Transport tax benefits in 2021 - who is eligible and how to get them

Frequent amendments made to legislation sometimes lead to the emergence of many questions, among which the tax deduction when purchasing a car is considered particularly relevant. Law-abiding citizens have already had the advantage of seeing the attractiveness of a tax refund, especially in the field of real estate purchases, and therefore a 13% refund on the purchase of a vehicle seems quite reasonable.

Tax deduction when buying a car

What is a transport tax and who does it apply to?

Transport tax is a fee that must be paid annually by every citizen of the Russian Federation who owns a car.

The basis for charging this tax is the need to support the vehicle fleet. This tax is considered as a target tax: all funds collected from the state budget are redirected to specialized services that are engaged in the repair and construction of roads, carrying out improvement work in various areas, including roadside areas.

Those who are liable to pay vehicle tax include the owners of any vehicle, including land, water or air.

This tax refers to regional fees. Its size and payment procedure directly depend on the region in which the vehicle was registered. Municipal authorities of each region have the authority to set their own tariffs, on the basis of which this fee for motorists is calculated. Also, as a general rule, the transport tax on a car depends on what characteristics the car has.

Plays his role:

weight;
engine power;
age.

In addition, if we talk about transport tax in 2021, the class of the car has begun to be taken into account.

It should be noted that, according to current legislation, representatives of the tax authority are required to calculate the amount of transport tax in each specific case. However, no one is immune from mistakes, so it is recommended to double-check the amount issued yourself. The tax is calculated using the following formula: the number of horsepower of a car engine is multiplied by the tax rate accepted in the corresponding region. If the use of the car is less than one year due to its purchase or sale, then the number of months is also taken into account in the calculation.

To simplify the calculations, use a special tax calculator, which can be easily found on the Internet. It works on the following principle: you enter data on your vehicle and receive an approximate amount that must be paid as transport tax. As for how much the transport tax is for legal entities, this issue should be dealt with by the organization’s accountant.

Categories of persons entitled to benefits

Pensioners

There are no state federal benefits for pensioners. Benefits for this category of citizens do not apply throughout the entire territory of Russia. In some regions this subsidy has been significantly reduced, in others it has been completely abolished. Therefore, pensioners are not full recipients of benefits throughout Russia. However, if the pensioner is disabled or a veteran of labor, then in this case there is a possibility of an increase in the additional discount on the payment of the fee.

If we look at Russia specifically by region, then, for example, in St. Petersburg, pensioners are completely exempt from the need to pay transport tax. There is no such order in Moscow.

Also, in the Samara region, a driver of retirement age must pay only 50% of the tax cost. But in Yaroslavl, exemption from transport tax is possible for all pensioners who own a vehicle whose power does not exceed 100 horsepower. But if the figures exceed 100 horsepower, you will have to pay extra.

So, regional authorities may not give discounts and exemptions, but give some concessions. For example, in the Saratov region there is a minimum tax rate for pensioners.

Disabled people

The federal law provides benefits for people with disabilities who belong to group 2. This was done largely to make the movement of such persons accessible. This benefit can only be used in two situations. Perhaps the car was purchased with funds from the guardianship authorities, and the owner of the vehicle has a certificate of a disabled person of the second group.

The benefit may apply to disabled people of the first group, but this opportunity is not provided for disabled people of group 3.

Large families

Are transport tax benefits allowed for large families? The decision on whether to provide this benefit or not is made only by representatives of the government of the subject. Let us remind you that the status of a large family will be assigned when the family has three or more children under 18 years of age. Or up to 23 years of age if the child is studying full-time at a higher educational institution.

In this case, only one parent can apply for social support and only for one car. Therefore, it is advisable to choose a vehicle that has the highest tax. The main thing is that the car has a power of up to 150 horsepower.

If it turns out that a mother or father with many children is raising 3 or more children alone, then in this case the family is completely exempt from paying this transport tax.

Veterans of Labor

The Federal Law makes no mention of the fact that labor veterans are entitled to a tax exemption for a vehicle. However, regional authorities believe that people who began their labor activity before the age of 18 or during the Great Patriotic War can also qualify for tax relief.

