VAT: due dates. Deadline for filing a VAT return

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

Value added tax is one of the most important for the state budget and at the same time one of the most controversial in terms of fulfilling the obligations of payers to include it in the budget and provide reporting. The provisions of the legislation of the Russian Federation require companies not only to pay the tax in question to the budget on time and submit a declaration on it to the tax service, but also to do this while following certain technological criteria. What particular norms of the law deserve special attention from taxpayers in this case? What are the specifics of paying VAT and reporting on this tax to government agencies?

VAT overview

VAT, or value added tax, is classified as indirect. This means that de jure it is paid by the company, but de facto by its client or buyer, since this fee is usually included in the structure of the selling price of the goods.

The amount of the relevant tax that must be transferred to the budget of the Russian Federation is determined as the difference between the indicator that was calculated at the time of the sale of goods, works or services, and the figure that was presented to the companysupplier of the respective product. VAT is paid to the federal budget of the Russian Federation within the time limits established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Also, the main tax law of the state requires VAT payers to submit declarations to the regulatory authorities. Consider the features of the implementation of these procedures in more detail.

VAT declaration

The deadline for submitting a VAT return, determined by the norms of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, is the 25th day of the month following the reporting period. For VAT, this is considered a quarter. So, if a taxpayer needs to report for the first 3 months of the year, then the deadline for submitting a VAT return for the corresponding period is April 25.

How to submit VAT returns including holidays?

A very relevant question for many entrepreneurs is when to send the document in question to the Federal Tax Service, if the 25th is a day off. The legislation of the Russian Federation includes a rule according to which, when reporting on VAT, the deadline for submitting a report in the form of a declaration in this case is postponed to the next business day. That is, for example, in 2015, the deadlines are as follows: the VAT return for the 1st quarter must be submitted before April 27, the reporting for the 2nd quarter is provided before July 27, for the 3rd - before October 26, for the 4th th - January 25, 2016. In 2016, in turn, there will be new deadlines for the declaration. VAT is a fee that requires careful consideration of the legislative nuances that regulate it. It is advisable for the taxpayer to study them in advance. The legislation does not provide for VAT returns for the year. The deadlines for the submission of this document in one way or another correlate withquarter.

Sanctions for failure to report VAT

If the company does not provide the state with the VAT reporting required by law, then in accordance with the provisions of Art. 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a fine may be imposed on her. Another sanction applied to a company that failed to comply with the statutory VAT return deadlines is the possible suspension of transactions on settlement accounts. These are the norms fixed in paragraph 3 of Art. 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

It can be noted that the declarations for the tax in question are provided, if we are talking about an enterprise with branches, only the main office of the company. That is, separate divisions of the company may not provide the relevant document to the local structures of the Federal Tax Service.

Declaration - in electronic form

It is necessary to provide the state with the declaration in question in electronic form. If the payer brings the document in paper form, the Federal Tax Service will consider it not provided. The firm will be considered as violating the VAT reporting law. The deadlines for submitting the declaration, therefore, are not the only criterion for fulfilling the requirements of the legislation for taxpayers in question.

But how should an electronic declaration for the tax in question be submitted to the Federal Tax Service?

How to send an electronic declaration to the tax authorities?

If you try to bring the document in question to the Federal Tax Service in the form of a regular file in Word or Excel formator send it by e-mail, the agency will most likely not accept it. The fact is that the declaration, as the most important source of tax reporting, must be signed. Since the legislation requires businesses to provide this document in electronic form, it is assumed that it will be signed using an EDS, and specialized software may be involved when sending it. A VAT payer can obtain the appropriate infrastructure at one of the certification centers.

How to register an EDS for declarations?

In order to register a digital signature, you need to provide a passport to this organization, as well as constituent documents of a legal entity. If the EDS is ordered by a company representative, you may also need a power of attorney for it from the organization's management. There are a large number of organizations registering EDS for entrepreneurs. Of these, you should choose those that are accredited - the corresponding certification centers can issue electronic keys with the highest degree of protection. The Federal Tax Service, accordingly, will be ready to accept VAT returns signed with keys issued by an accredited certification center.

