Zero VAT declaration sample filling. How to prepare a zero VAT return

The law states that reporting is not a right, but an obligation of the taxpayer. Based on the forms received, the fiscal authorities check whether budget obligations have been calculated correctly.

A zero VAT return is prepared subject to two conditions:

• An organization or individual entrepreneur operates on a general taxation system.
• There are no numerical values ​​to fill out sections 2-12 of the reporting form.

In practice, this is possible if the activity was not actually carried out and there is no turnover. For example, a legal entity has just been registered and has not yet started its activities, work has been suspended due to seasonal factors or financial difficulties, and the process of liquidating the company has begun.

Important! If for the reporting quarter there is data to fill out any section, the declaration cannot be zero.

How and where to submit the report?

A zero VAT return 2017 is submitted according to the same rules as the “standard” one. It must be sent electronically, regardless of the number of personnel hired. To do this, you must have a valid agreement with an Internet operator.

The deadline for submitting the report is no later than the 25th day of the month following the quarter. If the date is a red day on the calendar, the “deadline” is moved to the next business day.

A zero VAT return is sent to “your” Federal Tax Service, i.e. to the fiscal authority where the company is registered. If a legal entity has separate divisions that did not operate during the reporting period, there is no need to prepare separate forms for them.

Important! Attempts to submit a report “the old fashioned way”, i.e. on paper will lead to problems with regulatory authorities. The tax authorities will consider the form not submitted, and the law will be on their side. In the best case, the company will be fined 1 thousand rubles. in accordance with Art. 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, at worst, her current accounts in credit institutions will be frozen.

How to fill out a zero VAT return?

To prepare a report, you must take a form that is current for the current year. It can be found on the websites of legal information systems.

Important! The 2017 form has undergone minor transformations compared to the 2016 form: bar codes have been changed and lines have been added. When preparing your document, make sure you select the correct form.

VAT return is zero – which sections should I fill out? The business was not actually running, there was no turnover, so there is no numerical data to indicate in the columns. This means that the accountant only needs to prepare the first section and title page.

When preparing a report, you must adhere to the following rules:

• Information is entered from left to right.
• In columns for which there is no data, dashes are inserted.
• Both sheets must contain serial numbers: “001” and “002”.
• The data provided in the report must correspond to the company's registration documents.

How to submit a zero VAT return? You need to prepare a report, certify it with the electronic signature of a manager or other authorized person (it must be completed in advance) and send it to “your” Federal Tax Service via TKS.

How to fill out the title page

The title page includes information about the company that compiled the document and the period for which the data is presented. Filling out a zero VAT return requires providing the following information:

• Taxpayer's name. Companies indicate their name in strict accordance with the Charter, private merchants - with a general civil passport.
• TIN and KPP of the structure that compiled the document.
• Code of the fiscal authority to which the information is sent.
• Code by location - the company submitting the reporting form to “its” Federal Tax Service enters “400”.
• Correction number. “001” is indicated if the taxpayer is submitting a declaration for the first time, “002” – if he is submitting updated information.
• Tax period code - enter a number from 21 to 24, which indicates the first to fourth quarter, respectively.
• The year number is a four-digit number indicating the current year.
• OKVED code - according to the sample for filling out a zero VAT return 2017, this code is indicated in accordance with the updated directory.
• Contact telephone number of the organization or private entrepreneur (with city code).
• The number of pages of the declaration (if the zero level is passed, there will be two of them) and appendices to them (if no activity was carried out, they are missing).

At the bottom of the title page is the full name of the head of the company or other authorized person, his personal signature, and the date the document was filled out.

Filling out a zero VAT return for 2017: first section

Companies and individual entrepreneurs filling out the reporting form must indicate the following data in the first section:

• OKTMO code in accordance with the new directory (line 10);
• BCC for value added tax (line 20);
• zeros on lines 30, 40 and 50.

Important! When filling out the form in 1C and other accounting programs, it is not recommended to put dashes on lines 30-40: the report may be returned with an error. Enter the number “0”.

Lines 60 to 80 are filled in only by those taxpayers who entered the value “227” in the “Location” field on the title page. Those who indicated the standard option “400” put dashes in these fields.

