How to become self-employed in 2021 - step-by-step instructions

The issue of taxation of Russians who provide themselves with work remains open. Self-employed citizens can count on preferential conditions in 2021. The law allows this category of taxpayers to acquire a patent, and some types of activities are completely exempt from personal income tax. However, the conditions seem attractive only at first glance. Experts say that there are no really effective mechanisms in the legislation. It is the imperfection of the regulatory framework that explains the expansion of the shadow segment of the economy and the obvious reluctance of the population to register with territorial inspectorates.

Who is self-employed?

These are persons who do not have their own employer and superiors. They do not have employees or managers; they work independently. They engage in small trade or provide services to the public and companies of any size.

These people are engaged in professional activities from which they receive income and pay taxes to the state. There are many types of such activities. Here are some activities for the self-employed:

• nannies;
• tutors;
• copywriters;
• cooks;
• taxi drivers;
• seamstresses;
• confectioners.

If in 2021 it began as an experiment, then by mid-October 2021 the tax regime for the self-employed began to apply throughout the country. Previously, people were looking for information in which regions they could become self-employed; they had to have at least one client from the regions where this regime applies. And now this is possible in any region of the country and even for some people from other countries.

Any individual and even an individual entrepreneur can become self-employed if he decides to change his status and switch to a different tax regime.

Types of activities (full list 2019)

By obtaining such a status, citizens have the right to find employment in the following areas:

• Private training at home (tutoring);
• Cleaning service;
• Cooking (cook);
• Repair work of residential and non-residential premises.

For now, these are the main areas of activity, but soon parliamentarians plan to add other items to this list:

• Photo and video shooting;
• Translations/copywriting/text writing;
• Nanny or nurse services;
• Landscape/interior design;
• Private transportation of goods or people;
• Clothing/shoe repair;
• Production of dairy and bakery products in a subsidiary farm for sale at a difference;
• Fishing and selling;
• Fair trade.

Important! It is possible that in the future this list will be replenished with freelancers, who today rarely work legally and pay taxes.

How it works?

Everything is set up as simply as possible. First, a person downloads the application and registers in it as a self-employed person. At the end of registration, he receives a message that he has successfully become self-employed. He performs all other actions through the “My Tax” application. You don't need to go anywhere or do anything complicated. No applications, queues or visits to the tax office. Just an application in which you can now mark your income and pay taxes.

The process is also simple:

• a self-employed person provides a service (records a song, makes soap, etc.);
• transfers it to the buyer;
• receives money for it;
• marks a new sale in the application, indicates the amount of proceeds and saves;
• a record appears that the sale was successful;
• a check is opened that can be sent online to a legal entity or individual if necessary.

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Alternative registration methods

Applying for self-employment through the Sberbank application is even easier. Just open Sberbank Online on your phone, select the government services tab, payment category and the “Your business” section. There is a QR code on the website for easy access to registration.

Important! Sberbank offers several useful services to everyone who registers self-employment through this application.

The Federal Tax Service invites banking institutions to connect to the “My Tax” application via an open API and provide clients with the opportunity to register. This proposal was of interest to Sovcombank, Tinkoff Bank, Alfa-Bank, and Vostochny. Accordingly, the self-employed have an alternative in terms of registering and using the software. At the same time, tax authorities have certain requirements: uninterrupted data processing and round-the-clock support service.

What does this give?

Creating a self-employed regime has many advantages:

• Specialists will be able to legally provide services to the public and companies without fear. Now they will not be afraid that the tax office will audit them and impose many fines.
• The activity will become legal, you can officially work with companies and legal entities. There will be no problems with paperwork when working with legal entities.
• Entrepreneurs will be able to reduce their tax burden and pay less without closing their individual entrepreneurs. They will be able to work in the same mode, but with significantly lower mandatory payments.

In addition, many companies are more willing to work with self-employed people, because in this case their tax burden is reduced. It is more profitable and easier for them to work with the self-employed.

A self-employed person does not need a current account, does not have to provide a tax return, does not require a cash register, and can be combined with his main job.

