Employees are sent to another city and rent an apartment for living and a car for traveling - how to take into account expenses?

Travel expenses in the Tax Code

Like any expenses that reduce income tax, business trip expenses must be documented and economically justified (clause 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation classifies expenses for business trips as other expenses for production and sales (subclause 12, clause 1, Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). However, the code does not provide a complete explanation of what exactly can be considered travel expenses for tax accounting purposes. There is only an approximate list of them, with limitations. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation specifically includes the following as travel expenses:

• travel expenses for employees to and from the business trip;
• expenses for housing at the place of business trip;
• daily allowance;
• costs for obtaining passports and visas.

This situation has led to the need for constant appeals to the Russian Ministry of Finance to clarify questions about whether certain travel expenses can be taken into account in reducing the income tax base.

Therefore, the accountant will have to study not only the provisions of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, but also a fairly large number of letters from the Russian Ministry of Finance on this topic. And clarify to what extent the expenses defined in the local regulations on business trips meet the criteria for their acceptance for tax accounting.

Registration

For tax purposes, travel expenses are taken into account only if they are of a production nature. That is, they were incurred to carry out activities aimed at generating income, are justified (economically justified), documented and comply with the requirements of paragraph 1 of Article 252 of the Tax Code.

The list of travel expenses not subject to income tax is determined by subparagraph 12 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code. These are the costs for:

• travel of the employee to the place of business trip and back to the place of permanent work;
• rental of residential premises;
• daily allowance (within the limits independently established by the organization);
• costs for processing and issuing visas, passports, vouchers, invitations and other similar documents;
• consular, airfield fees, fees for the right of entry, passage, transit of automobile and other transport, for the use of sea canals, other similar structures and other similar payments and fees.

All these expenses are taken into account when calculating income tax without any restrictions. The main thing is that the organization can confirm them with supporting documents. Undocumented expenses cannot be included in income tax expenses.

The list of travel expenses not subject to personal income tax is established by paragraph 3 of Article 217 of the Tax Code. These include:

• daily allowances paid in accordance with the law within the limits of: no more than 700 rubles for each day of a business trip in Russia;
• no more than 2,500 rubles for each day of a business trip abroad. At the same time, daily allowances paid in excess of the specified limits are the income of the posted employee and are subject to personal income tax. If, when sent on a business trip abroad, an employee receives daily allowances in foreign currency, then in case of overspending, he or she will have taxable income. Income (expenses accepted for deduction) of a taxpayer, expressed (nominated) in foreign currency, are recalculated into rubles at the official exchange rate of the Bank of Russia established on the date of actual receipt of said income (date of actual expenditure) (clause 5 of Article 210 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) . The determination of income subject to taxation in case of overexpenditure of daily allowances is made by the tax agent organization at the time of approval of the employee’s advance report (clause 3 of Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) (letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated April 20, 2015 No. BS-4-11/6660). ;

Procedure for taxation of travel expenses:

If an employee goes on a business trip directly from vacation, and returns to work from a business trip, then personal income tax is not paid on compensation for the cost of travel (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated November 9, 2018 No. 03-04-06/80946, dated October 16, 2015 No. 03-04-06/59443).

Officials note that there are no restrictions in the Tax Code regarding the exemption from personal income tax of amounts for reimbursement of travel expenses, depending on the place from which the employee is sent on a business trip. The main thing: an employee’s trip to carry out an official assignment outside the place of permanent work must be recognized as a business trip. Where the employee goes on business trips does not matter.

Travel costs for seconded employees for tax accounting

Let's consider some ambiguous situations related to the cost of travel for a business trip employee.

The cost of travel to the place of business trip and back to the place of permanent work can be taken into account for tax purposes. Is the point of departure for a business trip important? Maybe it does not coincide with the location of the employee’s permanent place of work (including remote work)?

Traveling on a business trip from a location other than your permanent place of work

In explaining this issue, controllers rely on the provisions of Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 13, 2008 No. 749 “On the specifics of sending employees on business trips,” namely, paragraph 4 of the Decree, which connects the start of a business trip with the place of departure of the employee from his place of permanent work, and not from any other place of his stay (Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 07/05/2019 No. 03-03-06/1/49840). Consequently, in the opinion of the controllers, payment for an employee’s travel to a place of business trip not from the place of permanent work will not be considered a travel expense.