Combat veterans

The issue related to this category of citizens has its own special limitations and framework. For example, in Moscow such persons are completely exempt from paying taxes. However, this only applies to one vehicle. Also, only old cars that are older than 1991 and whose power does not exceed 200 horsepower can be eligible for social support.

In addition to cars, the established benefit may also apply to boats that have low power.

Chernobyl victims

Most regions of the Russian Federation have come to the conclusion that Chernobyl victims are not required to pay transport tax. However, not all Chernobyl victims can receive benefits. For example, in Ryazan and Bryansk such benefits do not apply.

And in Karelia, Chernobyl victims pay 50% of the cost of the accrued tax.

How is tax paid?

Payment of transport tax is mandatory for all vehicle owners. However, it is important to emphasize that there is a category of citizens who can contact the tax office to receive benefits. Their list is established independently in each region.

As an example, let’s take the benefits that the Moscow region imposes on transport taxes in 2021. According to the current law, public organizations whose members are disabled people are exempt from paying this tax.

In relation to individuals, to citizens who may not pay this fee

, relate:

awarded the Order of Glory or Hero of the Russian Federation or the USSR;
victims of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant;
those who took part in the Second World War;
with disabilities (except for the third group - they receive a 50% discount).

Also, certain benefits are established for cars whose engine power is less than a certain limit.

Thus, in order to find out the tariffs for calculating transport tax and the likelihood of receiving benefits, you need to refer to regional legislation. The calculation of the amount of transport tax required for payment for individuals is carried out by the tax office, which is reported in a written notification sent.

Features of tax deduction

Every month, 13% of the salary is withheld to the state. This paragraph of legislation is mandatory for all tax residents of the Russian Federation. However, these funds are not spent exclusively on the needs of the state: part is returned to citizens under certain circumstances.

Among the benefits provided by legal norms is a tax deduction, which is a mechanism for refunding income taxes.

Entities who have paid tax and made any expenses during the calendar year can get back the withheld 13%. In some situations, the period implying the possibility of payments extends to 3 years.

Unfortunately, not all expenses fall under the attractive 13% rebate category, for example, groceries or household appliances are not included in this list. You can use this option under the following circumstances:

purchase or construction of real estate;
payment for education;
completing a treatment course;
material participation in charitable events.

Purchasing a car theoretically falls under 1 point, which is deciphered as follows:

purchasing a plot of land, a private house or apartment;
construction of residential real estate;
payment of interest under the loan agreement for the purchase of all of the above.

In accordance with tax law, the property deduction covers only the purchase of real estate. Because these expenses are considered essential, exemptions apply. However, a car is not considered by law as an essential item, so it is not possible to return 13% after purchasing it.

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for a tax deduction for the purchase of a vehicle

How to pay transport tax - main methods

The rarity of the need to pay transport tax and the constantly changing deadlines that are established at the legislative level can lead to the fact that the need to pay is remembered literally on the last day, and late in the evening, when neither bank branches nor the post office are open. In this case, the only possible (and, frankly, the most convenient and fastest) is the method according to which payment of transport tax is made via the Internet. There are a number of sites you can use for this.

When do you not have to pay duty?

The car is not registered with the traffic police or removed from it, and the reason why this happened is not important and does not affect the fact that the citizen does not pay transport tax.
If the taxpayer owns a car that has been stolen or stolen (upon providing the appropriate document from law enforcement agencies), the fee is not charged from the month following the theft.
When the PTS on the basis of which the tax is calculated contains information that does not correspond to reality. In such a situation, the owner can challenge the need to pay the fee by presenting evidence to the Federal Tax Service or prove the unnecessaryness of the payment through the court. Separately, we note that you should not deliberately enter incorrect data into the document: sooner or later the lie will be revealed, which will lead to a criminal case and a fine.
If a Russian is an individual entrepreneur, he uses rented vehicles for work or his employees drive personal vehicles registered in their name.
If the car owner has a federal or regional benefit, according to which the owner of the vehicle is exempt from paying the fee.

