (Subparagraphs 2, 14, paragraph 2, paragraphs 3, 7, paragraph 3, Article 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, they will still not be able to accept the VAT you presented for deduction (Subclause 1, Clause 2, Article 171, Clause 1, Article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
(or) your customers pay VAT, but the goods you sell to them are intended for those who do not need the deductions. For example, you sell household appliances. Your buyer is a large retail store or other wholesaler. They need deductions, which means they need your invoices. But it is obvious that the final buyer of household appliances will be the population, who certainly do not care about deductions.

We warn the manager
It's legal to save on VAT is possible only in two cases: if a deduction for this tax is not needed either directly by buyers or by those to whom they resell goods. You shouldn't believe people who say otherwise. Any method they propose is, to one degree or another, based on a violation of the law.

If one of the conditions is met, the only thing left is to get rid of the obligation to charge VAT and persuade buyers not to require an invoice from you.

Save on VAT using simplification

In order not to charge VAT when selling goods, you need to stop being a VAT payer. The easiest way to achieve this goal is to switch to a simplified version (Clause 2, 3 of Article 346.11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). True, the Tax Code has established restrictions for the use of this special regime, the most significant of which are in terms of the amount of income, the cost of fixed assets and the number of employees (Clause 2.1, paragraphs 15, 16, paragraph 3 of Article 346.12, paragraph 4.1 of Article 346.13 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) . But if your company itself cannot switch to simplified taxation, this does not mean that you, in principle, cannot use the capabilities of this special regime to optimize VAT. Other legal entities or entrepreneurs through whom the sale or purchase of goods will take place may become simplifiers.
Situation 1. Do you have customers who don't need deductions?
If you meet the conditions for applying the simplification, then everything is simple. Your company is switching to simplified and sells goods at the same prices as before. If among your customers there are both those who do not need VAT deductions and those who need them, one company will no longer be enough. You will have to create a new company using the simplified tax system, through which all sales will be made without VAT. This new company can buy goods either from the same suppliers or from your main company.
It also happens that buyers who, in principle, do not need VAT invoices, refuse to work with simplifiers for some subjective reasons. In this case, in order to achieve their consent, you can slightly reduce the price of the goods. To understand what kind of discount you can provide, you need to calculate how much money you will save from switching to a simplified system.

We advise the manager
Those who for some reason do not want to deal with a simplified seller can be persuaded by providing a discount. The benefit from VAT savings will offset these additional costs.

For example, previously you bought goods for 118,000 rubles. (including VAT - 18,000 rubles) and sold them with a 20% markup for 141,600 rubles. (including VAT - 21,600 rubles). Assuming that the company has no other expenses, in this situation you would have to pay VAT in the amount of 3,600 rubles to the budget. (RUB 21,600 - RUB 18,000). This means that you had 20,000 rubles at your disposal before paying income tax. (RUB 141,600 - RUB 118,000 - RUB 3,600). After switching to the simplified tax system, you no longer need to pay VAT, so you will have 3,600 rubles left. more. Such savings allow you to set a discount of approximately 1 - 1.5% of the cost of the goods (1500 - 2000 rubles), because for you such conditions will still be beneficial compared to selling the goods at the previous price and paying VAT. And this does not take into account the savings on income taxes. And it can also be significant, since now instead of 20% income tax you will need to pay a maximum of 15% tax under the simplified tax system (Clause 1 of Article 284, paragraph 2 of Article 346.20 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Much more difficult, when the conditions for applying the simplification are not met. Here you will have to look for ways to comply with the restrictions established by the Tax Code.
Method 1. We divide an existing company into several or simply create several new organizations.
Each of them accounts for some share of sales, fixed assets and employees, so that none of them exceeds the limits set for simplifiers.
For example, your company sells goods worth about 200 million rubles. in year. Since “simplified” revenue should not exceed 60 million rubles. per year (Clause 4.1 of Article 346.13 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), you will need at least four companies using the simplified tax system. They can buy goods directly from the same suppliers with whom you worked before. If the supplier agrees to work with only one (old) company, new companies using the simplified tax system can buy goods from it. In this case, as you understand, they should account for almost the entire markup on goods.

But remember that dividing a single business into several legal entities, some of which will apply a simplified procedure, is not the easiest thing. If only because a simplified company can only be 25% owned by other legal entities (Subclause 14, Clause 3, Article 346.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). But most importantly, you need to try to make sure that outwardly all your companies do not look like part of the same business. Otherwise, tax inspectors may consider that the entire structure was created solely to save on taxes. And this will give grounds to consider such savings as an unjustified tax benefit and to charge one of the companies additional taxes that it would have to pay if all sales were made only through it (Paragraphs 3, 7, 9 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation of October 12, 2006 N 53).

Method 2. We create new companies using the simplified tax system and become their commission agent.
This method is applicable when it is impossible either to insert an intermediary between the old company and the buyers on the simplified tax system, or to divide it into several legal entities. More precisely, it is impossible to find more or less plausible business goals for such actions. As an example, we can cite any supermarket - you must agree, separating each department into a separate legal entity, despite the fact that all sales go through one cash register, is somehow completely unsightly. In such cases, it is possible to integrate several companies using the simplified tax system into the chain “supplier - store - buyer” using commission agreements, under which the simplifiers will be the principals, and the store will be the commission agent. The number of principals depends on the sales volume, and the benefit is achieved due to the fact that most of the trade margin falls on companies using the simplified tax system. At the same time, the store receives only a small remuneration, from which it pays VAT (Clause 1 of Article 156 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Although, since the store’s income is now also determined based only on remuneration (Subclause 9, clause 1, Article 251, clause 1, clause 1, clause 1.1, Article 346.15 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), most likely, he himself will be able to switch to a simplified system, which will further increase your benefits.

