Reconciliation with the tax: the procedure for reconciliation, drawing up an act, advice

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Reconciliation with the tax authorities allows you to always keep abreast of settlements with the budget, and since 2017 - with extra-budgetary funds. This is a mechanism that helps to determine whether the taxpayer has debts on mandatory payments. Indeed, even the most conscientious accountant, manager or business owner sometimes encounters such a nuisance when a payment does not reach the goal. There may be several reasons for this, but the result is the same - debt.

Why check with the IFTS?

You need to pay taxes and contributions on time and in full, then the controllers will not have any questions. But often the taxpayer has no intention of avoiding his obligations, and the debt is formed due to a small mistake. An outdated KBK, an inaccuracy in bank details - and now the company is listed as a debtor. The saddest thing is that this often becomes known when financial sanctions are added to the amount of debt. If, however, periodically reconcile with the tax, these troubles can be avoided.

By the way, fines and pen alties are not the only consequences of non-payment of taxes (contributions)on time. The inspectorate can send an order to the bank for unconditional write-off of the amount of debt from the company's settlement accounts. If the funds are insufficient, a decision may be made to block the accounts. And in most cases, this means that it will not work. In addition, debt collection can be directed to other property of the organization, and in some cases - its owners and managers. Do not forget that criminal liability is also provided for non-payment of taxes. We are talking about large sizes and deliberate actions of the company's management.

When reconciliation takes place

A tax reconciliation can be initiated by an organization or an entrepreneur at any time. It is advisable to check closer to the end of the year, when all mandatory payments have been made. It's time to take stock, prepare for reporting, and it would be nice to know for sure that all taxes and fees have reached the budget and funds.

Apart from the desire of the taxpayer, a reconciliation is always needed when a company closes, reorganizes or changes the tax authority. In addition, reconciliation may be offered by the inspectorate. The taxpayer has the right to refuse it, but it is still advisable to check. After all, if the inspectorate suggests this, then it has questions.

How is the process going?

Reconciliation with the tax office is very simple and consists of several steps:

1. The taxpayer submits a statement of his desire to compare the data on the calculations of tax payments and contributions.
2. The inspectorate processes it and sends a reconciliation report within 5 days. It contains information that the tax authority has.
3. Having received the document, the taxpayer compares the information from the IFTS with his documents and signs the act - with or without discrepancies.
4. Mistakes are corrected, taxes are paid extra, discrepancies in the act are eliminated. Ideally, as a result, no one owes anything to anyone, and everyone has up-to-date information about the company's calculations for mandatory payments.

Now let's take a closer look at all these steps.

Submit an application to the territorial authority

The traditional way to communicate with the tax office is to exchange paper documents. After all, not all companies and entrepreneurs have connected electronic document management yet.

There is no special form approved for the application for reconciliation of tax calculations, so you can write in your own words. The main thing is to identify yourself as a taxpayer - indicate the name of the company or the name of the entrepreneur, all the main codes, address, telephone number for communication.

You can check for a specific payment, one or more taxes, or all obligations. But only within the framework of the tax authority to which the applicant applies. Therefore, in the application for reconciliation with the tax, it is advisable to indicate the list of payments. They also indicate the IFTS with which you want to check.

An important point is to indicate the way in which the applicant prefers to receive a tax reconciliation act. When applying on paper, there are two options: pick up the document in person or receive it bymail. In the latter case, the application must necessarily indicate the postal address. If it is not there, the inspection will send the act to the place of registration of the organization, and it does not always coincide with its location.

A paper application can be brought to the inspection personally, sent through an authorized representative or sent by mail. The response will be sent to the applicant in the manner indicated by him.

Sample application for reconciliation with the tax office you can see below.

Appeal via TCS or through personal account

Organizations and entrepreneurs who have already connected electronic interaction with the Federal Tax Service send a request for reconciliation with the tax via telecommunication channels. The advantage is that in order to receive a reconciliation act, you will not need to go to the Federal Tax Service or wait until it arrives by mail. But there is one feature: if inconsistencies are identified, it will be impossible to return the act to the inspection. We'll have to make a new appeal.

There is another opportunity to apply for a reconciliation report without going to the IFTS - use the taxpayer's personal account. This is convenient if the company or entrepreneur has previously gained access to it. The act will be handed over to the applicant in paper form in person or sent by mail. The method of obtaining the document is indicated in the application.