Legal alternative to zero declaration

Is it necessary to submit a zero VAT return if no activity was actually carried out and the company does not have funds in its accounts? The standard form has an alternative - a single simplified declaration (SUD). It replaces several reports and makes it possible to save time and money on paying for the services of a TCS operator.

Taxpayers who meet two conditions are eligible to use this form:

• During the reporting period there were no movements in the current accounts of the commercial structure and the cash desk.
• There is no object of taxation for the taxes that the business entity is obliged to pay: the company did not receive any revenue, the profit was zero, and no wages were paid to the staff.

The EUD, unlike the “standard” sample of a zero VAT return, is submitted on paper. This frees the taxpayer from the need to enter into an agreement with the TCS operator, which is convenient for start-up companies and private entrepreneurs.

The disadvantage of the EUD is the shortened deadline for submission: the form must be sent to the tax authorities by the 20th day of the month following the reporting period. In practice, few business entities have the right to submit such a report. If during the quarter the company received funds from contractors and made wage payments, the opportunity to replace the “standard” report with a simplified one is lost.

Do I need to submit a zero VAT return? Mandatory: lack of activity during the reporting period is not considered an exemption from the preparation of reporting forms. If a company or private merchant ignores this obligation, they may be fined 1 thousand rubles and (or) have their current accounts blocked. To avoid problems with fiscal authorities, prepare and submit the necessary documentation on time.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

If the company has chosen the usual regime for calculating taxes - OSN, it will act as a VAT payer. All categories of legal entities must submit a VAT return of the established form. This applies to both companies carrying out activities subject to taxation, and those exempt from payment, but highlighting the amount of tax in settlement documents. In addition, a similar responsibility is assigned to tax agents.

To submit declarations with calculated tax or tax to be refunded and zero VAT returns strictly defined deadlines have been established.

The basis for taxation, and accordingly, the grounds for drawing up full VAT reporting, do not arise under the following conditions:

The company did not carry out any business transactions that generated a tax base (in this situation, they are limited to the title page and section 1 of the declaration).

All activities during the reporting period were subject to the benefits provided in paragraph 2 of Art. 149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (then, in addition to the sheets specified in paragraph 1, section 3 is filled out).

Transactions are not subject to taxation under Art. 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (the title page, sections 1, 2, 7 must be filled out in the document).

The amounts of advances for the upcoming production of finished products, the delivery of which should be made only after six months due to the specifics of the production cycle, also do not form the basis for calculating VAT (in this case, the title page, sections 1 and 7 are filled out).

The company is obliged to allocate VAT in settlement documents under Art. 145–145.1 Tax Code of the Russian Federation, although the tax she doesn't pay(in addition to sections 1, 2 and the title page, section 12 is completed).

Foreign transactions were carried out, the place of which was recognized as foreign states on the basis of Art. 147–148 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (when filling out the declaration, they are limited to the title page, sections 1 and 7).

Although as a general rule zero VAT return must be electronic, exempt from taxation under Art.145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, persons performing the functions of agents may use a paper form. But this is an exception that does not apply very often.

Form of simplified declaration for VAT, income tax and property tax

Enterprises that do not carry out business transactions during the reporting period and do not have cash flows through their current account and cash desk, submit a so-called simplified declaration, which identifies 3 taxes: VAT, profit and property.

In Art. 80 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation contains a requirement for its submission no later than 20 days after the end of the reporting period. The registration method, the form of the form, as well as the deadlines for transmission to the tax authorities are specified in Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 10, 2007 No. 62n (taking into account the changes indicated in letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated October 17, 2013 No. ED-4-3/18585).

Procedure for filing a zero declaration

The last time the VAT return form was subject to significant changes was in 2015. Since that moment, specialists have understood it well and have practically no difficulties in preparing and submitting reports to the Federal Tax Service. However, they may have some questions. For example, how to fill out a zero VAT return?

Some rules for filing a return have not changed since 2014. In particular, the obligation to send it only in electronic form remains.

As before, the zero form must in any case include a title page and section 1. All data expressed in monetary units are rounded to the nearest whole value.