Method 3. Become a buyer's commission agent.
And we purchase goods for it from our suppliers. This will allow us to significantly increase the maximum volume of goods that can be sold on a simplified basis, since only commission fees will be recognized as the company’s revenue (Subclause 9, clause 1, Article 251, clause 1, clause 1, clause 1.1, Article 346.15 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
For example, you used to sell goods purchased from suppliers at a 10% markup. If, after becoming a commission agent, you set a commission that is also equal to 10% of the cost of goods purchased for the principals, you will be able to purchase goods for them in the amount of 600 million rubles. (RUB 60 million / 10%).
It is clear that this method is not always applicable. At least for retail trade, it is definitely not suitable - you won’t enter into a commission agreement with every store visitor. But this method is safer than dividing a business, especially if you do not create any additional companies. Although it is still worth thinking about what business goal your company was pursuing when it stopped reselling goods and switched to commission agreements.

Of course, it is quite possible that your customers simply do not want to become consignors. But in order to persuade them, you will have very powerful “arguments” at your disposal - discounts on the price of goods. The maximum discount amount is determined again based on the tax savings that your company will receive from the transition to the simplified tax system.

Note
There are other ways to circumvent the restrictions established for simplifiers, for example, using a simple partnership agreement. But, as a rule, they are more complex than those already discussed and - more importantly - they are known to the tax authorities and will almost certainly attract their close attention. And this is of no use to us at all.

Situation 2. The goods you sell are intended for VAT non-payers
In such a situation, your goal is to reach those buyers who do not need VAT invoices. It is clear that you cannot sell goods to them directly, otherwise you would have been doing this for a long time, and not sharing profits with intermediaries. But you can reach the right buyers through commission agreements or agency agreements, under which the agent acts on his own behalf. Agents or commission agents in this case will be your direct buyers. And you, as a principal or principal, will transfer goods to them for sale. If there are several intermediaries between you and buyers who do not need deductions, you will have to persuade them to become subagents or subcommission agents of their suppliers (Clause 1, Article 994, Article 1009 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
If this is successful, then you proceed in the same way as if you had buyers who do not pay VAT, that is, either you switch to the simplified tax system yourself, or you create one or more new companies using the simplified tax system. As a result, you do not pay VAT on the difference between the purchase price and the sale price of the goods. But your former buyers-turned-agents have nothing to lose.
For example, before you bought a product for 118,000 rubles. with VAT and sold it (increasing the price without VAT by 20,000 rubles) for 141,600 rubles. VAT included. Your buyer increased the price excluding VAT by another 10,000 rubles. and sold the goods to the next buyer for 153,400 rubles. VAT included. He, in turn, added another 10,000 rubles to the price. and sold the goods for 165,200 rubles. with VAT to the final buyer who does not pay VAT, for example to a store on UTII. Assuming that neither you nor your customers have any other deductions other than deductions for goods, your company should have paid VAT to the budget in the amount of 3,600 rubles, and your customers - 1,800 rubles each.

Now the first and second buyers become an agent and a subagent, respectively, and your company switches to the simplified tax system. Agents' remuneration is set in an amount equal to the markup on goods that they previously applied - 10,000 rubles. (RUB 11,800 including VAT). It is from this amount that they will have to pay VAT to the budget - the same 1800 rubles. At the same time, your company will stop paying VAT altogether, that is, it will save 3,600 rubles.

The main problem that can be encountered when implementing such a scheme is the reluctance of buyers to switch to working under agency contracts. To solve it, you need to interest the buyer. To do this you can:
- give a discount. That is, set the remuneration in the amount not of 11,800 rubles, but, say, 12,800 rubles. Then you will have additional expenses in the amount of 2,000 rubles, but the scheme will still remain profitable, because you save 3,600 rubles on VAT alone;
- explain to buyers that, having become agents, they will most likely be able to switch to a simplified system, since only remuneration will now be recognized as their income. This means that even without any discounts, each of them will save 1,800 rubles. only due to the fact that it will stop paying VAT.

More benefits - more risks

All of the considered methods of optimization using simplified companies allow you to save not only on VAT, but also on income tax. Instead, simplifiers pay tax under the simplified tax system. Moreover, you have a choice - to pay 6% tax on income or 15% of the difference between income and expenses (Clause 1, 2, Article 346.14, Article 346.20 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In most cases, this allows you to pay to the budget an amount less than the income tax at a rate of 20% (Clause 1 of Article 284 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). True, there are exceptions, primarily concerning unprofitable companies. They do not pay income tax (Clause 8 of Article 274 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). But they need to pay tax under the simplified tax system. With the "income" simplification - the usual 6% of income, with the "income-expenditure" - 1% of income (Clause 6 of Article 346.18 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Some people are not satisfied with such conditions, and they strive to find even more effective optimization schemes. Such schemes do exist, but they are not only more effective, but also more dangerous. And therefore, it is not advisable to use them, but it is useful to familiarize yourself with them - if suddenly someone suggests you act according to such a scheme, you will know what you are dealing with.

