Implied income is the minimum value that an entrepreneur should strive for

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

Do you think it is possible to pay tax on income that you do not actually receive? It turns out that it is possible, moreover, this obligation is confirmed by law. But how can this be? In order to deal with this circumstance, it is necessary to understand the meaning of such a term as imputed income. This is a potentially possible amount of money that a taxpayer can receive in the form of income by engaging in a certain type of activity (a complete list of all types can be found in the Tax Code, Article No. 2). It is calculated on the basis of a combination of factors affecting the receipt of income by an entrepreneur and is the basis for levying the corresponding tax.

The amount of imputed income is not actual (real), but potential, which is supposed to be received for a particular type of activity. In essence, it is a forcedthe amount on which the tax will be taken in any case. And if you can’t achieve it, then you should think about whether it’s worth doing this kind of business at all. In this case, it is assumed that if your real cash inflow is lower than imputed income, this indicates the inefficiency of this type of activity and the need to take some measures (increase income or close / sell the enterprise).

The criteria that are taken into account for calculating such a value can be as follows: the number of employees, square meters of premises, productivity, consumer flow and others. Thus, physical indicators (set "from above") are evaluated, and not actual performance.

The single tax on imputed income is a relatively "young" phenomenon in the Russian tax system. It was adopted in 2000 and remains valid to this day. The reasons for the introduction of such an indicator were explained as follows: for each type of activity there is a certain average amount of money that an entrepreneur is able to earn per month. And the activity will be considered effective (profitable/expedient) only if it is possible to achieve this "basic income". It should be clarified that the tax is paid from this imputed value, adjusted for a number of coefficients. These include such parameters as the dynamics of profitability, adjusted for changes in the financial system of the Russian Federation (K1); territorial coefficient(K2).

The amount of imputed income, calculated taking into account K2, is the closest to the real income and reflects the operating conditions of a particular enterprise in a particular region. It is this coefficient that shows the priorities of local authorities regarding the support of certain business segments, the provision of benefits to various categories of entrepreneurs, etc. Although it greatly complicates the process of calculating the tax base. The formula by which it is determined looks something like this:

VD=DB(N1 + N2 + N3)K1K2, where

VD is, of course, an imputed income. BD - basic income, taking into account physical indicators (N1/2/3) and adjusted for coefficients (K1/2). More details about each of them used in the case of a particular business activity can be found in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Thus, when planning to engage in a certain type of business, you should take into account the imputed income calculated for it. This will allow you to understand how much you should aim for when creating a business plan, and try to exceed it when starting the actual implementation of your project.