The new form has been put into effect by order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated October 29, 2014 No. ММВ-7-3/558@. It includes 12 sections. In this case, all pages, starting from section 2, are drawn up only when the relevant economic activity is being carried out or there are specific grounds for this.

Completing the title page and section 1 is mandatory for all companies. In addition to them, other sections are also filled out depending on the type of business transactions performed. It is also necessary to take into account certain features of entering data into each of them.

If sections 1–7 have undergone virtually no changes, then sheets 8 and 9 are completely new. They reflect information about all incoming and outgoing invoices in the company. The last 2 sections must be completed by all taxpayers, with the exception of those who did not conduct business activities.

It is possible that a company is exempt from paying VAT, but must submit documents with the amount of tax allocated in them, then it will have to fill out section 12 of the declaration.

How to design the first page

Most of the data needed to create a title page zero VAT return, taken from registration and constituent documents. This is TIN, checkpoint, inspection number, company name, surname and initials of the entrepreneur.

In a cell “By location (registration)”digital ciphers fromAppendix 3 to the Procedure for filling out the declaration, approved by Order No. ММВ-7-3/558@.

We must not forget to put down the serial number of the corrective declaration when submitting clarifying or correcting information. The numbering starts from 0 for the initial submission, when making an adjustment it is set to 1, if it needs to be repeated - 2, etc.

To reflect the reporting period, the digital code from the corresponding annex to the filling procedure is also recorded in the declaration. So, if information is presented for the first 3 months of the current year, 21 is entered in the specified field; in liquidation reporting, code 51 must be entered.

To indicate OKVED, the code of the main type of activity conducted by the taxpayer is used. This code is in the extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRIP). In the absence of an extract from the registration authorities, you must use the code of the main activity in accordance with the approved All-Russian classifier.

It is necessary to indicate the total number of pages contained in the report, and also indicate who is submitting it - the payer himself or his representative. We must also not forget about deciphering the signature of the person who drew up the declaration.

The section for employees of the Federal Tax Service is filled out by a tax officer. Employees of the company's financial department do not need to enter data into it.

Algorithm for filling out section 1

Information in section 1 of the form is entered in the following order:

line 010 is for OKTMO;

BCC is indicated in field 020;

in cells 030 to 050 you need to enter 0 (since the tax department utility program does not read dashes, errors may occur when using them);

fields from 060 to 080 are not filled in, except when in the field “P” about the location (registration)" enter code 227.

If the company did not conduct business in the current period, only the title page and section 1 are included in the zero declaration.

Possible difficulties with sections 7 and 12

Section 7 of the declaration form is mandatory in the following cases:

upon receipt of partial payment before shipment of products, the completion of production of which will occur in more than 6 months;

carrying out transactions that are not subject to VAT;

abolition of the taxpayer’s obligation to issue invoices to clients.

The codes of business transactions are entered into the initial field of the section in accordance with the classifier given in the instructions for filling out the declaration. If there are preferential transactions, they are reflected in cells 2 to 4, also in encoded format. If transaction amounts exempt from taxation are reflected in columns 1 and 2, and also if products are sold abroad, dashes are placed in fields 3 and 4.

When receiving a preliminary payment for products that are planned to be delivered to the client only in 6 months, the advance amounts are reflected in field 10.

Companies and entrepreneurs required to allocate VAT on invoices, but for some reason exempt from paying the tax, must fill out section 12 of the declaration.

When drawing up the specified sheet, the taxpayer must enter all TIN, KPP codes and indicate the serial number of the sheet.

How to punish for late submission of a zero VAT return

Since last year, 2015, the obligation to submit VAT reports has been considered unfulfilled by almost all categories of taxpayers if the declaration is submitted to the inspectorate on paper. This is clearly stated in clause 5 art. 174 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. Such an event is qualified as failure to submit a declaration within the specified time frame and entails a fine of 1,000 rubles. on the basis of paragraph 1 of Art. 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This procedure applies, inter alia, to cases of filing a zero VAT return.

In addition to sanctions in accordance with tax legislation, penalties in the amount of 300 to 500 rubles are provided for managers and employees of companies. in connection with an administrative offense. If there is a regular failure to submit reports over several tax periods, tax authorities may block the company's bank accounts.