We register a company in a region with reduced tax rates under the simplified tax system

Regional authorities can reduce the simplified tax rate for the object “income minus expenses” from 15 to 5% (Clause 2 of Article 346.20 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). And in some regions the rate has been reduced to a minimum level for almost all simplifiers, regardless of what activity they are engaged in, for example in the Lipetsk and Smolensk regions (Article 2 of the Regional Law of the Lipetsk Region dated December 24, 2008 N 233-OZ; Article 1 of the Regional Law Smolensk region dated April 30, 2008 N 32-Z).
For those engaged in wholesale trade, it is enough to register a company in one of these regions and pay tax at a rate of 5%. There is nothing illegal about this. Although, just in case, in order to look completely “white and fluffy,” you can rent an office in this region and hire a secretary who will answer phone calls.
If it is impossible to physically move a business to another region, for example in retail trade, this is how they offer to take advantage of reduced rates.
In a region with a reduced tax rate, the principal is registered - a company using the simplified tax system with the object "income minus expenses". She buys goods from suppliers and gives them for sale to a commission agent registered in the region where the business is actually conducted. The commission agent receives a minimum remuneration and applies the “income” simplification, so the tax paid by him is a very insignificant amount. And for most of the trade margin, instead of VAT and income tax, only tax is paid under the simplified tax system at a rate of 5%.

The high efficiency of the scheme is obvious, but the risks are also very high. Tax inspectors may well suspect (and not without reason) that the commission agreement is needed here solely to save on taxes and that is why a company has been created in the region with reduced rates. If they manage to prove this, the commission agent may be charged additional taxes that he would have to pay if he himself bought goods from suppliers, that is, 6% of all revenue. And if the revenue for the year exceeds 60 million rubles. - VAT and income tax.

Changing the simplified tax system to UTII

An even more effective, but already frankly illegal way is to use a company or entrepreneur who pays UTII for optimization.
Why illegal? Because UTII can only be paid in retail trade (Subparagraphs 6, 7, paragraph 2, Article 346.26 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). But if a company actually trades at retail in a territory where UTII has been introduced for this type of activity, it is already, without any schemes, obliged to pay UTII and, therefore, does not pay VAT (Clause 4 of Article 346.26, paragraph 1 of Article 346.28 of the Tax Code RF).
Therefore, schemes using UTII imply disguising wholesale trade as retail. For this purpose, goods are sold for cash, and the buyer is given only a sales receipt, where the name of the buyer is not indicated (Clause 2.1 of Article 2 of the Federal Law of May 22, 2003 N 54-FZ "On the use of cash register equipment when making cash payments and (or ) payments using payment cards"). This does not allow us to determine to whom exactly the goods were sold - individuals or organizations. It is clear that not all buyers will agree to pay in cash. Therefore, another company is built between the company on UTII and the buyer, already on the simplified tax system, which issues normal invoices to buyers and receives payment by bank transfer. In order not to pay the minimum tax on all proceeds, the additional company does not resell the goods, but buys them from the imputator as a commission agent under an agreement with the principals - external buyers. This allows her to apply the simplified tax system with the object “income” and pay a 6 percent tax on commission fees.

If you set a remuneration of 1% of the cost of purchased goods, the tax under the simplified tax system will be only 0.06% of revenue. Plus UTII, which for a small store area (5 - 10 sq. m) will be less than 5,000 rubles. per month (Article 346.27, clauses 2 - 4 of Article 346.29 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation; Order of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia dated October 27, 2010 N 519). And these are all the taxes that you will have to pay instead of VAT and income tax.
This optimization option is the most profitable of all those considered, but it is also the most dangerous. First of all, because, despite all the tricks, a company or entrepreneur on UTII can be recognized as a wholesale seller and additionally charged VAT and income tax - there are enough examples (Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Eastern Military District dated March 25, 2010 in case No. A31-6931/2009; FAS PO dated 08/17/2010 in case No. A49-11265/2009; FAS North-West District dated 06/27/2011 in case No. A13-9805/2010; FAS North-West Region dated 01/27/2010 in case No. A63-13751/07-S4-32; FAS UO dated 06/04/2009 N F09-3552/09-S2; FAS CO dated 02/22/2011 in case N A62-1684/2010).

If your customers (or customers of your customers) do not need VAT deductions, you can significantly reduce the tax burden on your business using simplified schemes. But we must remember that even the simplest scheme, the creation of which can be easily explained by objective business goals, cannot be 100% safe.

Do you work as an accountant in an organization (for an entrepreneur) that applies a general taxation regime, the company’s turnover is small (up to 2 million rubles per quarter), and among its counterparties there are mainly special regimes? But for some reason you cannot switch to a simplified system, for example because the share of participation of other companies in your organization is more than 25% (Subclause 14, clause 3, Article 346.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)?
You have a completely legal way to get rid of VAT for at least a year - get an exemption from it (Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Many people are aware of this possibility, but when it comes to applying the exemption, various questions inevitably arise.

What is the beauty of liberation?

Within 12 calendar months (they begin to run from the month in which you notified your Federal Tax Service of your desire to receive an exemption) you won't have to:
- on operations in the domestic Russian market. And “input” VAT on purchased goods (works, services) is included in their cost;
- issue advance invoices and those invoices that you issue for yourself in one copy (for example, when performing construction and installation works);
- submit tax returns (Decision of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation dated February 13, 2003 N 10462/02; Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated November 17, 2009 N 16-15/120379).

What will liberation not save you from?

