How to conduct an OSS in 2021. Features and procedure

A homeowners' association is a form of residential property management. Most often they are created in apartment buildings with the aim of maintaining the residential and non-residential stock of apartment buildings in proper condition, for the development and improvement of the territory, and solving various issues related to the operation and repair of the building and its technical systems. Since they are a legal entity, accounting and tax reporting are required for HOAs.

What kind of reporting to submit in 2021, what nuances there are in accounting and what transactions to use for transactions - in detail in this material.

Why do you need accounting in HOAs?

An HOA is a non-profit organization (although conducting commercial activities for the purpose of generating income is not prohibited, earnings should be spent on the main goals of the partnership). Since there is a movement of funds in it, accounting and tax accounting are mandatory.

What norms and legal acts regulate the creation and activities of a partnership in 2021:

Housing Code of the Russian Federation (Articles 135, 136 and 148);
Federal Law No. 402 “On Accounting”;
accounting regulations No. 106 n;
Order of the Ministry of Finance No. 66n “On the forms of financial statements of organizations”;
internal accounting policy.

Accounting is designed to solve certain problems:

control over the movement of funds;
correct reflection of funds in accounts;
distribution of finances, including through the formation of funds.

For this purpose, a managing body is organized in the HOA staff, which includes an accountant. He must maintain accounting documentation and submit reports to the Federal Tax Service, Pension Fund and Rosstat on time.

Nuances of accounting in HOAs

Among the main tasks of an accountant are the preparation and submission of the following documents:

Accounting (financial) annual report. Annual reporting contains comprehensive information about the activities of the HOA for the past period. It is provided for information to all members, and in 2021 it is mandatory published on the official website of the organization and on the Housing and Communal Services Reform portal. It also needs to be submitted to the Housing Supervision Inspectorate.
Estimated income and expenses for the next year. Subject to approval at the general meeting of owners. It further serves as a planning document for accounting. The estimate is drawn up in accordance with the form introduced by order of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation No. 882/pr.

Accounting statements include:

Balance sheet (form 4) is submitted quarterly.
A report confirming the intended use of finances (annual).
Attachments to the report (not required if the partnership operates under a simplified tax system).

Also, accounting is not exempt from reporting to the Federal Tax Service and extra-budgetary funds. A list of reporting forms that must be submitted to these departments, standard for an organization with hired employees:

Department to which reports must be submitted in 2021	Reporting forms
Federal Tax Service Inspectorate	2- and 6-personal income tax, ERSV, average number of employees
Pension Fund	SZV-M
FSS	4-FSS

Each form has a frequency and due date. To avoid unpleasant situations with late reporting to regulatory structures or filling out outdated forms, since changes are regularly made to them, an organization can use special software or online services for preparing and submitting reports electronically.

Thanks to the Astral Report 5.0 Web service, organizations can easily interact with government agencies and contractors. The service includes all current reporting forms and will remind the user which of them needs to be submitted in the near future. You just need to enter information about the company and indicate the applicable tax regime.

The risks of fines are reduced to 0: the program checks the completion of forms and draws the user’s attention to possible errors and inaccuracies. The multifunctional main page “Astral Report 5.0” includes a list of current affairs. Notifications from the Federal Tax Service and counterparties that require an urgent response will not get lost and will be noticed on time. All forms will be submitted to departments without delay.

Informing residents

The first stage involves organizing a general meeting of owners. However, it is preceded by the collection of the necessary information about the residents of a house or group of buildings. The relevant information can be requested from the territorial office of the Federal Registration Service. You may also need information about the rooms that are represented in the structure of the house. It should be requested from the BTI.

Next, you should create an initiative group of owners responsible for holding a general meeting of residents. As a rule, these same people are responsible for how to organize an HOA and at all subsequent stages of creating a partnership. Therefore, the appropriate team should be formed from citizens who have enough time to engage in this socially useful activity.

Features of tax accounting in HOAs

Like any other legal entity, when a homeowners association is created, it operates under the general taxation regime (OSNO). This tax regime has the following nuances:

In accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, contributions from owners are not subject to income tax and VAT (Articles 251 and 146, respectively).
If the partnership has fixed assets on its balance sheet, then it must pay property tax (Article 373 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Land that is listed as common property of an apartment building is not subject to land tax (Article 388 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The following are also exempt from VAT:

provision of utilities, if the partnership purchases them from resource supply organizations and sells them to the owners without a markup;
repair and maintenance of common property, if services are obtained from companies or individual entrepreneurs and sold to the owners at the cost of acquisition.

An additional condition in both cases is the fact that the HOA did not refuse the VAT exemption in accordance with Art. 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (clause 5).

The following receipts to the partnership fund are subject to VAT and profit taxation:

fees for services provided through the HOA by third parties;
provision of services in the amount of more mandatory contributions for additional payment.

