Deduction for the sale of an apartment. Property deduction when selling property. Changing the share size

When selling residential real estate, the owner must pay income tax on the income received. But in order to reduce the tax burden on citizens when selling housing, the legislation provides for property deductions. The procedure for applying this deduction is described in this article.

Income not subject to taxation

Income from the sale of an apartment (house) is not subject to taxation if the apartment has been owned by a citizen for at least three years.

Important! For an apartment purchased from 01/01/2016, the minimum tenure has been increased to five years.

But the minimum three-year period of ownership of an apartment, during which no tax is paid, remains the same in the following cases:

if the ownership of the apartment arose by inheritance or under a gift agreement from a family member and (or) close relative;
if the ownership of the apartment arose as a result of privatization;
if ownership is obtained as a result of the transfer of an apartment under a rent agreement (lifetime maintenance with dependents).

It is important to know from what point this minimum holding period is to be counted. As a general rule, property arises from the moment of registration in Rosreestr. Therefore, the three-year period of minimum ownership must be counted from the date indicated in the certificate of state registration of ownership of the apartment.

But, there are cases when the date of origin of ownership arises earlier than indicated in the certificate (by force of law).

The apartment is considered to belong to the heir from the date of opening of the inheritance (death of the testator);
An apartment purchased in a cooperative belongs to the owner from the date of payment of the last share;
An apartment privatized before the Federal Law “On state registration of rights to real estate and transactions with it” came into force, i.e. until 01/23/1998 belongs to the owner from the moment of privatization (date specified in the privatization agreement).

Property tax deduction when selling an apartment

The tax deduction after the sale of an apartment can be of two types, and the taxpayer, at his own discretion, can choose the most profitable option for himself.

Fixed tax deduction

The first method of tax deduction is a property deduction in the form of a fixed amount of 1 million rubles.

With this deduction method, you can reduce the tax base by 1 million rubles.

Let's look at this method as an example. Let’s say the official sale price of an apartment is 2 million rubles, subtract 1 million rubles from this amount and multiply by 13% income tax.

2 million – 1 million = 1 million *13%= tax amount 130 thousand rubles.

Tax deduction for the amount of expenses incurred

The second option is a deduction for the amount of actually incurred and confirmed expenses that the taxpayer incurred when purchasing this property.

For example, an apartment was purchased in 2014 for 2.6 million rubles, and sold in 2015 for 3 million rubles.

The taxpayer can take advantage of this deduction and get 3 million rubles. – 2.6 million rubles = 400 thousand *13* = tax amount 52 thousand rubles.

Important! Since the cost of selling an apartment in this case slightly exceeds the cost of purchasing this apartment, this deduction option is more profitable for the taxpayer than deducting a fixed amount.

If you choose to deduct a fixed amount of 1 million rubles, then the tax will be higher (3 million rubles – 1 million rubles = 2 million rubles * 13% = tax amount of 260 thousand rubles).

Therefore, before choosing a tax deduction method, we recommend that you seek advice from a tax law specialist.

Important! In order to be able to take advantage of a tax deduction for the amount of expenses incurred, you need to collect and submit documents confirming the expenses to the tax office. These are documents such as an apartment purchase and sale agreement, an acceptance certificate, and payment documents.

It is worth adding that the expenses incurred, in addition to the direct cost of the apartment, may include realtor services and interest on a mortgage loan.

Registration of deductions at the tax office

To receive a property tax deduction when selling an apartment, you must submit a declaration to the tax office no later than April 30 of the year following the year of sale of the home. A tax return in form 3-NDFL, together with the sales documents, must be submitted regardless of the price of the apartment being sold, even when the tax deduction exceeds the contract price.

Important! You do not need to file a tax return only if you have owned the apartment for more than three years.

Tax deduction for the sale of an apartment by an individual entrepreneur

The law provides that an individual entrepreneur will not be able to take advantage of a property deduction when selling an apartment that was used for business activities.

Important! If a citizen entrepreneur sells a personal apartment in which he lived with his family and used it for its intended purpose, then he has the right to a deduction (since this is non-commercial housing).

The right to property deduction repeatedly

There are no restrictions on the use of property tax deductions when selling an apartment, i.e. You can use the deduction more than once. But, a fixed property deduction within one tax period (calendar year) is limited to an amount of 1 million rubles. Therefore, if the owner sells several apartments in one calendar year, then the fixed tax deduction will not exceed 1 million rubles.

So, tax legislation provides that when selling residential real estate, citizens must pay income tax. But, at the same time, the law makes it possible to minimize this tax using property tax deductions. The features of obtaining deductions when selling an apartment are disclosed in this article.

ATTENTION! Due to recent changes in legislation, the information in this article may be out of date! Our lawyer will advise you free of charge - write in the form below.

Last updated June 2019

Receipt of almost any income is subject to taxation. What tax on the sale of apartments must the owner pay? Income tax or, as correctly, personal income tax. All real estate owners need to know that the sale of housing is not always taxable:

If the apartment has been owned for more than 3 years (since 2016 - 5 years) - tax exemption.
If it is sold cheaper than purchased (but more expensive than 70% of the cadastral value), then you do not have to pay anything.

Tax rate

Individuals pay income tax on all their income. The sale of residential premises is directly related to personal income tax. Tax rates:

For residents – 13% (from sales income);
For non-residents – 30% (from the full sale price).

