What is an automated simplified taxation system and who is it suitable for?

Let's look into the details and talk about the pros and cons of this mode. komu-ona-podojdjot-2f89d17.jpg” alt=”What is an automated simplified taxation system and who is it suitable for” />

Irina Nekit “Editor-in-Chief of the portal “Small-Business.Ru”.

From July 1, 2022, Federal Law No. 17-FZ dated February 25, 2022 “On the Experiment to Establish a Special Tax Regime “Automated Simplified Taxation System”” comes into force in four regions of the Russian Federation. A new tax regime for business – an automated simplified taxation system (AUSN).

There are already many myths about this special regime – for example, that you can now completely abandon the accountant, and the tax burden of a business will be almost halved. AUSN is even called the crusade of the state against the gray economy. Allegedly, this system is so profitable and convenient that businessmen who partially or completely work in the shadows will gladly switch to it.

But the new tax regime is not as simple as the developers present. And it offers very few real benefits for business.

What are the features of the AUSN

The first word in the abbreviation AUSN is “automated”. This means that the tax will be calculated by Federal Law No. 17-FZ of February 25, 2022 “On the Experiment to Establish a Special Tax Regime “Automated Simplified Taxation System”” by the Inspectorate (IFTS), and the taxpayer only needs to pay the claim on time. You don't have to report income and expenses. This is the long-promised rejection of declarations.

The same principle applies to the self-employed. They also do not have tax reporting, and payers of tax on professional income themselves indicate the amount of income received in their personal account, as they say, on parole.

But if the self-employed who are not business entities, the Federal Tax Service controls only conditionally, the state is not ready to leave business without supervision. Therefore, other information will replace tax reporting on AUSN.

In addition, banks are also being introduced into the automated taxation system. The result is a rather unwieldy structure:

• Taxpayer(organization or individual entrepreneur at AUSN). His income and expenses are confirmed by the data of the cash register and current account, as well as independently transmitted information in his personal account on the website of the Federal Tax Service.
• IFTS. Calculates the tax based on all the data received and sends a request on payment.
• Bank. Must transfer salary from the employer's current account, personal income tax from payments, and also, at the request of the organization or individual entrepreneur, can transfer taxes from the current account to the Federal Tax Service instead.< /li>

Is it possible to refuse an accountant at AUSN and stop paying for his services? If we are talking about an organization or an individual entrepreneur with employees, then it is unlikely.

The fact is that the annual tax return is canceled, as well as the forms RSV Calculation of insurance premiums, 6-NDFL Calculation of the amount of personal income tax calculated and withheld by a tax agent (form 6-NDFL) and 4-FS Calculation of accrued and paid insurance premiums for compulsory social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases, as well as for the cost of paying insurance coverage (Form 4 – FSS RF) for employees. According to reports to the Pension Fund of Russia, there are nuances: SZV-TD Information on the labor activity of a registered person (SZV-TD) must be submitted; SZV-MSinformation about insured persons (form SZV‑M) is sent to contractors with civil law contracts; SZV-STAGE Information on the insurance period of insured persons (form SZV-STAGE) is filled in for some categories of employees.

But no one canceled accounting for organizations and personnel records for personnel for AUSN. Plus, you will have to constantly enter data into the taxpayer's personal account on the website of the Federal Tax Service, and also submit reports on accruals to employees to the bank. So the need for accounting services will decrease, if only slightly.

But for the participation of banks will have to pay more. The laws of Federal Law No. 18-FZ of February 25, 2022 “On Amendments to Parts One and Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” list their obligations and even fines for violating the procedure and deadlines for transmitting information to the IFTS. Of course, the bank, as a commercial structure, will compensate for these risks with higher prices for settlement and cash services or the introduction of new commissions.

And since only some of the banks will take part in the experiment, the business will not have much choice — you will have to agree to the conditions set.

