How to take advantage of the transport tax benefit

For what transport can a pensioner receive a benefit?

Are there any transport tax benefits for pensioners?
In order to understand transport tax benefits for pensioners in 2020-2021, let’s look at the Tax Code. In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 358 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, all individuals (including pensioners) are required to pay tax on the following types of vehicles:

In what cases can a pensioner receive a benefit for these types of transport? Only in one case - if the regional legal regulation provides for tax bonuses in the form of full or partial exemption from transport tax.

There is also a group of vehicles for which transport tax is not paid at all. Such tax exemption is not considered a benefit (clause 2 of Article 358 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

You can find out more about the list of property not subject to transport tax here .

Tax benefits for pensioners

Unfortunately, all pensioners pay tax on vehicles, but the state still provides benefits for older people. The issue of determining preferential rates is decided by the administrative authority. The preferential decisions adopted differ between regions.

We can highlight general patterns of providing benefits for older people:

1. Only those citizens who have reached retirement age and received a certificate from the Pension Fund of Russia are entitled to a discount;
2. The benefits apply to one pensioner's transport;
3. To receive benefits, an elderly person only needs to apply one status;
4. Types of benefits: full benefit, partial – 50% or a fixed payment amount.

Tax payment is canceled if:

• having a special status, for example, disabled group 1, 2; heroes of the USSR, Russian Federation; war veterans; citizens affected by nuclear tests; persons awarded the Order of Glory of all degrees;
• availability of vehicles such as: rowing boat; a motor boat with a power of no more than 5 horsepower; disabled mobility aids received thanks to the state; river and sea vessels; tractors; milk tankers; self-propelled transport; transport intended for transporting animals. The full list is enshrined in Article 358 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

You may be wondering whether pensioners have to pay land tax.

Procedure for applying for benefits:

Step 1 . Drawing up an application.

It is important to know! How will pensions change in 2021?

The tax structure requires a pensioner to submit a statement, which should be drawn up in free form. The application must provide the following information:

• the full name of the department of the tax structure where the application will be addressed;
• Full name of the official;
• surname, name, patronymic of the applicant;
• TIN;
• passport details of the owner of the vehicle;
• address;
• contact phone number, email;
• competently stated essence of the issue;
• general information about transport;
• the basis for applying for the benefit, indicating the details of the necessary papers;
• list of documentation attached to the application;
• date, signature.

The completed application can be submitted to:

• personally;
• by email – we send scanned copies;
• by mail - copies must be certified using a personal signature and its transcript. It is also worthwhile to indicate the word “true” on each sheet and put the date at the end.

Step 2 . Collection of documents.

The main list of papers must be clarified with tax department employees, since it may differ in different regions. But the mandatory documents remain:

1. Pensioner's ID;
2. Document - the basis for assigning benefits to a pensioner (extract from the ITU act, certificate of a war participant, disabled person, and so on);
3. Technical documentation for the car;
4. Passport details of an elderly person.

Step 3 . Assignment of benefits for transport.

The sooner a pensioner takes care of preparing all the papers to receive a “transport” benefit, the faster he will be able to get it.

The right to a benefit can be used as long as the pensioner has personal vehicles or while a certain benefit is valid.

What benefits can pensioners count on according to regional legislation?

The establishment of tax benefits for pensioners on transport tax is within the competence of regional authorities. What transport tax benefits for pensioners exist in different regions of our country?

Regions have different approaches to providing transport tax benefits to pensioners. When analyzing regional legal acts, the following approaches can be noted:

• Pensioners pay part of the tax on vehicles of a certain type, limited capacity (Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Republic of Karelia, etc.).
• Pensioners are not provided with benefits (Republic of Adygea, Bashkortostan, Volgograd, Kaluga, Voronezh regions, etc.).

In some regions, benefits are provided only for domestically produced passenger cars, or the condition for receiving benefits is the length of the period during which the vehicle was registered to a pensioner (for example, at least three years).

Most regions provide transport tax benefits to pensioners only for one vehicle.

You can find out what benefits are available in your region using a special service on the Federal Tax Service website.

How is tax calculated?

When calculating tax, the following criteria are taken into account:

• period of ownership of a specific vehicle - a full year is taken for calculations. The period of ownership is identified through the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, where the time intervals during which the vehicle is registered are indicated;

If a purchase or sale of a vehicle is made within a month, both the seller and the buyer are required to pay the tax contribution, without taking into account the actual period of ownership!