To avoid such consequences, VAT reporting must be submitted on time.

***

All companies under the general taxation regime are required to submit a VAT return. The lack of activity in such a situation does not play any role, as well as the presence of benefits stipulated by law.

Since 2015, the VAT reporting form has changed. It must be submitted to the tax authority only in electronic form no later than 25 days after the end of the period for which data must be submitted. In case of violation of the terms or form of transfer of documents, the payer may be liable in the form of a fine in accordance with tax and administrative legislation.

By strictly observing all the rules established by law, taxpayers will be able to avoid adverse consequences.

Zero VAT return - in what cases is it formed, how is it filled out and how can it be replaced? In our article we will look at the features of applying and filing a zero VAT return.

In what cases is a zero VAT return submitted?

Do I need to submit a zero VAT return? Yes need! Moreover, like any VAT return, the zero return must also be submitted within the deadline established for this report.

NOTE! From reporting for the 1st quarter of 2019, the VAT return form has been updated. Read more about the changes.

A zero VAT return is submitted in cases where there are no digital indicators to fill out its sections 2-12. This may occur at the beginning or at the end of the taxpayer’s work, during seasonal activities, or temporary breaks in work. The declaration will not be zero if there is data to fill out at least one of these sections.

It must be submitted by all those persons who have an obligation to file a VAT return. This obligation applies to VAT taxpayers, tax agents, as well as non-payers of taxes or those exempt from paying VAT but issuing invoices. Tax payers are considered to be all legal entities and individuals - entrepreneurs who have chosen the general taxation system.

The VAT return must be submitted electronically. This also applies to a zero VAT return. As an exception, permission to submit this tax report on paper is granted only to tax defaulters (or exempt from payment under Articles 145, 145.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) who acted as tax agents in the reporting period (letter of the Federal Tax Service dated February 19, 2016 No. ED-3- 15/679, dated January 30, 2015 No. OA-4-17/1350@).

Simplified VAT return

If during the reporting quarter there was no activity at all, and there was no movement in the current accounts and in the cash register of the enterprise, then the taxpayer can submit a single simplified declaration, which provides for the submission of information about the absence of grounds for payment of several taxes at once. A simplified VAT return (single) is submitted to the Federal Tax Service by the 20th day of the month following the reporting month (clause 2 of Article 80 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The form of such a simplified declaration was approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance dated July 10, 2007 No. 62n. The same order describes the procedure for filling it out and submitting it to the tax authority.

Read more about the simplified declaration in the articles:

• “What does a single simplified tax return replace?” ;
• "Unified simplified tax return - sample 2018 - 2019".

How to fill out a zero VAT return

How to fill out a zero VAT return? Which sheets should be submitted in the zero VAT return?

A zero VAT return is drawn up on the form of this report valid for the corresponding period. Since there is no digital data to fill it out, only 2 mandatory sections are drawn up in it: the title page and section 1.

In order not to make any mistakes, when filling it out, you should use the sample for filling out a zero VAT return for the 2nd quarter of 2019 or the following comments on its execution.

Features of filling out the title page

The title page contains information about the taxpayer, the Federal Tax Service and the tax period for which the report is being prepared. It states:

• Taxpayer codes and name.

When filling out the title page, the taxpayer must indicate his INN and KPP codes, the exact name (for legal entities - as stated in the charter, and for individual entrepreneurs - full full name, as in the passport). You should fill in the number of your Federal Tax Service (it is easy to find out by looking at your registration documents, or you can use the search on the Federal Tax Service website).

In the field “at location (accounting)” the codes that are given in Appendix 3 to the Procedure for filling out the declaration (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure) are indicated (Federal Tax Service order No. ММВ-7-3/558@ dated October 29, 2014, as amended on December 20. 2016).

• Adjustment symbol.

When submitting the first declaration for the reporting period, you should enter code 0 in the “Adjustment number” field, and when submitting clarifying reports, the following serial numbers should be entered.

• Taxable period.