An exception is made for the travel of an employee sent on a business trip immediately after the end of his vacation. Accounting for such expenses does not contradict the provisions of paragraph 12 of Art. 264 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The employee remains in the place of business trip for vacation

If an employee remains at the place of a business trip after its end to spend a vacation there, and returns from vacation to his place of permanent work, it will not be possible to recognize the costs of the return trip in tax accounting.

Similarly, the cost of travel to the place of business trip cannot be recognized as a tax expense if the employee first spends his vacation there, and after the end of the vacation begins to perform business trip duties.

At the same time, if an employee leaves the place of vacation on a business trip, then travel expenses in this case must be reimbursed by the employer; they are also not subject to personal income tax (Letter of the Ministry of Finance dated November 9, 2018 No. 03-04-06/80946).

The dates of departure for a business trip and return from it do not coincide with the duration of the business trip

At the same time, you can spend a weekend at the place of your business trip, arriving there in advance, or staying after the business trip, without compromising your profitable expenses. However, a minor delay (or pre-arrival) must be agreed upon with management and justified economically, or even better, changes must be made to the travel order and new dates must be specified to avoid questions from inspectors.

In particular, in Letter No. 03-15-06/83264 dated September 23, 2020, the Ministry of Finance spoke unequivocally - if the dates in travel documents and the dates of the business trip do not match, then such costs cannot be recognized as compensation for travel expenses and they must be subject to personal income tax and contributions.

It will not be possible to include them in profit expenses, because it turns out that they have no economic justification.

If an employee’s delay in returning from a business trip was not his fault (for example, due to flight delays, traffic stops on the highway due to an accident or repair work), an order is required to extend the period of the business trip, explaining the reasons. This will help avoid disagreements with controllers.

To consider situations related to business trips of a remote worker, it is necessary to remember that the place of his permanent work is specified in the employment contract, and does not necessarily coincide with the location of the employing organization.

Compensation for the use of personal transport on a business trip

Of course, the cost of travel refers to both the cost of tickets for public transport and the cost of travel on a personal or rented vehicle, if this is provided for by the terms of the business trip and is properly documented.

If an employee goes on a business trip using personal transport, for the use of which he is paid compensation, then only part of the costs determined by Government Decree No. 92 of 02/08/2002 can be accepted as income tax expenses.

The amount of compensation already takes into account the costs of fuels and lubricants, as well as other expenses, in particular for car maintenance. Therefore, they cannot be additionally accepted as income tax expenses (subclause 11, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Letter of the Ministry of Finance dated January 15, 2020 No. 03-11-11/1198).

All about taxes for long business trips

Nowadays, organizations often send their employees on long-term business trips abroad. Let's consider tax accounting for personal income tax, insurance premiums, and income tax for such trips.

The rules for sending company employees on business trips to the territory of both the Russian Federation and foreign countries are enshrined in the “Regulations on the specifics of sending employees on business trips”, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 13, 2008 No. 749. According to clause 4 of the Regulations, the duration of the business trip is determined by the employer, taking into account the volume, complexity and other features of the official assignment.

According to Art. 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a business trip is a trip to carry out an order from the management of an organization, therefore, as soon as the event determined for the purpose occurs, it must end. Based on Instruction No. 62 adopted by several departments of the USSR on April 7, 1988, a maximum period of business travel within the Union republics was provided for - 40 days.

However, the time spent on the trip was not taken into account during this period. Employees involved in commissioning, construction and installation work could be sent on business trips for a period of no more than one year (clause 4 of Instruction No. 62).

Based on the instructions of the regulatory agencies, it was recommended to adhere to these deadlines even in cases where employees were sent on business trips abroad. Many employers continue to take these standards into account, which, in principle, does not contradict current legislation.

In accordance with Art. 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a business trip is a trip by an employee by order of the employer for a certain period of time to perform an official assignment outside the place of permanent work. According to Art. 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is obliged to compensate the employee for:

• travel expenses;
• expenses for renting residential premises;
• additional expenses associated with living outside the place of permanent residence (per diem);
• other expenses incurred by the employee with the permission or knowledge of the employer.

