What is more profitable for individual entrepreneurs in 2022 - a patent or a simplified version?

How can an entrepreneur choose an effective tax regime? To do this, you need to conduct a comparative analysis of existing preferential tax regimes in relation to your business and choose an option that is acceptable to you.

Entrepreneurs, as a rule, choose special tax regimes with the lowest tax burden and simplified reporting.

In 2022, an entrepreneur can no longer use “imputation”, and therefore we will focus on two modes: patent and “simplified”.

Which taxation system should individual entrepreneurs choose instead of UTII?

The main question that an individual entrepreneur needs to answer is whether to switch to a patent (patent tax system) or simplified tax system (simplified system)?

• If you choose the simplified tax system for income minus expenses, then it will be necessary to form the expenditure part.
• If you choose the simplified tax system for income, then in most cases entrepreneurs will have to give away most of the profit received, since their net income fluctuates around 10%.
• Patent. The existing procedure for calculating the value of a patent is not in favor of entrepreneurs. For example, the cost of a patent is not reduced by insurance premiums paid.
• General taxation system. VAT from 10 to 20% and personal income tax of 13% make this regime obviously unprofitable for individual entrepreneurs.

How to reduce the patent for contributions?

All individual entrepreneurs pay insurance premiums for themselves and their employees. Since 2021, it has become possible to reduce the patent by these amounts.

On a patent, tax reduction works in exactly the same way as on the simplified tax system. If there are no employees, the patent can be reduced completely, if there are - by a maximum of half. A notification with calculations is submitted to the tax office.

Patent reduction notice form

What do the numbers say?

Let us make a comparative calculation of the size of the tax burden when applying different taxation systems using the example of the Kaliningrad region.
Initial data: Retail store for industrial goods in Kaliningrad with a sales area of ​​20 sq.m. The individual entrepreneur has hired 1 salesperson. The salary is 15,000 rubles. per month. Insurance premiums were paid on time. Turnover is 700,000 per month. All expenses amount to 80% of revenue.

The tax burden on a business per month will be:

As calculations show, even today the best replacement for UTII is a patent. And according to the conditions of application, a patent is closest to UTII. One of the main advantages of the patent tax system is the payment of tax in a fixed amount, regardless of the amount of income. Plus, you don’t have to worry about collecting and correctly(!) registering expenses. The downside is that if you switch from UTII to a patent in the current conditions, the tax burden in the vast majority of cases will increase significantly - from 2 to 4 (!) times.

The authorities of the country and regions understand this and are preparing changes to the patent taxation system.

1.2. Patent payment procedure

The cost of a patent is paid in the following order (clause 2 of Article 346.51 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

1) if the validity period of the patent is less than 6 months - in the amount of the full amount of tax no later than the expiration date of the patent;

2) if the patent validity period is from 6 to 12 months :

• in the amount of 1/3 of the tax amount no later than ninety calendar days after the patent came into effect;
• in the amount of 2/3 of the tax amount no later than the expiration date of the patent.

What changes are these?

1. Legislators plan to increase the maximum size for the area of ​​a sales area (visitor service area) in retail trade (in public catering) from 50 to 150 sq.m. It is proposed that the right to set the maximum area size be given to regional authorities.
2. Legislators also plan to give taxpayers using PSN the right to reduce the amount of tax on a patent by the amount of insurance premiums for compulsory health insurance, compulsory medical insurance paid for employees and “for themselves” in a fixed amount.

It is proposed to determine by what amount the tax on a patent can be reduced in the same manner as with UTII and the simplified tax system with the object of taxation being “income”:

• if individual entrepreneurs hire employees, the tax amount is reduced by no more than 50 percent;
• if individual entrepreneurs do not hire employees, the tax amount is reduced without any restrictions.

What is more profitable: a patent or a simplified version?

Let's take a closer look at the similarities and differences between the simplified tax system and the patent in the table

* Check the tax rate for your type of activity in your region, it can be significantly reduced.

The main difference between the simplified tax system and a patent is the restrictions on application. Thus, with a patent, you can only engage in activities from the list, and in addition, you cannot hire more than 15 employees and earn more than 60 million rubles.

This means that a patent will be more profitable in one case: when the actual income of an entrepreneur is significantly higher than the potential income established by the region on which a 6% tax must be paid.

