What are the rights and obligations of a tax agent? Tax agents Duties and responsibilities of tax agents

The rights of the taxpayer are established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and other acts of legislation on taxes and fees (for example, a resolution of the city duma). In accordance with the Tax Code, the taxpayer, in particular, has the right to:

to receive free information from the tax authorities at the place of registration on applicable taxes (fees), legislative and other regulations governing the procedure and conditions for their payment;

receive from tax authorities and other authorized state bodies written explanations on the application of legislation on taxes and fees;

use tax benefits in the prescribed manner if there are grounds;

receive a deferment, installment plan, tax credit or investment tax credit in the manner and on the terms provided for by the Tax Code;

for timely offset or refund of amounts of overpaid or overcharged taxes, penalties, fines;

represent their interests in tax legal relations personally or through their representative;

be present during the on-site tax audit;

not comply with illegal acts and requirements of tax authorities and their officials that do not comply with the Tax Code or other federal laws;

to appeal in accordance with the established procedure the decisions of tax authorities and actions (inaction) of their officials;

require tax secrecy.

Each decision of the taxpayer on non-execution of the acts and requirements of the tax authorities must be justified, since the refusal to comply is likely to cause a dispute between the tax authority and the taxpayer, and the taxpayer should be ready to prove the illegality of the acts and requirements presented to him in court.

The taxpayer, in particular, must:

pay legally established taxes;

register with the tax authorities, if such an obligation is provided for by the Tax Code;

keep records of their income (expenses) and objects of taxation in accordance with the established procedure, if such an obligation is provided for by the legislation on taxes and fees;

submit to the tax authority at the place of registration in accordance with the established procedure tax declarations on those taxes that it is obliged to pay, as well as financial statements;

submit to the tax authorities and their officials, in the cases provided for by the Tax Code, the documents necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes;

for four years, ensure the safety of accounting data and other documents necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes, as well as documents confirming the income received (for organizations, also expenses incurred) and paid (withheld) taxes.

It should be borne in mind that, by virtue of Art. 17 of the Federal Law "On Accounting" organizations are required to store primary accounting documents, accounting registers and financial statements for the periods established in accordance with the rules for organizing state archives, but not less than five years. Thus, despite the fact that the Tax Code obliges the taxpayer to ensure the safety of accounting data for four years, the period of storage of accounting documents cannot be less than five years. Other documents required for the calculation and payment of taxes, as well as documents confirming income received (for organizations - also expenses incurred) and taxes paid (withheld) must be kept by taxpayers (both organizations and individuals) for at least four years.

The Tax Code also provides for the obligation of organizations and individual entrepreneurs to submit additional information related to their activities to the tax authorities at the place of registration within strictly established deadlines:

on opening or closing accounts (within ten days);

about all cases of participation in Russian and foreign organizations (not later than a month from the date of the beginning of such participation);

about all separate subdivisions (branches and representative offices) established on the territory of the Russian Federation (not later than a month);

on declaration of insolvency (bankruptcy), on liquidation or reorganization (no later than three days from the date of such decision);

about changing their location or place of residence (no later than ten days).

Since, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 55 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, representative offices and branches must be indicated in the constituent documents of the legal entity that created them, the period for notifying the tax authorities begins to run from the moment the relevant changes and additions are made to the constituent documents.

The obligation of organizations and individuals to report a change in location (residence) has been established for the purpose of exercising operational tax control.

Individuals - taxpayers and payers of fees include:

citizens of the Russian Federation;

foreign citizens - persons who are not citizens of the Russian Federation and who have citizenship (nationality) of a foreign state;

stateless persons - persons who are not citizens of the Russian Federation and do not have evidence of citizenship of a foreign state.

Natural persons are individual entrepreneurs registered in the prescribed manner and carrying out entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity, as well as private notaries and lawyers who have established law offices.