In accordance with paragraph 3 of Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, all types of compensation payments established by the current legislation of the Russian Federation are not subject to taxation (within the limits established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation), incl. related to the taxpayer’s performance of work duties (including moving to work in another area and reimbursement of travel expenses). Also clause 3 of Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation determines that when paying a taxpayer for business trip expenses, the following are not included in the tax base for personal income tax:

• daily allowances paid within the limits established by current legislation;
• actually incurred and documented target expenses for travel to the airport or train station;
• commission fees;
• airport service fees;
• for baggage transportation;
• expenses for renting residential premises;
• payment for communication services;
• obtaining and registering a service foreign passport;
• obtaining visas;
• expenses associated with the exchange of cash or a check at a bank for cash foreign currency.

According to paragraph 1 of Art.
207 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, personal income tax payers are individuals who are tax residents of the Russian Federation, as well as individuals receiving income from sources in the Russian Federation who are not tax residents of the Russian Federation. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 207 of the Tax Code, tax residents are individuals who are actually in the Russian Federation for at least 183 calendar days over the next 12 consecutive months. For the duration of the business trip, posted workers retain their place of work (position) and average earnings, in accordance with Art. 167 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The average salary accrued to a posted employee is a kind of guarantee provided by law, and not remuneration for work. According to Art. 209 of the Tax Code, it is necessary to determine the source of payment of this guarantee in order to understand whether it is subject to personal income tax. Art. 208 of the Tax Code does not allow the payment received to be unambiguously attributed to income received from sources in the Russian Federation or from sources outside the Russian Federation, therefore, guided by clause 4 of Art. 209 of the Tax Code, we turn to the clarifications of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.

And in this case, there are two opinions of the Ministry of Finance:

1. According to the department, the average salary that is retained by an employee during a business trip is recognized as income received from sources outside the Russian Federation. This opinion is confirmed by letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 24, 2016 No. 03-04-06/10120.

2. The average earnings received during a long business trip abroad are not remuneration for work abroad, but only a guarantee established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. And therefore, these payments are considered income received from sources in the Russian Federation, Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated June 20, 2011 No. 03-04-05/6-430, dated April 5, 2011 No. 03-04-06/6-73, dated March 24, 2010 No. 03-04-06/6-48.

Based on this, we can consider two ways of accounting for personal income tax on the amount of average earnings, and organizations can make their own choice.

1. According to Art. 129, art. 139 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employee performs the employer’s task within the framework of his job functions while on a business trip, therefore this is remuneration for work duties. Thus, for personal income tax purposes, all amounts paid to an employee (including average earnings) will be income from sources outside the Russian Federation.
Indeed, to qualify the source of income (outside the Russian Federation or in the Russian Federation), it is the place where the work is performed that is important, and not who pays the income (Russian or foreign organization). This position of the regulatory authorities is enshrined in the Letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated July 29, 2009 No. 20-15/3/ [email protected] If on the date of receipt of income the seconded employee is a resident, personal income tax does not need to be withheld from the amount of the organization’s average earnings.

According to paragraph 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 228 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, from income received from sources outside of Russia, cooperation

Ki-residents must independently calculate and pay personal income tax at a rate of 13%. Based on clause 3 of Art. 228 and paragraph 1 of Art. 229 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, no later than April 30, this posted resident employee must submit a tax return to the tax office on income received outside of Russia. If a posted employee paid tax to the budget of a foreign state, then according to Art. 232 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, this amount is accepted as offset against the payment of personal income tax in Russia. If the posted employee lost his resident status (i.e., he actually spent less than 183 days out of 12 consecutive months in the territory of the Russian Federation), personal income tax does not need to be withheld, because according to paragraph 1 of Art. 207 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not create an object of taxation.

When using this method of accounting for personal income tax, disputes with regulatory authorities are possible. Not withholding personal income tax from “travel” income is a dangerous method for organizations.

2. According to the Ministry of Finance, the average earnings received during a long business trip abroad are not remuneration for work abroad, but only a guarantee established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. And therefore these payments are considered income received from sources in the Russian Federation.
Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated June 20, 2011 No. 03-04-05/6-430, dated April 5, 2011 No. 03-04-06/6-73, dated March 24, 2010 No. 03-04-06/6-48. With this interpretation, it turns out that the organization is a tax agent and is obliged to calculate, withhold and transfer to the budget personal income tax on the average earnings of a posted employee. As long as he remains a resident of the Russian Federation, personal income tax on these payments must be withheld at a rate of 13% with the provision of standard deductions, in accordance with clause 1 of Art. 208, paragraph 1, art. 209, paragraphs. 1, 3 tbsp. 210, paragraph 1, art. 224, paragraph 2 of Art. 226 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. As soon as the employee becomes a non-resident of the Russian Federation, it will be necessary to recalculate personal income tax at a rate of 30% on income received since the beginning of the year, and without providing standard deductions, based on paragraphs. 1, 4 tbsp. 210, paragraph 3 of Art. 224, paragraph 3 of Art. 226, art. 216 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

This method of accounting for personal income tax is considered optimal; it rarely causes disputes with regulatory authorities.

