Transport tax - what is it? General provisions, deductions and features

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

Every Russian citizen should know what kind of taxes and in what period of time they should be paid. Good relations with the tax inspectorate and other state bodies depend on this. The transport tax is considered mandatory and popular. What is this fee? It is levied on all vehicle owners - individuals or companies. For different taxpayers, their own rules and features for transferring fees are established.

News in 2018

Back in 2017, information about the abolition of the transport tax in 2018 constantly appeared, but these rumors were not confirmed. This fee is regional, so all funds paid are directed to the budgets of the regions for the construction of roads or other purposes.

Each car owner should not only understand how the transport tax is calculated and when it is paid. What is this fee? It is a regional tax paid annually by firms andcitizens. Many innovations were introduced in 2018. These changes include:

• required to pay funds to individuals before the end of 2019;
• if a person owns a truck whose mass exceeds 12 tons, then he is exempt from transferring this fee, since due to the characteristics of his car he still has to pay additional payments for driving on different roads;
• Citizens are not exempt from paying tax if they have official evidence that the car has been under repair for a long time.

According to statistics, more than 146 million rubles are transferred to the budgets annually by vehicle owners. Although the abolition of the transport tax in 2018 was previously discussed, this bill was not adopted. It was planned to include this fee in the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel, but the authorities considered such a replacement inappropriate.

Have the rates changed?

All car owners should understand the rules for paying vehicle tax. What is this fee? It is paid to the regional budget, and is also regulated by the provisions of Ch. 28 NK. Its main purpose is to support the road system in the country.

In 2018, tax rates remained unchanged. They are expected to increase by 2019. At the same time, it is assumed that the collection rates will increase in a slightly different way. To do this, the mileage of the car will be taken into account, determined using special navigationsystems. Additionally, the technical parameters of the machine, the axle load and the damage caused to the environment when using this vehicle are taken into account.

At the same time, numerous bills are regularly sent to the State Duma for consideration, on the basis of which the abolition of this fee is required. They are constantly rejected as there is no optimal alternative to this fee.

Why isn't excise tax being replaced?

Fuel used in cars is subject to excise duty, which has been significantly increased since the beginning of 2018. Under such conditions, the question arises why the transport tax was not replaced by an excise tax. Motorists are dissatisfied with the fact that their cars are actually subject to two taxes, since they transfer the transport tax once a year, and are also required to constantly pay excise taxes when buying fuel for cars.

The Federal Tax Service issued letter No. BS-2-21/279@ in 2017, which contains an explanation of this decision. Its main features include:

• immediate vehicle tax is represented by the regional tax, while the excise is a federal tax;
• excises are required to be paid by producers and users of petroleum products, but the transport fee is paid exclusively by owners of different vehicles, which include not only cars, but also different ships.

Therefore, if the transport fee is canceled, the regions will be without funding, so they simply will not have the funds,that could be used to repair or build roads. Initially, it is required to find an alternative to this fee. There is information that it can be replaced by an environmental tax, which will be calculated depending on the degree of danger of a particular car for the environment or on emissions into the atmosphere from its use.

Object of taxation

To pay the fee on time, each car owner must understand the rules for calculating transport tax. What is this fee? It is transferred to the budgets of the regions for different types of transport. Based on Art. 358 of the Tax Code, the objects of taxation include:

• vehicles not included in the exceptions listed in paragraph 2 of Art. 358 NK;
• Correctly registered cars to a specific owner.

Tax is charged from the moment the car is registered. After deregistration, the collection of the fee is terminated. If a company writes off cars based on accounting records, then the organization still needs to calculate and pay a fee.

Indicators for tax calculation

The transport tax is paid once a year by individuals, and companies are required in most regions to transfer advance payments. When calculating this fee, different indicators are taken into account:

• the tax base is represented by the technical parameters of the car, namely its power;
• if a tax is calculated for air transport, then it is taken into accountthrust;
• for water transport, you have to calculate the capacity, which is the tax base;
• the calculation uses the age of the car or its emission class, and these indicators are set by the local authorities of a particular region;
• if the cost of the car is high, then under Art. 362 of the Tax Code, it is classified as an expensive car, therefore, higher rates are applied to the owners of such objects.

Calculation for individuals is carried out by specialists of the Federal Tax Service, so people are not obliged to determine the amount of payment themselves. The transport tax of legal entities is calculated directly by companies, which must additionally submit relevant declarations to the inspection once a year.

