Many people who have retired have pensions that barely correspond to the minimum subsistence level. To make life easier for the population of our country, tax benefits for pensioners have been developed. They cover:
- real estate and movable property,
- travel expenses to a vacation spot,
- land tax.
What are provided
The legislation of the Russian Federation defines both types of support measures and categories of citizens who can use certain options. An important factor is a person’s place of residence, since some support measures are regulated at the subject level.
At the Federation level, support measures are regulated by the following articles of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation:
- Art. 217 (regarding personal income tax);
- Art. 391 (in part of land);
- Art. 407 (regarding property).
Subjects of the Federation can establish additional provisions, for example, reducing the tax base. You can find out the specifics of regional taxation on the website of the Federal Tax Service, in the “Reference Information” section.
First you need to select the tax you are interested in.
The system will issue a regional regulation establishing tax rates and payment terms.
By clicking on the “Details” button, you will be taken to a page where rates, regional benefits, etc. are indicated.
How to start paying for your future pension
You must pay by December 31 of the year you want to use in your pension. If you want 2021 to be counted as work experience, you must pay before December 31, 2021.
Submit your application
To become a participant in the voluntary pension insurance program, you need to submit an application to the Pension Fund:
- You can print out the form established by law, fill it out and take it to the Pension Fund of your region.
- Or you can do this through the “My Tax” application for self-employed people, automatically.
In the application, click “Other”, then “PFR” - this is access to registration in the voluntary program.
How much do you need to pay
For ordinary citizens, the amount of voluntary contribution per year of service depends on the minimum wage. Special rates are set for the self-employed - in 2020 it is 32,448 rubles.
You can check the current cost at the Pension Fund branch or in the “My Tax” application - the service will show the required amount for the year of experience after registering in the program. You can pay contributions in the entire amount at once or by dividing it into any parts. If you pay below the fixed amount, a prorated period will be added to the length of service.
How to transfer money
Details for payment receipts can be generated through the Pension Fund electronic service. You can pay through the “My Tax” application using a bank card.
Who is eligible
Let us consider in more detail which categories of persons may be entitled to what.
| Category name | Options |
| Old age pensioners | Pensioners are exempt:
|
| veteran of labour | Benefits for pensioners:
|
| Citizens who continue to work | Tax benefit for pensioners:
|
| Disabled people of groups 1, 2, 3 |
|
Thus, tax benefits for pensioners on real estate, transport, personal income tax, and other types of them are a significant amount of help for the category of persons under consideration.
How can a self-employed person receive an insurance pension?
Now there are two options, both legal. The bottom line is that a self-employed person needs to somehow accumulate work experience and pension points in his individual pension account.
Work and be self-employed at the same time
You can get a job - the law does not prohibit combining regular work activities and self-employment. If you are hired officially, under an employment contract, then you become a participant in compulsory pension insurance.
Contributions to the pension fund, which are then “turned” into points, will be paid by the employer. Experience will also be accrued.
If you work under an employment contract, then the employer also pays taxes on your salary - this is personal income tax, 13%. The money you receive from it does not need to be spent through the application for self-employed people and issued a receipt - otherwise the system will think that this is your additional income and will add taxes.
The employer pays taxes on wages. Additional income is self-employment, you write checks. Pension points and length of service are accumulated without your personal participation.
Pay yourself
This is called voluntary pension insurance - you can buy additional length of service and pension points if you want to receive an insurance pension in old age.
Land tax
Such collection is the authority of local authorities. But at the Federation level, mechanisms have been established that reduce the amount by the cadastral value of their existing land with an area of 600 square meters. m. This means that you do not need to pay for plots of 6 acres or less.
A complete exemption from payment can be established by the authorities of the municipalities of the subject, so information of this kind can be obtained from the local administration.
Article 395 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation completely exempts from land tax only residents of the North, Siberia, and the Far East, if they belong to the category of small peoples.
Targeted social assistance for pensioners
For low-income pensioners who are in difficult life situations, the law provides for targeted social assistance.
It is provided by social security authorities in the form of one-time or monthly payments, according to the rules of the relevant region.