What is taxed?

for property deductions (only for residents);
for the expenses incurred by the owner of the apartment when he bought it.

That is, choose from 2 options for a specific property only one thing or a property deduction (1 million rubles) or the cost of its purchase.

This article will discuss the sale of residential real estate and accounting for a property deduction of 1 million rubles. (apartments, houses, privatized dachas, rooms, land plots, as well as shares in this property). Property such as garages, parking spaces, unfinished buildings, cars are other property. When selling it, you can use a property deduction of only 250 thousand rubles. (cm. ).

Determining the tenure of real estate

How to determine whether the deadline has passed after which you can sell an apartment so as not to pay tax? Almost always the reference date is reflected in the certificate of ownership (extract from the State Register). There are three exceptions:

inheritance - the countdown when receiving an apartment as an inheritance begins from the date of death of the testator.
cooperative - the day of payment of the last share or signing of the transfer deed. This is the date on which the title to the apartment is transferred from the cooperative to the owner.
if the property was registered before 1998, then a certificate was not issued for it. Documents of that time are taken into account (purchase and sale, BTI certificates, etc.).

Some situations have their own nuances, for example:

There were several apartment owners. One of them buys out all the shares and becomes the sole owner of the property. Should he pay tax if at the time of sale of the apartment less than 3 (5) years have passed from the transaction for purchasing shares? No, because the change in shared ownership does not matter. If more than 3 (5) years have passed since the original registration date, you do not need to pay personal income tax.

Owners of private houses can complete their construction. In this case, is it necessary to pay tax when selling real estate if the completed part of the housing has been owned for less than 3 (or 5) years? If the external boundaries of the house have been changed (amendments have been made to the cadastral plan), then personal income tax will have to be paid.

Sale of an apartment purchased before 2016

If you sell real estate before 3 years after registering the property and make a profit, then the income received will be subject to personal income tax. To reduce your tax amount, you can use:

Deduction - one million rubles. The seller of an apartment that has been owned for less than 3 years has the right to receive a deduction of 1 million rubles only once per tax period (per year). That is, when selling 2 or more properties per year, it can only be used for one.
The cost of its acquisition- that is, the tax is paid on the difference between the income from the sale and the initial cost of acquiring the property.

Example 1: The apartment was sold for 10.6 million rubles, bought for 8.4 million rubles, personal income tax can be calculated in two ways, the second option is more profitable (the owner has the right to choose the tax calculation option that will be most beneficial to him):

(8.4 – 1) x 13% = 962,000 rub.
(10.6 – 8.4) x 13% = 286,000 rubles.

In most cases, there is no point in using a property deduction. As a rule, it is used if:

the cost of purchasing housing is less than 1 million rubles (it is easier to use this deduction than to confirm purchase expenses);
the apartment was inherited (there will also be few expenses that can be used to reduce the tax base);
was not a gift from a close relative;
sale of a donated apartment (from a close relative) in the next 3 years after the donation.

Sale of an apartment registered after January 1, 2016

Changes in taxes when selling an apartment in 2016 affected:

Length of tenure, in which income from its sale is subject to taxation equal to 5 years (60 months).
Real estate registered since January 1, 2016.
Tax base: the tax on the sale of an apartment is calculated from the largest amount, after comparing the contract price and the cadastral value.

For whom are these rules relevant?

Firstly, the tax on the sale of apartments for individuals. This does not apply to IP.
Secondly, the law applies to real estate that is not used in commerce.
Thirdly, the innovations apply to real estate registered after January 1, 2016. For real estate acquired before 2016, tax exemption remains if the ownership period exceeded 3 years (36 months).

Example 2: The living space was purchased in June 2015 and sold in July 2018. Therefore, there is no need to pay personal income tax on the sale, since it was owned for more than three years.

The 3 year tenure remains:

However, there are exceptions. Duration of ownership of real estate 3 years for subsequent sale without paying tax in 2019, remains for:

apartments that were inherited by their owners;
property transferred as a gift by close relatives (in accordance with Article 14 of the Family Code);
real estate registered during the end of privatization;
property received under a rent agreement.

Now the cadastral value of real estate is taken into account in calculations

Already in 2016, it is necessary to take into account the cadastral value of housing. Amount subject to taxation – maximum amount:

Or negotiable price;
Or the cadastral value multiplied by a factor of 0.7.

In other words, it is necessary to compare the price at which the apartment was sold and its actual cadastral value, multiplied by a factor of 0.7. You must pay tax on the highest of these values.

Example 3: A citizen purchased an apartment in 2017 worth 5.8 million rubles, a little later he sold it for 7.3 million rubles. The cadastral value is 8.9 million rubles. If the cadastral value is multiplied by a factor of 0.7, then the amount is equal to 6.2 million rubles. will be less than the stated contract price. Therefore, income tax will need to be calculated on the contractual sales value of 7.3 million rubles. Personal income tax = (7.3 – 5.8) x 13% = 195,000 rubles.

The cadastral value of real estate must be determined as of 01/01/2016. If regional authorities have not carried out an assessment, then for personal income tax purposes they still take the negotiated sales price. Similarly, the calculation will be made from the cadastral value.

In situations where the cadastral value of the property is less than or equal to the deduction for the sale of an apartment (1 million rubles), there is no need to pay tax, but if it was owned for less than 3 (5 years), the citizen is not exempt from filing a declaration.

