Who must pay land tax and what determines its amount?
Not every businessman has to pay land tax.
As soon as a land plot appears as part of his property, the issue of calculating and paying this tax becomes relevant. For example, on January 21, 2021, the company registered ownership of land - from that moment on, it has the obligation to calculate and pay land tax (clause 1 of Article 388 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
If the company decides to register the land under the right of free-term use or has entered into a lease agreement, it does not have the obligation to pay land tax and there is no need to look for an answer to the question of how to calculate the land tax (clause 2 of Article 388 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
IMPORTANT! Land tax is local and is regulated not only by the Tax Code (Chapter 31), but also by land and municipal legislation (in terms of establishing benefits, rates, and payment procedures).
The amount of tax depends on several factors: the regional location and cadastral value of the site, the purpose of its use, the tax rate and the availability of benefits. In relation to this tax, regions are given the opportunity to:
- approve the amount of rates on it, without going beyond the limits established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation;
- differentiate these rates;
- introduce additional benefits;
- decide on the payment of advance tax;
- set payment deadlines (until 01/01/2021).
From 01/01/2021, local authorities do not determine payment deadlines for land tax. The deadline will be the same throughout the country: March 1 for annual taxes and the last day of the month following the reporting period for advance payments. The new rules are effective from the annual payment for the 2022 tax period.
Starting with the tax for 2022, its declaration has been canceled, and the Federal Tax Service will send messages with the amount of tax calculated based on the data it has. The message will indicate the cadastral number of the plot, the amount of tax, the tax period, as well as the data on the basis of which the tax is calculated: tax base, tax rate, amount of tax benefits, etc. However, this does not mean that legal entities no longer need to calculate the tax themselves. This responsibility will remain with organizations in the future. After all, the payer must know the amount in order to make advance payments during the year (if such are established by local authorities). And the message from the tax office is more of an informational nature. And he will receive it after the deadline for paying advances (see, for example, letter of the Ministry of Finance dated June 19, 2019 No. 03-05-05-02/44672).
Important! Recommendation from ConsultantPlus Compare the amount of tax calculated by the inspectorate with the amount you calculated and paid. If they are equal, then the tax was calculated and paid correctly. If the amounts differ, check:... What to check and what to do in case of an error (yours or the tax authorities), see K+. Trial access to the system can be obtained for free.
ATTENTION! If you do not receive the notification, you are required to independently inform the tax authorities about your taxable property. Read about the nuances in the material “Organizations will have to report transport and land plots to the tax authorities.”
Next, we will consider the procedure for calculating land tax for a legal entity.
The procedure for calculating and paying land tax on a plot (basic formula)
How is land tax calculated for 2022? At first glance, it’s usually: we multiply the tax base by the rate. In this case, the cadastral value of the land established at the beginning of the corresponding tax year serves as the base (clause 1 of Article 389 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Important! Hint from ConsultantPlus Where to find the cadastral value of a plot for land tax There are several ways to find out the cadastral value: order an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate... You will find two more ways to find out the cadastral value in K+. You can get trial access for free.
If land is bought or sold during the year, the land tax formula will be adjusted taking into account the period of land ownership (the coefficient Kv is calculated as the ratio of full months of land ownership to 12 months). A month in which the ownership right arose before the 15th day or was lost after the 15th day is considered complete (clause 7 of Article 396 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
A different coefficient (Ci) should be applied if the cadastral value changes during the year.
How the tax is calculated in this case, read the article “Calculation of land tax when the cadastral value changes.”
A special procedure for calculating land tax applies if the land is located on the territory of two municipalities at once. Then the cost of the plot is divided between these entities, taking into account the share of area located in each of them (clause 1 of Article 391 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). And for each part, its own tax calculation is made using the benefits and rates corresponding to each of the entities.
An example of determining the base for land tax if the site is located in the territories of two municipalities from ConsultantPlus Organizational site with an area of 1,000 square meters. m is located on the territories of two municipalities (MO). Municipality No. 1 accounts for 480 sq. m, for municipality No. 2 - 520 sq. m. m The cadastral value of the plot in the Unified State Register of Real Estate as of January 1 of the year is 2,000,000 rubles. Let's determine the share of the plot for each municipality: For the full example, see K+. This can be done for free.
The company is required not only to calculate land tax based on the cadastral value using all coefficients - it is equally important to report to the tax office on time and pay the tax.
How to calculate and pay tax, read the article “Land tax for the year - how to calculate and when to pay?”
Regional law may require quarterly advance tax payments. Each such payment is calculated as ¼ of the annual tax amount (clause 6 of Article 396 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) taking into account the number of months of ownership in the corresponding quarter (clause 7 of Article 396 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
We tell you when to pay advance payments for land tax in the article “Deadlines for paying advance payments for land tax.”