Daily allowances are partially subject to personal income tax - they are exempt from tax only within the limits established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to clause 3 of Art. 217 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. If the manager decides to reimburse the posted employee for expenses in excess of the norm, then this difference is subject to personal income tax. Clause 3 art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes the following daily allowance rates:

• when a seconded employee is in the Russian Federation - 700 rubles. in a day;
• location of a seconded employee outside the territory of the Russian Federation—RUB 2,500. in a day.

According to paragraph 3 of Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, compensation by the employer for the following expenses is not included in the employee’s taxable personal income tax (clause 3 of Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):

• the cost of travel to the place of performance of the official assignment (regardless of the place of departure for the business trip) and back, including the cost of services in luxury cars;
• the employee must be reimbursed for the costs of renting accommodation on a business trip;
• commission for airport services;
• the cost of travel to the place of departure (train station, airport), destination or transfers;
• baggage transportation.

In the absence of documents, personal income tax will not be assessed on the amount within the limits defined in paragraph.
Section 10 3 tbsp. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation: “If the taxpayer fails to provide documents confirming payment of expenses for renting residential premises, the amounts of such payment are exempt from taxation in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, but not more than 700 rubles for each day of a business trip in the Russian Federation and not more than 2 500 rubles for each day spent on a business trip abroad.” According to Art. 420 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, labor relations are recognized as the object of taxation of insurance premiums. Labor relations are not:

• travel of the employee to the place of business trip and back to the place of permanent work;
• rental of residential premises, expenses for additional services provided in hotels (except for services in bars, restaurants, room service)
• registration of visas, passports, vouchers, invitations;
• consular and airport fees;
• fees for the right of entry, passage, transit of automobile and other transport.

These types of payments are not subject to SV taxation.
Insurance premiums are not charged on daily allowances if such daily allowances do not exceed the above limits, in accordance with clause 2 of Art. 422 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Daily allowances in excess of the norm are subject to insurance contributions; this amount must be taken into account in the organization’s expenses when forming the income tax base. The per diem contribution is not fully deductible. In this case, it does not matter whether the daily allowance level established by the employer exceeds or does not, in accordance with clause 2 of Art. 20.2 of the Federal Law of July 24, 1998 No. 125-FZ. This opinion is confirmed by the letter of the FSS dated November 17, 2011 No. 14-03-11/08-13985.

According to Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, travel expenses can be recognized in tax accounting only if they are economically justified and documented. Based on paragraph 12, paragraph 1 of Art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when calculating the taxable base for income tax, the following types of expenses incurred by the employee are taken into account:

• travel of the employee to the place of business trip and back to the place of permanent work;
• rental of residential premises, expenses for additional services provided in hotels (except for services in bars, restaurants, room service)
• daily allowance;
• registration of visas, passports, vouchers, invitations;
• consular and airport fees;
• fees for the right of entry, passage, transit of automobile and other transport.

Daily allowance amounts are included in other expenses associated with production and sales.
They are included in costs in the amount provided for by the collective agreement or local regulations of the company, orders, regulations on remuneration, regulations on business trips, etc. For profit tax purposes, daily allowances are not standardized. When calculating income tax, only documented expenses are taken into account, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 252, sub. 12 clause 1 art. 264 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Expenses that are not confirmed by primary documents are not accepted for tax accounting. According to paragraph 49, paragraph 1, Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, when forming the income tax base, the average earnings of posted workers are taken into account, as are other expenses associated with production and sales.

Hello Guest! Offer from "Clerk"

Online professional retraining “Chief accountant on the simplified tax system” with a diploma for 250 academic hours . Learn everything new to avoid mistakes. Online training for 2 months, the stream starts on March 1.