Tax residents of the Russian Federation include individuals who actually stay on the territory of the Russian Federation for at least 183 days in 12 consecutive months (days of arrival and days of departure are considered days of stay on the territory of the Russian Federation). Short-term (up to 6 months) trips outside the Russian Federation for treatment or training are not taken into account. The issuance of confirmations of the status of a tax resident (a person with a permanent residence in the Russian Federation) to individuals for submission to the official bodies of foreign states in order to apply international treaties on the avoidance of double taxation is issued to individuals upon receipt of a written application (application) of an individual to the Federal Tax Service.

Unlike a taxpayer, a tax agent is not formally obliged to pay tax on his own income and at his own expense. The tax agent is only obliged to calculate (calculate) the amount of tax payable when performing a certain operation, withhold (that is, not pay) when paying money due to any person, and also transfer the specified amount to the budget.

Rights and obligations

Tax agents have the same rights as taxpayers, unless otherwise provided tax legislation.

Tax agents perform their duties of calculating, withholding and transferring tax, regardless of whether they themselves are taxpayers of the tax being paid. In addition, tax agents are required to:

correctly and timely calculate, withhold, transfer relevant taxes to the budgets;

notify the tax authority in writing of the impossibility of withholding tax;

keep records of accrued and paid income, accrued, withheld and transferred to the budget taxes separately for each taxpayer;

represent in tax authority documents necessary to exercise control over the calculation, withholding and transfer of taxes;

keep the necessary documents for four years.

In practice, tax agents, as a rule, are persons paying cash taxpayers or other persons who are not registered as taxpayers, but carry out transactions subject to taxation by any tax. So, in particular, the tax agent is the employer in relation to wages paid to employees. In Russia, tax agents calculate and pay VAT, personal income tax, corporate income tax.

As taxpayers, the legislation recognizes citizens and organizations that are obligated to make regular gratuitous and irrevocable contributions to the budget. In the cases provided for by the regulatory provisions, such entities are foreign structures that are not legal entities. The legislation also provides for such a category as tax agents. Their duties are somewhat wider and, accordingly, their responsibility is higher. Let us consider further the difference between taxpayers and tax agents.

Subject Responsibilities

As a general rule, taxpayers and tax agents must:

1. To carry out deductions of the amounts established by the law in the budget.
2. Register with the control office.
3. Maintain reports on income and expenses, as well as on objects of taxation in the prescribed manner.
4. Submit declarations to the tax office.
5. Send to the control body and its officials the documents that are necessary for the calculation and subsequent payment of mandatory fees.
6. Provide a book of accounting for expenses and income. This obligation is imposed on individual entrepreneurs, privately practicing notaries, lawyers who have established offices.
7. Send financial (accounting) annual reports to the control body no later than three months from the end of the period. This obligation is not imposed only on those organizations that, in accordance with Federal Law No. 402, are exempted from the need to keep records or are religious associations that have not had an object of taxation for a certain period.
8. Fulfill the requirements of control authorities to eliminate identified violations of the law, not interfere with the lawful activities of employees.
9. Ensure the safety of tax and accounting information, other documents required for the calculation and payment of established fees for 4 years. These include, among other things, data confirming the implementation of expenses and receipt of income.
10. Perform other duties stipulated in the Tax Code.

Tax agent

In some cases, it becomes necessary to accumulate financial resources of a large number of subjects. In this case, it is advisable to introduce another participant into the relationship. It is a tax agent (individual or organization). This subject has extended powers. In particular, the tax agent for personal income tax not only accepts, but also calculates and withholds the corresponding amounts. For example, when calculating the salary of employees, employers deduct deductions from it that are to be sent to the budget.

Specificity

Tax agents receive their status only for the purpose of performing specific duties. They, in turn, can be assigned only to those citizens and organizations that act as a source of income payment. In various respects, one entity can act as a tax agent and taxpayer. A person cannot renounce his status if he does not simultaneously resign from the obligation to transfer and pay income. Tax agents are, among other things, Russian organizations from which foreign legal entities receive profit, which acts as an object of taxation.

