4 tax mistakes that could cost you money

1. Do not pay taxes

Let's leave aside the thoughts that tax evasion is in some sense the theft of money from the budget, and in this matter the defaulter is no better than the corrupt officials with their kickbacks and cuts. Let's talk about the essentials.

Approximately one in ten Russians hides their income. Usually people expect that no one will notice it. Indeed, quite often everything gets away with it. You can rent an apartment for years or receive a salary in an envelope and avoid responsibility.

But specifically, you may not be lucky. If the FTS still finds out that you are evading taxes, they will not only force you to pay the bills, but also issue a fine of 20% of this amount. If it is possible to prove that you did it on purpose, the sanctions will be 40%.

If over the past three years you owe more than 2.7 million, you can be prosecuted.

This means a fine of 100-300 thousand rubles (sometimes - income for a period from 18 months to three years), or up to a year of forced labor, or up to six months of arrest, or up to a year in prison.

There are also penalties that do not look so scary against the background of everything else. If you do not have time to pay taxes on declared income by July 15, and property taxes by December 1, you will have to pay 1/300 of the Central Bank's refinancing rate for each day of delay. Now it is 0.02%.

Finally, you will be punished for not filing a return. The penalty will be 5% of the unpaid tax amount for each month of delay, but not less than 1,000 rubles. True, the sanctions cannot amount to more than 30%.

2. Don't file tax returns when needed

We have already started talking about declarations in the last paragraph, but this issue deserves closer attention. The average employee rarely faces the need to submit such a document, so he may not even think about what he should do. And for this, as we remember, a fine is imposed.

You must file a tax return if you:

Received income from the sale of property.
Received real estate, transport, shares, shares, shares from people who are not your close relatives. That is, not from parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren or siblings.
You work for a company that does not pay taxes for you.
Received income abroad.
Won the lottery or sweepstakes up to 15 thousand rubles. If more, the organizer deals with tax issues.

In general, everything seems clear: you have received income from which you need to pay tax - fill out the declaration. Otherwise, the prophecies from the first paragraph will come true. But there are nuances.

Sometimes a document must be submitted, even if you do not owe the state anything. For example, let's say you sold an apartment that you owned for less than three years, cheaper than you bought it. There is no income, so there is nothing to tax. But you still need to file a declaration, where you will notify the FTS with the help of accompanying documents that there is no debt. If you do not do this, you will be fined 1 thousand rubles - the minimum amount of sanctions.

3. Don't follow tax notifications

Every year, the FTS generates and sends you a tax notice, which says how much you owe the state for owning property. Previously, these were paper letters, now the document can be received directly in the personal account on the department's website.

Why you need to monitor whether you received a notification and what is written in it.

There are mistakes in them. You may be charged a tax on a car sold three years ago or on an apartment owned by your namesake. On the other hand, you may not be charged tax for something. In both cases, you risk money: either pay extra, or get in trouble when non-payment is revealed.
You may be assessed tax without taking into account benefits or deductions. As a result, you will overpay.
If the notification came in paper form, it is possible that it is fraudulent. You run the risk of giving your money to the wrong place. And then you still have to pay the tax.

So in the fall, check how much property taxes have been charged to you. Notification should be received by November 1st.

4. Do not issue a tax deduction

The state is ready to return part of the money that you paid in the form of personal income tax. Many people know about the home purchase deduction, but it is not the only one. You can also get money if you have children, have been treated, studied, donated to charity, made contributions to a non-profit pension fund, and invested.

You can count on the maximum deduction when buying real estate: it can reach 260 thousand. But even if we are talking about small amounts, it is strange to refuse money.

Now it is easy to issue a deduction directly in your personal account on the tax website. If you take your time, it is not even necessary to take a 2 ‑ personal income tax certificate from the employer: after March 1, it will be uploaded to the site without your participation.