Single tax payment: what it is and how it works

What is a single tax payment

Single tax payment (UTP) is opportunityTax Code of the Russian Federation, article 45.2 “Single tax payment of an organization, individual entrepreneur. Special procedure for the payment (transfer) of taxes, fees, insurance premiums, penalties, fines, interest for a business to transfer the money that it must give to the state in one transaction. This applies to taxes and debts on them, contributions, penalties and so on. To do this, you need to deposit funds to a special account of the Federal Treasury, from which the tax office itself will write off everything in the right categories.

In 2022, the EPP was introduced like an experimentFederal Law No. 263‑FZ of July 14, 2022 “On Amendments to Parts One and Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation”. Businesses could join it of their own free will. To do this, it was necessary to submit a notification to the tax office this spring. However, from 2023 the single tax payment will become mandatory, so the topic becomes of general interest.

How does the single tax payment work?

The company or individual entrepreneur transfers funds to a special account. You don't have to do it all at once, you can move them gradually. It’s just that by the day the tax office starts debiting money from the account, there should be a sufficient amount on it.

In addition, it is necessary to send to the Federal Tax Service notificationOrder of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated March 02, 2022 No. ED‑7‑8/[email protected] "On approval of the form of notification of the calculated amounts of taxes, advance payments on taxes, insurance premiums, as well as the format for its submission in electronic form" with the amount of taxes and contributions you owe. At the same time, a separate document is filled out for each of them, that is, paperwork is still enough, although one payment will need to be prepared.

Notifications are submitted before the 25th day of the month in which the tax is due. The payment deadline is the 28th. With regard to taxes and contributions for employees, before the 28th, you need to pay what is accrued from the 23rd of the last month to the 22nd of the current month.

Next comes the tax. She will debit money from the account for different purposes in the following order:

1. Arrears - from earliest to latest, if any.
2. taxes, fees, insurance premiums - first with an earlier payment date, then with a later one.
3. Peni.
4. Interest.
5. Penalties.

If the funds in the account are not enough to cover all taxes and contributions, the money will be distributed between them proportionally.

Will it become easier for business after the transition to the EPP

Yes and no. Instead of payment orders, you will have to fill out notifications, which is somewhat easier, as well as send everything to one account. However, it will be more difficult to manage money on your own due to the order in which funds are debited. For example, if a company has debts and an amount that is exactly enough for taxes and contributions, then earlier it could pay the second one first, and then deal with the first one. This will not work from 2023. The debt will be paid off - and then a new one will arise.

Another concern is the interaction with automatic tax services. Now, in terms of technology, the Federal Tax Service has stepped far ahead. Working with it has become easier and more enjoyable, because many issues can be resolved remotely. However, there is no insurance against the fact that something will be counted incorrectly and written off. As a result, the company will have to deal with the situation. In addition, due to a mistake, debts can arise, because few people can afford to keep money in a special tax account with a margin.

But in general, there is no choice, so it remains to accept the inevitable and work with what is.

Is it possible to return the overpayment on a single tax payment

It is allowed. The movement of funds can be tracked online. If there is something left on the account after all write-offs, it is possible to return the money or set it off against third-party taxes.

In order for the amount to be transferred to you, you must submit the appropriate statementOrder of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated May 11, 2022 No. ED‑7‑8/[email protected] "On approval of the forms of documents used by the tax authorities when refunding the amount of a single tax payment of an organization, an individual entrepreneur, and the presentation format applications for the return of funds transferred to the budget system of the Russian Federation as a single tax payment of an organization, an individual entrepreneur, in an electronic form". True, the return process is not quick: the tax office will consider the document for ten days, the employees have another five days to respond and a month to return the money.