How to find out your debt

The easiest way to find out the transport tax debt is to receive a receipt through the postal service, which indicates the amount to be paid and payment details, and all that remains is to pay it at the bank. However, in case of loss of a receipt or other circumstances due to which you did not receive a receipt, you can resort to other methods, each of which we will consider in more detail.

Independently calculating the approximate amount of tax payable is not the most effective way, although citizens resort to it, due to the need to clarify the coefficients for your region, as well as the dependence of the amount on the engine size and year of manufacture of the car.

If you register a car with the traffic police of a neighboring region...

If you register a car with the traffic police of a neighboring region, where the tax rate is lower, then in most cases you will not be able to save money. As we wrote above, the amount of the transport fee depends on the place of registration of the owner. Today, the highest taxes are in the two capitals of Russia: for a car registered in Moscow with a 150 hp engine. a resident of the region will pay 35 rubles for 1 force, in Yaroslavl - 28, in the Kemerovo region - 14, and in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug - 7 rubles.

But, despite the fact that according to current laws it is allowed to register a car in any region of Russia, without being tied to the place of residence of the owner, this information will still be sent to the Federal Tax Service at the place of registration of the owner, therefore the tax is calculated from the rate that is established in the region of official residence of the car owner. Consequently, this option is suitable only for Russians whose relatives live in a city that is attractive in terms of tax levels, but do not forget that in the event of the death of the “dummy” owner, the rights to the car pass to his heirs.

By TIN

If you have the Internet, you can find out the amount of debt through your TIN.

To do this you need:

Go to the website of the Federal Tax Service at the address: nalog.ru, where we enter the login and password previously received from the tax office to enter your account. Please note that in this case your TIN is entered as a login to log into your account.
Go to the “Objects” tab. In this menu, the objects of your property available at your disposal are available.
The menu for the amount of tax to be paid is located on the line “accrued”
Carefully read the tax amount, as well as information on the property - if the data does not match, you should contact the Federal Tax Service.
To pay, click “Pay”, and the system will offer you available payment options, with the possibility of partial payment, and automatic generation of details. Please note that the system displays by default the tax amounts payable for all types of your property. To select the object for which we pay, check the boxes.

If the car is expensive...

If the car is expensive, then you can try to reduce the duty. With the so-called “luxury” tax, if a citizen paid more than 3 million rubles for a car, when calculating the fee, the Federal Tax Service takes into account not only the above criteria, but also the make and year of manufacture of the car, applying an increase factor to the regular rate. This practice was established in 2015. The Ministry of Industry and Trade annually on March 1 publishes a list of expensive vehicles for which the tax levy will be higher.

List of passenger cars for the 2017 tax period

The list includes 909 models; a year ago it included 708 cars. For example, the fee for a Ford Explorer Sport - 2015 (engine power - 345 horsepower) together with the increasing coefficient will amount to almost 57 thousand rubles in the capital. For a three-year-old BMW M6 convertible, the tax rate has doubled, and it will cost the owner 150,000 rubles. Rolls-Royce Dawn (2014) has an increasing factor of 3, and therefore the duty on this car is one of the highest - 257,000.

Table 1. Increasing factors for expensive cars

Average cost of a passenger car	Year of manufacture of the car
02.03.2017	01.02.2017	no more than 1 year	no more than 5	no more than 10	no more than 20
from 3 million to 5 million rubles inclusive	1.1	1.3	1.5	—	—	—
from 5 million to 10 million rubles inclusive	—	—	—	2	—	—
from 10 million to 15 million rubles inclusive	—	—	—	—	3	—
from 15 million rubles	—	—	—	—	—	3

This list does not take into account the technical condition of the car and its contract price; officials sometimes even include non-existent models in the list (for example, the five-year-old Audi PC6, although this model has not been produced since 2010). If the car costs less than three million or has been involved in a serious accident, but is included in the list, the tax will still be calculated with an increased coefficient.