To you you will have to pay VAT:
- when importing goods (Clause 3 of Article 145, subparagraph 4 of paragraph 1 of Article 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
- when fulfilling VAT obligations (for example, when renting state or municipal property) (Article 161 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
In addition, notwithstanding your exemption, you will be required to:
- issue shipping invoices to customers in which VAT is not allocated and the note “Without tax (VAT)” is made (Clause 5 of Article 168 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Ignoring this requirement for at least one quarter is fraught with a fine from the inspectorate of 10,000 rubles. And if invoices were not issued for two or more quarters - then 30,000 rubles. (Article 120 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
- maintain books of purchases and sales, as well as journals of received and issued invoices. After all, those exempt from VAT do not cease to be its payers (Clause 3 of Article 169 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), they simply receive a temporary tax benefit. In addition, the sales book and journal will be needed later in order to confirm compliance with the revenue limit for the period of application of the exemption, as well as to extend the exemption.
You will also have to submit to the inspection VAT returns for those quarters in which you (Clause 3 of the Procedure, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 15, 2009 N 104n):
(or) being exempt from VAT, they nevertheless issued an invoice with the allocated amount of tax (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 16, 2009 N 03-07-14/69). The submitted VAT will have to be paid to the budget, but you will not lose the right to be exempt from VAT (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 31, 2007 N 03-07-14/16);
(or) acted as a tax agent for VAT (Clause 1 of the Procedure, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 15, 2009 N 104n);
(or) paid VAT when importing goods from Belarus or Kazakhstan (Clause 3 of Article 145, paragraph 4 of paragraph 1 of Article 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation; Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 7, 2010 N 69n).

Who is eligible for release?

You can receive a VAT exemption if (Clause 1, 2 of Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):
- your revenue excluding VAT for the 3 months preceding the month from which you intend to apply the exemption did not exceed 2 million rubles;
- you do not sell excisable goods (for example, alcohol, tobacco, gasoline (Article 181 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)) or keep separate records of transactions for the sale of excisable and non-excisable goods (Clause 3 of the reasoning part of the Definition of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of November 10, 2002 N 313-O) ;
- your company is not a participant in the Skolkovo project.
Some people think that the presence of arrears on VAT or other taxes is an obstacle to obtaining an exemption. This is not so, as a specialist from the Ministry of Finance confirmed to us.

From authoritative sources
Vikhlyaeva Elena Nikolaevna, Advisor to the Department of Indirect Taxes of the Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy of the Ministry of Finance of Russia
“Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not connect the application of VAT exemption with the taxpayer’s absence of arrears for this tax or other taxes.”

Which revenue should be taken into account when checking eligibility for exemption and which should not?

The Tax Code does not answer this question. If you read literally Art. 145 of the Tax Code, it turns out that absolutely all revenue must be taken into account, even that which is not subject to VAT. There have been no clarifications on this topic for a long time. Therefore, we turned to a specialist from the Ministry of Finance.

From authoritative sources
Vikhlyaeva E.N., Ministry of Finance of Russia
“When calculating revenue for the purposes of VAT exemption, it is necessary to take into account all proceeds from the sale of goods (including excisable goods), works, services (excluding tax), including revenue from:
- from transactions not subject to VAT (Article 149, paragraph 2 of Article 156 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
- from transactions not recognized as subject to VAT (Clause 2 of Article 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
- from the sale of goods (performance of work, provision of services), the place of sale of which is not recognized as the territory of the Russian Federation (Articles 147, 148 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
At the same time, to the revenue should not include amounts received from retail trade, subject to UTII, if the VAT payer combines the general taxation regime with the payment of an “imputed” tax.”

Note: some courts believe that for the purposes of VAT exemption it is not necessary to include in revenue amounts received from transactions that are not subject to VAT or do not form an object for this tax (Resolution of the Federal Arbitration Court of the ZSO dated March 20, 2012 in case No. A45-11287/2011; FAS VSO dated 01/18/2011 in case No. A19-9447/10; FAS SKO dated 06/10/2011 in case No. A01-1343/2010). But there are those who share the position of the tax authorities (Resolution 12 AAS dated 03/06/2012 in case N A06-1876/2011; FAS PO dated 11/10/2011 in case N A06-1875/2011; FAS SZO dated 11/30/2010 in case N A66-3032/2010).

And if there is no income, can the exemption be applied?

If there was no revenue for the previous 3 months before the exemption was applied, then it was zero. Zero, as you understand, is less than 2 million rubles. Therefore, it seems that nothing prevents the application of exemption. The same point of view was expressed (albeit for a long time) by Moscow tax officials (Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated September 4, 2006 N 19-11/077487). However, soon after this, the Ministry of Finance issued a Letter with the opposite position (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 28, 2007 N 03-07-14/11). Even now, financial department specialists are against the release.

From authoritative sources
Vikhlyaeva E.N., Ministry of Finance of Russia
“If during 3 consecutive calendar months preceding the month from which the taxpayer would like to apply the VAT exemption, he had no revenue from the sale of goods, works, services, then there are no grounds for using the exemption.”

How to get exemption?

It is necessary to submit to the inspectorate at the place of registration a notification about the use of the right to exemption in the approved form (Approved by Order of the Ministry of Taxes of Russia of July 4, 2002 N BG-3-03/342), as well as certain documents (Clause 3, 6 of Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) .

An extract from the balance sheet must be made on the 1st day of the month from which you began to apply the exemption, and extracts from books and magazines must be made for the 3 months preceding the exemption.
All extracts can be submitted to the Federal Tax Service in any form. Or you can submit regular photocopies of balance sheets, income and expense books, sales books as an extract, certified by the signature of the manager (entrepreneur) and seal.

We warn the manager
If the company, being exempt from VAT, will charge to him invoice with tax, then, despite the exemption, you will have to pay VAT to the budget.

These documents must be brought to the inspection no later than the 20th day of the month in which you began to apply the exemption (Clause 3 of Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If you send them by mail, then do it 6 working days before the 21st day of the specified month (Clause 6, Article 6.1, Clause 7, Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), and preferably by registered mail with a list of the attachments.
Let's say you wanted to apply the exemption from May 2012. Then the notification had to be submitted no later than May 21, since May 20 is a day off (Clause 7, Article 6.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The last day to mail the notice was May 14.
We do not advise you to be late in submitting your documents, since the tax authorities will probably consider that in this case you are not entitled to VAT exemption. The Ministry of Finance specialists agree with them.