Example 4: A citizen purchased a house in May 2017 for 672,000 rubles, and in January 2018 he sold it for 953,000 rubles. It is more profitable to choose a property deduction:

(953,000 – 1,000,000) x 13%) - no tax payable.
(953,000 - 672,000) x 13% = RUB 36,530.

As before, property owners can exercise the right not to apply a tax deduction, but to pay income tax on the difference between the sale price and the original purchase price of the property, if this is more profitable for them.

Example 5: In 2017, a room was purchased for 1,300,000 rubles, in 2019 it was sold for 1,250,000 rubles. It is more profitable to use the purchase expenses rather than the property deduction, then there is no tax to pay (1250,000 - 1300,000) x 13% = 0.

If the apartment being sold was given as a gift or inherited

In this case, when selling it (previously 36 months) after:

dates of inheritance (day of death of the testator);
date of registration of property (if donated).

There are no expenses when purchasing it, and expenses (state duty, etc.) are not comparable to the sale price. Therefore, it is more profitable to take advantage of the property deduction of 1 million rubles. Moreover, you can either use deductions or expenses. That's why most people choose deduction.

Example 6: The citizen entered into an inheritance in 2017 and sells the inherited apartment in 2018. The estimated value was 2.5 million rubles, the cadastral value is 2.6 million rubles, he sells the apartment for 2.3 million. Since he owned it for less than three years , you need to pay tax, and the estimated (or cadastral) value of real estate cannot be taken into account as expenses, because it is inherited. We compare the cadastral with the contractual one (2.6 million * 70%) = 1.82 million. That is. the contractual one is higher, so the calculation will be made from the contractual one: (2.3 -1 million (deduction)) * 13% = 169,000 rubles. And if you do not sell the apartment within 36 months, then you do not have to pay any declaration or tax.

Example 7: The mother gave her daughter an apartment in 2018 (due to close relatives), but the daughter sold the apartment in 2019 for 1.8 million rubles. The tax will be: (1.8 - 1 million) * 13% = 104,000 rubles.

What about non-residents?

A tax resident is an individual (regardless of whether he is a citizen of the Russian Federation or a foreigner) who continuously stays in the Russian Federation for at least 183 days within a calendar year. If an individual spends most of the year abroad, then he is a non-resident of Russia.

Previously (until 2019), non-residents paid a tax of 30% on the sale of residential space, regardless of when and on what grounds the apartment/house/room was purchased.

Now the tax code has been amended. And a non-resident is exempt from paying personal income tax if he owned real estate:

3 years- when it was purchased before 2016 (or inherited or donated by a close relative);
5 years- if you became the owner after 01/01/16.

However, neither a deduction of 1 million, nor a deduction for the purchase of housing of 2 million, nor taking into account the amount of expenses when purchasing it do not apply to them. It turns out that it is better for a non-resident to wait 3 (5 years), otherwise a tax of 30% will have to be paid in full on the amount of the sale of the apartment.

Sale and purchase of apartments in the same year

Is it necessary to pay tax on the sale of an apartment if at the same time (or simply in the same year) one apartment was sold and another, more expensive or cheaper, was bought? Yes, if the sold apartment was sold for more than it was bought for. That is, a profit was generated. But if you have never used a property deduction (as a buyer, 2 million rubles), then you can reduce the tax payable in a given year. In this case, the property owner has the right to receive two tax deductions at once:

for the purchased apartment, if the right to deduction (2 million rubles upon purchase) was not used earlier (or has not been used in full since 2014).
when the apartment is sold(1 million rubles), if this deduction was not used in the year the property was sold for another object (if it is more profitable to use the purchase price, then you can use the costs of its acquisition rather than the deduction).

Property deduction of 2 million rubles when purchasing an apartment

When purchasing property, a taxpayer can take advantage of a property deduction in the amount of 2 million rubles. But a taxpayer can receive such a deduction only once in his entire life. When purchasing housing after 2014, if the citizen had not previously used the deduction for the purchase, the deduction can be claimed for different real estate objects, if one has not been fully repaid. That is, distribute the deduction to different purchased housing.

To receive a deduction when buying an apartment, you must:

the property must be located on the territory of the Russian Federation;
You can only get funds for a purchase as a loan from domestic credit companies;
be a resident of Russia;
document the transaction and your level of income.

When real estate is purchased, the deduction reduces other income received by the taxpayer (wages, sales of other property subject to taxation).

Example 8: In 2018, a citizen purchased an apartment worth 1.35 million rubles. His average salary per month is 120 thousand rubles, and in the 2-NDFL certificate for 2018, his income was 1,440,000 rubles. He can take advantage of the deduction upon purchase and reimburse personal income tax in the amount of 175,500 rubles (1.35 million * 13%), and he will also have a balance left (2 million - 1.35 million = 650 thousand rubles), which will go to for other property upon purchase. When in 2019 he purchases a house for 1.62 million rubles. , he can reimburse the balance (at the same salary level) and return 84,500 rubles. (13% from 650,000 rubles), tax withheld from his salary in 2019.

Deductions for the sale of one apartment and the purchase of another, if the citizen did not previously use the deduction of 2 million

Tax calculation after the sale of an apartment that has been owned for less than 3 (5) years can be carried out only in one of two ways:

Using deductions;
By reducing income by expenses incurred in the original purchase of this apartment.

Let's consider several typical cases when a citizen sold one property and acquired another one in the same year. At the same time, he has not yet taken advantage of the tax deduction for purchases (2 million rubles):

The apartment for sale was a gift (inheritance) or costs less than 1 million rubles.

