Paying certain taxes is the obligation of every citizen of the Russian Federation. Even retired people are not completely exempted from it. A vivid example of this is VAT. We pay value added tax even with the smallest purchase in the store. Nevertheless, the state introduces a number of preferences for socially unprotected categories of citizens. We will figure out what taxes are currently in force from pensioners in the Russian Federation. And also determine the amount of benefits, the conditions for their application.
Who is considered a senior citizen?
Do pensioners have to pay taxes? Yes, like all Russian citizens. But for pensioners there are a number of tax benefits and preferences, which we will introduce further.
But who is considered a pensioner in the Russian Federation? According to domestic law, the following persons:
- Reaching a certain retirement age set for men and women, as well as separately for specific categories of military personnel, civil servants, employees of enterprises with difficult, harmful and life-threatening working conditions.
- According to the results of medical and social examination recognized as disabled.
- Lost in the person of a close relative the only source of livelihood.
Who is the federal beneficiary?
It is also important to single out such a category of pensioners as federal beneficiaries. These are Russian citizens, awarded the highest awards and ranks of the Russian Federation and the USSR, invalids and veterans of the Second World War, liquidators of atomic and man-made accidents, military personnel who performed their duties in the "hot spots", people affected by radiation.
The privileges that are granted to federal beneficiaries may differ from the preferences for old-age pensioners and may be granted in an increased amount.
Income Contributions
Speaking about the payment of taxes by pensioners, we present the category of contributions from which they are exempted. So, all recipients of state pensions in the Russian Federation are not required to pay income tax on these benefits. Personal income tax is also not charged on all kinds of monetary compensation to these persons paid on behalf of the state.
Both federal beneficiaries and citizens who receive old-age, disability, or survivor pensions are exempt from income tax in Russia.
Conditions for working pensioners
In what order do working pensioners pay income tax (meaning officially employed citizens)? This category of persons under Russian law is required to pay personal income tax in respect of the following:
- Wage.
- Remuneration for work received under the terms of the contract of copyright order and other creative activities.
- Dividends, interest and other income from the ownership and turnover of securities.
- Pensions that are paid in accordance with non-state pension insurance contracts concluded with respect to these persons by employers.
- Pensions that are paid according to private pension insurance contracts concluded by the citizens themselves.
- Obtaining a rental fee from the delivery of your own real estate, property for rent.
- Other income that is received on the territory of the Russian Federation.
It is important to note that in the presence of appropriate expenses, working pensioners, like other Russian citizens, have the right to make a personal income tax deduction.
Property Taxes
When presenting tax benefits to pensioners, this category needs to be addressed. Citizens of retirement age are exempted from property tax. In relation to the buildings, structures and premises owned by them. Moreover, the basis for the appointment of a pension does not matter here. A person applying for a benefit can receive a pension both in old age and in disability.
This is dictated by the Tax Code, binding on the entire territory of the Russian Federation. In addition to this, the local government structure may introduce its own system of benefits for pensioners.
As it was before?
But here it is important to keep in mind one thing: a pensioner is completely exempted from paying property tax only with respect to one property that he owns. Recall that until 2015, the scope of preferences for pensioners in this area was wider: this category of citizens was completely exempt from paying property tax on all immovable property owned by the right of ownership.
Therefore, today, if a pensioner owns several apartments, private houses, garages, utility structures, he must choose only one object from his property for the use of benefits in his respect. A citizen is obliged to warn the Federal Tax Service about this decision before November 1 of this year. If he does not, then the exemption will automatically apply to the immovable with the highest tax amount.
Pensioners pay taxes in this order for a reason. Prior to the adoption of new regulations, many citizens copied real estate to their elderly relatives, although in fact pensioners were not their owners. This was done with a selfish purpose: to avoid paying property tax.
Who is given preference?
Speaking about the privilege for pensioners on property tax, we list the categories of citizens with respect to whom it applies:
- Senior citizens. Or citizens retired due to disability.
- Disabled children (persons with disabilities since childhood), disabled persons of the 1st and 2nd category.
- Federal beneficiaries.
- Retired former soldiers, as well as members of their families, left without a breadwinner.