Tax rates

In art. 361 of the Tax Code lists all rates used to calculate this fee. They may be slightly changed by regional authorities, therefore, in order to accurately find out the 2018 transport tax rates, it is recommended to contact the regional office of the Federal Tax Service directly for information.

Local authorities can increase federal rates by a maximum of 10 times. To determine the amount of payment, it is required to multiply a well-defined rate by the tax base.

Do I need to file a declaration?

The need to submit a declaration to the Federal Tax Service is available only for companies that own different vehicles.

Individuals receive special notifications from the Federal Tax Service, on the basis of which a fee is paid in the form of a fee. If inthere is no receipt within the established deadlines, it is optimal to contact the inspection department on your own to obtain it. The absence of a document cannot become a basis for non-payment of tax, therefore, in any case, a fine will be charged.

Who can qualify for benefits?

Transport tax payments must be made by all car owners, who may be private owners or businesses. At the same time, at the regional level, local authorities can establish different categories of beneficiaries who can count on discounts or even exemption from paying the fee.

The following persons are normally exempt from these payments:

• owners of motor boats whose engine power does not exceed 5 horsepower;
• owners of cars designed for the disabled, as well as having a power not exceeding 100 horsepower;
• owners of agricultural machinery;
• people whose cars are stolen and officially wanted;
• owners of trucks over 12 tons.

In some regions, pensioners or families with many children, low-income citizens or other people belonging to other vulnerable categories of the population are exempted from the obligation to pay this fee.

How to take advantage of benefits?

If a person can enjoy relief from the state, then he must independently deal with their registration. To do this, you will have to visit the department of the Federal Tax Service, where thebenefit application.

Based on this application, the inspection staff will recalculate and stop sending receipts to the citizen.

Corporate tax rules

Firms must independently calculate the amount of the fee, for which the current transport tax rates in 2018 are taken into account. They do not receive any notifications from the Federal Tax Service, therefore it is the company's accountant who must take care of the transfer of funds and the transfer of the declaration to the Federal Tax Service in a timely manner.

Most areas require advance transport tax. To do this, the calculation is carried out quarterly, after which funds are transferred based on the results of each quarter. The final tax is transferred next year before the beginning of February.

Payment due dates

All taxpayers should know when the transport tax in 2018 is paid to the Federal Tax Service. Transfer terms depend on the status of the car owner:

• organizations must transfer the entire tax before February 1 of the next year, and in many regions, employees of the Federal Tax Service require additional transfers of advance payments during the reporting year;
• individuals pay funds only once a year, and the amount must be transferred before December 1 of the next year.

For 2018, citizens must pay funds before December 1, 2019.

What else do you need to know?

Each car owner wants to reduce the amount of tax or even enter the preferential category in order not to pay fundsto the regional budget. But it is important to take into account some significant requirements:

• benefits can vary significantly in different regions, so you need to clarify the possibility of using different exemptions yourself at the regional branch of the Federal Tax Service;
• benefits are provided only on the basis of an application submitted to the Federal Tax Service, therefore citizens must themselves be the initiators of their registration;
• From 2018, owners of trucks over 12 tons will be exempted from paying this fee, and this also applies to agricultural machinery, so citizens will not receive receipts for paying the fee this year;
• companies are practically not granted various concessions if they do not work in agriculture or do not specialize in freight transportation;
• if the car owner is forced to send the car for repair, which will lead to the fact that he will not be able to use it for a long time, then this cannot be the basis for suspending the payment of the fee;
• if the car is stolen by intruders, as a result of which the car is put on the wanted list, then the owner is exempted from paying tax from the moment of theft, but this requires submitting supporting documents to the Federal Tax Service.

The need to pay tax ceases exclusively from the moment when the car is deregistered. Some car owners use the trick of deregistering the car for repairs, but this process is not free, so people usually have to bear the higher costs.

Conclusion

Transport tax is considered a significant regional tax. It is paid by all vehicle owners, both companies and individuals. Each taxpayer should be aware of all the changes being made to the legislation so as not to violate the requirements of the law, which will lead to their bringing to administrative responsibility.

Terms for the transfer of funds differ for firms and private car owners. The opportunity to use various benefits assigned not only at the federal, but also at the regional level is taken into account.