From authoritative sources
Vikhlyaeva E.N., Ministry of Finance of Russia
“Failure to submit to the tax authority within the prescribed period the documents required for VAT exemption means that the taxpayer does not have the right to use this benefit.”

Accordingly, having discovered that you are using the exemption, and sent the documents after the deadline, the inspectors will certainly not miss the opportunity:
- charge you VAT from the month in which you started using the benefit, and penalties;
- fine for non-payment of tax and failure to submit declarations;
- block an account for failure to submit a declaration (Clause 3 of Article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation; Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Eastern Military District dated April 20, 2011 in case No. A29-5471/2010).
By the way, similar problems await you if the tax authorities subsequently find out that the documents you submitted contained false information and in fact you did not meet the two-million dollar revenue limit (Clause 5 of Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Note
Some courts believe that late submission of documents (Resolutions of the FAS ZSO dated November 24, 2011 in case N A75-265/2011; FAS SZO dated December 7, 2010 in case N A42-2169/2010; FAS PO dated August 10, 2010 in case N A49-11485/2009), their submission before the start of the tax audit or failure to submit at all (Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service No. F09-11622/10-C2 dated 02.21.2011, N F09-5886/09-C2 dated 08.21.2009) do not deprive the taxpayer of the right to apply the exemption if all other conditions are met. But there are those who think otherwise (Resolutions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Eastern Military District dated 06/09/2011 in case N A29-5506/2010; 18 AAS dated 07/04/2011 N 18AP-5721/2011; 3 AAS dated 12/12/2011 in case N A33-3048 /2011). Therefore, it cannot be guaranteed that you will be able to recover additional charges and fines through the court.

Already from the beginning of the month in which you promptly submitted a notice of release to the inspectorate with all supporting documents, you will be required to use the benefit, since it cannot be refused (Clause 4 of Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). This means that you will not have the right to claim VAT deductions.

“How to legally optimize VAT”, “how to reduce VAT”, “how not to pay VAT”, “cash” and “cash”

These and similar search queries are among the most popular on the Internet, and displaying advertisements for them can cost up to 1,000 rubles. Competition is high. The tax scam is gaining momentum, and the number of “tax Copperfields” offering at seminars magical ways to legally optimize VAT and insurance premiums is growing day by day.

An attraction of unprecedented generosity

This is understandable. There's a lot to be excited about here. Indeed, in addition to the ASK VAT-2 system, which has caused so much noise, allowing the Federal Tax Service to automatically track all VAT chains, the tax service, together with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and Rosfinmonitoring, took on the “circulatory system” of any business - current accounts.

If you’re not too lazy to read, I’ll tell you what you’ll actually hear about at the “star” tax seminars. FOR FREE! How I will save you not only money, but also time. Tax consultants who proclaim their ability to optimize taxes in the Group of Companies will also gain a lot for their earnings. Below you can also take a close look at the entire set of tools of a modern tax scheme. And at the end of the material there is a 20-minute useful video. But first things first.

Business will be “rolled up” into banks

To counter tax risks, you need to present them objectively.

By the end of 2015, under pressure from Rosfinmonitoring and the Central Bank, private credit institutions managing company accounts also became involved in the tax control process.

This story is old. But now it has received a new development:

in May 2015, the Central Bank developed a new criterion for assessing corporate clients, namely the ratio of the amount of taxes paid by the company to the budget from its current account to its turnover on this account. If there is a significant discrepancy in the figures (the minimum amount of taxes paid with high turnover on the current account), the bank must immediately report to Rosfinmonitoring, as with any dubious transaction. Initially the rate is set at 0.5%;




Since October 2015, a new agreement on the exchange of information has been in force between the Federal Tax Service and Rosfinmonitoring, according to which the latter must report to the tax authorities about tax schemes it identifies and possible tax offenses. Previously, the exchange of information between Rosfinmonitoring and the Federal Tax Service was largely limited to that related to currency control. Now, as part of the agreement, a corresponding database will be formed in the automated electronic document management system of tax authorities “AIS Tax” based on information received from Rosfinmonitoring for use in planning on-site tax audits;




in November 2015, the Central Bank notified commercial banks of an increase in the rate of non-suspicious tax deductions to 1% of account turnover.

In addition, the Federal Tax Service is discussing with the Central Bank the functional expansion of the ASK-VAT-2 system, through which the tax authorities now track the payment of VAT on the tax returns of counterparties. Now the Federal Tax Service wants this system to be able to directly process data on the movement of funds through the accounts of counterparty companies. Thus, tax authorities in the near future will have not only information about all open/closed current accounts of taxpayers, and not only about the movement of funds through them without sending preliminary requests to banks, but also automatically compare the data of VAT tax returns with those confirming these payment transactions. The Federal Tax Service also plans to combine the ASK VAT-2 system with the customs service base. As a result, importing companies also fall into the all-Russian sieve of VAT administration.

All-Russian scam

In principle, any tax seminar begins with the horror of tax administration possibilities. And I support this. To be honest, a decent number of business owners have little idea of ​​the possibilities of tax administration and in their evolution of tax security they are very similar to the improvement of the VAZ 2107 over the period from 1978 to 2011.

But the most delicious thing, the reason why you go to the seminar, are the recipes.

What is being fed to business owners dumbfounded by uncertainty and their accomplices: chief accountants and finders?