Working with the application

If an entrepreneur understands how to register as self-employed in 2021 through “My Tax,” then you should study the step-by-step instructions for the program. When providing a service or selling a product, you must:

1. Open the application on the device where it is installed.
2. Click on “New Sale”.
3. Indicate the cost of the service (product) and name.
4. Indicate status, date.
5. Select client status - individual or legal entity.
6. Enter the telephone number and email address to which a copy of the check document will be sent.

If a customer returns an item, the receipt is adjusted directly in the application, and the tax amount is automatically reduced. A canceled check cannot be restored; in such a situation, it is better to re-generate the check document, indicating the same data.

You need to generate a check for any payment, regardless of how much money was received and in what way (cash, from a bank card, to an account). It is important to write down the name of the service (name of the product) in full, as well as the following information:

• document's name;
• date, time of calculation;
• Full name of the seller-taxpayer;
• an identification number;
• instructions on the application of the NAP regime;
• name of works and services;
• amount of payment and change.

A QR code for reading and a unique check number are also placed here. Tax is automatically calculated on the amount indicated on the check. There is no need to generate reports or submit any papers to the tax authorities.

If the buyer pays for a service or product in cash or by transfer from a card, a receipt must be issued immediately. For non-cash transfers between accounts, a check document is provided to the consumer no later than the 9th day of the following month. It is allowed to transfer checks on paper, by email, or by scanning a QR code.

The application allows you to track receipt documentation for any selected period. This displays preliminary tax amounts that you can track throughout the month. The program itself will remind you of the deadlines for tax payments when the final amount is calculated.

Taxes must be paid by the 25th of each month. If you miss this deadline, the tax will be considered a debt and a penalty will be charged. All this information is displayed in the application.

To simplify the process of paying taxes, it is possible to make payments in installments, but the entire amount must reach the tax authorities by the 25th. It is possible to link a bank card to the application and make payments from it. Another option is to generate a payment receipt directly in the program. If the application does not function due to technical work, a receipt can be generated the next day when such work is completed. You can obtain information about their implementation on the Federal Tax Service portal.

Important! If less than 100 rubles of tax are calculated per month, the amount is transferred to the coming month.

The “My Tax” functionality allows you to create certificates confirming income for receiving benefits or bank loans. Such a certificate can be sent to the organization by email or printed.

Stopping the special tax regime is as easy as becoming self-employed. You can report this via the application at any time, and no further tax charges will be made. If the tax authorities have information about a violation of self-employment rules (exceeding income or hiring employees), the Federal Tax Service has the right to independently deregister the self-employed person.

Important! If you renounce your self-employed status, you must pay off all debts and pay taxes accrued during your work. You can register again without restrictions, the procedure will be the same as the first time.

Who can become?

Any person who operates on the territory of the Russian Federation can become a self-employed citizen. Foreign citizens from Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia can also become self-employed if they have clients in Russia. They are allowed to change the tax regime under the same conditions as citizens of the Russian Federation.

Starting from October 2021, you can become self-employed in any region of the country.

From what age

Any citizen over the age of 18 and between the ages of 14 and 18 can become self-employed if he fulfills one of the conditions and is not an individual entrepreneur.

Who can become self-employed at 14-18 years old:

• who entered into marriage and became legally capable as a result;
• parents or guardians have given written consent to this;
• the court or guardianship authorities recognized him as fully capable in accordance with the established procedure.

In which regions does the program operate?

In 2021, only 4 regions participated in the experiment: Kaluga and Moscow regions, Moscow and the Republic of Tatarstan. In January of this year, the list was expanded - the program now operates in 23 regions. The full list can be found in the latest edition of Art. 1 clause 2 No. 422-FZ.

Note! You can become self-employed, even if your region is not yet participating in the experiment. This is not prohibited by law. It is enough to have at least one customer from a region in which a special tax regime has already been introduced.

In July 2021, NPAs are planned to be introduced throughout the country, so anyone can become self-employed.