Land contributions
What are the benefits for land tax pensioners? It is worth noting that it is local, it is assembled by the forces of the local government, and not by the federal government. But at the same time, in 2018 at the federal level it was established that land tax from pensioners is levied on a preferential basis. But here it is important that the allotment owned by the citizen be less than 6 hundred square meters (600 square meters). The tax itself is deducted based on the cadastral value of such a plot.
However, this is not all benefits to pensioners on land taxes. Additional preferences may be introduced by regulatory legal acts of various Russian municipalities. They depend on a specific region. They can reach the complete abolition of taxes from pensioners in relation to land plots of any area.
Up-to-date information on this issue can be obtained from the local administration or branch of the Federal Tax Service according to your registration. This type of benefit is not provided automatically - you will need to fill out an application and provide the necessary documentation.
Land tax exemptions
Thus, pensioners of all categories pay the land tax only for the allotment that is in their ownership or for unlimited use. But they are completely exempt from tax in respect of land:
- Leased.
- Received for free use.
In addition, pensioners with disabilities and federal beneficiaries at the state level have the right to make a deduction for land tax. Its maximum size is 10,000 rubles.
Old age pensioners are entitled to land tax benefits (if the land area does not exceed 6 acres) in the following regions:
- St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
- Samara Region.
- Perm region.
- Saratov region.
- Novosibirsk region.
- Rostov region.
- Volgograd region.
Transport fees
What is the car tax for retirees? It is important to note that transport tax fees are classified as regional. By virtue of this, they are enforced according to the laws of Russian entities. Accordingly, they act only on their territory. Citizens pay such taxes to the regional, and not to the federal budget.
Who is the payer here? According to Russian tax law, these are citizens in whose name vehicles are registered. The objects of taxation here are cars, motorcycles, scooters and so on. The tax base here determines the engine power of the car, measured in horsepower.
As for the exceptions, the owners of the following cars are exempt from transport tax:
- Cars specially equipped / converted for their use by persons with disabilities.
- Cars issued by social services with engine power up to 100 hp
Conditions for retirees
What about levying this tax on senior citizens? Since the collection is regional, the benefits for certain categories of the population, respectively, are established by the authorities of the constituent entities of the federation. Therefore, they cannot be uniform for the whole of Russia. You can get all the necessary information about the presence / absence of benefits for pensioners on transport tax in your region at the local branch of the Federal Tax Service or on its official website.
It is important to understand that such benefits are not automatically provided to pensioners. It is necessary to submit an application to the Federal Tax Service, back it up with certain documents. If everything is presented correctly and in the proper order, the citizen will be assigned the due tax benefit.
Where is the preference given?
Are pensioners paying taxes? As we have seen, yes. But these citizens need to know that the state has introduced certain benefits for them regarding the payment of a number of taxes.
As for the transport category, then preferences for pensioners are valid in the following cities (and the areas to which they relate):
- Moscow.
- St. Petersburg.
- Ekaterinburg.
- Krasnoyarsk
- Permian.
- Chelyabinsk.
- Samara
In the above-mentioned cities and towns indicated below, an additional tax exemption has been introduced for the category of federal beneficiaries and disabled people:
- Sevastopol and Crimea.
- Tatarstan
- Moscow and Moscow region.
- Nizhny Novgorod Region.
- Volgograd region.
- Saratov region.
- Omsk region.
- Rostov region.
Deductions for working retirees
A working pensioner is entitled to receive standard tax deductions in the following cases:
- He was a member of hostilities.
- Participated in liquidation activities in man-made, radiation accidents.
- Exposed to radiation.
- Has minor children.
The amount of deduction here directly depends on what category it belongs to.
Social deductions are provided when the following expenses are made during the current year:
- Education.
- Treatment.
- Prescription medication.
- Buying a VHI policy.
- Conclusion of an agreement with a pension fund on pension co-financing.
The amount of such tax deduction depends on the specific costs. But it cannot exceed the limits established by the state.
Pensioners are also provided with a property tax deduction - upon the fact of buying / selling real estate. It can be carried for up to 3 years. In case the pensioner has no other income taxed by personal income tax.
In Russia, pensioners are not exempt from all taxes. But the state and regional, local authorities introduce special benefits for this category of the population, preferences regarding the payment of tax fees.