When specifying the tax period, the appropriate code is entered (their list is contained in Appendix 3 to the Procedure). So, when submitting a reporting declaration for the 1st quarter, code 21 is entered. And if, for example, a declaration for the 1st quarter of a company that is being liquidated or reorganized is submitted, then 51 should be indicated.

• Activity code.

When filling out the OKVED code in the zero VAT return, indicate the activity code that is displayed in the extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (or Individual Entrepreneurs).

• Other marks.

The title page should indicate the number of pages on which the declaration is drawn up. Also indicate whether the report was submitted by the taxpayer himself (tax agent) or his authorized representative. It is imperative to decipher the full name and position of the responsible person who signed the declaration.

The information in the field “To be completed by a tax authority employee” is entered into the title page by tax officials.

Features of filling out section 1

In section 1, line 010 indicates OKTMO, which can be found on the websites of the Federal Tax Service or Rosstat. Line 020 reflects the BCC in accordance with Order of the Ministry of Finance dated July 1, 2013 No. 65n. In lines 030-040-050, dashes are entered in the zero declaration (clause 16.3 of the Procedure for filling out the declaration).

Lines 060-080 are filled in only if code 227 is indicated on the title page for the details “At location (accounting)”. In other cases, lines 060-080 are not filled in.

Responsibility for failure to submit a declaration

If a declaration (including a zero declaration) is not submitted within the prescribed period, a fine of 1,000 rubles is imposed on the legal entity or individual entrepreneur. (clause 1 of article 119 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Since 2015, a VAT return submitted on paper is also considered not submitted (clause 5 of Article 174 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

In addition, administrative penalties will be imposed on officials (fines ranging from 300-500 rubles). If the reporting is delayed by more than 10 working days, the Federal Tax Service will be able to exercise its right to block the organization’s current accounts (subclause 1, clause 3, article 76 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Read more about this responsibility.

Results

Ordinary taxpayers must submit a VAT return for each tax period, even if in this period there is no digital data to fill out sections 2-12 of the report. A declaration that does not have digital data is called zero. Form it on a valid form, filling out 2 mandatory sections (title page and section 1).

Enterprises and organizations that operate on the general taxation system, as well as tax agents conducting foreign economic activity, are required to provide the fiscal authorities with not only annual reporting, but also quarterly reporting.

Article 164 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes that once a quarter, persons who are defined as payers of value added tax (VAT) submit a VAT return for the previous quarter. According to this article, the deadline for filing a declaration is the 25th day of the month following the expired quarter. Thus, the filing deadlines in 2015 look like this:

Anyone who has already submitted a declaration knows that it is a kind of statement, drawn up in writing or electronically, which consists of seven sections. Depending on the object of taxation, type of activity and direct operations related to the sale of goods, works or services by the enterprise, the corresponding sections are filled out. For those who do not know which sections of the declaration they need to fill out, it makes sense to carefully read, first of all, the Tax Code, and secondly, the Procedure for filling out a VAT return, approved in Order of the Ministry of Finance No. 104-dated 15.10. .2009.

It is worth noting that since the beginning of 2014, the procedure for submitting a declaration in electronic form was approved, through official EDI operators - organizations that guarantee the delivery of documents to the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation.

This norm is spelled out directly in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, thanks to the amendments made to it by Federal Law No. 134-FZ of June 28, 2013. But until 2015, if a declaration was submitted on paper, the Federal Tax Service authorities still had to accept it, although, guided by Article 119.1 of the Code, they could impose a fine for an incorrect filing form (up to 200 rubles). This allowed some entrepreneurs, who believed that submitting reports through EDF operators to be unreasonably expensive, to submit their declarations on paper and pay a fine, which was disproportionately cheaper than the operator’s services. But article 174.5. subsequently supplemented by a rule according to which a declaration submitted on paper, in the case when it should be submitted electronically, is considered not filed. That is, now almost all VAT payers submit only electronic reports, and failure to submit them can lead to blocking of bank accounts and high fines.

Find out how to properly file a VAT return:

Who submits zero VAT returns and when?