Legal options

The legislation establishes the following rights of tax agents:

What should tax agents do?

In accordance with the legislation, these entities have the following responsibilities:

1. Calculate withhold and pay the established amounts of fees to the budget. This provision is fixed in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 of Article 24 of the Tax Code.
2. Notify the control services and their employees about the results of their own activities. This prescription is provided for in subparagraphs 2 and 4 of paragraph 3 of Article 24 of the Tax Code.
3. Keep records in accordance with the procedure established by law. The specified obligation is established in the third subparagraph of paragraph 3 of Art. 24 of the Code.
4. Ensure proper preservation of the documentation necessary for the performance of their duties. This provision is fixed in the fifth subparagraph of paragraph 3 of the above article of the Tax Code.

General order

The obligation to deduct statutory payments to the budget means that the tax agent must timely and correctly calculate, withhold from the funds that he pays the taxpayer, and send them to the appropriate accounts of the prescribed taxes. One important point should be noted here. The rules of law that govern the procedure for deducting taxes provided for taxpayers are applicable to agents only in relation to the amounts withheld. Directly the very direction of the established fees to the budget is carried out according to general rules.

Informing

The obligation to notify the control body and its employees of the results of the activities carried out implies that within a specified period (within a month) at the place of registration, the subject reports:

1. On the impossibility of withholding from the taxpayer the amounts provided for by law.
2. About the total debt.

In addition, the law establishes the obligation to provide the documentation necessary to control the correctness of the calculation of the amounts that the tax agent calculated, withheld and transferred (for personal income tax, to off-budget funds).

Accounting

The obligation to keep records in the prescribed manner for a tax agent implies the need for personal (for each individual taxpayer) and general (for all subjects) generalization of information about:

Responsibility

As mentioned above, the requirements for tax agents are higher than for payers. This is due to the wider powers of the former in comparison with the latter. In tax legal relations, an agent, unlike, for example, a representative of the payer, represents not his, but his own interests. For non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the requirements established in legislative norms, the former is subject to more stringent sanctions. At the same time, the law does not allow a taxpayer to be held liable for violations committed by a tax agent in his activities. This provision also applies to cases of improper fulfillment by the latter of the obligations imposed on him by law to calculate, withhold and send the necessary amounts to the budget.

Taxes are paid by taxpayers on their own, but in some cases they are transferred not directly, but through tax agents. A tax agent is a person who calculates taxes, withholds them from the taxpayer, and then pays the withheld taxes to the budget (clause 1, article 24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

In this material, we will consider who they are - tax agents, their rights and obligations.

Types of tax agents

Tax agents can be both organizations and individual entrepreneurs. The most common example for tax agents is employers who are agents for personal income tax for their employees. According to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, you can become a tax agent for three taxes:

• For personal income tax, all employers are recognized as tax agents. When paying income to their employees and other individuals, they must withhold income tax from it, then transfer it to the budget. Agents must submit personal income tax reports to the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate: annual certificates 2-NDFL and quarterly form 6-NDFL.
• For VAT, tax agents are recognized as persons who themselves may not be among the payers of this tax. Thus, an organization can become a VAT agent by renting state property from authorities, or by buying goods (services, works) sold in Russia from foreign persons, or by selling goods of foreign sellers as an intermediary when participating in settlements, etc. (Articles 146, 161 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If a VAT payer acts as an agent, he can accept the tax paid in this capacity for deduction (clause 3, article 171 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). When submitting a VAT return, the agent must fill out section 2 on the tax payable according to the tax agent.
• The concept of "tax agent" for income tax refers to organizations paying: dividends to legal entities (Russian and foreign), interest on state or municipal securities (Article 310.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), income to foreign firms without permanent representative offices in the Russian Federation (clause 1 article 309 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The legal status of tax agents obliges them, like income tax payers, to file a declaration, and if the tax was withheld for foreign legal entities, a tax calculation.