Calculation of land tax based on cadastral value using an example
Let's see how to calculate land tax for 2022. For example, a company that registered ownership of a land plot on January 21, 2021, found out its cadastral value at the beginning of the year (980,000 rubles) and the tax rate (1.5%) in force in the relevant area (from the local land regulatory legal act). These legal acts do not provide benefits or increasing coefficients.
Let's calculate land tax for 2022:
980,000 rub. × 1.5% × 11/12 = 13,475 rubles,
Where:
11/12 is a coefficient that takes into account the full months of ownership of the plot (from February to December) from the 12 months of 2022. January is not included in the calculation, since the right to land arose in the second half of the month.
Let's look at an example of how to calculate land tax if local land legislation provides for advance payments. Using the initial data of the previous calculation, we obtain the following:
- The advance payment for the 1st quarter of 2022, taking into account the number of months of ownership, will be 2,450 rubles. (1/4 × 980,000 × 1.5% × 2/3);
- for each of the following reporting periods (for half a year and 9 months of 2022), the payment will be 3,675 rubles. (1/4 × 980,000 × 1.5%);
- at the end of 2022, it will be necessary to pay to the budget an amount equal to the difference between the full tax amount calculated for the year, taking into account the number of months of ownership, and the amount of advance payments accrued for this year (13,475 – 2,450 – 3,675 × 2 = 3,675).
IMPORTANT! The tax is paid in full rubles (observing the rounding rule) - this is established by Art. 52 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
Download a sample payment order for payment of land tax here .
How to calculate land tax taking into account the benefits?
Benefits contained in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation or established by local authorities can exempt a company from paying land tax in whole or in part (Article 395 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
If municipalities have provided a benefit for a company's land plot, the tax is calculated taking into account this benefit.
Let's continue our example of calculating land tax: a company has located a scientific center on its land plot (it occupies 20% of the area and is used for its intended purpose), and local authorities have provided tax exemption for land plots used to house scientific institutions.
The land tax will then be calculated as follows.
- Let's determine the tax base:
(980,000 rub. – 980,000 rub. × 20%) = 784,000 rub.
- Let's determine the amount of tax at a tax rate of 1.5% and coefficient (Kv) = 0.9167 (previously calculated as 11/12):
784,000 rub. × 1.5% × 0.9167 = 10,780 rubles.
Read more about the benefits established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in the article “Object of taxation of land tax” .
Who is exempt from paying tax?
Article 395 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation lists all categories that are exempt from paying tax. Among individuals, only small indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East can take advantage of this right. Thus, the remaining owners have to pay tax on agricultural land.
Benefits for individuals are provided to the following categories:
- Citizens with confirmed disabilities of groups 1 and 2;
- Disabled children;
- WWII veterans;
- Participants in local conflicts and hostilities;
- Victims of man-made disasters.
Local authorities may include additional preferential categories of citizens in this list. This benefit is of a declarative nature. A person from a preferential category must contact the tax office with an application to establish a benefit. This can be done in person, through a trusted person, online or by postal service.
Is it possible to calculate land tax paid by legal entities online?
How to calculate land tax online? This is a completely natural question with modern automation of settlement processes. Services for calculating tax amounts using an online calculator are offered by many websites.
But you can take advantage of these offers if the tax calculation algorithm is quite simple (for example, there are no benefits, and the site is located on the territory of one municipal district). Otherwise, you will not be able to find a universal calculator.
As practical experience shows, it is better to calculate land tax using a formula you created yourself (automating the process using Excel spreadsheets or other proprietary computer developments).
And for individuals and individual entrepreneurs, a special service is available on the Federal Tax Service website, which will calculate the amount of tax online. See details here .
Land tax rates
Tax rate
cannot exceed
0.3%
of the cadastral value of the plots:
- located on agricultural lands or as part of agricultural use zones in populated areas and used for agricultural production;
- occupied by housing stock and utility infrastructure facilities and acquired for housing construction, except for sites used in business activities;
- purchased for personal farming, gardening, vegetable gardening. In 2022, the rate applies to plots of this group if they are not used for business activities;
- general purpose land plots intended for citizens to conduct gardening and vegetable gardening or intended for the placement of other public property.
The tax rate for other areas should not exceed 1,5%
from the cadastral value.
Results
To decide how to calculate land tax, it is not enough to read the Tax Code - you need to carefully study local legislation, which contains important information necessary for calculating and paying tax (rates, benefits, deadlines, etc.).
Sources: Tax Code of the Russian Federation
You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.
Amendments to legislation
Local authorities have the opportunity to introduce restrictions on the payment of taxes on objects, including land plots. But usually they apply to lands that are valuable for settlement or owned by city-forming enterprises.
According to paragraph 2 of Art. 375 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the tax base is determined based on the cadastral value. In recent years, large-scale work has been carried out, which has led to its significant increase. Therefore, land owners need to find out the size of cadastral property. If it exceeds the market value, it is important to conduct an independent examination and go to court with its results. Otherwise, paying higher taxes is inevitable.
