What are social tax deductions for and how to get them

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Treatment and training costs can be offset.

What is a social tax deduction and when you can use it

In Russia, the income of citizens, with some exceptions, is taxed at 13%. But sometimes the state allows not to pay this money or return the money previously transferred. A tax deduction is the portion of income that is not taxed. Accordingly, if you issue it for a certain amount, you will receive 13% of it.

A social tax deduction is provided if you spend money for the following purposes.

Charity

You can apply for a tax deduction if you transferred funds:

• charitable organizations;
• socially oriented non-profit organizations for activities permitted by non-profit organizations in Russia;
• non-profit organizations that work in the field of science, culture, physical education and amateur sports, education, health care, protection of human rights and freedoms, social support of citizens, environmental protection and animal protection;
• non-profit organizations for the formation or replenishment of endowment capital;
• religious organizations for statutory activities.

A tax deduction is allowed to be claimed for the entire amount of money spent. But this does not mean that everything spent will be returned to you - only 13% of it. There is one more limitation: the deduction is allowed to be received for no more than 25% of the annual income.

Let's say you get 800 thousand rubles a year. If in 12 months you transferred 150 thousand to charity, then you can deduct the entire amount and return 13% of it - 19.5 thousand. If 250 thousand were transferred to an NPO, the deduction will be 200 thousand, since it cannot exceed a quarter of the annual income. Therefore, the maximum return is 13% of 200 thousand, or 26 thousand.

Education

The deduction can be obtained for tuition:

• your own - up to 120 thousand rubles a year, which will return you 15, 6 thousand;
• brother or sister - up to 120 thousand;
• children - up to 50 thousand for each, which will be 6, 5 thousand.

Almost any educational organization is suitable - from a university to a driving school and courses. But she must have a license.

You can apply for a deduction within three years from the moment you spent. And even if the training is long-term and long-term, then it is more profitable to contribute a small amount every year, and not to pay in a lump sum. Because in the latter case, the deduction can be obtained only for the year when the payment was made.

Let's say you are a student at a university where annual tuition costs 50,000 rubles. But you can give 200 thousand at a time. If you transfer 50 thousand every year, you will be able to receive 6, 5 thousand rubles four times. If you pay the entire amount in full - then once, 15, 6 thousand.

Treatment and purchase of medicines

You can return the money if you went to a medical institution that is located in Russia and has an appropriate license. Moreover, the deduction is due not only for paying directly for the services and drugs prescribed by the doctor, but also part of the expenses on voluntary medical insurance can be returned.

The deduction is provided for the expenses for the treatment of one's own, spouse, minor children, parents. But payment documents must be issued in the name of the recipient. The limitation period for obtaining a deduction is three years. The maximum amount is 120 thousand, that is, 15.6 thousand for issuance. The exception is expensive treatment, for which you can claim the entire amount spent as a deduction and get 13% of it. What is considered an expensive treatment is determined by the Russian government.

Pension

A deduction is issued if you paid:

• pension contributions under a non-state pension agreement for oneself, spouse, children, parents, grandchildren, grandmothers and grandfathers;
• insurance contributions under a voluntary pension insurance agreement for oneself, spouse, parents, disabled children;
• additional insurance contributions for funded pension.

The amount of the deduction cannot exceed 120 thousand rubles per year.

Life insurance

You can return part of the money paid under a voluntary life insurance contract, which is concluded for a period of more than five years. A contract issued for yourself, your spouse, children or parents will do. The maximum is the same: 120 thousand rubles.

Independent qualification assessment

If you have passed an independent assessment of your qualifications for a fee, you can reimburse part of the costs. The maximum deduction amount is 120 thousand rubles.

How much can you get when registering several social tax deductions

In one year, you can get a deduction for several social expenses. But the maximum in this case will be 120 thousand for everything. That is, if you spent 120 thousand rubles on education, then you will not be able to get a deduction for the rest. But there are exceptions.

Children's education, charity costs and expensive medical treatment do not add up to this maximum. Deductions for these expenses are available in addition to 120 thousand.

Who Can Get Social Tax Deduction

You can get a tax deduction if you are a tax resident of the Russian Federation (that is, spend more than 183 days a year in the country) and pay a tax on personal income of 13%. Profits of non-residents are taxed at a different rate, so they are not deductible. And if you work unofficially and do not pay personal income tax, then you simply have nothing to return.

What documents are needed to get a social tax deduction

In all cases, you will need a 2 ‑ NDFL certificate of income and withholding taxes for the year. You can take it from your employer or find it in your personal account on the tax office's website, where it will appear after March 1. The rest depends on what kind of deduction you are applying for - you will need copies of the papers below, unless otherwise noted.

Charity

• donation agreement;
• payment documents: checks, receipts, bank statements, payment orders;
• documents confirming the status of the recipient and the purpose of the donation.

Education

• payment documents;
• educational institution license;
• training contract, if any;
• documents confirming kinship, if you do not receive a deduction for your education.

Treatment

If you paid for medical services:

• an agreement for their provision, if any;
• the license of the medical institution, if the contract does not contain its details;
• certificate of payment for medical services (original).

If you bought medicines:

• a prescription for drugs with a stamp containing the phrase "For the tax authorities of the Russian Federation, taxpayer tax number" (original);
• payment documents;
• papers confirming the degree of relationship, if necessary.

If you paid for VHI:

• payment documents;
• contract;
• papers confirming the degree of relationship.

Pension

• payment documents;
• an agreement with a non-state pension fund;
• an extract from a registered pension account;
• papers confirming the degree of relationship.

Life insurance

• payment documents;
• an agreement with an insurance company indicating the details of the company's license;
• papers confirming the degree of relationship.

Independent qualification assessment

• payment documents;
• extract from the Register of Qualification Assessment Centers;
• contract with the assessment center;
• certificate of qualification.

How to get social tax deduction

Depending on the type of deduction, you can get it in two ways.

1. Through the employer

In this case, your company's accountant will temporarily not withhold tax from your salary until you have reached the limit. Through the employer, you can apply for a deduction for education, medical treatment, pension and insurance contributions.

First, you need to receive a notification of confirmation of the right to deduction, which you will later bring to the accounting department. To do this, you need the documents that are listed above, and send the appropriate one to the tax office. This can be done in person, via mail or through an account on the FTS website.

The latter is the easiest. To do this, you need an unqualified electronic signature, which can be issued here on the site. Click on your last name, first name and patronymic to go to your profile page. Scroll down to "Receive EP". The process takes, according to the site administration, from 30 minutes to a day.

After that, you can issue a notification. Select the button "Life situations", then "Request a certificate and other documents" and "Get a certificate confirming the right to receive social deductions."

Then you will need to indicate how much money you spent, who your employer is, and also attach all the necessary documents.

The notification will be ready within a month. It must be taken from the tax office and, together with the application for a deduction (written in free form), transferred to the accountants of your company. Then they will do everything themselves.

2. Through the tax

In this case, you apply with a deduction directly to the Federal Tax Service. If approved, the entire amount will be transferred to you at a time. To achieve this, you need to contact the inspectorate with a package of documents and a 3-NDFL declaration. Again, this can be done in person, via mail, or online at the tax office. The simplest, of course, is the latter.

Lifehacker has the most detailed instructions on how to issue a deduction through your personal account, with pictures.

The FTS must review the documents within a month and approve the deduction or reject it. But the inspectors also have the right to conduct a desk audit, which will lengthen the process up to three months from the date of submission of the papers. If everything is in order with the documents, the money will be transferred to you within 30 days after approval.