An HOA, like any other taxpayer, can switch to another tax system, namely a simplified tax system (STS). Within its framework, the partnership will submit a smaller volume of reporting documents. To make the transition, you must submit a notification to the tax authority in 2021 by December 31. The taxpayer's transfer will be made from January 1 of the following year.

When working on the simplified tax system, you must submit a limited package of documents to the Federal Tax Service:

declaration according to the simplified tax system;
declaration 2-NDFL;
the average number of members of the partnership.

Advantages of switching to simplification:

no need to charge and pay VAT or income tax;
the cost of acquired property can be included in expenses, thereby reducing property tax;
The simplified tax system database does not include income from HOA members contributed as payment for utility services from third-party organizations.

If, when working on a simplified basis, you choose the “income minus expenses” option, you can receive regional benefits.

The best way to convey information

The initiative group of owners must subsequently send written notices to other residents that a general meeting is coming. This document must indicate where the event will be held, who is responsible for organizing it, and who you can contact to ask any questions. The contents of the meeting agenda must also be included in the notice. An important nuance: if there is, for example, a store in the house, then the document must also be sent there.

It is advisable to send the notices in question by registered mail. You can, of course, hand them over to the residents personally, but you should take a receipt from them for receipt of the document. Notifications must be sent out 10 days before the general meeting. Members of the initiative group must retain documents confirming that residents are familiar with the information.

The next important stage in deciding how to quickly and cost-effectively organize an HOA involves actually holding a general meeting. Let's consider the relevant nuances.

Features of accounting entries

Accounting should be kept in 2021 using the chart of accounts, which is approved by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation in order No. 94n. In accordance with it and PBU 9/99, 10/99, also approved by the Ministry of Finance, the following should be taken into account:

on account 86 - member contributions;
on account 90 - profit from commercial activities.

Payments that the HOA receives from members for utilities and dues are not income. These funds are targeted financing and are reflected in the corresponding account 86.

This account can be divided into calculations to reflect various receipts:

86-1 - for making targeted contributions from owners;
86-2 - to fix subsidies for utilities;
86-3 - for budget subsidies;
86-4 - to fix discounts for categories of members who have benefits;
86-5 - to reflect income from business activities;
86-6 - for other targeted revenues.

Income from commercial activities is sent to account 90. Funds received by the partnership through the provision of additional services (repair and other work in addition to the mandatory maintenance of apartment buildings) are sent here. Separating target and revenue receipts allows you to allocate tax-free funds from income.

The accounting entries for major repairs deserve a separate discussion. Firstly, funds for major repairs are targeted, must be accounted for separately and are not subject to taxation. Secondly, the overhaul of apartment buildings requires an additional injection of funds from the budget.

Thus, the postings should be made like this:

Debit 55, credit 50	Placement of funds collected from residents in a special account
Debit 55, credit 86	Receipt of subsidies from the budget
Debit 20, credit 60	The contractor completed major repair work
Debit 60, credit 55	The contractor was paid for the work with funds from a special account

Approval of the charter

Approval of the charter is the most important condition for resolving the issue of how to organize an HOA in a legal manner.

The structure of the document should contain points covering:

general provisions;
wording reflecting the goals and activities of the HOA;
legal status of the HOA;
ownership of premises in the house;
funds, property of the HOA;
economic activities of the HOA;
membership features;
rights and obligations of the HOA and its members;
HOA governing bodies;
nuances of holding a general meeting of the partnership;
provisions on the reorganization and liquidation of the HOA.

The bylaw can only be approved if more than two-thirds of the homeowners vote in favor.

conclusions

The accounting and tax reporting of HOAs in 2021 includes a number of documents and forms and has its own characteristics due to the non-profit nature of this organization, the chosen tax regime and the functions of the partnership itself. In order to submit all reporting forms on time, the partnership should monitor the deadlines and the relevance of the completed forms.

Proper accounting allows an organization to plan expenses and income and avoid the main danger - bankruptcy. For owners' associations, the problem of financial insolvency is especially acute. Since the partnership is a non-profit organization, any unforeseen expenses significantly increase the risk of a shortage. If its size is large, then the HOA, by decision of the members, goes through bankruptcy proceedings.

Home control options

Homeowners in apartment buildings must somehow organize joint management of common property, ensure the supply of utilities to the building and maintain its technical condition. This can be done within three schemes.

Firstly, there is an option to organize direct management of the house by the homeowners. This is possible if it has no more than 16 apartments.

Secondly, you can create a homeowners' association or cooperative.

Thirdly, you can transfer the house to a management company.

Which of these options is better? Why do many citizens wonder how to create an HOA in their home?

The fact is that a homeowners' association is usually more economically feasible. There are no opaque markups on basic utilities. And also, communication between apartment owners contributes to building constructive relationships between neighbors, jointly solving possible difficulties in managing the house, which the management company cannot always competently resolve.

Let's take a closer look at some of the distinctive features of HOAs.