There are situations when a seconded worker, with the permission of the head of the organization, is delayed at the place of business trip for weekends, non-working holidays or during vacation. Upon arrival, the travel expense report prepared by the employee, along with other supporting documents, is accompanied by a return ticket with a date of arrival later than the end of the business trip specified in the order to send the employee on a business trip. Are the amounts of reimbursement of expenses to the employee for travel from the place of business trip to the place of business trip subject to personal income tax? permanent job in the event that he was delayed at the place of business trip for the weekend, non-working holidays or during the holidays? Is it possible to take into account as part of the expenses when calculating income tax, the amount of reimbursement of expenses to the employee for the return trip in the above situation? Let's try to answer these questions.
In accordance with Art. 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a business trip is a trip of an employee by order of the employer for a certain period of time to perform an official assignment outside the place of permanent work. At the same time, the employee is guaranteed the preservation of the place of work (position) and average earnings, as well as reimbursement of expenses associated with a business trip, in particular expenses associated with travel to and from the place of business trip (Articles 167 and 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The procedure and amount of reimbursement of expenses related to business trips are determined collective agreement or local normative act. This provision is also enshrined in Art. 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and clause 11 of the Regulation on the peculiarities of sending employees on business trips, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 13, 2008 N 749 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation).
On the basis of the decision of the employer to send the employee on a business trip, an order is issued that determines the period for fulfilling the official assignment and a travel certificate confirming the period of his stay on a business trip (the date of arrival at the point (points) of destination and the date of departure from it (from them)) (Art. 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, paragraphs 3 and 7 of the Regulation).
Tax Code of the Russian Federation, clause 3, Art. 217 provides for exemption from personal income tax of all types established by current legislation Russian Federation, legislative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, decisions of representative bodies of local self-government compensation payments(within the limits established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation), related, in particular, to the execution by the taxpayer job duties including reimbursement of travel expenses. In turn, when the employer pays the taxpayer the expenses for business trips both within the country and abroad, the taxable income does not include actually incurred and documented targeted expenses for travel to and from the destination.
In the letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 03.09.2012 N 03-03-06 / 1/456, dated 10.08.2012 N 03-04-06 / 6-234, dated 07.08.2012 N 03-04-06 / 6-221, dated 06/10/2010 N 03-04-06 / 6-111, the procedure for taxing personal income tax in situations where the employee was delayed at the place of business trip for weekends, non-working holidays or vacations was considered.
Financiers do not give an unequivocal answer, arguing that if an employee returns from a business trip later than the date specified in the business trip order, payment for his travel in some cases cannot be considered as compensation for expenses associated with a business trip. As a criterion for assessing the target nature of travel expenses from a business trip, it is proposed to use the length of the period of time for which the employee was delayed at the place of business trip.
In particular, if the period of stay at the place of business trip significantly exceeds the period established by the business trip order (for example, if immediately after the end of the business trip the employee is granted leave, which he spends at the business trip), the employee receives the economic benefit provided for in Art. 41 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in the form of payment by the organization for travel from the place of free time from work to the place of work.
In this case, payment by the organization for an employee of a ticket with an arrival date later than the end of the business trip indicated in the business trip order, in accordance with paragraphs. 1 p. 2 art. 211 of the Code, is recognized as his income received in kind. The cost of this ticket is subject to personal income tax in accordance with the provisions of Art. 211 of the Code.
If, for example, an employee stays at the place of business trip, using weekends or non-working holidays, payment by the organization for travel from the place of leisure time to the place of work will not lead to economic benefits for him.
It should be noted that in the letters of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation there is no criterion for the significance of exceeding the period of business trip. Vedas, in some cases, leave can be granted, for example, for one or two days. Therefore, the taxpayer will have to decide this issue on their own.
I would like to note that there is an opposite opinion of the courts. In the Decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Urals District of June 19, 2007 N F09-3838 / 07-C2, it was concluded that in this situation, the reimbursement of the cost of a ticket to an employee is made in the interests of the employer and is a compensation for expenses, and not income received by the employee, respectively, personal income tax is not taxed . Similar conclusions are contained in the Decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Urals District dated 04.05.2007 N Ф09-3119 / 07-С2.
Thus, if the employee stayed at the place of business trip for a long time to spend a vacation, in order to avoid disputes with the tax authorities, and given the lack of extensive positive arbitration practice on this issue, it would be safer for the organization to impose personal income tax on the cost of the return trip.