Who can switch to AUSN

Not everyone. Businesses must comply with Federal Law No. 17-FZ of February 25, 2022 “On Conducting an Experiment to Establish a Special Tax Regime “Automated Simplified Taxation System”” to several criteria:

1. Be located on the territory of Moscow, Tatarstan, Moscow or Kaluga regions.

2. Have no more than 60 million rubles of annual income and no more than five employees (it is forbidden to hire non-residents, employees eligible for early retirement, as well as those whose income is not taxed at the rate of 13%).

3 . Pay salaries to staff not in cash or in kind.

4. Do not have separate subdivisions or branches, and also do not include a legal entity with a share of more than 25% as a participant.

5. Have a current account in one of the authorized banks – a specific list is being developed by the Federal Tax Service.

6. Have funds whose residual value does not exceed 150 million rubles.

7. Conduct all declared income and expenses through a cash register or current account.

8. Be unaffiliated with:

• banking and insurance,
• pawnshops,
• private employment agencies providing staff
• MFIs,
• NPFs,
• investment funds,
• Private farms,
• professional participation in the securities market,
• gambling,
• production of excisable goods (with some exceptions),
• mining and sale of minerals, except for common,
• activities on the basis of contracts of agency, commission, agency.

If we are talking about an entrepreneur, then he should not be a lawyer, mediator , an arbitration manager, an appraiser, a patent attorney, a notary public, or someone else who is engaged in private practice.

What is the difference between AUTS and USN

AUTS is a new version of a simplified taxation system (STS), so these regimes are largely similar.

Tax rates

As with the simplified tax system, with an automated taxation system there will be two different objects: “Income” and “Income minus expenses”. However, the tax rates here cannot be called low. ;

20% on the property “Income minus expenses”;

3% for the minimum tax on “Income minus expenses”.

Compare them with the rates of the usual simplified taxation system – under certain conditions they are significantly lower:

Conditions	STS “Income”	STS “Income minus expenses”
Income — no more than 164.4 million rubles per year; no more than 100 employees	From 1% to 6%	From 5% to 15%. Minimum tax — 1%
Income — from 164, 4 to 219.2 million rubles per year; number of employees – from 101 to 130 people	8%	20%. Minimum tax is 1%

Why are there so many different rates on the regular USN? The reason is that the regions have the right to reduce the tax rate on their territory and actively use it. This helps to develop specific types of activities in which the subject of the Russian Federation is interested.

Tax period

A very important point: the tax period for AUTS is Federal Law No. 17-FZ dated February 25, 2022 “On the Experiment to Establish a Special Tax Regime “Automated Simplified Taxation System”” is only one month old! This means that the budget will have to be paid 12 times a year. No later than the 15th day of the month following the reporting one, the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate will issue a claim for payment of tax. And you need to list it before the 25th day of the same month.

In this regard, the USN regime wins the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (part two) dated 08/05/2000 No. 117-FZ (as amended on 03/26/2022). The tax period here is the calendar year during which advance payments, that is, part of the annual tax, must be transferred. This means that if there was income throughout the year, it is necessary to pay to the budget every quarter: no later than April 25, July 25, October 25. And the final calculation is made at the end of the year – March 31 for organizations and April 30 for individual entrepreneurs.

The length of the tax period is very important. The fact is that a fine of 20% (or even 40% – in case of deliberate non-payment of tax) of the amount of arrears is charged on the Simplified Taxation System/Website of the Federal Tax Service only at the end of the tax period. And for overdue advances, only penalties are charged.

This means that a business must always have money to pay tax on AUSN, because the request is sent every month. On the simplified tax system, some organizations and individual entrepreneurs deliberately do not make quarterly advances on time, because the money is used in business.

And sometimes it is more profitable to pay penalties than to withdraw these funds to pay tax. Anyway, before March 31 or April 30 of the next year, the Federal Tax Service will not be able to impose a fine for this or block the current account.

Insurance premiums

So, the rates for business on the AUTS are higher, and the tax period is shorter than on the simplified tax system. Where, then, are the real advantages of the new regime? They are the Federal Law of February 25, 2022 No. 17-FZ “On the Experiment to Establish a Special Tax Regime “Automated Simplified Taxation System”.

