The existing legislative framework involves the collection of real estate taxes from tax residents of the Russian Federation. This collection is classified as local, therefore all funds collected are sent to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, which are largely formed from tax payments of citizens.
However, federal legislation determines that a number of socially vulnerable categories of citizens have significant benefits related to taxation issues . In particular, pensioners are completely exempt from paying property taxes.
Tax benefits for pensioners
According to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and in connection with the increase in the retirement age, some rules for receiving benefits for pensioners in 2021 have changed.
Now women aged 55 and men aged 60 claim part of the tax benefits. People of these ages and above are divided into two categories: working and non-working pensioners. This affects the receipt of tax benefits. What tax benefits are available to pensioners?
- Land;
- Property;
- Transport;
- When paying court fees and personal income tax;
- Social.
Additional material support for non-working people of retirement age is the indexation of the insurance pension by 6.3%. The social payment is also increased, which is confirmed by the increased monthly payment from February 1, 2021 for all pensioners.
Do I need to pay tax for a second apartment?
Years of inflation have convinced citizens of only one thing: keeping their savings in national currency is extremely short-sighted. That is why more and more people prefer to keep their capital in real estate, if possible. But having owned a second apartment, a logical question arises: does the tax base change? It is important to understand this issue for several reasons:
- in 2021, the taxation system for personal real estate has changed;
- starting from 2021, the taxation of property included in the housing stock is tied to the cadastral value (before that there was a BTI assessment);
- The tax scheme for citizens who have more than one apartment has changed.
Another thing is the buyer who acquires a second apartment in his property. When purchasing real estate, citizens of the Russian Federation can take advantage of a tax deduction, which will reduce some expenses. However, you need to remember that this procedure is available only once within one calendar year, and therefore can be applied to the second apartment if it has not been used for the first.
In addition, there is a regular property tax that most Russian citizens must pay. This tax is tied directly to the real estate itself and has nothing to do with its total amount owned by an individual. Thus, the tax for each of the apartments is first calculated, after which it can be summed up or paid separately. Until 2015, in general, taxes on apartments were quite low, both in the regions and in the capital. Now the situation is a little different.
Transport tax benefits
Transport tax benefits for pensioners in 2021 are established by each region independently; they are not provided for at the federal level, so they may vary significantly in different constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Local authorities have the opportunity to either partially or completely exempt certain categories of residents from paying taxes. Federal cities boast some of the highest rates.
In Moscow, for a car with an engine up to 200 hp. With. The following groups of people do not pay transport fees, which also includes people of retirement age:
- Veterans and disabled people of the Great Patriotic War and other military operations;
- Heroes of the USSR and the Russian Federation;
- Participants in man-made disasters (liquidators of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and others);
- Citizens who have received the Order of Glory of three degrees;
- Former minor prisoners of fascist concentration camps.
In St. Petersburg, the benefits are more specific and profitable: all citizens of pre-retirement and retirement age do not pay transport tax for one vehicle with a capacity of up to 150 hp. With. Another condition is the place of its production - Russia or the EAEU. Veterans, disabled people and heroes are 100% exempt from transport tax, but there are additional restrictions on engine power.
The standard rules for supporting pensioners in Russia are as follows:
- Reducing the tax rate;
- Tax rebate applicable to low-power vehicles.
Who can apply
Pensioners who retired based on reaching a specific age are exempt from paying personal income tax on their state pension. Additionally, they receive benefits during the calculation of property and land taxes. At regional levels, senior citizens are often exempt from paying transport tax or can enjoy a significant discount.
Additional concessions on other types of fees are offered to labor veterans and disabled people. If a citizen continues to officially work even after receiving a pension, he still receives certain benefits for various fees.
Reference! Transport tax is a regional payment, so its size and the possibility of obtaining a discount are provided exclusively by local authorities.
Property tax benefits
The amount of property tax relief for pensioners in 2021 is fixed at both the local and federal levels. Not only pensioners, but also people of pre-retirement age count on this type of financial support.