The set of proposed techniques, I dare to assure you, is strictly limited and is shown in the diagram. Please note that the claim that they are suitable for small, medium and large businesses is nonsense. The implementation of each tool costs “its” money. The goals and scale of tax optimization also correspond to the scale of the business.

Moreover, not every optimizer is able to talk about all of them. For example, not every “talking head” understands in detail what an investment partnership agreement or concession agreement is, not to mention the tax effects. Therefore, let's focus on the popular ones:

“Simplified” VAT optimization

VAT optimization- this is bait number 1. What makes up promises to give you 3-5-7 legal tools?

In fact, among “Moscow lawyers” the transfer of part of the turnover to the “simplified tax” is considered nothing more than a means of VAT optimization. Marketing plurality is just a consequence of listing some typical ways of dividing a business into “simplified” turnover.

Sometimes industry nuances are mixed in here: “clone” companies using the simplified tax system in wholesale trade (flows from general purchases add a minimum markup and are distributed into two sleeves - for sales with and without VAT), or “simplified” contractors in the Group of Housing Construction Companies (in this case, the Developer already does not have VAT, and splitting “their” contractors into several simplified ones, in theory, should exempt the entire business from VAT).

And in fact?

They forget to tell you here that the fragmentation of flows from the first example found the support of the highest judicial authorities, but only on condition! Provided that the buyer who does not need VAT will actually receive a product, work or service at a price lower than the one who buys with your VAT company.

As for construction, the effect will work only in one case: if in the Group of Companies the functions of the Developer and the General Contractor are combined within one legal entity. In other cases, this approach simply does not yield anything.

What can we say about separating the “production” function into a simplified company. Common approach. BUT! There are at least three ways to isolate a production function, depending on the logic by which your business operates. Who is your boss? Production (sales sells what you can produce)? Sales (production dodges and does what your traders want to sell)? And these 3 options for separation must be multiplied by 4 forms of contractual structures: purchase and sale, contract of contract dependent on the customer or dependent on the contractor, simple partnership. And this is only a microscopic part of the nuances.

"Poor IP"

Stuff your business with individual entrepreneurs on the simplified tax system. Fortunately, for example, in the Sverdlovsk region the tax rate is 7% even with “income minus expenses.”

Yes, you are not optimizing VAT here, they tell you, but individual entrepreneurs are a legal way to receive “cash”.

What is it really like? Offhand

all people are mortal and, as has been correctly noted, they die suddenly. For an endless number of reasons. If the individual entrepreneur is not you, then how will you ensure the safety of your funds? Will you be filming every day?




according to the requirements of the Central Bank of December 31, 2014, if an individual entrepreneur withdraws money within two days after it is credited, then this is a “suspicious operation” and if we are talking about several hundred thousand rubles, then the bank, at its discretion, will either ask for an explanation or refuse banking services .

The expenses of an individual entrepreneur cannot be included in the tax expenses of a “simplified person.” The list of expenses in the tax code is exhaustive. There is no such thing there.




An individual entrepreneur does not work on the basis of a corporate agreement. That's bullshit. A corporate agreement is concluded between the founders of the company.




banks were “recommended” to make changes to tariffs. Transfers from legal entities individuals and individual entrepreneurs on the accounts of physicists should cost at least 1%. The banks obediently complied. When an individual entrepreneur wants to withdraw money from a bank, he transfers it from the individual entrepreneur’s account to an individual’s card. This is 1%




If within a month the bank reveals a significant upward deviation in the individual entrepreneur’s revenue, it will demand an explanation. In some cases, operations are suspended at the beginning.




if you decide to register a trademark on your own as an individual entrepreneur and receive royalties for it, then this is a great plan. I'm serious. In most cases, the Federal Tax Service is not able to calculate how much it (that is, the sign) costs. BUT! Registration of a trademark with Rospatent takes at least 1 year. And this is only if they don’t have any questions for you.

Not to mention the fact that any separation of functions, including their transfer to individual entrepreneurs, requires managerial and economic justification. Tax optimization as a goal is illegal.

Insurance premiums

I am generally silent about the optimization of insurance premiums. You can list for a long time the types of compensation that do not seem to fall under these same contributions.

But in real life, there are only two applicable and at least somewhat universal methods:

Production cooperative - since contributions are not calculated from payments to members of the cooperative for their labor participation. By legal nature, these are dividends. The catch: Members of the cooperative have been included in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities since last year. Therefore, if you want to pack 100 people into a PC, and you also have a high turnover, you will get tired of going to the notary with them. Such non-taxable social services. payments in contributions are made from net profit, so if the PC is on the simplified tax system, and even in the Sverdlovsk region (rate 7% or 5%), then it’s delicious. And if in the Novosibirsk region, for example (the rate is 15%), then you need to carefully calculate everything.

Compensation payments that are not tied to specific characters and are provided EXCLUSIVELY by the collective agreement. Only in this case they are not a form of motivation, which means they fall outside the scope of social taxation. contributions. There is a corresponding opinion of the highest court.

Returning to the beginning of the material. Towards risks.

Firstly, don’t go too far, but don’t be stupid either. Tax administration presents you with new challenges. But an individual business does not face all the risks. The main thing is to understand what you are risking.

Secondly, in fact, in addition to tax risks, there are also property and management risks.

Moreover, the risk of potential additional tax charges is almost worthless. If there is nothing to collect from you. And the entire system of pre-verification analysis is “tailored” to identifying violators who own property, so that there is something to actually take. The composition of the property of the founders and the head of the company is also determined. And also their family members. Why?