In accordance with paragraphs. 12 p. 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, other expenses related to production and sales include travel expenses, including travel expenses for an employee to the place of business trip and back to the place of permanent work.
In order to acknowledge travel expenses for the purpose of taxation with income tax, the general requirements for all expenses provided for in paragraph 1 of Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, so the main thing is that the costs are economically justified and documented.
In particular, the Ministry of Finance of Russia in its letters dated September 3, 2012 N 03-03-06 / 1/456 (p. 1), dated September 20, 2011 N 03-03-06 / 1/558, dated August 16, 2010 N 03-03 -06/1/545 (p. 2), dated 04/01/2009 N 03-04-06-01/74 (p. 2), dated 03/26/2009 N 03-03-06/1/191 clarifies that when when attributing the costs of paying for the employee’s travel to and from the place of business trip to the expenses taken into account for the purpose of taxing the profits of organizations, it must be taken into account that these costs would have been incurred in any case, regardless of the length of the employee’s stay at the destination. Thus, regardless of the time spent at the destination, the cost of acquiring a travel document for the employee's travel from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work can be taken into account in expenses for the purposes of taxation of profits of organizations if the date of departure of the employee from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work coincides with the date on which the above ticket was purchased, as well as if the delay in the departure of the business traveler from the place of business trip occurred with the permission of the head, confirming in accordance with established order expediency of the expenses incurred. Accordingly, if an employee plans to stay at the place of business trip, let's say for the weekend, he needs to inform the head of the organization about this and obtain his permission, for example, submit to the head a memo that sets out the intention to spend the weekend at the place of business trip and receive a permit resolution on it, or the manager may issue a separate permit order based on the employee's memo. These documents must be attached to the expense report of the seconded employee along with other supporting documents.
The employee, by agreement with the Employer, after the end of the business trip, remained at the destination point for weekends (holidays) due to personal (family) circumstances. How to properly reimburse travel expenses?
Answer
It is necessary to obtain the consent of the employer for the employee to stay at the place of business trip: for example, this may be a corresponding mark in the order for a business trip. You can also make a separate order (see at the end of the answer) In this case, the employee will need to pay for travel on a business trip and back, accommodation, pay per diem and save average earnings during travel and travel time. At the same time, for the days for which the employee was delayed at the place of business trip due to personal circumstances, he does not need to pay for accommodation, pay daily allowances and maintain average earnings.
If the employee stays at the place of a business trip for a long time for his personal needs (spends a vacation, for example), then the payment for travel to the place of work can already be regarded as a tax benefit for the employee, from which at least personal income tax must be withheld, and the employer may have problems with attributing these amounts to expenses. (clarifications on this issue in the letter of the Ministry of Finance dated August 10, 2012 N 03-04-06 / 6-234 - given in paragraph 3 of the annex to the answer)
Details in the materials of the System:
1. Answer: Is it necessary to reimburse the employee for the cost of the ticket if the end date of the business trip does not coincide with the date of travel from the place of business trip. The employee was delayed at the place of business trip due to personal circumstances
Sergei Razgulin, Acting State Councilor of the Russian Federation, 3rd class
The answer to this question depends on the length of stay of the employee at the place of business trip for personal reasons.
The organization is obliged to reimburse the employee for travel expenses to the place of the business trip and back (, p., and the Regulation approved). Economically justified and documented travel expenses are taken into account when calculating income tax as part of other expenses (, Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In particular, these costs include:
transport ticket price common use(airplane, train, etc.);
the cost of ticketing services, etc.
At the same time, the current legislation does not provide that in order to pay and account for travel expenses, the date of arrival at the place of business trip indicated in the travel certificate must coincide with the date of the actual arrival of the employee at the place of business trip (on a ticket).
Thus, the end date of a business trip in the travel certificate may be earlier than the date of actual departure from it, for example, if the employee decided to stay and leave later in order to spend weekends or non-working holidays at the place of business trip on business. In this case, the employee is obliged to agree on a later departure from the business trip and obtain written permission from the employer (for example, this may be a corresponding note in the business trip order). The presence of such a mark will confirm the expediency of returning from a business trip at a later date and will remove the issue of the need to pay per diem, salary and other travel expenses for the days when the employee was in another city for own initiative.*
This approach should also be applied if the employee decides to travel to the place of business trip in advance. The main thing is that the difference in dates does not exceed reasonable limits and the connection between the trip and the business trip is maintained. If the period of stay of an employee at the place of business trip significantly exceeds the period specified in the travel certificate, for example, if after the business trip the employee is granted leave that he spends at the place of business trip, then payment for travel can no longer be considered as compensation for expenses associated with the business trip. Therefore, it will no longer be possible to reimburse travel expenses as travel expenses.