• Individual entrepreneurs are completely exempt from all insurance premiums for themselves.< /li>
• Employers will not transfer contributions for pension, medical, social insurance of employees. There will be only a fixed amount of 2,040 rubles per year for all employees, regardless of their number. At the same time, as mentioned above, the number of staff should be no more than five people. 2,040 rubles will go to insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases.

Of course, exemption from these expenses is an advantage, but you just need to evaluate it correctly. Indeed, on the simplified tax system, the mentioned insurance premiums reduce the tax burden, because they are deducted from the calculated tax or included in expenses . More about this in the examples below.

And an important point: in the financial and economic justification of the AUTS project, it is said Draft Law No. 20281-8 “On the Experiment to Establish a Special Tax Regime “Automated Simplified Taxation System””, that the adoption of the relevant law will not lead to a decrease in budget revenues: “Amounts of shortfall in state revenues extra-budgetary funds will be compensated to state extra-budgetary funds at the expense of the assessed tax.”

This means that nationwide exemption from insurance premiums will be offset by higher tax revenues. The budget from the AUSN will not lose anything.

Which is more profitable: AUSN or USN

There can be no general recommendations here, you need to make calculations for each situation. Here are some examples.

Example 1

An individual entrepreneur without employees provides services for the repair of household appliances. Income for 2022 – 480,000 rubles. The minimum amount of insurance premiums for yourself is 43,211 rubles + an additional contribution of 1% from income over 300,000 rubles. Total contributions – 45,011 rubles.

Let's compare the tax burden on the USN “Income” at a rate of 6% and on the AUTS. Recall that individual entrepreneurs without employees in this mode can reduce the calculated tax by the entire amount of contributions made for themselves. As a result, there will be no tax payable: (28,800 − 45,011) < 0.

< td style="">28,800

Payments	USN “Income” (rubles)	AUSN (rubles)
Calculated tax	38,400
Insurance Premiums	45,011	0
Tax payable	0	38,400
Total must be paid	45,011	38,400

As you can see, with such a small level of profit, AUSN makes sense to apply. But if the income of this individual entrepreneur grows to at least 1 million rubles a year, the numbers will be different.

The calculated tax at a rate of 6% will be 60,000 rubles. All insurance premiums can be deducted from it (43,211 + (1,000,000 − 300,000) × 1%), that is, 50,211 rubles.

< td style="">9,789

Payments	USN “Income” (rubles)	AUSN (rubles)
Tax calculated	60,000	80,000
Insurance premiums	50 211	0
Tax payable	80,000
Total must be paid< /em>	60,000	80,000

And the higher the income of an individual entrepreneur without employees, the less profitable the AUSN is for him.

Example 2

The LLC is engaged in advertising activities, there are four employees on the staff. In 2022, revenues of 8.5 million rubles were received. Insurance premiums for all employees amounted to 360,000 rubles per year.

Let's compare the “Income” option on the USN and AUSN. We take into account that if there are employees, the calculated tax on the simplified tax system can be reduced by an amount equal to the contributions made, but not more than 50%. Let us also remind you that at AUSN insurance premiums are reset to zero, except for a fixed amount of 2,040 rubles.

< td style="">682,040

Payments	USN “Income” (rubles)	SATS “Income” (rubles) )
Tax calculated	510,000< /td>	680,000
Insurance premiums	360,000	2,040
Tax payable	255,000	680,000
Total payment	615,000

So, in this example, AUSN was also not the best option. But if the wages of workers were high, this would correspondingly increase the amount of insurance premiums for them.

Suppose that with the same income, contributions are transferred in the amount of 538,000 rubles. Then the picture looks like this:

Payments	USN “Income” (rubles)	AUSN “Income” (rubles)
Tax calculated	510,000	680,000< /td>
Insurance premiums	538,000	2040
Tax payable	255,000	680,000
Total to be paid	793,000	682,040

As you can see, the more contributions the employer pays for employees on the simplified tax system “Income”, the more profitable the AUTS option can be.

