Every Russian citizen should know what taxes and in what period of time they should be paid. Good relations with the tax inspectorate and other state bodies depend on this. Mandatory and popular is the transport tax. What is this collection? It is levied on all vehicle owners - individuals or companies. For various taxpayers set their own rules and features of the transfer fee.
Innovations in 2018
Back in 2017, information constantly appeared about the abolition of the transport tax in 2018, but these rumors were not confirmed. This fee is regional, so all funds paid go to the regional budgets for the construction of roads or other purposes.
Each car owner must not only understand how it is calculated and when the transport tax is paid. What is this collection? It is a regional tax paid annually by firms and citizens. In 2018, many innovations were introduced. These changes include:
- It is required to pay funds to individuals before the end of 2019;
- if a person is the owner of a truck whose mass exceeds 12 tons, then he is exempted from listing this fee, because due to the characteristics of his car he is still forced to pay additional fees for driving on different roads;
- citizens are not exempted from paying tax if they have official evidence that the car has been under repair for a long time.
According to statistics, more than 146 million rubles are transferred to the budgets annually by vehicle owners. Although the abolition of transport tax in 2018 was previously discussed, this bill was not adopted. It was planned to include this fee in the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel, but the authorities considered such a replacement inappropriate.
Have bids changed?
All car owners must understand the rules for paying transport tax. What is this collection? It is paid to the regional budget, and is also regulated by the provisions of Ch. 28 Tax Code. Its main purpose is to support the road system in the country.
In 2018, tax rates remained unchanged. Their increase is expected by 2019. It is assumed that the collection rates will increase in a slightly different way. For this, the vehicle mileage determined using special navigation systems will be taken into account. Additionally, technical parameters of the machine, axial load and environmental damage when using this vehicle are taken into account.
Moreover, numerous bills are regularly submitted to the State Duma for consideration, on the basis of which the cancellation of this fee is required. They are constantly rejected, as there is no optimal alternative to this collection.
Why is excise duty not replaced?
The fuel used for cars is subject to excise taxes, which have been significantly increased since the beginning of 2018. Under such conditions, the question arises as to why excise duty has not been replaced. Motorists are dissatisfied with the fact that their cars are actually taxed with two taxes, since they pay the transport tax 1 time per year, and they are also obliged to constantly pay excise taxes when buying fuel for cars.
In 2017, the Federal Tax Service issued a letter No. BS-2-21 / 279 @, which contains an explanation of this decision. Its main features include:
- direct transport tax is represented by the regional tax, but excise tax is a federal tax;
- excise taxes must be paid by producers and users of petroleum products, but the transportation fee is paid exclusively by the owners of various vehicles, which include not only cars, but also different vessels.
Therefore, if the transportation fee is canceled, then the regions will be without financing, so they simply will not have the funds that could be sent for repair or road construction. Initially, you need to find an alternative to this collection. Information appears that it can be replaced by an environmental tax, which will be calculated depending on the degree of danger of a particular car to the environment or on air emissions from its use.
Object of taxation
For timely payment of the fee, each car owner must understand the rules for calculating the transport tax. What is this collection? It is transferred to the regional budgets for different types of transport. Based on Art. 358 of the Tax Code the objects of taxation include:
- vehicles not included in the exceptions listed in paragraph 2 of Art. 358 Tax Code;
- correctly registered cars for a specific owner.
Accrued tax from the moment the machine is registered. After removing it from the register, the collection is stopped. If the company’s cars are written off on the basis of accounting documents, then the organization still needs to calculate and pay the fee.
Indicators for tax calculation
Transport tax is paid once per year by individuals, and companies are required in most regions to transfer advance payments. When calculating this fee, various indicators are taken into account:
- the tax base is represented by the technical parameters of the car, namely its power;
- if tax is calculated for air transport, then its traction is taken into account;
- for water transport it is necessary to calculate the capacity, which is the tax base;
- the age of the car or its environmental class is used for calculation, and these indicators are set by the local authorities of a particular region;
- if the cost of the car is high, then under Art. 362 of the Tax Code, he ranks among expensive cars, so for owners of such facilities higher rates apply.
Specialists of the Federal Tax Service are involved in the calculation of individuals, so people are not required to determine the amount of payment themselves. Legal entities' transport tax is calculated directly by companies, which additionally must submit relevant declarations to the inspection once a year.