The legitimacy of such conclusions is also confirmed by the explanations of the regulatory agencies (see) and arbitrage practice(See, for example, the resolutions of the FAS of the Urals District,).
2. Answer: How to pay for an employee's stay on a business trip
Reimbursement
For a staff member sent on a business trip, the organization is obliged to reimburse:
travel expenses;
the cost of renting a dwelling;
additional expenses associated with living outside the permanent place of residence (daily allowance);
other expenses incurred with the permission or knowledge of the administration of the organization.
Similar explanations are given by the Ministry of Labor of Russia c.
Average earnings
The average earnings for the time the employee was on a business trip (as well as for the days on the road, including during the forced delay) must be kept for all days of work according to the schedule established by the sending organization (Provision approved).
Is it necessary to pay average earnings if the employee did not work on a day off at the place of business trip
No, it doesn `t need.
When sending an employee on a business trip, he is guaranteed the preservation of average earnings ().
The average earnings of an employee is determined by multiplying the average daily earnings by the number of working days in the period payable (Regulations approved). At the same time, all days of work according to the schedule established in the sending organization (Regulations approved) are subject to payment.
Therefore, if the sending organization has a work schedule that includes days off (for example, work from Monday to Friday), and the seconded employee did not perform work duties on weekends (Saturday, Sunday), then he does not need to pay average earnings for these days off.
Illness while traveling
If an employee falls ill on a business trip, do not save the average earnings for sick days. During this period, the employee must pay daily allowance and sick leave. In addition, the employee is reimbursed for the cost of renting housing (except for cases when he was on inpatient treatment). This procedure is provided for by the Regulations, approved.
Part-time business trip
The procedure for remuneration of part-time workers sent on a business trip has a number of features.
Determine the average earnings of part-time workers in the same manner as for the main employees (Procedure approved).
If sent on a business trip internal part-time worker from both places of work, then save his average earnings both at his main job and at a part-time job.
If an external part-time worker is sent on a business trip, he also retains the average salary (for the combined position). Moreover, at the place of main work, he must be released from the performance of labor duties (for example, take a vacation at his own expense).
If an employee is sent on a business trip at the same time to the main and to the combined place of work, the average salary for him is kept for both positions.
All travel expenses (including per diems) are reimbursed in a single amount. In the event of a joint business trip, these costs must be distributed between the two organizations by mutual agreement.
Such rules are established in the Regulations, approved.
Business trip on non-working day
By order of the head of the organization, an employee may be specially sent on a business trip to work on a weekend or holiday. For how to document this procedure, see .
If an employee on a business trip was involved in work on a day off for him at his main place of work, then such a day in the time sheet must be additionally reflected in the letter code "PB" or the digital code "03". It is necessary to indicate the number of hours worked on such a day if the employer gave him an indication of the duration of work on a day off.
An employee who works on a weekend or holiday is entitled to claim time off or additional payment labor.
If the employee is given time off, work on a business trip on a day off will be paid in a single amount. Don't pay for the rest day.
If time off is not provided, the work must be paid:
employees who have been hourly rate, - not less than double the hourly rate;
piece-workers - not less than double the piece-rate;
employees with a fixed salary - depending on the implementation of the monthly labor norm. If on the day off the employee worked within the monthly norm, he needs to be paid at least a single daily (hourly) rate. If he worked in excess of the monthly norm, the additional payment should be at least twice the daily (hourly) rate.
Nina Kovyazina,
Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Human Resources of the Ministry of Health of Russia
3. Legal basis:
MINISTRY OF FINANCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
The Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy has considered a letter on the issue of imposing personal income tax on the amounts reimbursed by the organization for the expenses of the employee on travel to the place of the business trip and back if the date indicated in the travel document does not coincide with the start (end) date of the business trip, and in accordance with Art. 34.2 tax code Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Code) explains the following.
Paragraph 3 of Art. 217 of the Code provides for exemption from taxation on personal income of all types of compensation payments established by the current legislation of the Russian Federation, legislative acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, decisions of representative bodies of local self-government (within the limits established in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation), related, in particular , with the performance by the taxpayer of labor duties (including reimbursement of travel expenses).
In para. 12 of this paragraph states that when the employer pays the taxpayer for travel expenses both within the country and abroad, taxable income does not include actually incurred and documented targeted travel expenses to and from the destination.
