Landlords are required to pay between 6 and 13 percent of the rent, otherwise they will face heavy fines
The Federal Tax Service (FTS) has begun sending letters to owners of several apartments demanding that they fill out an income tax return . The hosts must report for the last three years — from 2020 to 2022. Otherwise, the owners face serious fines.
< p>Submission of information about the delivery of the apartment is required until May 2. If the Federal Tax Service finds income that is not included in the declaration by a resident, it will charge a tax of 13% for up to five million rubles and 15% for more than five million. For non-resident owners, the rate is 30%. But that is not all. Violators are punished with a fine of 20% of the amount of underpaid taxes and penalties for late payment to the state treasury.
Yana Glazunova, General Director of VSN Realty, says that each case with the owner of several apartments should be considered separately. Real estate can be bought as an investment for resale, for children, stand empty, with or without renovation. It is not necessary that each of these owners rents out their housing. But the entire responsibility for taxation when receiving rental income lies only with the landlord.
“We lived in a five-story building, paid regularly to the owner, did the necessary repairs ourselves. However, the owner, apparently, was not going to submit data to the tax office,” lawyers give an example. “At some point, the owner’s mother said that we needed to get out of apartments, because they are going to sell it, although the lease agreement was concluded before June 1. At the same time, the landlords did not pay taxes.
– In the event that it is proven that the landlord deliberately evades paying taxes, he must pay the entire tax debt and, on top, a fine of 40% of this amount, or 20% if the tax is not paid unintentionally. If control over landlords is strengthened, and their risks of being fined become higher, then the amounts of taxes and potential fines will be included in the rental rate, which will lead to their growth, — states Yana Glazunova.
— Tenants have the right to tell the tax authorities about the violation by the landlords, — commented the lawyer Vadim Barancha. – And demand a fine from the owners.
In our example, the explanation from the actual owner of the property was: «We had a force majeure situation, the children are buying a home in Spain, so we decided to sell a Moscow apartment.»
Perhaps, buying a home requires the sale of more than one apartment, but tenants became aware of one — which they rented.
“The meanest thing is when the owners of the apartment, who have indicated a long-term lease, confront people with the fact that they urgently need to sell the apartment,” says realtor of a large firm, Inna Zavarova. — Of course, everything happens in life — the wedding of a daughter or the purchase of expensive housing, for example, but you know that you may have an emergency, so why did you keep silent about this possibility? So, you have to pay tenants a penalty.
“Access to the Rosreestr database allows the Federal Tax Service to identify the owners of several apartments. Obviously, a person cannot live at several addresses at the same time and is unlikely to distribute apartments to relatives for free living, as it has recently become fashionable to say. If someone’s financial situation leads the tax authorities to think about an attempt to hide taxable income, the Federal Tax Service makes a request to the bank, receives information about the state of the account for the last three years, analyzes it and makes claims,” explains lawyer Vadim Barancha. “And even if the apartment is rented through a realtor, it is unlikely that he will cover the real owner.”
“When renting out real estate, the owner is obliged to inform the state about this, that is, to register a lease agreement,” says Alexander Shustov, co-founder of the DOLGOV PRO real estate brokerage agency. — If the owner rented an apartment and did not pay tax, then if this precedent occurs, he will be offered to pay it voluntarily. If the landlord does not agree, then the issue will have to be resolved through a higher tax office, then in court.
The federal tax service cannot accuse tenants of the fact that apartment owners evade taxes, since the owner is obliged to register the lease agreement . Accordingly, the entire responsibility for paying taxes lies with the lessor.
Can tenants be accused of the fact that the owners of the apartments they rent do not comply with the requirements of the law, and put pressure on them? «No,» our speakers answer. «The tenant is not the owner of the property, and he does not have to pay the tax. He is not responsible for the tax discipline of the owner. In any case, the payment is the responsibility of the end consumer.»
Head of direction » Rent» by Apple Real Estate Vladimir Rodionov argues that apartment owners who rent out housing but do not report it to the state face the payment of all mandatory taxes and penalties on them. At the same time, not only an assumption is necessary, but also a proven fact of payment for living in an apartment; receipts of receipt of funds and certificates.
— Payment of taxes provided for when renting apartments is entirely the responsibility of the owners. Tenants can feel this only by the increased rent, but I think, given the current situation on the market, this is unlikely, concludes Vladimir Rodionov.