In order to reduce transport tax payments, the following methods are used:
1. Time of registration.
Transport tax must be paid for all months during which cars are registered with the company in the traffic police, regardless of the specific date of registration and deregistration. Recalculation by the number of days is not performed. For example, when registering a car on March 28, it is necessary to pay tax for the whole month, although in fact it will be used in just 4 days. Therefore, it is best to register vehicles at the beginning of the month, and deregister, on the contrary, at the end. Thus, the company does not have to overpay the tax for the time at which the machines are not used in the production process.
2. Registration for branches.
The transport tax is regional and each entity has the right to set its own tax rate. If the company has branches in regions where the tax rate is lower, it is advisable to register equipment at their location. However, this may provoke claims by tax authorities, which are based on the fact that the equipment is not operated in the region with a reduced rate. However, for the additional charge of tax they need to collect evidence confirming the fact of the branch without the use of this transport.
3. Attracting third party vehicles.
In some cases, organizations are much more profitable not to buy a car, but to hire an employee with a car or other necessary equipment. In this case, the tax on transport will be paid by its owner. Compensation is paid to the employee for the use of the machine for production purposes, the amount of which is established in the employment contract. It is worth emphasizing that compensation payments are not subject to payroll taxes and are included in expenses when calculating income tax in the framework of the norms defined by law. From the point of view of tax optimization, a more profitable option is to conclude a lease agreement with the employee. In this case, the income tax base is reduced by the amount of rental payments, as well as by the amount of the costs of operating and repairing the machine.
4. Leasing.
Today, many organizations purchase equipment on credit. Unlike bank loans, leasing transactions allow the buyer not to pay vehicle tax for the entire duration of the contract. The initial owner of the machine is the lessor, who transfers it to the lessee until the debt is paid off. According to the law, transport can be registered on any of the parties to the transaction in accordance with their written agreement. Thus, the obligation to pay the transport tax may arise for the lessee only after the transfer of ownership of the car to him and its registration.
What else do you need to know so that the transport taxes on cars and other vehicles are transferred in optimal amounts?
Significantly increase the tax burden of the enterprise can faulty cars. Transport tax is charged for all vehicles registered with the STSI regardless of its condition and actual use. Therefore, if the repair of vehicles is not planned in the near future, it is necessary to remove it from the register as quickly as possible.
There is a self-propelled vehicle not intended for driving on public roads: scrapers, excavators and other mining equipment. To calculate the transport tax for this category, reduced rates are applied. But the tax authorities often rank these cars as trucks and charge taxes. In this case, the organization can argue its position with the following explanations: by letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia N 03-06-04-04 / 21 of 05.31.06 and a letter of the Federal Tax Service N 18-0-09 / 0204 of 06.07.07. There is also an extensive jurisprudence confirming the correctness of taxpayers. It is worth noting that self-propelled vehicles need to be registered in Gostekhnadzor, and not in the traffic police.
In order not to pay tax for a stolen car, it is necessary to provide the IFTS with a relevant certificate from the Ministry of Internal Affairs involved in the investigation of the case. After that, the vehicle may be excluded from taxable objects until it is returned to the owner.