Very often there are situations when the activity of an enterprise is temporarily not carried out, suspended for various reasons, or it has not even begun yet, but no one has canceled reporting anyway and the lack of profit must be recorded for the state. In such cases, provision is made for filing a zero declaration, that is, reporting for periods for which there are no indicators of the enterprise’s activity at all and simply “0” is put in all lines of the report. Such a declaration shows the fact that there is no profit, which means it confirms that there are no taxes to pay either. Each such declaration must be accompanied by an explanation drawn up in any form, where the reason for the lack of payments must be explained.

In addition to the absence of any business operations of the enterprise, filing a zero declaration is provided in the following cases:

• with payers who carried out business transactions that are not recognized as objects of taxation (according to Article 146 of the Tax Code),
• with representatives of small and medium-sized businesses who carried out transactions not subject to VAT (according to Article 149 of the Tax Code),
• with enterprises and entrepreneurs who sold products outside the Russian Federation (Articles 147, 148 of the Tax Code),
• when the taxpayer received funds from the buyer as an advance payment for goods or services, the completion period of which takes more than six months (Article 167 of the Tax Code).

A sample zero VAT declaration is very easy to find on the Internet, and filling it out usually does not raise any questions either, since it only involves filling out the Title Page and Section 1 of the declaration.

If during the reporting tax period transactions were carried out that, according to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, are not subject to taxation or are not recognized as objects for taxation, then you also need to additionally fill out Section 7 of the declaration, where you indicate these transactions. However, the declaration must always include personal and contact information, encoding, a signature, the date of filing the declaration and, of course, the seal of the company.

It should be separately noted that when filling out Section 7, many payers often have questions related to transaction codes. This is due to the fact that in the list of operation codes given in the Procedure for filling out a VAT return, codes are simply not indicated for some operations. If the required transaction code is not in the above Procedure, it makes sense to refer to the following explanations set out in the letters of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation:

• No. ED-4-3/5876;
• No. ED-4-3/9126;
• No. ED-4-3/19361;
• No. KE-4-3/4782;
• No. ШС-37-3/8932;
• No. ШС-37-3/5063.

An interesting situation with the fine provided for by the Tax Code for failure to submit a VAT return. The fine is established by Article 119, which defines its amount as an amount of 5% of the amount of tax not paid on time or subject to additional payment, determined by this declaration. The minimum fine is 1,000 rubles, the maximum is up to 30% of the amount added up for each month from the day that was the deadline for filing the declaration. Thus, there is no penalty for failure to submit a zero declaration. However, if the declaration is being filled out for the first time, to be sure that it is completed correctly, it is better to first view on the Internet any ready-made sample of filling out a VAT return and at least briefly familiarize yourself with the recommendations for filling out zero reporting set out in the letter of the Federal Tax Service dated 10/08/2013 N 03-07-15/41875.

Options for filing a VAT return

We found out above that regardless of whether a return with VAT claimed for refund is submitted, whether it is declared for payment or a zero return is submitted, the return must be submitted in electronic form, using the paid services of an EDI operator.

In other words, all VAT payers this year have only one option for filing a declaration - by submitting it to the Federal Tax Service through an EDI operator. Directly on the Federal Tax Service website there is a section where all organizations that are EDI (electronic document management) operators are listed, which is located here - http://nalog.ru/rn77/taxation/submission_statements/operations/. In this section, you need to select an organization operating at the place of registration of your own enterprise, which is an EDF operator, and go to its own website. On the website of the EDF operator, you need to find a section for registration in the reporting system - depending on the operator, it can be located both on the main page and in different sections (for example, “Services”), where the Public Agreement for the provision of services will be available for download operator The next steps for registration will be:

1. Download the contract for the provision of services and familiarize yourself with it.
2. Printing out the contract and filling it out.
3. Generating a receipt for payment for services on the website of the EDF operator.
4. Sending by mail to the operator’s address (listed on the website) a completed agreement, a copy of the receipt and other documents that will be listed in the agreement.