But at the same time, Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (clause
exempts only amounts of one-time social assistance from personal income tax. Therefore, monthly payments are subject to income tax (this is stated in the letter of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated March 14, 2021 No. 03-04-06/15644).
Unfortunately, no changes in this regard are expected in the law.
Transport tax
This fee is regional. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not contain specific rules for exemption from payments for transport, but there are still some peculiarities.
Transport tax is not paid for:
- agricultural machinery;
- water transport with a power of less than 5 HP. With.;
- cars and motorcycles with a power of less than 100 hp. pp., as well as transport, which serves as a means of rehabilitation for the disabled.
Regional differences exist. Thus, some entities are reducing the rate or completely eliminating the payment of amounts.
This type of support is not available in all regions. The vast majority of areas maintain a tax on cars, regardless of whether a person uses the car throughout the year or seasonally.
How to quickly pay current taxes online?
You can find out about any tax charges and quickly pay them using the “Payment for Government Services” portal. All you need to do is follow the link to pay your taxes online and then search. Just enter your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or UIN and view the full information about your debts without leaving your home. After all payment transactions have been completed, you will receive confirmation of payment - an electronic receipt.
Using this portal, you can always be aware of any tax arrears and prevent penalties from increasing. Data is updated in the GIS GMP and the Federal Tax Service databases daily, for the balance and current status of the taxpayer - within 7-10 days from the date of payment.
Personal income tax
This fee is the main source of income for local budgets, therefore no benefits are provided at the federal level.
However, pension payments are not included in the tax base and, accordingly, are not subject to personal income tax. These are:
- pensions, social benefits;
- the amount of financial assistance from the employer to former employees who went on vacation, for sanatorium treatment, medical care, medications, but in the amount of no more than 4,000 rubles per year
In addition, by purchasing real estate, you can receive a personal income tax deduction. The conditions are the purchase at the expense of the senior citizen and the transfer of the object into his ownership.
Support measures of this type do not apply to real estate properties worth more than 300 million rubles.
You need to understand that if the property is used for profit (for example, renting out an apartment), the person will not receive any relief.
Where to start applying the benefit
Now about how to apply for a real estate benefit for a pensioner.
To take advantage of it, he submits an application to the Federal Tax Service for benefits on real estate for a pensioner. Its form is fixed by order of the Federal Tax Service dated November 14, 2021 No. ММВ-7-21/897.
Also, if desired, the pensioner can additionally submit documents confirming his right to the benefit.
If a pensioner has previously applied to the Federal Tax Service with such an application and it did not indicate that the benefit is for a limited period, then there is no need to resubmit the application.
Also see: The Most Important Thing About Receiving Your Tax Notice in 2018.
Benefits for pre-retirees
In the Russian Federation last year, there were lengthy consultations on the issue of supporting people whose retirement age has been raised. As a result, from 2021, Federal Law No. 378-FZ dated October 30, 2018 supplemented paragraph 5 of Article 391 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with an important provision that secured tax benefits for the “pre-retirement” category.
Who belongs to the category
The group under consideration includes only those who have 5 years or less left until the period when they will be assigned an old-age insurance pension. This category also includes persons for whom an old-age insurance pension is established on an early basis. In accordance with the new provisions of the law, men retire at 65 years old, women at 60 years old. This means that upon completion of the reform of the pension system, pre-retirees will include men over the age of 60 and women over 55 (if there are grounds for benefits upon retirement, the previously designated age). Thus, people who have less than five years left until retirement are eligible to claim new tax preferences.
In the coming period, while the transition stage continues, the age of the pre-retirement person will constantly change. In the period from 01/01/2019 to 12/31/2023, the pension threshold will be increased by one additional year, which means that the age of inclusion in the group of pre-retirees and the right to receive tax breaks will be adjusted.
Where is it more profitable to transfer the funded part of the pension?
After the introduction of the moratorium in 2014, many began to wonder whether it was worth transferring the funded part of the pension - the part that had been accumulated before the ban on payment was introduced. The answer is simple: if you do not want to lose on the profitability of your pension savings, then it is better to transfer the funded part of your pension to 2018-2019, because the moratorium has been extended.