Tax agents: their rights and obligations

A tax agent pays taxes for other persons, and not for himself, while he has exactly the same rights that a taxpayer is vested with, unless the tax legislation provides otherwise (clause 24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The rights of tax agents are provided in accordance with Art. 21 and 22 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to which they, in particular, can:

• receive information from the IFTS on taxes, fees, current regulatory acts on taxation, tax reporting forms, etc., and from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and regional authorities - explanations on emerging issues of applying tax legislation,
• take advantage of tax incentives, if any,
• receive deferment, installment plan, investment tax credit, if there are grounds for it,
• timely receive offset / refund of overpayments on taxes (penalties, fines),
• conduct reconciliation with tax authorities, receive reconciliation acts with the IFTS,
• provide explanations to the IFTS on accrued / paid taxes, as well as on acts of tax audits,
• be personally present during an on-site tax audit, receive copies of audit reports and decisions of tax authorities, tax requirements and notifications,
• do not comply with unlawful requirements of the tax authorities, as well as appeal against the acts of the Federal Tax Service.

The main duties assigned to tax agents of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation are the correct and timely calculation, withholding and transfer of tax for the taxpayer. In addition, the tax agent is obliged (Article 24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• inform the IFTS in writing about the amount of the taxpayer's tax debt that cannot be withheld from him - this must be done within a month,
• keep records of accrued and paid income, taxes withheld from each taxpayer,
• submit documents to the tax authorities, allowing to control the correctness of tax calculation,
• at least 4 years to keep the documents required for the calculation, withholding, transfer of taxes.

The above list is not exhaustive, since everyone who is a tax agent is also subject to other requirements provided for by tax legislation: the duties of tax agents for VAT reporting are provided for in paragraph 5 of Art. 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, features of withholding personal income tax by agents - art. 226 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, etc.

Failure to fulfill the duties of a tax agent

If any obligations are not fulfilled by the agent, the Federal Tax Service authorities may apply appropriate sanctions.

Responsibility of tax agents occurs when the tax from the taxpayer is not withheld / not transferred to the budget, or the deduction and transfer is made, but only partially. The tax agent expects a fine of 20% of the amount to be withheld and paid, as well as a penalty fee. The tax authorities can apply this measure only when the agent had the opportunity to withhold tax from the taxpayer (Articles 75, 123 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If the tax agent does not submit the necessary reports to the IFTS within the prescribed period, he will also be fined. For a declaration that has not been submitted or filed late, the tax agent faces a 5% fine calculated on the amount unpaid on this declaration, for each full and incomplete overdue month from the date set for its submission. At the same time, the maximum fine is limited to 30% of this amount, and its minimum will be 1,000 rubles (Article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

A 6-personal income tax calculation that has not been submitted on time by a tax agent will cost the agent a fine of 1,000 rubles for each full and incomplete month of delay (clause 1.2 of article 126 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In the absence of certificates of income of individuals in the form 2-NDFL, the tax agent will have to pay a fine of 200 rubles for each of the certificates not submitted (clause 1, article 126 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Submission by a tax agent of reporting containing unreliable figures and data threatens him with a fine of 500 rubles for each such document (Article 126.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The definition of the concept of "tax agent" is presented in article 24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. It follows from it that a tax agent is a legal entity that is entrusted with the responsibility of controlling timely deductions to the budget of the Russian Federation and their volume.

Thus, Russian legislation indicates the existence of each tax agent in two roles: he monitors the payment of all necessary taxes, and on the other hand, he is a representative of the interests of the taxpayer.

The use of tax agents is advisable both for the state and for the taxpayer, as it allows both of them to avoid many costs.

It is worth noting that the organization that performs the functions of an agent pays taxes not for their own activities, but for the activities of another taxpayer(employees of the enterprise and/or legal entity).

Any person who belongs (by type of activity) to one of the the following categories:

1. Purchasing goods/services from non-NU members.
2. Selling goods owned by non-NU members.
3. Leasing state property (federal or subjects of the Russian Federation).
4. Those engaged in the purchase of state property that does not belong to state organizations.
5. Carrying out the sale of property that has a special status (confiscated, ownerless, etc.).