• the power of a specific vehicle is specified using the passport data of the vehicle being driven. Engine power, gross capacity, vehicle category, and year of manufacture are taken into account.

As a result, the calculation formula is:

tax rate by region *number of horsepower *vehicle ownership period = tax amount.

And to calculate benefits, you need to divide the total tax amount in half!

Some interesting facts:

• The “age” of the car is taken into account as of January 1 of the coming year;
• Benefits are calculated individually;
• To reduce payments to beneficiaries, it is necessary to submit the correct list of papers, which we will discuss in the next chapter.

Are there any discounts for pensioners on transport tax on luxury cars?

A retired citizen can own a new expensive car. As a rule, the amount of transport tax for such cars is several times higher than the tax liability for ordinary cars. This is due to the use of special coefficients that increase the transport tax depending on how much the car costs and in what year it was manufactured (clause 2 of Article 362 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

You can check whether your car is included in this list on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Are there any relaxations in the payment of transport tax for pensioners - owners of “sophisticated” SUVs and other luxury vehicles? Do pensioners have transport tax benefits for cars worth 3 million rubles? and more? What if, after retirement, a citizen is unable to transfer significant tax amounts to the budget for his transport?

In this case, pensioners cannot hope for tax breaks. No matter how much their car costs, their obligations to the budget to pay transport tax must be fulfilled in full, and if there are regional benefits, they must be taken into account. The state does not undertake the obligation to forgive a citizen part of his tax payments just because he retired. Therefore, you will not find benefits for pensioners on expensive vehicles in any regional legal regulation.

We will tell you in this publication how to pay transport tax on an expensive car if it is not on the list of the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

A pensioner's car was stolen: how to get benefits?

Are there any benefits for pensioners on payment of transport tax if the car is not used due to its theft?

This is not a benefit, but there really is an opportunity not to pay tax if it is stolen. And not only among pensioners.

According to sub. 7 paragraph 2 art. 358 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, vehicles that are on the wanted list, as well as vehicles for which the search has been stopped, are not taxed. Facts of theft (theft), return of the vehicle must be confirmed:

• a document issued by an authorized body;
• or information received by tax authorities from the traffic police through the system of interdepartmental electronic interaction.

Thus, if a pensioner wants to save on his tax payment, he has two options:

1. Report the theft to the tax office. It is advisable to attach a supporting document to the application (for example, a theft certificate obtained from the police). But even if you do not have such a document, the Federal Tax Service must accept the application and contact the traffic police itself for confirmation. The tax will not be charged from the month the search for the car began until the month it was returned to the owner.
2. Remove the car from registration with the traffic police - from that moment on, no tax will be charged.

What tax benefits do pensioners have when selling a car?

When selling a car, no special bonuses or transport tax benefits are provided for pensioners. In addition, in some cases, a pensioner needs to pay income tax (NDFL) to the budget and submit a 3-NDFL declaration.

The obligation to pay personal income tax on the proceeds from the sale arises for a pensioner if he has owned the vehicle for less than three years (subclause 5, clause 1, article 208, clause 17.1, article 271 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

How you can reduce the amount of personal income tax in this case, find out from this material.

Despite the fact that there are no transport tax benefits for pensioners when selling a car, there is a way to reduce the tax by using a special coefficient. With its help, the period of ownership of the vehicle in the year of sale is taken into account. The closer the sale date is to the beginning of the year, the lower the amount of transport tax on the sold vehicle.

When calculating the months of ownership of a vehicle, the date of deregistration is important (clause 3 of Article 362 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation): if this event occurred before the 15th day, then this month is not included in the tax calculation, if after the 15th day - the month accepted as complete.

Example

The Patrikeev family has two absolutely identical cars, registered separately in the name of husband and wife. Every year, each spouse pays a transport tax in the amount of 3,630 rubles for their car.

The head of the family decided to upgrade his car and sold his old car at the beginning of January 2021 (immediately after the New Year holidays). In the same month, his wife damaged her car as a result of unsuccessful parking. After the repairs, she decided to sell it, but only deregistered it with the traffic police on December 16, 2020.

As a result for 2021:

• the husband does not pay transport tax - including for January (the month of sale and deregistration), since the date of deregistration of the car falls before January 15;
• the wife is obliged to pay the transport tax in full for the year - the date of deregistration of the car falls in the period after December 15 and this month is fully taken into account when calculating the transport tax.