Because since 2015, a number of mechanisms have been launched that transform tax risks into property risks. And these are very unusual mechanisms.

So what is the secret of the golden key and is there one?

I offer you a plan of action to consider that is alternative to your usual one. This is not a universal panacea, but it is based on a generalization of approximately 200-250 completed projects for structuring MEDIUM businesses, that is, companies with a turnover of 150-250 million rubles. up to 10-15 billion rubles/year. I can’t judge the rest - I honestly don’t know.

Go to a tax seminar... wait to spend! You will need 30-40-50 thousand for vacation.

We need to start with the “purple cow”. That is, from those features of the business that ensure you not only survival, but also development. If you are still alive, then you also have a “purple cow”. In addition, you also have a strategy. Let it be for a year or two. The structure of the business and elements of tax security must correspond to the strategy. Strengthen it.

Consequently. Bearing in mind that there are no legal means of optimizing VAT, and aggressive methods lead to uncontrollability, decide for yourself. You will try to drag it out for some more time, or you will start to refuse now. We are all adults and we understand everything perfectly. Situations vary. In the end, the need for kickbacks, for example, has not yet been canceled. It's your entrepreneurial choice. In the second case, the tax burden will definitely increase.

Income taxes are another matter. Their optimization with a process approach is legal. Decide for yourself whether there are incomes that need to be optimized.

Consequently. Vulnerability analysis. As I said before, you don't face all the risks. Protecting yourself from anything and everything is very expensive. Economically unfeasible. Try to try on each risk group. The approach is this: business segmentation, in which 80% should be protected as much as possible, and only a fifth can be risked for additional profit. She's not out of place now. Did the risks not pay off? In any case, this does not threaten the entire business.

Reduce the need to cash out. If you take a close look at where cash is spent, you will see that 20-30% of withdrawals from business can be replaced with other tools.

In development of this principle. Most likely, your Group of companies does not have a special entity - a refinancing center. Thus, by redirecting funds within the Group of Companies to low-tax entities, you cannot return them to operational circulation. So you withdraw cash.

It is necessary to secure assets. This is relevant in terms of tax security, corporate raids, and potential bankruptcy. Moreover, traditional isolation is not suitable. Once again I refer you to the video.

An important point: what are we hiding? Operations or asset ownership? Depends on the specifics of a particular business.

Break down the business processes that add value to your business. Splitting in business with a tax effect will be legal only if an INDEPENDENT function is separated.

Now we need to think about the legal structure of the Group of Companies. What do we choose from? LLC, non-public joint-stock company, production cooperative, individual entrepreneur...or maybe an economic partnership? Each type has its own characteristics. For example, instead of squeezing optimization out of a production cooperative, one can make it an “indestructible” custodian of valuable assets...

Value added tax is one of the main sources of replenishment of the state budget. The tax office will create all the conditions to ensure that these revenues are as large as possible. Different tax regimes and subtleties in legislative acts will allow companies to avoid paying VAT or achieve minimization of the final tax amount.

This is a federal tax, which Chapter 21 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation tells us about in detail. This part of the code has not undergone significant changes over the past three years.

The tax rate is not fixed: 18% can be applied (general regime), for a number of goods - 10% (clause 2 of Article 164 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), in special cases -0% (export sales).

Tax base – delta of the amount from the sale of goods, services and acquisition costs.

You can reduce the amount payable in the following ways: increasing the share of deductions, reducing sales volumes or switching to preferential taxation. Let's look at several existing legal methods for reducing VAT.

You can read how to correctly fill out a VAT return

Features of working on the simplified tax system

The special tax regime - simplified tax system is intended to reduce tax expenses. To switch to , the following conditions must be met:

1. The number of personnel does not exceed 100 people.
2. Revenue for six months in a row is less than 75 million rubles.
3. The organization has no branches.
4. The company is not included in the list of Article 346.12 of the NKRF, clause 3.

To change the system, you must contact the tax authority with a written application in the required form. Based on the results of consideration of the application and subject to the above conditions, the company will be exempt from VAT for a period of no more than 12 months, starting from the next calendar year.

If the company does not meet the requirements for switching to the simplified tax system, then the business can be divided into parts. Thus, every small company will have the right to apply a special regime, and the result will be savings on obligations to the budget.

There are two negative aspects of the transition:

1. At the time of transition, it is recommended to resolve the issue with the amounts previously presented for deduction. Lawyers advise a way out of the situation in the form of a reorganization procedure. In this case, the newly created company will not be required to restore these VAT amounts, and the reorganized company will calmly switch to the simplified regime.
2. Very often, in the conditions of the modern market system, counterparties to OSNO do not want to enter into agreements with simplifiers. This is due to an increase in the tax burden on their budget. Such situations can be resolved by attracting buyers through a system of discounts.

How the VAT optimization scheme using an agency agreement works in practice - see here:

A single tax on imputed income

Another tax regime in which the company receives exemption from the calculation and payment of VAT. UTII depends on the type of activity and retail space. It is determined by multiplying the basic monthly profitability by physical indicators (number of employees, area).

For example, the basic indicator for placing advertising on the surface of a vehicle is 10,000 rubles, retail trade for distribution and distribution is 1,000.00 rubles. The company's income is not included in the calculation.

How to reduce VAT - basic optimization methods

If a company does not meet the legal criteria for applying a preferential tax regime, then there are several possible methods to reduce VAT. Let's look at each one separately.

Application of deductions

Article 171 of the NKRF specifies the categories of taxpayers entitled to deductions. Only companies on OSNO can take advantage of the reduction in the tax base.

To do this, it is recommended to enter into contracts for the provision of services and the supply of materials with companies that are VAT payers. And it is imperative to require correct documentation of business transactions in compliance with all applicable laws.

