Russians revealed the consequences of non-payment of taxes

Failure to pay taxes can lead to a ban on traveling abroad or refusals to issue loans. Even a relatively small debt, starting from 30 thousand rubles, has unpleasant consequences. Anastasia Morgunova, co-founder and product director of Moy Delo, told Izvestia about this on September 9.

According to her, even debts of several thousand rubles can become a serious problem for ordinary citizens. Penalties are charged on any debt — approximately 0.05% of the debt amount for each day of delay. The debt in the amount of 50 thousand rubles in six months will increase by almost 5 thousand only because of penalties.

With larger debts, the consequences become critical. Bailiffs can withhold up to 50% of salaries through the employer, seize accounts and property. And with a debt of 30 thousand rubles or more, travel abroad may be prohibited.

"Many people do not understand the seriousness of the situation until they face real restrictions," Anastasia Morgunova notes. "Customers often contact us after they were unable to fly on vacation or get a loan due to blocked accounts."

Among the typical situations faced by Russians: for example, a citizen sold an apartment for 3 million rubles and did not pay 130 thousand rubles in personal income tax — a year later the amount with penalties amounted to more than 160 thousand rubles. Or the car owner forgot to pay the transport tax in the amount of 8 thousand rubles — two years later the debt turned into 12 thousand rubles.

The penalties for entrepreneurs and companies are much stricter. Fines for unreleased reports start from 1 thousand rubles and can reach 30% of the tax amount on the declaration. For intentional non—payment of taxes (if the tax base is underestimated), the fine is from 40 thousand rubles to 40% of the unpaid amount. Moreover, the amount increases every month of delay.

The most critical measure is the blocking of current accounts. It is enough to delay the declaration by 20 working days. The business is completely disrupted: not a single payment can be made, including employee salaries.

"In our practice, there are often cases when a company simply forgot to file a declaration on time," says Anastasia Morgunova. — The result is the blocking of accounts and the suspension of all activities. It is possible to restore working capacity in a day, but the lost profits cannot be returned."

In case of large debts, criminal liability may follow for the head (chief accountant) of the organization or sole proprietor. For example, sole proprietors who fail to pay taxes over 13.5 million rubles face up to 3 years in prison.

From the real cases, the following can be distinguished: for example, an entrepreneur forgot to file a zero declaration and received a fine of 1 thousand rubles. Or the company delayed the payment of VAT — the tax service blocked all accounts until the debt was repaid.

"Most problems can be avoided by simply controlling deadlines," emphasizes the accounting expert for the Moy Delo business. "Our online accounting service automatically reminds you of important dates, which completely eliminates the human factor."

To protect yourself from problems, check your debts regularly — log into your personal account on the website of the Federal Tax Service (FTS) or through the public services portal at least once a month. It is better to find out about the debt right away than after six months with accumulated penalties. Order reconciliation of mutual settlements with the tax service, especially before preparing annual reports.

Also keep a calendar of payments — mark all important dates: filing declarations, paying taxes, submitting reports. Small and medium-sized businesses should consider delegating accounting to professionals. In addition, do not ignore the requirements of the Federal Tax Service, even if you consider them illegal. It is better to appeal in the prescribed manner than to accumulate fines and penalties.

"Our experience shows that automation of accounting and reminders reduces the risk of tax violations to almost zero," the expert summarizes. "It's much cheaper than dealing with the consequences of delays."

Remember: even a small tax debt can seriously complicate life. It is better to spend time on prevention than money on correcting the consequences.

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On August 18, the Opora Russia business association, representing the interests of small and medium-sized businesses, put forward a request to replace fines for tax reporting violations committed for the first time with warnings. The association believes that the introduction of warnings will avoid excessive punishment for taxpayers who have committed minor offenses, including for being late in submitting a declaration. It is expected that this measure will increase the level of tax discipline.

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