As a result, in 2021, both spouses did not use their cars, and the amount of transport tax turned out to be completely different for them.

It turns out that when selling a car there are no transport tax benefits for pensioners. But from the moment the sold car is deregistered, the pensioner ceases to be a payer of transport tax on it.

What is transport tax calculated on?

Transport tax has been introduced throughout the country and is obligatory for payment by both individuals and legal entities who own vehicles.

They must be registered with the state automobile inspection.

Subject to registration:

• cars;
• motorcycles;
• yachts;
• jet skis;
• boats;
• snowmobiles;
• aircraft;
• helicopters;
• boats with power above 5 hp;
• motor ships.

Tax is not paid for airplanes and helicopters if they are involved in emergency rescue operations, are cargo vehicles, or are used to transport passengers.

In addition, agricultural producers who use vehicles in their business activities are exempt from taxation.

The tax is calculated according to the following algorithm:

The elements for calculating the amount payable are as follows:

• tax base is the power of the vehicle in horsepower, with the exception of:
• transport with a jet engine (the base for them is calculated in kilograms of thrust);
• towed vessels (base - in tons of capacity);
• watercraft and aircraft without engines (the base for them is calculated in the number of pieces).
• the rate depends on the region where the vehicle is registered, but cannot exceed the values ​​​​established at the federal level;
• ownership period – the time from the moment of vehicle registration to deregistration within one year (cannot be more than 12);
• increasing coefficients that came into force after changes were made in 2021:
• if the cost of the car is 3–5 million rubles. and age less than three years – 1.1;
• if the cost of the car is 5–10 million rubles. and age less than five years – 2;
• if the cost of the car is 10–15 million rubles. and age less than ten years – 3;
• if the cost of the car is 15 million rubles. and more, and age less than 20 years - 3.

The cost of a car is determined by the Ministry of Industry and Trade for each specific model based on average market values. Lists of vehicle brands for which increased coefficients will be awarded are published annually on the official website.

Tax rates at the federal level are set in the following amounts:

These rates are the minimum recommended values ​​for regions. The authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation increase them at their discretion, and across the country there is a wide variation in the value of the transport tax paid.

This type of taxation provides benefits for vehicles. They are also divided into those installed throughout the country and those introduced by regional authorities. Let's look at them in more detail.

A pensioner has a heavy-duty vehicle: what tax benefits can he count on?

For the purposes of applying transport tax benefits, a heavy-duty vehicle is understood to be a vehicle with a permissible maximum weight of over 12 tons.

What formula is used to calculate the permissible maximum (permitted) weight of a car, see here .

From 2021 there are no benefits for heavy trucks. And not only for pensioners, but also for all other tax payers.

Until December 31, 2018, a pensioner who owned such a car could count on benefits in the form of:

• full exemption from transport tax or
• reducing the tax amount.

Thus, an individual (including a pensioner) who owned a heavy truck was completely exempt from transport tax if:

• his heavy truck is registered in the register of vehicles of the Platon system;

• the payment to Platon for the year in respect of this heavy load was equal to or exceeded the amount of transport tax.

If the amount of transport tax on heavy cargo exceeded the payments made to Platon, the benefit was provided in the amount of the payment made (by reducing the tax by this amount).

From 01/01/2019, both taxes and fees are paid to Platon for heavy loads.

Main features of tax payment

Nowadays, the vehicle tax is paid by all citizens of the country who own a vehicle. The general list of persons who are obliged to pay this type of tax is specified in the Tax Code of Russia, namely in Article 357 (hereinafter referred to as the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). However, some of the population have benefits. It can be:

• disabled people;
• heroes of the country;
• women whose family has more than three children;
• pensioners.

The following persons are considered pensioners:

• having a pension certificate upon reaching retirement age;
• received a disability pension;
• those who have lost their breadwinner;
• military retirees.

Decisions on “discounts” are made by the local administration and differ between different localities!