The calculation scheme is familiar - the holder of the benefit can choose only one piece of real estate, which will not be subject to taxation. These include:
- House, part of a house;
- Apartment, part of it;
- Room;
- Garage or other place intended for parking cars;
- Construction on a summer cottage area of up to 50 square meters. m.;
- And other premises (including those where a person is engaged in creative or any other activity, but does not use it for commercial purposes).
That is, if a pensioner is the owner of a private house on land and an apartment in a new building, then he is completely exempt from tax payments. If, for example, there are two houses on land and an apartment, he can choose one of the private houses for state support. Notification of your choice must be submitted before December 31 of the current year, for which the tax is calculated.
In the event that a citizen for some reason has not applied for a benefit for the property he has chosen, the inspectorate will independently provide it for the largest tax amount of the property owned.
Any profit made using real estate deprives the pensioner of the right to financial support for tax payments.
If a benefit recipient purchases a new house or is engaged in construction on his own, then he can write an application to the tax authority for reimbursement of cash expenses - a tax deduction.
Don't forget about your spouse
If a pensioner is officially married and his spouse has income subject to income tax (NDFL), then in some cases a deduction can be obtained through him.
Features of the distribution of property tax deductions between spouses in marriage are discussed in detail in our article “Features of tax deductions when spouses purchase an apartment/house”
If you have not yet purchased a home, we recommend our partner’s site-guide, APARTMENT-Bez-AGENTA.ru. This is an educational site for those who want to understand the rules for buying and selling apartments.
Land benefits
Land tax benefits for pensioners in 2021 have clearly defined boundaries - citizens have every right not to pay for 6 acres of their own land. If a private plot has an area above the established size, then the difference must be paid.
The group of tax benefit recipients also includes heroes of the USSR and the Russian Federation, disabled people of the first and second groups, veterans, etc.
Pensioners who own several plots of land are required to choose one if they wish. Pensioners must inform the Federal Tax Service about their choice or when they become entitled to a property tax benefit before December 31 of the current year.
You can learn more about the specifics of land tax rates in the “Important to know” section at the following link.
Types of real estate to which the benefit applies
The benefit in the form of exemption from NIFL covers the following DIFFERENT TYPES of real estate:
A pensioner who owns several real estate properties of the SAME TYPE can, at his discretion, choose the one that will be exempt from NIFL (for the rest he will have to pay tax, “like everyone else”).
Of course, in such cases it is advisable to apply the benefit to the most expensive object.
Personal income tax benefits
Personal income tax is the main type of direct taxes for individuals. By law, this tax is not imposed on any type of pension, including old-age and disability payments. This, of course, has a direct benefit for citizens receiving these payments.
As for the wages of working pensioners or pre-retirees: funds received as a result of commercial activities (rent or sale of housing, business and other types of income), this will have to be shared with the state in any case.
Working pensioners, in turn, can take advantage of very beneficial support from the state: on their income, taxed at a rate of multiples of 13%, they have the right to file a claim for a property deduction and return personal income tax. That is, a pensioner buying a property can receive compensation for the personal income tax paid for the year in which he purchased it and for the previous 3 years (a total refund for 4 years).
Obtaining a property deduction for additional income
If a pensioner has any income that is subject to income tax at a rate of 13% (personal income tax), then he can apply a property deduction to it for the purchase of housing (Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 6, 2013 N 03-04-05/7-181, dated 12/21/2012 N 03-04-05/7-1419, Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 04/06/2011 N KE-4-3/ [email protected] ).
Examples of such income could be:
- income from renting an apartment;
- income from the sale of property (for example, an apartment);
- additional non-state pension;
- salary (if the pensioner continues to work in retirement).
Example: pensioner Yablokova O.V. receives a state pension, and she also officially rents out the apartment. The money she receives from renting out an apartment is subject to income tax.