Example 9: An apartment received as an inheritance was sold for 3.4 million rubles, in the same year another was purchased for 2.8 million rubles, the citizen had not used the 2 million deduction before: (3.4 million - 1 million (deduction upon sale)) = 2.4 million - taxable base. Then 2.4 million - 2 million (deduction upon purchase) = 400,000 rubles. new tax base after receiving the deduction. The tax payable will be 52,000 rubles. (400 thousand rubles * 13%).

Example 10: An apartment was sold for 3.5 million rubles, it was previously purchased for 0.8 million rubles. Then a second apartment was purchased for 3.1 million rubles. Since the purchase price of the first apartment (800 thousand rubles) is less than the deduction of 1 million, it is more profitable to take advantage of the deduction. The tax base for the sold apartment will be (3.5 - 1 million) = 2,500,000 rubles. Then you can use the deduction of 2,500,000 - 2,000,000 = 500,000 rubles, the tax will be 65,000 rubles.

If the apartment being purchased is less than 2 million rubles.

Example 11: The inherited apartment was sold for 2.3 million rubles, a new apartment was bought for 1.5 million rubles. Using the deduction, the taxable base was 2.3 - 1 million rubles = 1.3 million rubles. it can be reduced by 1.5 million rubles, i.e. 1.3 -1.5 = - 0.2 million rubles. Here it turns out - 200,000 rubles. those. must reimburse 13% of the tax from the budget, which is 26,000 rubles. And only if a citizen receives such income this year (certificate from the employer 2NDFL), then he will receive 26,000 rubles from the budget.

Example 12: The apartment was sold for 4.3 million rubles, it was previously bought for 2.1 million rubles. Then a second apartment was purchased for 1.7 million rubles. The tax base upon sale will be 4.3 - 2.1 = 2.2 million rubles. We reduce it by 1.7 million rubles. 2.2 -1.7 =0.5 million rubles. On this amount you need to pay a tax of 500,000 * 13% = 65,000 rubles.

If the apartment being purchased is more than 2 million rubles.

Example 13: In 2018, a citizen sold an old apartment for 4.8 million rubles. (bought for 3.5 million rubles), and purchased a new one for 3.1 million rubles. The right to take advantage of the deduction when purchasing a new apartment from a citizen has not yet been used (RUB 2 million):

The first method of calculating personal income tax: (4.8 – 1 (deduction on sale) – 2 (deduction on purchase)) x 13% = 234,000 rubles.
The second method of calculating personal income tax: (4.8 – 3.5 (expenses)) = 1.3 million rubles. Since a new apartment costs more than 3.1 million rubles, we can take advantage of the full deduction of 2 million rubles. We reduce the deduction by 1.3 - 2 million rubles. = - 0.7 million rub. That is, it turns out to be “minus” and if a citizen’s income for the year (personal income tax certificate 2) is 700,000, then 13% (91,000 rubles) will be returned to him from the budget. If, for example, wages for the year amounted to 500 thousand rubles, then the tax refund will be 65 thousand rubles. And the remaining tax of 26,000 can be reimbursed next year.
It turns out that option 2 is more profitable for the taxpayer.

However, some tax authorities believe that you can use only one deduction (1 million for sellers), and only then declare another (2 million for buyers). Here you can argue with the tax office. Such arguments are appropriate if a citizen sold a home, for example, in 2018, and purchased a new one in 2019, i.e. the transactions were not in the same tax period. The taxpayer pays tax only on the difference of all his income and all expenses, and if the purchase and sale were made in the same year, then he can take advantage of both a deduction for the purchase and a deduction for the sale.

Selling a share of an apartment

When selling a share of real estate, you can also reduce the tax base by the costs associated with the purchase of this share (proportionally). Documents confirming the purchase price must be provided for verification along with the declaration. In this case, there may be several nuances:

Accounting for the purchase price of an apartment when selling a share

Example 14: in 2017, a citizen bought a share in an apartment for 2.3 million rubles, then sold it for 2.5 million. Owned the share for less than 5 years, the tax will be 200,000 * 13% = 26,000 rubles.

As a rule, a share in an apartment is not purchased separately. More often, it becomes a property along with the apartment itself, which was bought by the shareholders (family). Then the costs of purchasing a share are either indicated in the contract of sale of the apartment itself, or are determined using a simple formula (if the price of each share is not indicated in the contract):

Total purchase cost x Share size = Share purchase costs

Example 15: The couple purchased an apartment for 4.3 million rubles, in shared ownership of 1/2 share. A year later, the apartment was sold for 4.5 million rubles. Those. the family received income from the sale (4.5 -4.3) = 200,000 rubles. But everyone must submit a declaration and pay the same amount (4.5 million/2 - 4.3/2) * 13% = 13,000 rubles. Both husband and wife received an income of 100,000 rubles. from the sale of their share, so everyone pays a tax of 13 thousand rubles.

Accounting for a property deduction of 1 million when selling a share of an apartment

When selling property that is in shared ownership, the full amount of the deduction (1 million rubles) can be taken into account, but must be distributed among the co-owners only IN PROPORTION to their shares. Since such a deduction is provided for the property, and not in relation to each seller and not for each share. It turns out the following:

You can use the full deduction if you sell the share separately, as a separate object (i.e., each owner sells his share under a separate purchase and sale agreement, and the buyer will receive several Certificates of ownership (agreements with each seller)), Letter from the Federal Tax Service dated 25 July 2013 N ED-4-3/13578, Letter of the Federal Tax Service dated November 2, 2012 N ED-4-3/18611.
If you sell the apartment as a single object, together with other owners (including your share), then a deduction in the amount of 1 million rubles. will be distributed among the owners according to their share.