Features of tax payment:

1. Benefits include a 50 percent discount or complete exemption from tax payments;
2. Preferential amounts are aimed only at one vehicle, which the owner has the right to choose;
3. To provide a discount, the pensioner is required to notify the tax authorities of his intention by providing written confirmation with a general package of documentation;
4. The benefit is calculated based on one citizen’s pension status. For example, you cannot calculate a double discount if a citizen is both a pensioner and a disabled person;
5. Payment of transport tax for the previous year must be made before the end of November;
6. The amount of tax payments on transport is calculated by tax authorities. After this, a written notification is sent to the owner of the vehicle;
7. The more expensive the car, the higher the tax;
8. If the tax duty is not paid into the state account on time, the relevant authorities will charge a penalty and then a fine;
9. Types of transport on which tax is charged: car; motorbike; bus; scooter; airplane; helicopter; yacht; sailing ships; boat; snowmobile; motor boats.
10. Pension benefits are formed at the local level. To avoid overpayments, the state has established a limit - the tax amount can rise no more than ten times.

It is important to know! Pension in Uzbekistan

What is required from a pensioner to receive benefits?

If a pensioner is entitled to a transport tax benefit, he must inform the tax office about this. This message is issued in the form of a statement in the established form (order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated November 14, 2017 No. ММВ-7-21/ [email protected] ).

A sample from ConsultantPlus will help you fill out the application. Get trial access to the system for free and proceed to the sample.

Using this document, you can declare your right to benefits for three property taxes at once:

• transport;
• land;
• on property.

You can download a sample application here .

If the pensioner does not send this application to the tax authorities, he will not receive benefits.

You can attach documents confirming your right to benefits to your application, although this is not necessary (clause 3 of Article 361.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If documents are missing, the tax authorities themselves will request them from the relevant authorities that have the necessary information. And only if the controllers do not receive this information will they inform the pensioner about the need to submit documents.

Results

Pensioners can count on certain transport tax benefits if regional authorities have provided for such a possibility in regulations. This may be a full or partial tax exemption. Regions solve the issue differently: they allow pensioners to reduce the tax burden by 20%, 40%, 50% of the tax base for specific types of transport or set reduced rates per unit of capacity.

If a pensioner does not use his car due to theft, he does not have to pay transport tax. To do this, you need to bring a police certificate to the tax authorities or deregister the car with the traffic police.

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.

Regional beneficiaries

In the regions, car tax benefits are more varied; they may be related to:

• exemption from payment of fees;
• rate reduction;
• reducing the base for calculation, etc.

Let's look at regional car tax benefits using the example of Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Moscow

Moscow has a tax exemption system for the following categories of citizens and organizations:

• owners of public transport transporting passengers at uniform fares and providing travel benefits to vulnerable categories;
• participants of the special economic zone for all vehicles registered to them;
• participants of the international medical cluster organized throughout the city throughout the transport sector (the benefit begins from the moment the agreement is signed);
• heroes of the USSR and Russia (one each of any vehicle with a power of less than 200 hp);
• veterans and disabled people of the Great Patriotic War (one of any vehicles with a power of less than 200 hp);
• veterans and disabled combat veterans (one each of any vehicle with a power of less than 200 hp);
• disabled people of groups I and II (one of any vehicles with a power of less than 200 hp);
• former prisoners of concentration camps who were there before reaching adulthood (one each of any transport with a power of less than 200 hp);
• parents, guardians, trustees of a disabled child (one each of any transport with a power of less than 200 hp);
• owners of passenger cars with power up to 70 hp;
• parents with many children - one of any transport;
• Chernobyl victims and participants in other radiation disasters (one each for any vehicle with a power of less than 200 hp);
• parent, guardian or trustee of a disabled person since childhood who is declared incompetent by a court decision (one for any vehicle with a capacity of less than 200 hp).

Transport tax benefits for individuals and companies do not apply to water, air transport, snowmobiles and motor sleighs.

Documentary evidence is required to receive benefits. For this purpose the following documents are provided:

At the same time, the following rates apply for cars in Moscow (in rubles):

• up to 100 hp - 12;
• 100–125 – 25;
• 125–150 – 35;
• 150–175 – 45;
• 175–200 – 50;
• 200–225 – 65;
• 225–250 – 75;
• 250 and more – 150.

All accrual conditions are established by Resolution No. 33, which is in force in Moscow dated 07/09/2008. Rates and the list of beneficiaries are reviewed on a regular basis depending on the state of the budget and transport policy.

Saint Petersburg

In St. Petersburg, the following categories of citizens may be released subject to certain conditions:

The tax rate is set at a level not lower than Moscow and is (in rubles):

• up to 100 hp: 24.;
• 100–150: 35;
• 150–200: 50;
• 200–250: 75;
• 250 and more: 150.

Regulatory legal act No. 487-53 in St. Petersburg, regulating the calculation procedure, was adopted on November 4, 2002.