In accordance with Art. Art. 106 and 107 Labor Code Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code), days off and non-working holidays are the time during which the employee is free from the performance of labor duties.
At the same time, according to Art. 166 of the Labor Code, a business trip is a trip of an employee by order of the employer for a certain period of time to perform an official assignment outside the place of permanent work.
Thus, if an employee departs on a business trip earlier than the date specified in the business trip order (returns from a business trip later than the date set), payment for his travel in some cases cannot be considered as compensation for expenses associated with a business trip.
In particular, if the period of stay at the place of business trip significantly exceeds the period established by the business trip order (for example, if immediately after the end of the business trip the employee is granted leave, which he spends at the business trip), the employee receives the economic benefit provided for in Art. 41 of the Code, in the form of payment by the organization for travel from the place of free time from work to the place of work.
In this case, payment by the organization for an employee of a ticket with an arrival date later than the end of the business trip indicated in the business trip order, in accordance with paragraphs. 1 p. 2 art. 211 of the Code, is recognized as his income received in kind. The cost of this ticket is subject to personal income tax in accordance with the provisions of Art. 211 of the Code.
If, for example, an employee stays at the place of business trip, using weekends or non-working holidays, payment by the organization for travel from the place of leisure time to the place of work will not lead to economic benefits for him.
A similar approach is used in the case of the employee's departure to the place of the business trip before the start date.
Deputy Director
Department of Tax
and customs tariff policy
S.V. Razgulin
4. Forms of documents:
ORDER No. 8
About the date of departure on a business trip
manager Kondratiev A.S.
Moscow 17.03.2013
In connection with the statement of the manager A.S. Kondratiev,
I ORDER:
1. Allow manager Kondratiev A.S. departure on a business trip on the eve of his day off to use days off in Penza (at the place of business trip) for his own purposes.
2. Accountants (accountant Zaitseva E.A.):
2.1. pay for travel and travel time of the manager Kondratiev A.S. to the place of business trip in the manner prescribed for compensation of travel expenses.
2.2. for the days of rest indicated in the application of Kondratiev A.S., before the date of the start of the business trip indicated in the order of __________ No. _________________, do not accrue daily allowances, do not save average earnings.
3. To impose control over the implementation of this order on the head of the personnel department E.E. Gromov.
Attachments to the order:
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Familiarized with the order: |
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Manager |
A.S. Kondratiev |
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How to reflect in the accounting the cost of paying for the employee's flight from the place of permanent work to the place of business trip and back, if the employee, with the permission of the manager, stayed at the place of business trip for the weekend?
The business trip of an employee is related to the sale of products. The cost of air tickets is: to the place of business trip - 12,650 rubles. (including VAT 1,150 rubles), back - 11,550 rubles. (including VAT 1,050 rubles). VAT on air tickets is shown on a separate line.
Upon returning from a business trip, the employee submitted an advance report with supporting documents, which was approved by the head of the organization in full.
For purposes tax accounting income and expenses the organization uses the accrual method.
Labor Relations
When sending an employee on a business trip, he is guaranteed reimbursement of expenses associated with a business trip, including travel expenses to and from the destination ( Art. 167, part 1 Art. 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The procedure and amount of reimbursement of expenses related to business trips are determined by a collective agreement or a local regulatory act (part 4 Art. 168 Labor Code of the Russian Federation). At the same time, in labor law there is no requirement that the dates indicated in the travel documents and documents issued when sending an employee on a business trip must coincide in order to reimburse travel expenses to and from the place of business trip.
The employee is obliged, within a period not exceeding three working days from the date of going to work, to submit an advance report on the amounts spent with supporting documents attached, including documents on actual travel expenses (including this case air tickets) (clause 26 of the Regulations on the peculiarities of sending employees on business trips, approved Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 13, 2008 N 749).
Accounting
Due to the fact that the business trip is related to the sale of products, the cost of paying for the employee’s travel to the place of the business trip and back (net of VAT presented by the air carrier) are recognized as expenses for ordinary activities as business expenses(clauses 5, 7 of the Regulation on accounting "Expenses of the organization" PBU 10/99, approved Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 06.05.1999 N 33n).
Travel expenses for an employee are recognized on the date of approval of the advance report by the head of the organization (clause 16 PBU 10/99).
Accounting records for the transactions in question are made in accordance with the Instructions for the use of the Chart of Accounts accounting financial and economic activities of organizations approved Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 31, 2000 N 94n, and are shown in the posting table.