Example 16: A family of three is selling an apartment received by inheritance, therefore, the purchase price cannot be taken into account in expenses, you can only use a deduction. The apartment was sold for 4.6 million rubles, each has a 1/3 share.

Option 1: One purchase and sale agreement is drawn up, the apartment is sold as a single object. Each of the owners pays such a tax (4.6 million/3 - 1 million/3) * 13% = 156,000 rubles.
Option 2: A separate purchase and sale agreement is drawn up for each share and the buyer will receive 3 certificates of ownership (extracts from the state register). Here, each owner receives a deduction of 1 million rubles. And the tax payable by each seller will be (4.6 million/3 -1 million) * 13% = 69,333 rubles. However, this option may not suit the buyer of the apartment, and the tax inspectorate may regard such a transaction as tax evasion.

There are situations when one of the shareholders owns the property for more than 3 (5) years and is exempt from filing a declaration and paying taxes, the rest less than 3 (5) years and must report to the Federal Tax Service. Since in the apartment purchase and sale agreement, shareholders can establish any other procedure for the distribution of income, i.e. not tied to the size of their shares, most of the income from the apartment can be distributed in favor of the tax-exempt owner. And sell the apartment as a single object, but indicate in the contract how much each share costs.

Example 17: Mother, daughter and son sell an apartment for 1.8 million rubles. in 2018. The mother has been the owner of her 1/2 share for more than 5 years, and the children entered into an inheritance after the death of their father recently and have owned 1/4 share for less than 5 years. The agreement stipulates that the income from its sale was decided to be distributed as follows:

daughter and son - each 0.333 million rubles,
mother (1.8 - 0.333 - 0.333) = 1.134 million rubles.

The mother does not pay tax, since she is exempt from payment, and the children use the deduction: 0.333 million (income from the sale of a share) - 0.333 million (1 million deduction / 3) = 0. There is no tax to pay, but the children have a declaration with supporting documents must submit.

There are also pitfalls here, namely the fact that when selling real estate from 2016, the tax calculation will depend on the cadastral value (at least 70%), and the tax base must be calculated in proportion to the share of the owners. If the contractual value is less than 70% of the share according to the cadastral value, then the calculation is based on the latter, and not the one specified in the contract.

Let's go back to example 17, if the cadastral value of such an apartment is 1.9 million rubles. Then the 1/4 share of the daughter and son will be 475,000 rubles each. To calculate personal income tax, the taxable amount should not be less than 70% of the cadastral amount, namely at least 332,500 rubles, but here the contractual amount is 333,333 rubles, which means the calculation is based on the contract amount, and the daughter and son do not pay tax.

When to file a return and pay tax

Tax calculation (even if it is zero), deduction statement, the fact of sale of property that was owned for less than 3 (5) years must be reflected in the 3-NDFL declaration.

Deadline for declaration- in the next year after the sale/purchase of the apartment - until April 30.
Tax payment deadline- if there is tax to pay, until July 15.

To save on filling out the declaration (on average, private organizations charge 500 - 2000 rubles for filling it out), you can figure it out yourself; there’s nothing complicated about it. You should download the program and fill it out intuitively, see (here you can see how to fill out information about yourself, and enter different codes):

Income code:
- 1510 - negotiated amount for the sale of an apartment, house
- 1511 - negotiated amount of the share of an apartment, house
Expense/deduction code
- 901 - if the property deduction is 1 million rubles.
- 903 - if the costs for its acquisition are confirmed.

Documents attached to the declaration

Attach copies of all documents confirming the transaction to the 3-NDFL declaration:

Presentation methods:

Mail - you can send a package of documents by mail with a list of attachments; the date of sending is considered the date of receipt of the documents by the tax authorities.
In person - you can do it in person (preferably).
By power of attorney - a representative can also receive documents under a power of attorney certified by a notary.
Through your personal account on the Federal Tax Service website, that is, in electronic form.

Compile a package of documents in 2 copies, one should remain with you (with a mark in the list of tax acceptance), the other should be sent to the Federal Tax Service.

Personal income tax can be paid at any bank. It is better to obtain the necessary details from the tax office; you can also find them on the website of the Federal Tax Service or through the State Services portal.

Consequences: did not pay tax when selling the apartment and/or did not submit 3-NDFL to the tax office

Failure to submit your return on time and/or late payment of taxes (deadline April 30) may result in the following penalties:

A fine of 1000 rubles – if the tax to be transferred in the declaration is 0.
Fines: from 5% to 20% (30%) of the tax amount payable for each month of delay, if you do not submit a declaration (up to 30%) and do not pay the tax by July 15 (up to 20%, if a willful defaulter, then 40% ).
Penalties - daily accrual of penalties, starting from July 16 (see the calculator for calculating penalties and fines on the website ipipip.ru/shtrafi/).
In case of complete refusal to pay tax, the amount of which exceeds 900 thousand rubles, criminal liability arises.

If you have questions about the topic of the article, please do not hesitate to ask them in the comments. We will definitely answer all your questions within a few days. However, carefully read all the questions and answers to the article; if there is a detailed answer to such a question, then your question will not be published.