Approximate tax calculation for expensive cars

Experts predict an increase in the coefficients listed in the law, which is associated with stable inflation, and therefore an increase in the cost of cars, therefore, if the cost of a car exceeds three million rubles, you can use the following ways to reduce the tax on “luxury”:

Before purchasing a car, check whether it is on the ministerial list (the model being purchased may not even be there, despite the high cost, but, nevertheless, on March 1 of next year, when the ministry publishes a new list, the brand may already appear there);
If you choose a car a year older, it may not have such a powerful engine. If, after all, a luxury car is your dream, you need to calculate the duty in advance and plan it in the family’s annual budget;
Register the vehicle in the name of a relative who is a beneficiary. But, if the engine power exceeds 100-150 hp. (this is the threshold for almost all preferential categories of citizens in various regions), the tax will be charged on every extra cubic meter or horsepower above the specified limit.

On the State Services website

Another reliable source of information about the amount of tax payable is the State Services website at gosuslugi.ru.

To clarify the amount:

Log in to your personal account by entering your login and password.
Click on the public services menu at the top of the window.
Since our goal is to pay taxes, let’s turn to the “Checking tax debts” menu.
Click get a service, and the system will check the amount of debt using the TIN you previously entered (otherwise this cannot be done).
When you display the result, you can view the amount or pay online.

If the car belongs to a minor...

If the car belongs to a minor, then the tax will be paid by his legal representatives (parents, adoptive parents, guardians, trustees) after registering the vehicle with the traffic police.

If a child owns a car, tax will still have to be paid.

This explanation is given in letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 18, 2015 No. 03-05-06-01/28396, dated August 28, 2008 No. 03-05-06-01/27. However, the law does not limit the possibility of re-registering a car to a minor. A citizen will be able to evade the tax only if the child belongs to a preferential category exempt from paying tax, for example, is a disabled person of the first or second group.

Deadline for payment of transport tax

The period for which transport tax is paid is one calendar year. The payer must be notified in writing by the tax authority of the payment deadline.

However, the changes that came into force in 2015 established that if the taxpayer does not receive the corresponding notification, he must independently contact the tax authority at his place of residence before December 31 of the year following the one for which he is due. tax will be charged.

The tax payment deadline from the current year has been postponed to December 1 of the next year.

.
In other words, if you own a vehicle, you must pay the vehicle tax for 2021 by December 1
. If the car becomes a property within a year, the payment is calculated in proportion to the time the citizen is the car owner.

Regional benefits

In matters of vehicle tax, there is the concept of a regional benefit. It is believed that the maximum amount of the fee is set by the State Duma. However, regional authorities retain the right to introduce additional benefits, taking into account local subsidies. Therefore, people who are classified in the same social category in two neighboring regions may pay completely different amounts upon collection of vehicle tax.

In order to find out exactly what benefits apply in your place of residence, you need to go to the tax office website.
There, select the “electronic services” section – “FL transport tax calculator”.
Indicate the name of the tax, and also enter the region you are interested in and the period for which you intend to pay the contribution.
You will see information that will tell you about possible additional benefits.

For legal entities

Separately, it is worth noting the procedure by which the deadline for payment of transport tax by legal entities is calculated. If a tax period is established for an organization, it must pay advance payments. The deadline for making this payment is set for the last day of the month following the reporting month. The deadline for final tax payment is established at the legislative level, but cannot be made later than February 1 of the year following the reporting tax period.

How to get 13 percent back on a car purchase?

Since, as of 2021, a car is not on the list of purchases after which there is the possibility of a tax refund, it would be more correct to ask the question: how to save money when selling a car, since in some cases you can avoid paying tax.

First of all, the time between buying and selling a car should be spent wisely. To avoid any difficulties during the sales process, it is advisable to adhere to the following steps:

keep documents confirming the original cost. It would be a good idea to have them notarized;
record every cost associated with a car, right down to service in the showroom, as this will help set an adequate selling price;
monitor the registration of the car and the payment of taxes: it is important that everything is completed correctly, because in the future, this will help in the rapid assessment of the purchase and sale transaction by the competent authorities.