Personal Income Tax (PIT)
The actually made and documented targeted expenses for the employee’s travel to the place of business trip and back are not included in the income subject to personal income tax, on the basis of clause 3 Art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
In the case when the employee stayed at the place of business trip for the weekend, the issue of exemption from personal income tax for the cost of the return ticket is moot.
According to the Ministry of Finance of Russia, in the event that an employee is delayed at the place of business trip for the weekend, payment by the organization for travel from the place of spending free time to the place of work will not lead to the economic benefit provided for by him. Art. 41 Tax Code of the Russian Federation(Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 21, 2017 N 03-04-06 / 16282). Therefore, with this approach, the payment by the organization to the employee of the cost of a return ticket with the arrival date slightly later than the end of the business trip is not recognized as the employee's income received in kind, in relation to paragraph 1 Art. 210, pp. 1 p. 2 Art. 211 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
Note that earlier the Ministry of Finance of Russia held the opposite point of view. For more information on existing positions on this issue, including a selection of official clarifications and judicial acts, see the Encyclopedia of Disputes on Personal Income Tax and Insurance Contributions.
In this case, we proceed from the fact that the organization considers the payment for the employee's travel to the place of work as payment for his return from the place of business trip. Consequently, for the purposes of taxation of personal income tax, the cost of a return ticket is not recognized as a payment made in the interests of the employee, therefore, the employee does not receive income received in kind.
Insurance premiums
By general rule when employers pay expenses for business trips of employees, they are not subject to insurance premiums for compulsory pension insurance, compulsory social insurance in case of temporary disability and in connection with motherhood, compulsory medical insurance, as well as insurance premiums for compulsory social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases including actually incurred and documented targeted expenses for travel to and from the destination, airport service charges, commission fees, expenses for travel to the airport or train station at the points of departure, destination or transfers (clause 2 Art. 422 Tax Code of the Russian Federation, paragraph 2 of Art. 20.2 federal law dated 24.07.1998 N 125-FZ "On compulsory social insurance against industrial accidents and occupational diseases" (hereinafter - Law N 125-FZ)).
However, in the case when the employee stayed at the place of the business trip for the weekend, the issue of exemption from insurance premiums for the cost of the return air ticket is ambiguous.
As stated in the section " Labor Relations", the legislation does not provide for the obligatory coincidence of the dates indicated in travel documents and documents issued when sending an employee on a business trip as a condition for reimbursement of the employee's expenses for travel to and from the business trip.
In addition, there are clarifications that indicate that for the calculation of insurance premiums it does not matter whether a person arrives from a business trip on time or is late. If the delay at the place of the business trip after its completion (time off or vacation) is agreed with the management, then the cost of tickets, like other travel expenses, is not subject to insurance premiums (clarifications from the Deputy Manager of the Department of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation for Moscow and the Moscow Region A.V. Miklashevich and consultant of the Department of legal support of the Foundation social insurance RF T.M. Ilyukhina). The clarifications given are based on the norms of Law N 212-FZ, which has lost its force since 01/01/2017. However, due to the fact that the content of paragraphs. 1 p. 1 Art. 420, item 1 Art. 422 Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in fact, similar to the content of Part 1 of Art. 7, part 1, art. 9 of Law N 212-FZ, we believe that these clarifications are also applicable to insurance premiums accrued from 01/01/2017.
In this case, we proceed from the fact that the organization considers the payment of a return air ticket as payment for the employee's flight from the place of business trip. Accordingly, the cost of both air tickets qualifies as travel expenses and is not subject to insurance premiums.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
As a general rule, VAT amounts paid on travel expenses taken into account when calculating income tax are subject to deductions (clause 7 Art. 171 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). At the same time, VAT on travel expenses is deductible on the basis of invoices submitted by employees, issued by sellers of the relevant services, or forms strict accountability, in which VAT is highlighted in a separate line (clause 1 Art. 169, item 1 Art. 172 Tax Code of the Russian Federation, clause 18 of the Rules for maintaining a book of purchases used in the calculation of value added tax, approved Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 26, 2011 N 1137).
In this case, the organization considers the reimbursement of the cost of the return ticket to the employee as payment for the employee's travel from the place of business trip to the place of work and considers the cost of this ticket as an expense for the purposes of calculating income tax (as described in the relevant section). Therefore, the amount of VAT on the cost of both air tickets is accepted for deduction.