Is it possible to transfer the funded part of the pension? Yes, this is not prohibited and is highly desirable, since by default the funded part will be transferred to the insurance part and, naturally, no increase in profitability should be expected.
Where can I transfer the funded part of my pension? To any non-state pension fund (hereinafter referred to as NPF). The future pensioner will only need to choose where it is best to transfer the funded part of the pension. It is highly advisable to opt for a non-state pension fund that is part of the guarantee system and has several management companies.
How to transfer the funded part of the pension? It is necessary to submit the appropriate transfer applications to the selected NPF and the Pension Fund.
Types of benefits for pensioners
For pensioners, the state has provided a list of taxes for which a person can apply and receive benefits.
Land tax benefits
A pensioner has the right to a tax benefit in the form of a reduction in payment by the cadastral value of 6 acres of land owned by him/her by right of ownership/lifelong ownership. This means that a plot of land within a given area is not subject to taxation - no tax payment is provided. If the area exceeds 6 acres, the tax payment on land will be calculated only in that part that exceeds 6 acres.
A pensioner can claim a tax benefit only for the 1st section.
IMPORTANT!
The right to the plot must be registered directly in the name of the pensioner - only in this case will he be able to claim a tax benefit.
Property tax benefits
A pensioner has the right to receive an exemption from tax payments for:
- apartment;
- House;
- garage;
- parking space;
- outbuilding with an area not exceeding 50 sq.m.
IMPORTANT!
A pre-retirement person can be exempt from tax payments for only one piece of real estate. If a pensioner has two apartments and two garages, the tax exemption will be established for only one apartment and one garage.
Transport tax
Transport tax benefits for pensioners do not apply to federal legislation. Each subject of the Russian Federation, both Moscow and any other, has the right to decide independently whether to provide such a measure of support to pensioners or not. Only the regional legislator decides who, in what amounts in rubles. or percentage and in what order can one claim a benefit for reducing the transport tax rate. In those regions where there is such a benefit for pensioners, it most often amounts to a discount of 50% of the amount of payment required by the pensioner.
State fees when going to court
In case of applying or filing claims to various types of judicial bodies (magistrates' court, pension fund, etc.), pensioners do not have to pay state fees. The following conditions affect this:
- The appeal is related specifically to the pension issue (non-payment of benefits, refusal to provide benefits and other problems);
- The pensioner's claims do not exceed 1 million rubles.
If questions arise from other areas, pensioners pay state fees in accordance with the general procedure.
How to apply
The answer to the question of how to apply for a tax benefit for a pensioner is as follows:
- contact your local Federal Tax Service office in person;
- send a set of documents by mail to the address of the local Federal Tax Service in the form of a registered letter;
- submit an application through the Federal Tax Service website;
- through your employer.
Documents you will need:
- Russian passport;
- certificate confirming status;
- TIN;
- documents on the ownership of the property for which a person claims a deduction.
Thus, the legislator, both at the Federation level and at the local level, has provided a number of concessions in the form of tax breaks for pensioners, while increasing the degree of their social protection.
Transfer of documents to the tax office
There are several ways to submit documents to the Federal Tax Service:
- during a personal inspection visit. The method has both pros and cons. The disadvantages include the loss of time. There are several advantages:
- You don’t have to fill out an application - the inspector will type it on the computer.
- An answer will be given immediately regarding acceptance of the deduction or refusal.
- All mistakes made when filling out the papers yourself will be detected and corrected.
- The visitor can personally verify that the deduction has been accepted.
- through MFC. The procedure is paid, but frees you from routine work (the application will be filled out by a service employee in the presence of the client);
- with the help of a legal representative with a power of attorney certified by a notary;
- by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. It must contain a list of the attached documents, and copies of the passport and pension book are certified by the head of the post office.
The development of IT technologies allows you to use one more method: through your Personal Account on the Federal Tax Service website. Instructions are presented in detail, with photographs, in the work “Transport Tax for Pensioners.”