Of course, this method of submitting a declaration and other company reports has its advantages - for example, the absence of the need for regular visits to the tax authority, as well as the prompt possibility of obtaining various statements and certificates, but it has a corresponding price. As for the cost of services of such operators, before concluding a contract, you can and should familiarize yourself with the price list of a specific operator, which, as a rule, is not difficult to find on its website. The price will depend on what taxation system the payer has, how many employees are hired (up to 50 or more), whether services for submitting reports through the operator are needed only to the Federal Tax Service, or also to the Pension Fund and Social Insurance Fund, and so on. In principle, the services of an EDF operator are generally not cheap in any case, since payment is expected for any action of the operator - from replacing an electronic key, to connecting to the reporting system of a particular government body, and even for telephone consultations.

The free option - submitting reports through the website of the Federal Tax Service of Russia, may appear after some time, but hardly earlier than in a year, since all the necessary software products are being finalized. In any case, to use this system, you first need to familiarize yourself with a number of technical conditions, with methodological recommendations of the Federal Tax Service, and also require the mandatory availability of special software for submitting reports - “Taxpayer Legal Entity”, a signature key certificate MI Federal Tax Service of Russia for the data center and an installed root certificate of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation.

If the enterprise or organization for which the VAT return is submitted carried out a large number of transactions during the reporting tax period, you should prepare to file an extended return. And, conversely, for persons who have a low level of income from operations, as well as for persons who are engaged in certain types of activities, it is possible to legally avoid filing electronic VAT returns in accordance with Article 145 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The same rule applies to payers to whom special tax regimes apply.

There is also a forum on the Federal Tax Service website where you can ask questions about VAT administration or how to fill out and submit a declaration. You can also ask all your questions directly to the tax authority or check with the nearest branch of the Multifunctional Service Center, one of the functions of which is consulting.

After registering a company or LLC, many individual entrepreneurs (IP) simply do not start a business. There are many reasons: insufficient efforts to promote the company, problems with entering the market and competition, minimal authorized capital. However, if there is no profit from the activity, the company does not cease to be a taxpayer and is obliged to provide all necessary reports to the tax service.

The most advantageous in this context is the OSN (general taxation system) - it allows you not only not to make payments in the absence of profit, but also to receive relief in the next reporting period. Yes, it includes value added tax and a lot of reporting, but the convenience of this taxation scheme for a number of entrepreneurs is beyond doubt.

Dear readers! The article talks about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is individual. If you want to know how solve exactly your problem- contact a consultant:

APPLICATIONS AND CALLS ARE ACCEPTED 24/7 and 7 days a week.

It's fast and FOR FREE!

The main advantage will be an option that is not available in other systems: if there is no movement of funds, you do not need to pay anything to the state treasury. However, reporting should be submitted to the tax service in accordance with the deadlines. A key element of the documentation of an unprofitable company will be a zero VAT return.

Basic moments

The features of filing a zero return are no different from those for other taxpayers who have chosen the OSN. But to avoid confusion, it is worth talking about the conditions when a zero VAT return is submitted. Its preparation is legal only if no movement of funds was recorded on the current account and cash registers during the reporting period.

In this case, the following will be mandatory for companies and individual entrepreneurs:

Tax legislation provides for a single simplified declaration for entrepreneurs who have recorded zero income and expenses. Its submission eliminates the need to add VAT and income tax returns to the package of documents.

The deadline for sending it to the tax service is 20 days from the end of the reporting quarter. Filling out a zero declaration using the simplified system is also available for individual entrepreneurs who have chosen the simplified tax system (even if they have a hired workforce). Certain difficulties may arise when using UTII, but these will be discussed in a separate section below.

Sample of filling out a zero VAT return for the third quarter of 2019:

General formalities

For LLCs and individual entrepreneurs filing zero reports, the same systems of penalties for delays apply: if the completed declaration form is not sent on time, then a fine of 1,000 rubles is imposed on the organization. Penalties are also possible for those responsible for filing reports - from 300 to 500 rubles per person.

If you are late by 10 days or more, the tax service has the right to block the company's current account. Similar sanctions from the Pension Fund are also possible - 100 rubles if the delay is less than 181 days and 1000 rubles if the shipment was delayed for a longer period.

As mentioned above, for payers under the OSN and simplified tax system, it is possible to submit a single simplified zero declaration. For companies with hired employees, when sending reports to the funds, you will need the 4-FSS form and a similar one in the RSV-1 form. Filling them out as a sample is not necessary: ​​you should only write down the data on the title page and sections with codes.