Yablokova O.V. Every year he submits a 3-NDFL declaration, where he declares income from renting out an apartment and pays tax. In 2020 Yablokova O.V. I bought myself another apartment. Starting from 2021 Yablokova O.V. has the right to apply a property deduction from the purchase of an apartment to the tax from the rental of the apartment.
Accordingly, Yablokova will not pay tax on renting out an apartment until the property deduction is completely exhausted.
Example: Vasiliev V.V. retired in 2011. In 2021 Vasiliev V.V. sold an apartment that he had owned for less than 3 years for 2 million rubles and bought a house for 5 million rubles. Since Vasiliev owned the apartment for less than 3 years, when selling it he must pay income tax (13%) in the amount of 130 thousand rubles (based on the calculation that he used the standard deduction when selling property to reduce the taxable amount by 1 million rubles).
When buying a house from Vasilyev V.V. the right to use a property tax deduction when purchasing housing has also appeared in the amount of the maximum deduction amount - 2 million rubles (260 thousand rubles to be refunded). Since the purchase of a house and the sale of an apartment were carried out in the same calendar year, the taxpayer has the right to offset the tax.
Accordingly, Vasiliev V.V. will not have to pay tax on income from the sale of an apartment, and he will also have an unused balance of property deduction in the amount of 1 million rubles (130 thousand rubles to be returned). He will be able to use the remainder of the property deduction if he has other income in the future, subject to income tax at a rate of 13%.
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.
Leave without pay
Working pensioners who receive an old-age insurance pension have the right to go on leave at any time without pay.
(Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). But only for a certain period:
- up to 14 calendar days per year - for working old-age pensioners;
- up to 60 calendar days per year for working disabled pensioners.
If you need leave for a longer period, then this should be discussed with your superiors.
To receive this benefit, simply submit an application to the HR department.
How can retirees get tax benefits in 2021?
In order to receive benefits for paying taxes for pensioners in 2021 (for transport, land, property taxes), an individual must submit an application. To complete the corresponding application, you will need a passport and pension certificate.
There are several ways to qualify for benefits:
- Contact the tax office in person;
- Send a registered letter;
- Contact the MFC;
- Submit an application in your personal account online.
You also need to take into account the deadline for submitting your application. If an individual has reached pre-retirement age in 2021, then the application must be submitted before May 1, 2022. If you did not manage to submit your application on time, remember that the tax office will only be able to recalculate it for 3 years. It is better to contact the Federal Tax Service in advance and take care of future financial support. The recalculation is completed within a month; if, after this period, tax charges arrive in the same amount, contact the tax office directly. There they will explain to you why preferential accounting did not occur when calculating the total amount.
Registration procedure
Federal Tax Service employees do not process benefits, so pensioners must take care of receiving benefits on their own. For this purpose, a special application is drawn up and submitted to representatives of the tax service. When visiting a Federal Tax Service office in person, you must have a passport and a pensioner’s certificate with you.
The procedure can be performed through the service’s personal account . After registration, the information in the application is entered automatically, so you just need to indicate the object for which the benefit will be issued.
Documents proving the citizen’s right to benefits are attached to the application.
These include:
- copy of the passport;
- a certificate from the Pension Fund, which confirms that the applicant is represented as a pensioner or pre-retirement person;
- papers for land, real estate or car.
Representatives of the Federal Tax Service request the missing documentation from other government agencies. The application is drawn up in the prescribed form, so a sample and form can be found on the service’s website or asked from the organization’s employees. The application is considered within 30 days, after which the pensioner is notified of the decision.
If the decision is positive, the citizen can request a recalculation of the overpaid tax for the previous three years.
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.
The right to days off for medical examination
In Russia there is a program for free medical examinations - examinations by doctors. To undergo mandatory medical examination, employees receiving old-age or long-service pensions are given additional days off - 2 days annually, while maintaining their place of work (position) and average earnings.
To get a day off, you must submit an application to management in any form, but indicating the date of release from work. By the way, the employer can refuse by setting another date.
After going to the doctor, you must present a certificate. Otherwise, the employer has the right to count these days as absenteeism.