The formation of an application in the personal account of the taxpayer occurs automatically. You just need to choose what and for what periods should be verified. An application for reconciliation with the tax authority, a sample of which is given below, has been generatedin the personal account of an individual entrepreneur on the website of the Federal Tax Service.

Data matching

So, the tax office within 5 days (excluding time for postal delivery) sends the reconciliation act to the applicant. If the application was submitted on paper, then the act will come in two copies. It will reflect data on settlements with the taxpayer by the Federal Tax Service. This is a picture of a company paying taxes "through the eyes" of the information systems of the Internal Revenue Service.

Now it's up to the taxpayer. He must raise his primary documents and compare the information on the payment of taxes with what is indicated in the act.

Structure of the act

The document consists of a title page and two sections. The title reflects basic information about the taxpayer and the IFTS. The sections contain information on calculations in relation to the requested taxes (contributions) for each type of payment and budget classification code. This means that separate sections 1 and 2 will be devoted to each tax, fee, contribution.

For example, if an applicant requested a reconciliation for VAT, personal income tax and income tax, he will receive at least 3 sets of sections as part of the reconciliation report. If fines or pen alties were charged for these taxes, their own sections will be formed for them.

A sample act of reconciliation with the tax, namely an abridged version of section 1, is presented below.

Reconciliation: Ideal

Having received the act, the taxpayer must fill it in on his part - makedata based on primary documents. Ideally, they should coincide with what the IFTS indicated in the act, but this is not always the case. Often there are discrepancies, but more on that later.

If there are no disagreements, then the reconciliation can be considered successful. It remains only to sign the act on the last page of section 1 and put the mark “Agreed without disagreement.”

Now the document must be returned to the tax office. Sometimes taxpayers do not return the act. They believe that this is not necessary, because there are no disagreements. But still, we strongly recommend that you always return the reconciliation act in order to avoid possible questions from the Federal Tax Service. If you already initiated the process, bring it to its logical conclusion.

So, at the end of the reconciliation of taxes, both copies of the act must be returned to the tax office. Within three days, specialists will sign them, and one copy will be given to the taxpayer or sent by mail.

Act of reconciliation with disagreements

What if the internal accounting data does not match what is indicated in the act? All discrepancies must be written out in the appropriate lines of column 4 of section 1. Then the act must be signed, noting that it is consistent with the disagreements, and sent to the Federal Tax Service. This is what section 1 of the act looks like with discrepancies (see the figure below).

When submitting an act with discrepancies, the taxpayer must understand that his figures will have to be confirmed by documents. It is necessary to prepare payment orders, receipts, if necessary, obtain confirmationbank transfers.

Having received the act, the inspection specialist must check the data in the information systems - an error in them is possible. The taxpayer will be asked for primary documents to match the information.

Error on the side of the Federal Tax Service

If it is recognized that the discrepancies arose due to incorrect data received by the inspection, specialists from the Federal Tax Service will deal with this. On the same day, a memo will be drawn up - it is sent to the inspection department that is responsible for the identified error. Specialists have no more than 5 working days to correct.

When the error is corrected, a new reconciliation act is drawn up. The taxpayer must make sure that everything is in order. When signing the act in section 2, it is necessary to indicate that the differences have been resolved. If the new reconciliation act again contains discrepancies, it should also be signed with the note “Agreed with disagreements”. At the very end of section 2, after the tabular part, there is a place for explanation. There, the taxpayer can indicate why the discrepancies arose, and express their proposals regarding the resolution of the current situation.

Error on the side of the taxpayer

It may turn out that the cause of the discrepancies was the wrong actions of the taxpayer himself. For example, he could incorrectly calculate the amount of the payment, send it to the wrong CCC, and so on. In each case, you will have to correct the situation in different ways: pay a tax or contribution, file a corrective declaration or calculation, clarifypayment details. What needs to be done to resolve discrepancies, the inspector will explain.

Conducting tax reconciliation is a simple and very useful process. First of all, for the taxpayer himself. It gives an idea of the current state of settlements with the budget and extra-budgetary funds. As a result, errors are identified that could lead to pen alties and other unpleasant consequences of tax debt.