Corporate income tax
Expenses for the employee's travel to the place of business trip and back are included in other expenses related to production and sales, as of the date of approval of the advance report (clause 12 clause 1 Art. 264, pp. 5 p. 7 Art. 272 Tax Code of the Russian Federation). At the same time, these expenses must meet the criteria specified in paragraph 1 Art. 252 Tax Code of the Russian Federation, namely: expenses should not be named in Art. 270 Tax Code of the Russian Federation, must be produced for the implementation of activities aimed at generating income, be economically justified and documented.
If the employee stays at the place of business trip for the weekend, the question of the economic feasibility of the expense in the form of the cost of a return ticket and the possibility of recognizing this expense for income tax purposes is debatable.
In the opinion of the regulatory authorities, the cost of paying for the employee's travel to the place of work after the weekend spent at the place of business trip is considered to be payment for travel from the place of business trip. At the same time, the delay in the departure of the business traveler from the place of the business trip must be made with the permission of the head, confirming, in accordance with the established procedure, the appropriateness of the expenses incurred (Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 08.11.2014 N 03-03-10 / 39800, Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 08.20. -3/16564 "On the procedure for accounting for travel expenses").
For more information on this issue, see the Encyclopedia of disputable situations on income tax.
It should be noted that in relation to the payment for the travel of a seconded worker to the place of work, in the case when the employee remained at the place of the business trip for a long time to take a vacation, the Ministry of Finance of Russia expressed a different opinion. In this case, the cost of travel to permanent place works, according to the Ministry of Finance of Russia, are not justified, since the employer pays for the return of the employee not from business trip but from a place of rest. Such a conclusion follows, for example, from the Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 30, 2017 N 03-03-06/1/4364. For more information on this issue, see the Practical Guide to Income Tax and the Encyclopedia of Disputable Situations on Income Tax.
In this situation, we proceed from the fact that there is a corresponding permission from the manager to justify the delay in the departure of the seconded employee from the place of the business trip, the organization considers the payment for the employee's travel to the place of work as payment for his travel from the place of the business trip and, accordingly, takes into account the cost of a return ticket in taxation expenses arrived.
<*>Other travel expenses are not considered in the consultation.
The employee is on a business trip and intends to stay for 1 day in the city (where he was sent) at the end of the business trip. How to arrange this day, which falls on Saturday? And how to arrange the day of return, which falls on Sunday?
Answer
Answer to the question:
As a general rule, the day of departure on a business trip and the day of return from it are considered days of a business trip (clause 4 of the Regulations on the peculiarities of sending employees on business trips, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 13, 2008 No. 749). Therefore, if the return from a business trip falls on a weekend, it will be considered work on a weekend.
In the event that an employee returns from a business trip on Saturday, as was established by the business trip order, one must proceed as follows. It is necessary to obtain the consent of the employee to work on a day off and issue an appropriate order. In this case, the holiday pay must be doubled.
At the request of the employee, he may be granted another day of rest. In this case, work on a weekend or non-working holiday is paid in a single amount, and the day of rest is not subject to payment. The Ministry of Labor of Russia also agrees with this procedure for paying days off during which the seconded employee worked (letter of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated September 5, 2013 No. 14-2 / 3044898-4415).
If the employee is delayed on a business trip for the weekend on his own initiative, the return on the day off will not be considered a business trip.
In this case, the employee is obliged to agree on a later departure from the business trip and obtain written permission from the employer, for example, this may be a corresponding note in the business trip order. The presence of such a mark will confirm the expediency of returning from a business trip at a later date and will remove the issue of the need to pay per diem, salary and other travel expenses for the days when the employee was in another city on his own initiative. In other words, for the day that the employee spends at the place of business trip on his own initiative, it is not necessary to reimburse travel expenses.
In this case, the organization must reimburse the employee for travel expenses from the place of business trip, but is not obliged to pay for the day of return from the place of business trip (Sunday).
If leaving on a business trip or returning from it falls on a day off, then such time is necessary or to provide a day off (, Regulations, approved). Contains similar explanations. The legality of this approach is also confirmed by judicial practice (see, for example,).
The specific procedure for paying the hours of travel of an employee when sent on a business trip on a day off is not established by the current legislation. Since the employee does not actually work during the trip, but at the same time does not rest, the specific procedure for determining hours of travel time and the procedure for their payment should be fixed in local act, for example Regulations on business trips. At the same time, the employer has the right to set the payment for travel time according to the actual travel time or equate the travel time to a full-time working day and pay as a full working day on a day off, regardless of how many hours the employee actually traveled.