This is interesting: How can a business advertise if it doesn’t have a website?

How to accept payments?

A self-employed person can accept payments to any card he has. You can even receive money from clients on the card where your salary from your main job comes.

Many banks currently offer to open an account with them in order to be self-employed. These are actually unrelated concepts. A current account will be required when working with certain companies. If an individual plans to simply give violin lessons or sell homemade cakes to ordinary citizens, then he will not need such an account.

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Documents for registration of self-employment

You do not have to collect a huge number of certificates and papers. It is enough to provide:

• passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
• original and copy of an extract from the Unified State Register confirming that the person does not have an open individual entrepreneur;
• completed application.

In rare cases, you may need a TIN - taxpayer identification number.

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How to become self-employed?

Let's figure out how to become self-employed through State Services and provide step-by-step instructions.

This is the easiest way. After the “My Tax” application is installed on your mobile phone, you need to log in to it. A window will open in which you need to select a registration and authorization method. Through the State Services portal this is the last, but the fastest and easiest among them.

You just need to click on it. Then you will need to enter the standard data that is usually entered when entering the State Services website - SNILS or mobile phone number and password.

Login to the My Tax application

From now on, registration will be semi-automatic. After confirming your personal data, mobile phone number and agreeing to the terms of registration, the citizen will be immediately registered as self-employed.

Data confirmation

If you register using a Russian passport, you will need to take a photo of the passport and yourself next to it. What documents are needed - passport, TIN, SNILS. Usually no other documents are required.

Personal Area

Where to contact

You can submit a notification of your desire to start doing business as a self-employed person in the following ways:

1. By sending a registered letter with notification;
2. Come personally to the tax office at your place of residence;
3. By submitting an application through an official representative whose rights have been certified by a notary;
4. By submitting an application on the website of the Federal Tax Service using an electronic signature.

You can get the form to fill out either directly from the tax office, or download and print it from the official portal.

Advantages and disadvantages

Since the advent of the new tax regime, it has had supporters and opponents, because everything has negative sides. Let's take a closer look at the features of this method of work.

What are the advantages of self-employment:

• No mandatory payments. If a citizen has no income, then he will not have to pay any taxes.
• Easy to combine with your main job.
• No need for a cash register. You don’t have to buy an online cash register, you don’t need to process checks through special programs. Everything is processed through the “My Tax” application.
• There is no need to submit a tax return to the inspection authorities. Anything they want to check can be viewed through the app.
• There is no need to visit the tax office, sit in lines, wait for an appointment, or take time off from work. Everything is done online.
• Speed. The entire registration takes only 20 minutes.
• You can come out of the shadows and officially work. There is no risk that the tax office will ask you to present documents confirming your income.
• Tax conditions should not change for the next 10 years. This is enshrined in law as a guarantee.
• Self-employment income is official and verified. A self-employed person can get a loan, a loan or a credit card. Not all banks offer this yet, but their list is constantly being updated with new credit institutions.

But this tax regime also has negative sides:

• You'll have to pay taxes. This is only 4% for working with individuals and 6% for working with legal entities, but not everyone wants to pay even that much.
• Income should not exceed 2.4 million rubles per year or 200 thousand rubles per month. Some masters receive more money; this mode is not available to them.
• Not all types of activities fall under self-employment. If a citizen is going to sell excisable goods, resell them or extract minerals, then he cannot become self-employed.
• You can't have employees. Only one citizen who works for himself can be self-employed. As soon as he has subordinates, he will have to open an individual entrepreneur.

Fines for lack of a patent

Purchasing a patent will protect citizens from punishment for illegal business.

The penalties for not having a patent will be expressed as follows:

• in the form of penalties (up to 2 thousand rubles);
• through additional assessment of taxes and insurance premiums for the entire period of activity without registration, as well as penalties in the amount of 10% of income (at least 40 thousand rubles).

If a self-employed person has received large income without a patent, he may face the following:

• fine up to 300 thousand rubles;
• community service for up to 480 hours;
• arrest up to six months.