After all the preparatory “pre-sale” nuances have been observed, you can begin to master the basic intricacies of the art of competent sales.

Video - Tax deduction when buying a car

Shortened tax period

The tax period for transport tax for a commercial company will be shortened if it decides to cease to exist or reorganize in one of the months of the calendar year. For example, the last tax period for a company liquidated in March 20XX will be only 3 months - from 01/01/20XX to 03/31/20XX (paragraph 1, clause 3, article 55 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

A newly created company that has a registered vehicle on its balance sheet and decides to liquidate or reorganize during the same calendar year will also face a shortened tax period. For example, the date of state registration of a company is 04/01/20XX, the date of liquidation (reorganization) is 10/30/20XX, the tax period is 7 months.

If a company that had a registered vehicle was created in December 20XX, but ceased operations and was removed from tax registration in May 20XX, the tax period in this case will last 6 months - from 12/01/20XX to 05/31/20XX (paragraph 3 p. 3 Article 55 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Newcomers will also have a shortened tax period - companies that decided to open their business not from the beginning of the year, but in one of the following months, and at the same time registered their vehicles in the prescribed manner. For example, the state registration of the company was carried out in early August 20XX, and during the same period the company bought and registered several trucks and a minibus. The 1st tax period for transport tax will be 5 months, from 08/01/20XX to 12/31/20XX, and will be shortened compared to the regular tax period (paragraph 1, paragraph 3, article 55 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If you sell a car, then...

If you sell a car, then tax will be charged to the previous owner until the new owner re-registers the car in his name or the previous owner stops registering it in his name. How to do it? Ten days after the sale of the car, the previous owner needs to come to the traffic police with an agreement on the transfer of ownership and write a statement. The sold car is no longer registered with him, and new data is transferred to the Federal Tax Service.

In conclusion, we note that in the automotive sector, legislation is under development and therefore constantly changing. For example, soon deputies are proposing to add to the above tax calculation criteria also taking into account the environmental class of the car. Since October 2021, tax control rules have been in effect, according to which legislators have assigned responsibility for actions that resulted in non-payment of duties, ignorance of new regulations, or transmission of incorrect information about the place of residence to the owner of the car. Therefore, the best option for any car owner is to be interested in changes in this legal area and, in the event of a controversial or conflict situation, contact a tax consultant.

Operating principles of the system

"Plato" is an online system that allows users to track the status of payments without having to visit offices and sit in queues. The owner of a heavy-duty vehicle will be able to perform operations after registering on the site and gaining access to his personal account.

After this step, the motorist will also receive information about the bank details, which will allow him to transfer funds for driving on federal roads to a car whose weight exceeds 12 tons. Transfer of funds is based on advances. The scheme works as follows: the car owner deposits a certain amount into the system, after which the operator gradually debits the amount required for payment from the account account.

Some heavy-duty vehicles do not incur road damage charges.

These heavy trucks include:

Cars carrying passengers. The rule applies to all such vehicles, except cargo-passenger vans.
Special services vehicles: ambulance, police, fire, emergency rescue. Moreover, such vehicles must be equipped with special identification marks: a flashing light and sound devices.
Vehicles intended for transportation of military equipment.

All other cars not included in the listed categories must replenish their balance in a timely manner to pay for travel on federal highways.

How are you charged?

Payment for travel of heavy trucks is carried out using a set tariff of 1.9 rubles/km. This value meets the requirements of the Resolution adopted on March 24, 2017. Ordinary citizens can find information about the current tariff on the official Platon website.

The dimension of the tariff directly indicates the principle of collecting payments: the value of the tariff is multiplied by the number of kilometers traveled. It is not difficult for tax authorities to track the movement of heavy cargo. Information about the number of kilometers is taken using satellite navigation equipment designed for this purpose.

The information support center is provided with a special device that allows you to determine the coordinates of the vehicle. Processing and sending data from the on-board device to the Data Processing Center is carried out automatically.