Automatic calculation of simplified tax system, combination of simplified tax system + patent, reporting without leaving home, multi-user mode, free updates and technical support in the online service Kontur.Accounting! Get free access for 14 days

How to Apply for a Patent via Elba

Go to the section “Details” → “For reporting” → “Submit a patent application.” A step-by-step task will open. Fill out the form and sign the application electronically.

The tax office will send a receipt indicating that the application has been accepted. After 5 working days, you can pick up the patent from the Federal Tax Service, but this is not necessary.

Mandatory income accounting

The patent “works” only if the entrepreneur’s total income does not exceed the limit of 60 million rubles. Moreover, if several patents are used simultaneously, then the income from them is summed up.

According to the law, entrepreneurs on PSN must promptly fill out an income book and record in it all profits related to the patent, including:

• cash transactions;
• payment by bank transfer, for example, through online banking or services;
• payment by credit cards.

Transactions related to the return of goods are also taken into account when calculating the total amount of income.

The absence of an income accounting book threatens with sanctions: according to Article 120 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, an entrepreneur can be fined in the amount of 10 to 30 thousand rubles. At the same time, inspectors reserve the right to independently calculate the income of an entrepreneur, focusing on the income of other individual entrepreneurs in the industry or the financial statements of the violator for previous periods.

This situation is especially dangerous if the entrepreneur’s income comes close to the limit amount: prove to the tax authorities that you have not exceeded the amount of 60 million rubles. will be very difficult, since in the calculations they will also refer to the possible income of the individual entrepreneur. Its value is set by local laws and differs in different regions. By the way, additional insurance premiums, in this case, will also be calculated based on potential income.

Let us remind you that if the limit is exceeded, the individual entrepreneur loses all the benefits guaranteed by the patent and switches to a different taxation regime. Moreover, if the entrepreneur has not previously worked for the simplified tax system (and, accordingly, did not submit a notification about the transition to this regime), then he will automatically be transferred to the OSNO. Taxes will be recalculated from the moment the patent is issued. For example, if you purchased a patent for six months (from January 1 to June 30, 2022), then if the limit is exceeded, taxes will be recalculated for all 6 months, from the very beginning of the year.

Why might a patent be refused?

The grounds for refusing to grant an individual entrepreneur the right to apply the patent taxation system are listed in paragraph 4 of Article 346.45 of the Tax Code of Russia. These are the reasons:

1. The PSN does not apply to the type of activity declared by the entrepreneur;
2. The entrepreneur asks to issue a patent for a period not provided for by the Tax Code; this period extends beyond the current tax year, or the application does not indicate a period at all.
3. In the current tax year, the entrepreneur was already working under a patent, but his income exceeded the annual limit and the right to use the PSN was lost on this basis.
4. The entrepreneur previously voluntarily stopped using the PSN in the current tax year.
5. There are debts on already issued patents;
6. There are formal grounds for refusal - the application was filled out incorrectly.

The list is exhaustive - there are no other reasons for refusing to issue a patent by law as of May 2022. If you are denied a transfer to PSN, you can correct the shortcomings and submit your application again. Remember that you need to do it no later than 10 working days before the expected date of transition to the patent tax system.

In 2014, entrepreneurs were allowed to apply for a patent at the same time as applying for registration as an individual entrepreneur. True, for this it is necessary to register an individual entrepreneur in the same place where it is intended to carry out activities under the patent (i.e., if both applications are submitted to the same tax office).

The tax office must issue a patent or a notice of refusal to issue it no more than five working days after filing the application. If they refuse, they must indicate the reasons.

Work after the end of the patent

We told you what risks an entrepreneur faces when exceeding the limit. However, the same consequences await those individual entrepreneurs who did not have time to issue a new patent in advance by the time the previous one expired. It turns out that during the “patent-free” period, the entrepreneur works under the simplified tax system or OSNO, which means he is obliged to submit reports in the form specified by law.

If everything is clear with the simplified tax system: it is enough to fill out a declaration on paper and take it to the Federal Tax Service at the place of registration, then with OSNO things are much more complicated. So, if an entrepreneur using the simplified tax system can submit a declaration on paper, then VAT is submitted exclusively in electronic form. This can only be done if you have a qualified digital signature and an agreement with TKS.

Violation of the deadlines for filing reporting documents promises further fines: from 5% for each declaration for a month of delay (according to Article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the amount of the fine is calculated based on the amount of tax, and the total amount cannot be less than 1000 rubles and more than 30%).