Also, the absence of movement on the company’s current account frees the entrepreneur from the need to submit paper copies of full accounting reports. The abbreviated form is quite suitable for these purposes.

Many people get confused about which sheets are required and fill out unnecessary documentation. In this case, the tax service only needs reports on the balance sheet, profits and losses of the company. After checking one of the copies, it must be immediately sent to ROSTAT.

An additional option that became available relatively recently and will become more widespread in 2019 is submitting a report electronically. Considering the mandatory purchase of digital signatures and software for generating these documents, this opportunity is extremely convenient. The right to submit reports through an authorized representative has not gone away either - zero declarations can be submitted by proxy.

Conditions for submission

Regardless of the reasons why the individual entrepreneur did not conduct business during the reporting period, a zero declaration is required to be submitted to the tax service. It is also worth attaching a note to the document, which briefly outlines the lack of cash flow and the corresponding explanations.

But in addition to the complete absence of activity, there are a number of exceptions when the optimal form of reporting would be a zero declaration:

• when carrying out transactions that are not considered subject to taxation by law (see Article 146 of the Tax Code);
• when representatives of small or medium-sized businesses carry out transactions that are not subject to VAT (Article 149 of the Tax Code);
• with individual entrepreneurs and LLCs that were engaged in selling products outside the Russian Federation (Article 147-148 of the Tax Code);
• upon receipt by an individual entrepreneur of an advance payment for the supply of goods and services, the period of which is at least six months (Article 167 of the Tax Code).

An example of a zero tax return does not differ from the standard one, but includes filling out the seventh section: each of these transactions is listed and described. Particular attention should be paid to the correct indication of the codes for these actions - the tax service checks them carefully.

Legal nuances of the document

The legal features of a zero declaration come down only to new changes in legislation. So, for example, for those filing VAT reports starting from 2019, there is no opportunity to submit them in paper form. This can only be done through TKS and the document flow operator.

In relation to income tax, a similar rule does not apply, and the rules are similar to those for VAT payers. There is only one important point: for payers who do not calculate monthly advance payments, there is no need to fill out section 1.2, which is mandatory for others.

It is also important to pay attention to the fact that when a movement of funds appears in the current account, the payer will have to report for them in the prescribed form.

The same applies to the emergence of new taxation objects - a single declaration is no longer suitable for them. You will have to report according to the standard form established by tax legislation in the current quarter.

General rules for filling out a zero VAT return

Before you begin to design sections of the document, it is worth designing the title page, where you indicate:

• Checkpoint (affixed by organizations, dashes are added for individual entrepreneurs);
• adjustment;
• tax period: “21” for the 1st quarter; “22” – if for the 2nd quarter; “23” – for the 3rd quarter; “24” – if for the 4th quarter.
• reporting year;
• tax authority (its code);
• entrepreneur code at the place of registration;
• taxpayer (name of company or name of entrepreneur);
• on how many pages (indicate 2 pages);
• indicate who the counterparty is – the taxpayer (code “1”) or his representative (code “2” and write down the full name of the representative);
• sign (director/representative) and date the declaration is signed.

Before submitting the documentation to the tax office, you should carefully double-check that all data is filled out correctly.

When submitting a zero declaration, the only section required to be filled out will be the first one – “The amount of tax to be paid to the budget (reimbursement from the budget), according to the taxpayer.”

Here you will need to list the basic data:

Leave all lines except these empty.

Simplified version

When choosing one of the simplified taxation schemes, the documentation package is modified if the payer has or does not have employees.

If they are available, the reporting list looks like this:

• declaration in form 4-FSS;
• personalized accounting document.

In addition, once a year the law obliges the taxpayer to provide data on the average number of employees and a declaration under the simplified tax system.

If there are no employees, then zero reporting includes only the two documents described - the 4-FSS declaration, the DAM report and personalized accounting are not required in this case.

Many individual entrepreneurs are also interested in whether, in this case, it is necessary to make contributions to budgetary funds or organizations. The answer is simple: yes, but only for yourself and in the form of a mandatory fixed amount (only in the Pension Fund and the Federal Compulsory Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund).

Scheme for imputation