Sign up

Cost of accommodation for employees on a business trip for income tax purposes

Seconded employees can stay in hotels or rent housing from both citizens and individual entrepreneurs or legal entities.

In any case, to include housing costs, supporting documents for both the accommodation itself and the payment.

Hotel accommodation

When staying in a hotel room, documents confirming accommodation can be:

• hotel bill;
• the act of providing services.

Payment documents:

• if the organization paid for hotel services from the account - bank statement, payment order;
• if the employee paid for accommodation on site in cash or by card - an online cash register receipt.

Note! If the accountant, when paying by card or cash, reported that he was acting on behalf of an organization or individual entrepreneur, then the online cash register receipt must indicate the TIN of the client - the organization or individual entrepreneur, as well as the name of the company or full name of the entrepreneur.

If the accountable person did not report anything, then the check will be issued to him without these details. It can also be taken into account.

Inspectors warn that food expenses highlighted in the documents cannot be taken into account as reducing the income tax base, but if such expenses were not highlighted in the invoice, then the entire amount paid for it is taken into account (see example of a decision that was positive for the company in Decree dated January 31, 2019 No. F07-16272/18).

In addition, in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation there is a direct ban on tax accounting for the costs of room service, in bars and restaurants, and payment for services of recreational and health facilities.

Renting housing from an organization

If the lessor is a legal entity, to confirm expenses you will need a cash receipt order, an online cash register receipt (if paying in cash or by card), as well as an agreement and an act of service provision. Apartment acceptance and transfer certificates are also usually drawn up for the lease agreement (they specifically indicate the condition of the apartment, the availability of equipment, furniture, etc.).

If the lessor is an individual entrepreneur

The rental documents here will be “standard” - an agreement, an act of provision of services or another similar document. But the document confirming payment, if it is made in cash or by card, depends on the individual entrepreneur taxation system.

Self-employed individuals issue a check from the “My Tax” application.

Individual entrepreneurs who rent out their own residential premises have the right not to use the cash register and do not issue the client any payment documents (Clause 2 of Article 2 of Federal Law No. 54-FZ).

Individual entrepreneurs with a patent may also not use an online cash register when renting out an apartment, but are required to issue the client a document confirming payment (mandatory details of such a document are specified in paragraph 4 - 12 clause 1 of article 4.7 of Law No. 54-FZ ).

If we are talking about renting an apartment from an individual entrepreneur, which took place before July 1, 2022, then for individual entrepreneurs until that day there was a benefit - when providing services (including leasing property), they could not use an online cash register and not issue no payment documents for clients.

Other entrepreneurs are required to use the cash register and provide the landlord with an online cash receipt according to the same rules and with the same details as organizations (see above).

Lessor - individual

If the individual is self-employed, he also issues a check from the MyTax application. In this case, it is better to also ask for a deed and an agreement, although not all individuals are ready to provide them.

If we are talking about an ordinary individual, without a special status, then confirmation of payment in cash (or transfer from card to card, which is also practiced) is a receipt (must contain the individual’s passport data), as well as a lease agreement and acts of acceptance and transfer of premises.

But in this case, the organization or entrepreneur who sent the employee on a business trip may have one problem - the Federal Tax Service often believes that in this case the individual received income from the organization (IP) tax agent (even if the payment was made by the accountant personally, he acted on organization name).

Tax officials believe that in this case it is necessary to report the fact of receipt of income and the impossibility of withholding personal income tax to the Federal Tax Service.

If an organization has entered into an agreement with an individual in advance and pays him for renting an apartment from a current account, then it must withhold tax upon payment and transfer it to the Federal Tax Service.

Daily allowance for income tax purposes

The amount of daily payments to seconded employees is determined in the local regulations of the organization. Moreover, daily allowances can be differentiated depending on the position of the employees.

In income tax expenses, daily allowances are accepted in the full amount determined in the LTA for each day on a business trip, including holidays and weekends, as well as days en route. The exception is daily allowances for one-day business trips.

Due to the fact that the legislation of the Russian Federation does not provide for the payment of daily allowances for being on a one-day business trip in Russia, even if such an opportunity exists in the organization’s LNA, it will not be possible to take such an expense into account in reducing the income tax base.

However, for one-day business trips abroad, paragraph 20 of Resolution No. 749 provides for a daily allowance in the amount of 50% of the amount established by the organization’s regulations, so such costs can be accepted as an income tax expense.