Often there are situations when, due to production needs, an employee is forced to use his property. Most often it is about using a machine. Moreover, the employer is obliged to compensate for this: to pay for fuels and lubricants (fuel and lubricants), depreciation and other costs. How to do it as efficiently as possible?
The legislative framework
Not many people even understand what it means to pay for fuel and lubricants and compensation for the use of personal vehicles. And employers are taking advantage of this. Although their obligation to compensate the employee for the costs is enshrined in article 188 of the Labor Code. However, as will be seen below, its use is not the best option. The Civil and Tax Codes contain much more useful information. To take advantage of all the benefits that they provide, you need to properly approach the issue.
How does everything happen in practice?
Often an employee is faced with a choice: either you travel 300 km to another city in the heat by bus, or go by your car. It does not occur to him that the costs of paying for fuel and lubricants and not only can and should be compensated to him. Enterprises use legal illiteracy of workers. Most do not know what the payment of fuel and lubricants at work and cost compensation.
By the way, this applies not only to the car, but also to any other personal property that the employee uses in the performance of his duties. Just private transport is used most often. Accordingly, payment of fuel and lubricants to employees at the expense of the employer is the norm. Although not all employers agree to pay.
A couple of examples
Anyone who at least once tried to work as a sales representative came across this. Another example where employees most often use their own transport is a taxi. To receive compensation, the employee must use the car or other property only with the knowledge and permission of the management. Moreover, everything should be documented.
Payment of fuels and lubricants to employees - what is it?
Often, even accounting staff do not know the answer to this question, let alone ordinary employees. Many people think that fuels and lubricants are just fuel: gasoline or diesel fuel. This is not entirely true. In fact, there are many more things related to fuels and lubricants (fuels and lubricants):
- oils;
- antifreeze - in the winter;
- other necessary consumables.
Accordingly, the payment of fuel and lubricants includes not only the cost of fuel.
How to formalize everything officially?
There are 3 ways to formalize your agreement with the employer:
- supplementary agreement to the employment contract;
- car rental agreement;
- contract for the provision of transport services.
Each of them has its pros and cons. Below we consider them in detail.
Addendum to the employment contract
The simplest thing is to conclude an additional agreement with the employer to the employment contract. However, simpler - does not mean more efficient: it will not be easy for employees to receive payment for fuel and lubricants from the employer. The following is an example of such an agreement.
There should be clearly stated:
- make and characteristics of the vehicle;
- the amount of monthly compensation and costs that are also compensated by the employer: payment of fuel and lubricants, maintenance and overhaul, diagnostics and maintenance, insurance;
- the time period within which a report on the actual costs incurred should be provided;
- terms in which the employer reimburses the costs to the employee.
The employee must often travel on the instructions of the management, or the traveling nature of the work involves the performance of his official duties. Indeed, according to the law, payment of fuel and lubricants when using personal vehicles, as well as compensation for other expenses, is possible only if there is a production need.
Every month, the employee submits a report on his trips, where he indicates:
- date of trip;
- time of departure and return;
- destination;
- purpose of the trip.
In addition, this document must necessarily contain the date of compilation and signature of the employee.
Pros and cons of an additional agreement
Compensation of employee costs under an employment contract is beneficial primarily to the employer. Indeed, you can always limit it to the size stipulated by Government Decision No. 92 of February 8, 2002: 1200 rubles for cars with an engine capacity of less than 2000 cm 3 and 1500 rubles for cars with an engine capacity of more than 2000 cm 3 .
However, such compensation is unlikely to suit the employee - at current gas prices, it is almost impossible to fit into it. Accordingly, the employer has to compromise and conclude a lease or contract for the provision of transportation services or pay out of his own pocket - you will not be able to level the compensation by reducing taxes.
How to rent a car?
In this case, the relations of the parties will be regulated by the Civil Code. In practice, rent without a crew is more often used. Below you can see the model contract.
The lease must specify:
- car characteristics: make, year of manufacture, color, body and engine number, state number;
- sublease conditions - it is advisable to forbid the employer to rent the car to anyone else;
- other arrangements - who and within what time frame conducts maintenance, who pays for consumables and maintenance, for what purposes a car can be used - for example, only passenger transportation.
When concluding a lease, you need to understand that you are thereby transferring your car to the company, even if for temporary use. While within the framework of the employment contract, only you can use the car.
Therefore, the lease must specify how the employer can use your car. Otherwise, do not be surprised that you will be forced to transport various cargoes or some kind of garbage - after all, the company owns the machine, albeit temporarily, now.
Important: be sure to fix in the contract the cost of the car at the time of rental.
Often there is a problem with the fact that the parties do not know how to prescribe the payment of fuel and lubricants in the lease agreement. Even lawyers argue about this. Fuel and lubricants are calculated on the basis of waybills - by actual mileage. For this, there are special rules on the basis of which they write off.
Experts still recommend concluding a car rental contract with payment for fuel and lubricants. However, this is by agreement. If rental payments for fuels and lubricants are not provided, they conclude a separate contract for the payment of fuels and lubricants with the supplier, and the driver is issued a fuel card with a certain limit.
It is also important to stipulate other nuances in advance: whether the company pays you a fixed amount every month or whether the payment is hourly - depending on the actual time worked, who pays for the insurance and how.
Contract for the provision of transport services
It is used much less often - mainly if cargo is transported by personal transport. Imagine a company for organizing house removals. Instead of buying a car or renting it, she could conclude a contract for the provision of transport services with a loader who owns the necessary car.
Thus, the loader would fulfill his immediate duties (loading and unloading) under the employment contract. And he would already privately provide services for the transportation of these goods from point A to point B. However, for this he would have to issue an IP, because entrepreneurial activity without registration in the Russian Federation is prohibited.