A tax agent is a legal entity (LLC, CJSC, etc.) or an individual entrepreneur during the payment of wages and other types of income to individuals in cash. These are recognized as:

1. Organizations registered in Russia, or foreign, having an official representation in the Russian Federation.
2. Lawyers and notaries who profit from private practice.

In case of payment income tax a tax agent becomes a person who must withhold part of the profit in order to transfer funds from the following items to the budget of the Russian Federation:

1. Dividend payments to individual shareholders/shareholder companies.
2. Payment to organizations that have not registered a permanent representative office in Russia and, therefore, are not registered with the Federal Tax Service.

Rights and obligations

According to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the rights and obligations of a tax agent are:

1. Withholding a certain part of the profits of legal entities and individuals in order to transfer them to the budget of the Russian Federation within the time limits established by law.
2. Issuance of funds to individuals and legal entities after payment of taxes.
3. In the case of a tax agent working with foreign citizens who are not registered with the Federal Tax Service, or companies that do not have a representative office in Russia, it is the tax agent who must transfer income after paying taxes.
4. Timely report to the IFTS.
5. Keep records of all financial activities related to professional activities.
6. To bear responsibility in case of untimely payment of taxes to the budget of the Russian Federation.
7. Prepare invoices in situations established by tax legislation, submit them to the IFTS.
8. Timely notification of the tax service if it is not possible to withhold part of the income (for example, if the taxpayer received some property as income).

Operating procedure

The work of a tax agent depends on which of the taxes must be paid to the state treasury.

Not later than the 20th day of the month following the reporting period for paying taxes (month/quarter during which certain economic operations were performed), payment VAT to the budget of the Russian Federation.

If the reason for paying VAT is the sale of the debtor's property, then you should carefully monitor whether the debtor is declared bankrupt or not. If the debtor is declared bankrupt, then all actions related to the transfer of property cannot be considered subject to value added tax.

The work of a tax agent in the case of paying income tax consists in calculating the amount of necessary payments to the budget and transferring dividends to shareholders / owners of company shares (each individually). In this case, it is required to provide the supervisory authority (INFS) with one of following documents:

1. When disbursing funds to persons (legal entities and/or individuals) who are registered in the Russian Federation - a tax return for income tax.
2. When paying dividends to persons who do not have Russian citizenship, or to foreign companies that have not registered their official representative office in the Russian Federation, a special tax calculation is required.
3. Ensure the safety of all reporting documentation for the period established by law (up to 4 years).

Upon payment personal income tax the tax agent must:

1. Timely report to regulatory authorities if tax withholding is not possible.
2. Provide reliable information to the IFTS on the amount of income of individuals. persons and withheld taxes through the submission of a 2-NDFL certificate and the calculation of amounts according to Form No. 6 established by Order of the Federal Tax Service.

It is worth noting that the payment of funds to the treasury must be made precisely from the income of an individual. The transfer of funds of a tax agent instead of the funds of the above-mentioned person, according to the current tax legislation, is not allowed.

Also, the employer does not have the right to introduce into the employment contract any wording hinting at the full or partial payment of tax amounts at the expense of the above-mentioned agent.

Responsibility of the tax agent

For violation of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and non-fulfillment by a tax agent of the duties assigned to him, the latter may be held liable in accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation.

Such measures can be applied only to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.

If the tax agent unlawfully fails to transfer the funds required for payment, he will fined. The amount of the established fine is 20% of the amount to be transferred to the Federal Tax Service.

The opportunity is obvious forced collection of funds located in bank accounts: this can happen if the established amount of tax is not paid on time. At the same time, penalties and arrears are charged from the agent out of court, a fine - on the contrary.

It should be noted that a tax agent may be fined in the amount of 1,000 to 5,000 rubles for failure to provide the relevant regulatory authority with data on the impossibility of paying taxes, the amount of debts, as well as the loss of documents within 1 month.