199 comments

The tax on the sale of an apartment is a tax on the income of an individual and is equal to 13 percent. However, it is not always necessary to pay this tax. The first thing to keep in mind is the recent change in the tax code, which introduces new rules for calculating tax for owners who received ownership of an apartment after January 1, 2016.

If the apartment was received into ownership before January 1, 2016

A very simple rule applies here: the need to pay tax on the sale of an apartment depends only on the period of ownership of the apartment.

If the apartment is owned for more than 3 years, then when selling no need to pay tax.
If the apartment is owned for less than 3 years, then when selling need to pay tax.

If the apartment was acquired after January 1, 2016

It's a little more complicated here. Here's what's changed:

Minimum tenure increased to 5 years, if the apartment was purchased by you. And it remained the same (3 years) if the apartment was inherited, donated by a close relative, privatized or received under a lifelong maintenance agreement with a dependent.

That is, if the purchased apartment has been owned for less than 5 years, you must pay sales tax.

And the tax on the sale of an apartment received by inheritance will not have to be paid 3 years after the acquisition of ownership.

The law will no longer allow artificially lowering the cost of an apartment in order to reduce taxes. If the value specified in the purchase and sale agreement is lower than the cadastral value * 0.7, then the income from the sale is calculated as the cadastral value * 0.7

Tax deduction

There are two types of deductions when selling an apartment:

Fixed deduction of 1,000,000 rubles. Taxable income from the sale of an apartment can be reduced by this amount.

For example, the cost of an apartment is 3,500,000 rubles. Then the income on which you need to pay tax will be equal to
Taxable base = 3,500,000 - 1,000,000 = 2,500,000 rubles.

Deduction in the amount expenses associated with purchasing an apartment. In this case, the tax is actually charged only on the profit received from the resale.

For example, citizen Ivanov bought an apartment for 5,000,000 rubles. And after 2 years I sold it for 6,000,000 rubles. The purchase amount can be used as a deduction here if there is a purchase and sale agreement. Thus, you will have to pay tax on the difference:
Taxable base = 6,000,000 - 5,000,000 = 1,000,000 rubles.

Moreover, if you bought an apartment with a mortgage, then the amount of interest paid can also be included in the deduction. To confirm these expenses, you only need to obtain the appropriate certificate from the bank.

The main regulatory document regulating the rules for the purchase and sale of real estate, payment of relevant taxes and receipt of tax deductions is the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in particular Art. 220.

If the property has been owned for less than 3 or 5 years

A citizen can apply for a tax deduction from the sale of an apartment, even if it has been owned for less than the period established by law - 3 or 5 years. At the same time, he will need to pay the appropriate tax on the income received from the sale. This tax can be reduced in two ways.

In one case, the seller will use a preferential property deduction, which, according to paragraphs. 1 item 2 art. 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is 1,000,000 rubles and in fact it reduces the amount payable in taxes. Moreover, such a preferential amount can be applied in full to either one property or several at once.
In another case, a property deduction can be presented as the amount of expenses, for example, for the initial cost of housing, for funds spent on repairs. Moreover, all these expenses must have documentary evidence.

The method of obtaining a property deduction should be determined by the seller, based on its feasibility. Moreover, even in the case of a zero amount subject to tax payment, a citizen with such periods of ownership of real estate is obliged to submit a 3-NDFL declaration to the tax office.

More than 3 or 5 years

If a citizen owns real estate for more than the period established by law (3 or 5 years), then he actually receives a tax deduction in the amount of the cost of housing when selling an apartment. In this case, he will not need to pay tax on income from the sale of the apartment and, accordingly, submit a declaration to the tax authority.

If sold to a relative

The current legislation states that receiving a property deduction when selling residential real estate to a related person is not provided. Those. if the apartment is sold to a spouse, parent, own child, sister/brother, who, according to Art. 105.1, interconnected, then the seller cannot take advantage of the tax deduction.

When selling real estate to other relatives who are not classified as related persons, the seller is not prohibited from using the property return.

Part or all of the living space in shared ownership has been sold

If an apartment that is in common shared ownership is sold, the resulting tax deduction is divided in proportion to the share of each owner. If the property is not sold as a single object, but each owner sells his share personally, then each seller receives his own property deduction.

The share was owned for less than a three-year period

In this case, if a share owned for less than 3 years is sold, the seller has the same conditions for receiving a property deduction as when selling the entire property. This the tax deduction can be either fixed by law (1,000,000 rubles) or represent the amount of expenses.

If the seller is retired

After the entry into force of such a legislative act as Federal Law No. 330 of 2011, it became possible for retired citizens to use tax deductions when selling residential real estate, while all the same conditions apply to them as for other categories of citizens (will they be able to a pensioner can claim a deduction when buying an apartment, find out).

What could be the amount?

Current legislation establishes that when selling an apartment whose tenure is less than the established one, citizens must pay tax on income, and this tax is calculated from the maximum value, which can be specified either in the sales contract or in the event of an alleged understatement, determined as 70% of cadastral value as of 01/01/2016.

Wherein The seller can reduce this tax using a property deduction. It can be either:

the maximum deduction provided for by law is 1,000,000 rubles;
real estate expenses - the cost of its purchase, repair work, loan expenses, and they must have documentary evidence.