Example 3

OOO operates with a high share of expenses in revenue. Data for calculation:

• Income for the year – 48 million rubles.
• Expenses excluding insurance premiums – 42 million rubles.
• Insurance premiums for employees – 1.5 million rubles.

With this ratio of income and expenses, it is more profitable to work at the “Income minus expenses” object than at “Income”.

Let's calculate the tax base for the simplified tax system “Income minus expenses”: 48,000,000 − 42,000 000 − 1,500,000 = 4,500,000 rubles.

The tax base for AUSN “Income minus expenses” will be different, because the employer does not pay insurance premiums, except for a fixed amount of 2,040 rubles. We calculate: 48,000,000 − 42,000,000 − 2,040 = 5,997,960 rubles.

< /tr>

Payments	USN “Income minus expenses”	SATS “Income minus expenses”< /strong>
Insurance premiums	1,500,000 rubles< /td>	2,040 rubles
Rate	15%	20%
Tax payable	$675,000	$1,199,592
Total payment	2,175,000 rubles	1,201,632 rubles

The rule is confirmed that with a high share of insurance premiums (and they are charged on high salaries), the AUSN will be more profitable than the STS.

But let's imagine that this LLC has only two employees, and contributions for them are listed in the amount of 220,000 rubles. In this case, you should choose USN.

< /tr>

Payments	STS “Income minus expenses”	STS “Income minus expenses”
Insurance premiums	220,000 rubles	2,040 rubles
Rate	15%	20%
Tax payable	867,000 rubles	1,199,592 rubles
Total payment	1,087,000 rubles	1,201,632 rubles

How to switch to AUSN

Everything is very simple here: the transition order is the same as in the case of a conventional USN. New organizations or individual entrepreneurs can switch to AUSN within 30 days after registration. The notification form and the procedure for its submission will be developed by the Federal Tax Service.

For example, an individual entrepreneur is registered in Moscow on 07/15/2022. This means that he can start working on an automated simplified system as early as 2022.

If the entrepreneur was registered before the start of the AUSN – that is, before 07/01/2022, then in order to switch, he must submit a notification no later than December 31, 2022 of the year. Then he will be able to work under the new tax regime from January 2023.

It is impossible to voluntarily abandon AUSN before the end of the year, but if the conditions for application are violated, then an individual entrepreneur or LLC loses the right to this tax regime. In this case, you can switch to the simplified tax system or the unified agricultural tax already this year.

What are the pros and cons of the AUSN

Now you can draw conclusions about the new regime and even give them a certain assessment.< /p>

AUSN benefits:

1. Zero rate of insurance premiums for employees and individual entrepreneurs for themselves.
2. Preservation of the insurance period for employees and individual entrepreneurs, although contributions are not transferred.
3. Exemption from declarations and most reports for employees to the Federal Tax Service and funds.
4. Assignment of tax calculation to the Federal Tax Service.
5. Transferring salaries to employees and personal income tax from it by the bank from the current account of the employer.
6. Cancellation of field tax audits.

Disadvantages of AUTS:< /p>

1. Low limits on income and number of employees.
2. Increased tax rates on income from activities.
3. Short tax period.
4. The obligation to enter information in the “Personal Account of the Taxpayer” and send reports on employees to the bank.
5. High risk of disputes with the Federal Tax Service on the correctness of the tax calculation.
6. Limited number of banks to open a current account.
7. Application of the regime on the territory of only four regions of the Russian Federation.
8. Inability to make cash payments.
9. Additional control of cash flows on the current account by the bank.
10. The presence of desk and counter audits.

What is the result

AUTS can really suit some taxpayers, in particular individual entrepreneurs with low incomes without employees, as well as employers with high white salaries.

But the final choice must be made after calculating all possible variants of the tax burden from a competent specialist. Taxation is not an area in which slogans like “Faster, easier, more profitable” work. For unnecessary haste, you will have to pay out of your own pocket.