The funds of the user of the Platon system are also written off automatically. If there is no stationary tracking frame, mobile tracking will be provided. Owners of heavy trucks pay for travel on federal highways on a fair basis.

Principles for withdrawing funds from a motorist in the Platon system:

payment is made only for the distance traveled;
funds are collected continuously;
monitoring is carried out using satellite systems (GPS and GLONASS);
control of heavy trucks is regular through the use of stationary and mobile control.

Thus, owners of vehicles weighing more than 12 tons are exempt from inconvenience when compensating for the damage caused by heavy trucks to the road surface. Almost the entire process occurs automatically.

What is the procedure for collecting taxes on heavy trucks until 2021?

Until January 1 of this year, other rules related to car tax accounting for owners of heavy vehicles were in effect. Owners of such vehicles had to pay two types of contributions:

Transfer of funds to the Platon system, which were redirected for road surface repair work.
Making payments according to the regional TN, due to which the road surface is maintained.

In addition, before the adoption of changes to the legislation, drivers whose vehicles had a permissible maximum weight of “More than 12 tons” could well save on fuel costs. Moreover, the savings were on legal grounds: the transport tax was reduced by the amount that the taxpayer had previously transferred to Plato.

It is worth pointing out that this method could only be used by drivers of heavy trucks who had gone through the process of registering in the system as official tax payers of the TN for a specific vehicle. This requirement was recorded in a letter to the National Assembly adopted on July 11, 2018.

Before the innovations, tax calculation was carried out in accordance with the following standards:

Transport tax was assessed for each vehicle individually. It was impossible to reduce the amount of contributions for a specific truck at the expense of the amount of funds paid for other trucks.
A reduction in the amount of budget contributions was possible only on the condition that the motorist fully repaid all advances made during the reporting year.
In cases where a motorist paid an insufficient amount of tax for causing damage to the road surface, the necessary additional funds came from unused contributions to the Platon system.
If the transfer of funds to Plato exceeded the norm, the motorist was considered exempt from obligations. Also, the resulting discrepancy between the amount of contributed funds and the technical tax could be included in the tax base for profits.

However, from the beginning of 2021, all rules facilitating the tax payment process have been abolished. This year it will no longer be possible to reduce the amount of the transport tax contribution. Also, the new rules have complicated the process of accounting for expenses in the Platon system. In order for the motorist to be able to add these costs to the list of costs, it is necessary to take into account transfers to Plato separately.

Payment Methods

There are several ways to make a payment.

Table 1. Payment methods

Way	Photo
No. 1. Personal visit to the tax office	Read also: Concepts of costs, expenses, expenses, directions of classification of costs for production and sale of products
No. 2. Payment on the Federal Tax Service website
No. 3. By mail
No. 4. Payment at a bank branch

Paying online allows you to significantly save time resources, since the transfer will take no more than 5 minutes

Please note that receipt of funds may take from 1 to 3 banking days, so it is advisable to pay the tax in advance, without waiting for the final payment date. In addition, it is advisable to keep a receipt confirming this operation.

System value

The Platon system ensures fair collection of funds for road repairs. The fact is that heavy vehicles weighing more than 12 tons cause serious damage to state highways. To estimate the amount of damage caused to the road by one heavyweight, it is enough to refer to statistics: the movement of one heavyweight is comparable to the movement of 25 thousand cars along the highway.

“Platon” was created to ensure that owners of heavy vehicles independently compensate for the damage caused. These contributions are a kind of compensation for the destructive impact on public roads.

Funds collected through the service are sent to the Federal Budget of the Russian Federation. From the budget they are allocated for the repair of public road surfaces, as well as the development of roadside infrastructure. For this reason, the sections of roads discussed are called federal highways.

The system allows authorities to collect accurate information on the movement of vehicles weighing more than 12 tons. Platon also ensures reliable storage of received information and can automatically transmit it. Moreover, this algorithm applies to all federal roads.

The significance of “Plato” lies in monitoring and improving the operational condition of roads in the Russian Federation. It is worth noting the operator of this system. The entire process of creating “Plato” and regulating its work is the merit of RTITS.