Those. if the apartment is sold for an amount up to 1,000,000 or there are no documents confirming expenses, then it is advisable to use a preferential deduction. If the property costs more than the preferential deduction, then you should take care of documents confirming expenses in order to minimize taxable income and thereby increase the amount of property deduction.

How to calculate: examples

Example 1. The property was sold in 2017 for 8.6 million rubles, and was bought in 2015 for 8.2 million rubles, while he retained all supporting documents. Since the ownership period is less than the established period of 3 years (since it was purchased before January 1, 2016), the seller can take advantage of either a preferential deduction (8.6 - 1) * 13% = 988 thousand rubles or use expense accounting (more profitable ) (8.6 – 8.2)*13% = 52 thousand rubles.
Example 2. A citizen inherited real estate in 2015, the cadastral value of which is 2.4 million rubles, then in 2016 he sells it for 2.3 million rubles. The tenure period is less than established (3 years, because by inheritance). We compare the contractual and cadastral value (2.4 * 70% = 1.68 million rubles), accordingly, the tax deduction should be calculated with the contract value (2.3 - 1) * 13% = 169 thousand rubles.

What other legal ways are there to reduce your taxable income?

In addition to the two official ways to reduce taxable income from the sale of real estate, there is another legal way to reduce income. This includes the purchase of a new residential property in the same year in which the sale procedure was carried out.

In this case, the citizen will submit two declarations at once: one related to the sale, and the other to receive a deduction related to the costs of purchasing a new home, which can be a maximum of 2,000,000 rubles. In this case, he can reset the tax debt to the state. At the same time, it is advisable to use such a scheme if a tax deduction for the purchase of property has not been applied before.

How to get a refund?

A citizen who has sold an apartment and wishes to apply for a tax deduction must, before April 30 of the following year after the sale, contact the tax office at his place of residence and provide the following package of documents:

declaration 3-NDFL;
contract of sale;
identity document - civil passport;
TIN certificate;
a document confirming the receipt of funds (receipt, bank statement, etc.).

Wherein It is necessary to submit documents to the tax office in any case, otherwise, a citizen who is an evader will have to bear criminal liability, according to Art. 198 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. After a desk audit, the Federal Tax Service confirms the right to a deduction, or sends a notification about the impossibility of processing a deduction if there are errors in the declaration.

How many times can you return?

The current legislation does not limit the number of applications to the tax office to obtain a deduction from the sale of real estate. The only limitation is the preferential property deduction provided by the state (if the property has been owned for less than 3 (5) years), which amounts to 1 million rubles.

Those. It is possible to sell several real estate properties, while deducting a preferential amount either from one sale or from all at once, and paying income tax on the remaining profit.

When can they refuse and what should they do?

Citizens may be refused when filing a tax return if:

The documents were completed incorrectly. It is necessary to correct the identified comments.
The statute of limitations has expired, which is three years. Those. The declaration can be submitted for calendar years preceding the reporting period.
Tax officers noted violations of laws (undervaluation, transactions between relatives). Going to court to prove the veracity of the data provided.

The procedure for selling residential real estate is also subject to taxation and, accordingly, the opportunity to receive a tax deduction. At the same time, after changes in legislation came into force, this procedure acquired some features, for example, the period of ownership increased for some categories of citizens and their real estate, and such a “loophole” as underestimating the value by taking into account 70% of the cadastral value of housing was prevented .

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The current tax system assumes that citizens who have received any income are required to pay the appropriate income tax to the state treasury. These rules also apply to income received from the sale of an apartment. However, in this case, the state provides a special benefit - a tax deduction when selling an apartment, allowing the subject to partially compensate for the funds spent.

Features of declaring income from the sale of property

All real estate that was purchased after 01/01/2016 will not be subject to taxation if they were owned by a specific entity for a minimum period of ownership (3 years). In addition, in relation to such objects at least one of the following conditions must be met::

The real estate property was inherited by the current owner, or received on the basis of a gift from a citizen who is considered a relative or family member of the owner (based on the provisions of the RF IC).
The citizen privatized the object, as a result of which ownership rights arose.
The owner of the property is the rent payer who received the property after entering into a lifelong maintenance agreement with dependents.

In all other circumstances, the minimum period of ownership is 5 years.

If an entity, upon the sale of its real estate, received income below its actual value (as of the beginning of the reporting year), that is, below 70% of the cadastral value, for the purpose of fair taxation, the income received is recognized as equal to the cadastral value multiplied by 0.7.

For all property units purchased before 01/01/2016 and for other objects (garage, car, etc.), the minimum limit for the property ownership period is 3 years.

Also, the entity selling the property in question retains the right to reduce the amount of income received from the sales transaction by the amount of actual, documented costs that were associated with the purchase of the object being sold. However, if this method is used, the right to use the deduction is eliminated.

Procedure for paying taxes when selling real estate

The procedure for selling real estate is accompanied by a number of tax-related features. Based on Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, income tax may not be paid by those residents who have owned the property for more than five years (or three, but in the presence of the circumstances described above). This fact is confirmed by the date recorded in the owner’s certificate.

In other conditions, the subject will be required to pay, that is, 13% of the amount received.

Payment of this tax by a citizen is carried out independently; the state does not control this process.

A citizen has no right to ignore this obligation, since failure to pay income tax will be quickly detected and will entail serious consequences.

In order to pay the tax, the subject must personally visit the local unit of the fiscal service and submit the following package of papers:

Processing of submitted documents takes place within a maximum of 10 days. Upon completion of the inspection, the citizen receives a notification about the procedure performed. He also receives the details with which the tax is paid.