VAT declaration submission form

Another significant factor in recognizing the company's VAT reporting obligations to the state as fulfilled is the use of the correct declaration form. The legislation of the Russian Federation requires taxpayers to use a document approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation No.104 dated October 15, 2009. Having examined what constitutes VAT, the deadlines for submitting a declaration for this tax, we will consider in more detail the aspect related to the correct filling out of this form.

How to fill out a VAT return correctly?

The document in question must include indicators in rubles, no need to indicate kopecks. If they are formed in the process of calculating VAT, then the corresponding indicators must be rounded to the nearest ruble. If the amount is 50 kopecks or more, then up, if less, then, respectively, down.

The title page of the declaration, as well as the 1st section of the document, must be completed by all firms that are payers of the tax in question. Including those who had no turnover for the reporting period on transactions with VAT. The deadlines for submission and the reporting procedure for such organizations are the same as those established for firms that actually paid the tax in question.

Sections 2 to 12 of the declaration, as well as various appendices to the corresponding reporting document, must be completed, in turn, only if the taxpayer performed the operations indicated in one form or another.

Sections 4 to 6 of the declaration must be completed only in cases where the company paid VAT at a zero rate.

Sections from the 10th to the 11th document in question are filled in if the taxpayer used invoices in the reporting period, but carried out entrepreneurial activities in the interests of third parties, taking into account the signed agencycontracts, commission agreements, transport expedition or was a developer.

Section 12 of the source under consideration must be completed if:

• a taxpayer issued invoices to his client, but was not a VAT payer by law;
• the company issued invoices, but the supplies indicated in the relevant documents were not subject to taxation through VAT;
• if the taxpayer generated invoices, but was released from the obligation to pay the tax in question to the budget.

How is VAT calculated?

In order to complete the VAT return, the relevant tax must be calculated correctly. How is this task solved? It all depends on the specific type of product, work or service for which VAT is charged. Certain types of products are subject to the corresponding tax at a rate of 18%, others - 10%. There are activities that are taxed at a zero interest rate. Let's study the specifics of their application in more detail.

The zero rate for the tax in question is applied in commercial activities involving the export of goods by a Russian company abroad under agreements on the functioning of a free customs zone, in the process of providing services for international transportation and other operations stipulated by the legislation of the Russian Federation. The VAT rate of 10% applies to the sale of food, goods for children, press, medical goods. In turn, the rate, which is 18%,applied in other cases. If the company receives an advance payment for the goods, as well as in cases where VAT is calculated in a special manner, rates of 10% and 18% may also be involved.

It is always useful for business owners to keep abreast of innovations in the field of legislation governing the sale of goods, products and services that are subject to VAT. The main sources of law to which attention should be paid in this case are Art. 164 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Government Decree No. 908 of December 31, 2004, No. 688 of September 15, 2004, No. 41 of January 23, 2003. Thus, it is extremely important for the taxpayer to use the correct form of the VAT declaration, calculate this tax, and also comply with the deadline set for reporting by law. VAT must also be paid on time. Let's study this aspect in more detail.

VAT payment deadlines

So, we have studied such a nuance as the deadline for submitting VAT returns. But its observance is an obligation that supplements, in fact, the payment of the corresponding fee to the treasury. When do you need to make tax payments to the budget? How do the terms of delivery and payment of VAT correlate?

In accordance with the provisions of the tax legislation of the Russian Federation, the payment of the fee in question should generally be made no later than the 25th day of the first 3 months following the reporting period, in equal installments. That is, if, for example, according to the results of the 1st quarter, the company must pay 30,000 rubles to the budget of the Russian Federation as VAT, then in April, May and June it needs to pay the state 10,000 rubles each.

Thus, the deadlines for submitting a VAT report can only coincide with the first payment to the budget. A special scenario is established by the legislator for organizations that are not by default payers of the tax in question, but have issued invoices to their counterparties in which the tax is fixed. Such companies need to pay the full amount of the fee by the 25th day of the month following the reporting period. In this sense, the payment to the budget and the submission of the VAT return have the same deadline.

VAT is a tax that must be paid on time, as well as reporting to the state on it.