Tax rates
In Art. 361 Tax Code lists all the rates used to calculate this fee. They can be slightly changed by the regional authorities, therefore, in order to know the exact rates of the transport tax in 2018, it is recommended to contact the regional branch of the Federal Tax Service directly for information.
Local authorities can increase federal rates by a maximum of 10 times. To determine the size of the payment, you need to multiply a well-defined tax rate.
Do I need to submit a declaration?
The need to submit a declaration to the Federal Tax Service is exclusively for companies that own different vehicles.
Private individuals receive special notifications from the Federal Tax Service, based on which a fee is payable. If there is no receipt within the established time frame, then it is optimal to contact the inspection department yourself to receive it. The absence of a document cannot be the basis for non-payment of tax, therefore, in any case, a fine will be charged.
Who can count on benefits?
For transport tax, payments must be paid by all car owners, who may be private owners or enterprises. At the same time, at the regional level, local authorities can establish different categories of beneficiaries who can count on discounts or even exemption from payment of the fee.
The following persons are exempted from these payments as standard:
- owners of motor boats whose engine power does not exceed 5 horsepower;
- owners of cars designed for the disabled, as well as with a capacity not exceeding 100 horsepower;
- owners of agricultural machinery;
- people whose cars are stolen and officially wanted;
- truck owners weighing more than 12 tons.
In some regions, pensioners or large families, poor citizens, or other people belonging to other vulnerable categories of the population are exempted from having to pay this fee.
How to take advantage of benefits?
If a person can use the exemptions from the state, then he must independently deal with their design. To do this, you will have to visit the department of the Federal Tax Service, where the application for benefits is sent.
Based on this statement, the inspection staff will recalculate and stop sending receipts to the citizen.
Companies Tax Rules
Firms must independently calculate the amount of the fee, for which the current transport tax rates in 2018 are taken into account. They do not receive any notifications from the Federal Tax Service, therefore it is the accountant of the company that must take care of the transfer of funds and the transfer of the declaration to the Federal Tax Service in time.
In most regions, advance transport tax is required. For this, the calculation is carried out on a quarterly basis, after which funds are transferred based on the results of each quarter. The final tax is paid as early as next year until the beginning of February.
Terms of payment
All taxpayers should know the time frame for the transport tax in 2018 to be paid to the Federal Tax Service. Terms of transfer depend on the status of the owner of the car:
- organizations must pay the entire tax by February 1 of the next year, and in many regions the Federal Tax Service requires additional payments of advance payments during the reporting year;
- individuals pay funds only once a year, and the amount must be transferred before December 1 of the next year.
For 2018, citizens must pay by December 1, 2019.
What you need to know in addition?
Each car owner wants to reduce the tax amount or even enter the preferential category so as not to pay funds to the regional budget. But it is important to consider some significant requirements:
- beneficiaries can vary significantly in different regions, so you need to clarify the possibility of using different concessions on your own in the regional branch of the Federal Tax Service;
- privileges are provided only on the basis of an application submitted to the Federal Tax Service, so citizens themselves must be the initiators of their registration;
- truck owners whose weight exceeds 12 tons are exempted from the need to pay this fee since 2018, and this also applies to agricultural machinery, so citizens will not receive receipts this year to pay the fee;
- companies are not provided with various exemptions if they do not work in agriculture or specialize in freight transportation;
- if the car owner is forced to send the car for repair, which will lead to the fact that he will not be able to use it for a long time, then this will not be the basis for the suspension of payment of the fee;
- if the car is stolen by intruders, as a result of which the car is put on the wanted list, the owner is exempted from paying tax from the moment of theft, but this requires the transfer of confirming documents to the Federal Tax Service.
The need to pay tax only from the moment when the car is removed from the register ceases. Some car owners use a trick when removing a car from the register for the repair period, but this process is not free, so people usually have to bear higher costs.
Conclusion
Transport tax is considered a significant regional tax. It is paid by all vehicle owners, both by companies and private individuals. Each taxpayer should be aware of all amendments to the law so as not to violate the requirements of the law, which will lead to their administrative liability.
The timing of the transfer of funds differs for firms and private car owners. It takes into account the opportunity to use different benefits that are assigned not only at the federal, but also at the regional level.