There are a number of features that you need to familiarize yourself with before transferring income tax to the treasury upon the sale of an apartment:

If the owners of real estate are several entities, the form of ownership is considered shared. That is, all owners are required to participate in paying the tax in equal shares. For example, if the tax amount is 90 thousand rubles, and there are three owners, then each of them will have to pay 30 thousand rubles. However, this statement is only true for those situations in which subjects own equal shares of property. In other cases, the tax amount is divided in proportion to the part of the property.
In practice, there is a common misconception according to which entities who sell an apartment and at the same time purchase a new one are exempt from paying personal income tax. However, this is not true. In order to be able to get rid of the need to pay the tax burden, a person, first of all, needs to personally go to the fiscal structure and formalize an agreement on the mutual exclusion of the current income tax and the future tax deduction due when purchasing a new apartment. If the tax inspector approves such a procedure, the obligation to pay personal income tax is eliminated.

This operation can be legally carried out only if both transactions occur within the same reporting period.

Even in conditions where the subject has documentary evidence of exemption from the tax burden, he still needs to notify the fiscal service about the transaction. To do this, a purchase and sale agreement and an identity card are provided to the local unit of the structure. This is necessary so that in the future there will be no problems with papers not completed in a timely manner.

The concept of a tax deduction when selling an apartment, the grounds for receiving it

A tax deduction is understood as a special state benefit that allows an entity to reimburse a certain amount of funds spent on paying taxes when selling an apartment.

The right to receive such a benefit may only appear to entities that regularly and fully pay personal income tax to the budget. It is assumed that this category of the population includes all employed citizens of the Russian Federation, from whose salaries employers make deductions of 13% every month.

Thus, a deduction for the sale of an apartment implies the ability of the subject to pay income tax not in full or to return, subsequently, some part of the paid amount.

In the circumstances under consideration, the deduction options are as follows::

complete exemption from the need to pay personal income tax to the seller of real estate;
the basis for calculating income tax is only a certain share of funds received;
The calculation base is income in full.

Features of calculating property deduction when selling an apartment

The maximum tax deduction limit by which it is legal to reduce the income received from the sale of an apartment or some share thereof is 1 million rubles.

The maximum tax deduction limit by which it is legal to reduce the amount received from the sale of other property (for example, a vehicle, a garage, various buildings, expensive items) is 250 thousand rubles.

In circumstances where a unit of real estate, which was listed as jointly owned, but was in it for less than the minimum permissible period, is sold under one purchase and sale agreement as a single property, a deduction in the amount of 1 million rubles. will be divided among the share owners in proportion to their shares of ownership, or by agreement.

If each owner of an object that is in joint ownership sold his part of the apartment under a separate agreement, then the right to a deduction of 1 million rubles. is fixed for each of them separately, that is, for each specific purchase and sale agreement.

It is important to note that if one citizen, during one reporting period, sold two or more real estate properties, then the deduction is determined in total, that is, the maximum possible benefit for all units sold is 1 million rubles.

If the total amount of the sale of real estate is less than the specified limit of 1 million rubles, then the obligation to pay personal income tax does not appear, but filing a declaration is nevertheless necessary.

Example. In 2017, Gorodov S.V. entered into a deal to sell his apartment for a total amount of 3 million rubles. The property was purchased by Gorodov in 2015 for 2.5 million rubles. Thus, the apartment was in the possession of a citizen for less than the five minimum years required for tax exemption. Therefore, the income he receives from the sale of property is taxed, and there is also a need to submit a 3-NDFL declaration to the fiscal service.

Gorodov's taxable income is 2 million rubles. In turn, the compensated personal income tax will be: (3 million rubles – 1 million rubles) * 13% = 260 thousand rubles.

In conditions where for a citizen it is not a deduction that is more relevant, but a benefit for the amount of confirmed expenses, the taxable income will be 500 thousand rubles. In turn, personal income tax: (3 million rubles – 2.5 million rubles) * 13% = 65 thousand rubles.

The procedure for obtaining a tax deduction when selling an apartment

To realize your legal opportunity to receive such a benefit, the subject must perform the following algorithm of actions:

Complete Form 3-NDFL upon completion of the reporting period.
Prepare a copy of the paper certifying the fact of sale of real estate. In particular, the purchase and sale agreement.
In conditions where the applicant indicates a deduction in the amount of costs associated with obtaining income from the sale of an apartment, it will also be necessary to prepare all supporting documents. This includes payment documents, bank statements, receipts, etc.
The entire package of papers must be sent to the local division of the fiscal service. Upon inspection of the papers by the inspector, a decision will be made to grant or deny the right to a tax deduction. In both situations the subject will be notified.

When sending copies of papers that certify the right to a benefit to the tax authority, you must have the originals with you so that the inspector has the opportunity to compare them with the copies for authenticity.

Circumstances under which a subject will be denied a property deduction when selling an apartment

Before submitting papers to the fiscal authority, the subject should make sure that they are correctly prepared and complete. Upon inspection of the submitted papers, the tax inspector may refuse to provide the subject with the right to deduction. This may happen for the following reasons:

Thus, the considered tax benefit can be provided to any employed citizen of the Russian Federation who regularly pays personal income tax. However, it is important to note that the procedure has a number of features and nuances that should be familiarized with before the operation begins.