- How to pay for travel time during a business trip
- Question from practice: Is it necessary to reimburse the employee for the cost of the ticket if the end date of the business trip does not coincide with the date of travel from the place of business trip. The employee was delayed at the place of business trip due to personal circumstances
The answer to this question depends on the length of stay of the employee at the place of business trip for personal reasons.
The organization is obliged to reimburse the employee for travel expenses to the place of the business trip and back (, p., and the Regulation approved). Economically justified and documented travel expenses are taken into account when calculating income tax as part of other expenses (, Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In particular, these costs include:
- the cost of a ticket for public transport (airplane, train, etc.);
- the cost of ticketing services, etc.
At the same time, the current legislation does not provide that, in order to pay and account for travel expenses, the date of arrival at the place of business trip, specified in the decision or order on sending on a business trip, must necessarily coincide with the date of the actual arrival of the employee at the place of business trip (on a ticket).
Thus, the end date of the business trip in the decision or order to send on a business trip may be earlier than the date of actual departure from it, for example, if the employee decided to stay and leave later in order to spend weekends or non-working holidays at the place of business trip. In this case, the employee is obliged to agree on a later departure from the business trip and obtain written permission from the employer, for example, this may be a corresponding note in the business trip order. The presence of such a mark will confirm the expediency of returning from a business trip at a later date and will remove the issue of the need to pay per diem, salary and other travel expenses for the days when the employee was in another city on his own initiative.
The main thing is that the difference in dates does not exceed reasonable limits and the connection between the trip and the business trip is maintained. If the period of the employee’s stay at the place of business trip significantly exceeds the period specified in the decision or order to send him on a business trip, for example, if after a business trip the employee is granted leave, which he spends at the place of business trip, then payment for travel can no longer be considered as compensation for expenses associated with business trip. Therefore, it will no longer be possible to reimburse travel expenses as travel expenses.
The legitimacy of such conclusions is also confirmed by the explanations of the regulatory agencies (see, Ministry of Finance of Russia,
Question An employee, by agreement with the Employer, after the end of the business trip, remained at the referral point for weekends (holidays) due to personal (family) circumstances. How to properly reimburse travel expenses? Answer It is necessary to issue the employer's consent to the fact that the employee stays at the place of business trip: for example, this may be a corresponding mark in the business trip order. You can also make a separate order (see at the end of the answer) In this case, the employee will need to pay for travel on a business trip and back, accommodation, pay daily allowances and save average earnings for the business trip and travel time. At the same time, for the days for which the employee was delayed at the place of business trip due to personal circumstances, he does not need to pay for accommodation, pay daily allowances and maintain average earnings.
The employee stayed at the place of business trip for the weekend or vacation
Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in the form of payment by the organization for travel from the place of free time from work to the place of work. In this case, payment by the organization for an employee of a ticket with an arrival date later than the end of the business trip indicated in the business trip order, in accordance with paragraphs.
1 p. 2 art. 211
of the Code, is recognized as his income received in kind. The cost of this ticket is subject to personal income tax in accordance with the provisions of Art.
211 Code. If, for example, an employee stays at the place of business trip, using weekends or non-working holidays, payment by the organization for travel from the place of leisure time to the place of work will not lead to economic benefits for him. It should be noted that in the letters of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation there is no criterion for the significance of exceeding the period of business trip.
The employee was delayed on a business trip, features of taxation
According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, in this case, there is an economic benefit provided for by Article 41 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, in the form of payment by the organization for travel from the place where free time is spent to the place of work. Here, the employee already receives income in kind, which, by virtue of subparagraph 1 of paragraph 2 of Article 211 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, is subject to personal income tax.
Attention
AS IT WAS BEFORE Until recently, the main financial department believed that any discrepancy between the date of the end of the business trip and the date of departure from the place of assignment leads to the formation of income in kind, subject to personal income tax. At the same time, the clarifications indicated that if the business trip ends on Friday, and tickets are purchased on Monday, then their cost is subject to inclusion in the taxable income of the employee*3.
*3 cm. letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated September 22, 2009 No. 03-04-06-01/244, dated April 1, 2009 No. 03-04-06-01/74.
Taxes and law
After all, the letter is not about extending the business trip, but about the case when the employee decided to stay in the city on his own business. And officials mentioned the order as if after, recalling that if the company decides to extend the business trip, then the order is necessary.
Info
Therefore, if your worker chooses to stay at the place of assignment at his own discretion, then an extension order is not needed. The cost of a return ticket can be confirmed by an advance report, which will be signed by the head of the company.
What to do However, there is a possibility that the Field Inspectors will consider such expenses unreasonable, arguing that the employer in this case pays for the return of the employee not from a business trip, but from a place of rest. But in this case, the organization has the opportunity to defend the disputed expenses in court - the decision of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Urals District of June 19, 2007 No.
No. A50-17977/06.
Paperwork if an employee is delayed on a business trip
The employee was late on a business trip. Who will pay the fare It happens that an employee, at the end of his business trip, decides to stay in this city for a few more days. For example, a business trip ends on Friday, and the employee wants to stay for another weekend.
Is it possible to take into account the cost of a return ticket as expenses when calculating income tax? After all, the date on the return ticket will not coincide with the end date of the trip on the travel certificate. According to the Ministry of Finance of Russia - it is possible. True, permission must be given by the head of the company.
Specialists of the financial department told about this in a letter dated March 26, 2009 No. 03-03-06 / 1/191. The arguments are as follows: the company would have incurred the expenses for the travel of an employee from a business trip to the place of permanent work in any case. Indeed, according to Article 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the company is obliged to reimburse travel expenses to a seconded worker.
calendar of events
EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON THE TIME The finance department considered the situation when an employee leaves on a business trip earlier than the start date or is delayed at the place of the assignment*1. *1 In the future, we will only talk about the case when the employee was delayed at the place of business trip, keeping in mind the reverse situation - arrival on a business trip earlier than the start date according to the order of the head. The Ministry of Finance of Russia analyzed two options: the employee stays at the place of business trip only on weekends or non-working holidays, or stays there for a significant time (for example, for a vacation period).
Recall that, according to Article 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer, in the event of sending him on a business trip, is obliged to reimburse the employee, including the costs of his travel.
Two norms of tax legislation are associated with this obligation: - the employer has the right to accept travel expenses to reduce taxable profit on the basis of subparagraph 12 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation; - the employee as individual exempt from personal income tax on the amounts of such compensation by virtue of paragraph 3 of Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. If an employee, at his discretion, uses only weekends at the place of business trip, according to the specialists of the department, there is no economic benefit for him, and travel expenses can be recognized as directly related to a business trip. This conclusion is explained by the fact that, according to articles 106 and 107 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the rest time, which includes weekends and non-working holidays, can be used by the employee at his own discretion and is free from the performance of labor duties.
The employee stayed for the weekend at the place of the business trip travel expenses
Therefore, when he stays at the place of business trip only for the weekend, he has no economic benefit (Article 41 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), in other words, income that is subject to personal income tax. That is, if the employee returns from a business trip after using the weekend ( public holidays), travel expenses to the place of business trip are reimbursed within the framework of the guarantees provided for by the Labor Code*2.
See also Letter No. 03-04-06-01/246 dated August 5, 2008 of the Russian Ministry of Finance. For the same reason, the employer may consider the payment of travel from a business trip after the weekend as directly related to the business trip and, therefore, has every reason to take these expenses into account when determining the tax base for income tax.
A different situation arises if the employee is delayed at the place of business trip, for example, for vacation.
TC RF). Is the payment of travel to the place of permanent work of an employee recognized as his income? Can the company account for travel expenses? When it is possible to recognize travel expenses The company can take into account the expenses for paying for a ticket for the employee’s travel from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work in expenses for income tax purposes (letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 26.08.2013 No. :
- - if the employee stayed at the place of the business trip with the permission of the manager, confirming the expediency of the expenses incurred by the employee;
- - the date of departure of the employee from the place of business trip to the place of permanent work coincides with the date for which the ticket was purchased.
The Company has the right to adopt a provision for processing and reimbursement of travel expenses.
In order to recognize travel expenses for income tax purposes, the requirements common to all expenses provided for in paragraph 1 of Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, so the main thing is that the costs are economically justified and documented. In particular, the Ministry of Finance of Russia in its letters dated September 3, 2012 N 03-03-06 / 1/456 (p. 1), dated September 20, 2011 N 03-03-06 / 1/558, dated August 16, 2010 N 03-03 -06/1/545 (p. 2), dated 04/01/2009 N 03-04-06-01/74 (p. 2), dated 03/26/2009 N 03-03-06/1/191 clarifies that when when attributing the costs of paying for the employee’s travel to and from the place of business trip to the expenses taken into account for the purpose of taxing the profits of organizations, it must be taken into account that these costs would have been incurred in any case, regardless of the length of the employee’s stay at the destination.