How do auto owners optimize taxes?
To rent a car or provide transportation services, the employee will need to issue an IP. Strictly speaking, he can rent out his car without being an entrepreneur. However, if there are several such cars, then you still have to issue an IP. In addition, in this case, he pays a lower tax - 6% on USN-income, instead of 13% personal income tax. However, his official salary will still withhold personal income tax 13%.
There is another important nuance. Regardless of the results of the activity, the individual entrepreneur must pay insurance premiums, even if he does not have employees. The amount is fixed and in 2018 is 32385 rubles. However, if an individual’s income exceeds 300,000 rubles per year, an additional payment of 1% of the difference “income minus 300,000 rubles” will be charged.
However, the amount of insurance premiums may not exceed a certain amount. In 2018, this amounts to 212,360 rubles to the pension fund (this money is not "lost", but is used to form the future pension of the entrepreneur) and 5,840 rubles in the form of contributions to health insurance. In total, insurance premiums for individual entrepreneurs cannot exceed 218,200 rubles per year.
At first glance, insurance premiums are unnecessary additional costs. But is it really so? Not really. The fact is that FEs have the right to reduce the advance payment under the STS "Income" by the amount of insurance premiums paid. Thus, when renting a car, you can not pay tax at all (the amount of tax is unlikely to exceed the paid contributions), and it is completely legal. And the main part of the paid contributions goes to your future pension.
Important: the status of individual entrepreneurs and the simplified tax system does not exempt the entrepreneur from paying transport tax. It will have to be paid in any case. But property tax in this case is not necessary to pay.
An example of how IP increases the income from renting a car
Imagine that Ivan handed over his car to LLC Romashka, of which he is an employee, for 100,000 rubles a month. In this case, the company takes care of the current and overhaul of the machine, as well as payment of fuel and lubricants and other consumables.
Without executing the IP, in the year an employee would receive “on hand” only 1,044,000 rubles. An employer, acting as Ivan's tax agent, would independently withhold 13% of personal income tax from this amount. At the same time, having issued an IP on the STS "Income", Ivan would pay the following taxes:
- insurance contributions to the Pension Fund: 32385 + 1% × (100 000 × 12 - 300 000) = 41385 rubles;
- insurance premiums for medical insurance: 5840 rubles;
- STS 6%: 100,000 × 12 × 6% - 41385 - 5840 = 24775 rubles.
Accordingly, his net income amounted to 100,000 × 12 - 41385 - 5840 - 24775 = 1,128,000 rubles. Moreover, 41,385 rubles would go to Ivan's future retirement, and not to the state treasury. Thus, the tax savings would be 125 385 rubles per year. Or a little more than 10,000 rubles a month.
In addition, in the first case, Ivan pays personal income tax immediately. In fact, he does not even see this money - the employer transfers the tax for him. In the second, Ivan receives “on hand” the entire amount. And only then pays taxes. Moreover, he can distribute them as he pleases during the year - the main thing is to pay everything no later than December 31.
The ability to manage the timing of tax payments provides a significant advantage. Suppose Ivan decided to evenly distribute the tax burden and pay the required amount every quarter.
Thus, he can additionally free the following amounts:
- January - 100,000 × 13% = 13,000 rubles;
- February - 100,000 × 13% +13000 = 26000 rubles;
- March - 100,000 × 13% + 13000 + 13000 = 39000 rubles.
Until the end of March, he can use this money at his discretion. And only then pay the appropriate payment of insurance premiums, thereby reducing the advance payment on the simplified tax system "Revenues".
At first glance, it seems that the amounts are small. But if Ivan increases his income by 10 times - renting a few cars or choosing leasing instead of renting, the savings will be impressive.
How can an enterprise save on taxes?
If the company is located on the SPE (general taxation system) or the STS "Income minus expenses" (one of the types of simplified taxation system), the cost of renting a car, providing transportation services or paying compensation under an employment contract can be taken into account to reduce the tax base. True, in the latter case, for cars, the amount of deduction is limited by law.
In the case of renting a car at the DOS, not only the rent, but also:
- Fuels and lubricants and other consumables;
- Car repair and overhaul;
- MOT, washing, payment for parking and parking;
- insurance;
- driver's salary.
Moreover, expenses that reduce the tax base are recognized only as documented expenses. Moreover, they should be economically justified.
Important: the company is not the owner of the rented car, which means that it is not obliged to pay property and transport taxes.
Business revenues usually significantly exceed the cost of renting a car. Accordingly, by reducing income tax, you can more than compensate for all expenses actually incurred.
To summarize
Article 188 of the Labor Code obliges the employer to compensate the employee for the use of personal vehicles for official purposes. If such use is supposed to be occasional, it is enough to simply conclude the corresponding additional agreement to the employment contract and submit the report on time.
However, if an employee cannot use his personal transport without fulfilling his duties and is forced to use his car for official purposes constantly, this compensation will not be able to cover most of the costs actually incurred. Unless only at the expense of the profit of the enterprise. The organization will be able to use such compensation to reduce income tax only in the amount established by law, which will not cover even a tenth of the actual costs.
Accordingly, this approach is not beneficial to either the employee or the enterprise. And all because of the peculiarities of taxation: the employee as a private person pays too much personal income tax, and the company cannot optimize taxes properly. It is much more profitable for both parties to conclude a lease or provide transport services (if other passengers or goods are supposed to be transported).
Only in this case, the employee will have to issue an IP - the procedure is not complicated and does not take much time. Some people think that becoming an individual entrepreneur they will not be able to work as a private person. However, in reality it is possible - the law does not prohibit.