Since during a tax audit, deductions with serious violations in the documents may be rejected.

For example, an error in the name of the counterparty in the s/f, or an incorrect TIN, will result in the tax office refusing to apply the deduction.

Tax consultants recommend that companies be as careful as possible before concluding an agreement: you can check the counterparty through the official tax website nalog.ru (business risks) and it is very important to request copies of the constituent documents for the application.

In this way, you will protect yourself from so-called fictitious transactions and shell companies.

Transfer of property rights

You can win a temporary deferment in the payment of VAT, and thereby reduce the amount of tax payable in a certain period, by introducing conditions at the time of transfer of property rights from the seller to the buyer only after final payment.

Under such contractual conditions, the seller of high-value goods on staged payment receives the opportunity to defer VAT payment.

Advance issued

Another method of reducing VAT is an additional deduction on invoices of suppliers to whom the company has made prepayments.

For example, we want to purchase a part for a machine on June 10, but its delivery is possible only in two months. We will agree with the counterparty to make an advance payment and issue a s/f for an advance payment.

And we will be able to take advantage of the deduction in the second quarter. And at the time of delivery of the goods, VAT will be restored. But this will be a different reporting period.

Cash loan

A possible move to reduce value added tax is to replace the payment procedure for upcoming sales. That is, the buyer, instead of prepayment for the upcoming delivery, provides the seller with a loan.

As a result, the company received funds, and there was no need to calculate VAT on the advance payment. We repay the loan by signing a mutual settlement act. As a result, the debt under two contracts collapses.

It is important to pay special attention to the intricacies of drawing up a loan agreement: to state the most specific purposes for providing funds for use, and it is also recommended to observe temporary boundaries between receipts of money, sales, and offsets, so as not to arouse additional suspicion among tax authorities.

Deposit

An additional chance to reduce the tax base is provided by the scheme of using deposits for the purchase of materials and raw materials. This type of prepayment will be useful for construction companies.

This method also requires caution when concluding an agreement: it is recommended to specify clear conditions for the provision of a deposit in the contract or agreement. And the customer needs to specify the purpose of the payment very specifically in order to avoid controversial issues.

Transport costs as overhead costs

This option is only suitable for companies operating at a 10% rate (food products, children's products, etc.). Direct transport services have a VAT rate of 18%, but you can include the amount of these costs in the calculation of the sales price of products and thereby reduce the tax rate payable.

Let's look at a specific example: A company sells vegetable oil at a rate of 10%. The sales volume is 100 liters for 60 rubles, i.e. total sales amount is 6,000 rubles. In this case, the cost of delivery to the customer is 1000 rubles. The seller will reflect them in the sale as a separate line. As a result, VAT payable will be 780 rubles.

If we include transportation costs in the price of oil, we get a selling price of 70 rubles. per liter And the implementation of a quantity similar to the first situation will cost a tax amount of 700 rubles. Obvious savings - 80 rubles.

Agency contract

If your supplier of goods and services is not a VAT payer, then the company loses the opportunity to take advantage of the deduction for such purchases. Way out of the situation: agency scheme. The agent receives and resells the goods on behalf of the buyer (principal).

As a result, the agent has a profit in the form of remuneration under the contract and pays VAT only on this amount. Prepayment for the supply of goods in this situation is payment under an agency agreement and is not subject to VAT.

Team of disabled people

The next way to reduce the tax base is to receive benefits under Article 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, i.e. for attracting disabled people to work.

The caveat is that the number of such employees must be at least 80% of the total list. Or 50% if the authorized capital is fully owned by public companies of disabled people.

Such a step implies an increase in the volume of documentation, compliance with special labor regimes, and, of course, the demanding attitude of tax inspectors.

Bill instead of advance

This method is rarely used, although it is absolutely legal. The principle is this: the supplier issues a bill, then transfers it to the buyer for payment under the act. In this case, the received payment amount is not recognized as an advance. After the transfer of rights to the goods, a mutual settlement is drawn up by analogy with a loan agreement.

The complexity of such a scheme lies in foresight: you need to clearly know the sales amount in advance in order to issue a bill of exactly that denomination.

Simple partnership

A simple partnership is a temporary cooperation between organizations in order to achieve a set goal. Such an association does not require registration with the Federal Tax Service. By concluding an agreement, the parties contribute to a single business in the form of property, money, competence, and reputation.

Example of work

Let's look at how this method works using an example. Firm D and C created a simple partnership and made contributions: firm D with property, and firm C with money. According to the agreement, deposits are recognized as equivalent.

After a certain time, the set goals are achieved and the partnership agreement is terminated. In this case, company D receives money, and company C receives property. Such an operation is not subject to VAT by law.

Penalty

Another common scheme can be identified: the use of penalties. The contract specifies the conditions for the payment of penalties for certain violations (for example, shipment deadlines, payment). In this case, the selling price is deliberately underestimated.

The buyer violates contractual obligations and pays costs. They are not included in the seller's VAT calculation base. As a result: the buyer purchases the goods at a favorable price, and the seller receives the expected profit and saves on part of the VAT.

The methods listed above allow entrepreneurs to reduce their tax burden in absolutely legal ways. Before choosing one way or another, you should thoroughly study the current tax legislation. Do not forget that the above methods are well known to the tax authorities.

Conclusion

Lawyers practicing in cases related to financial activities warn that each VAT optimization method only works for a specific situation. And there is no guarantee which is right for you. Think globally, combine approaches and achieve maximum results.

The main methods and schemes for reducing VAT are discussed in this video: