How can a pensioner apply for a land tax benefit?

Land tax

The legislation indicates that duties regarding payment of taxes are assigned to all citizens. This applies to companies and citizens. This obligation arises when the property is disposed of. This rule does not apply if preferences apply.

The legislator also stipulates situations when a citizen may be exempt from making a payment:

• payment of tax payment;
• death of a person;
• termination of the company's activities;
• use of preferences.

Speaking about the situation with the death of a citizen, it is worth considering that this fact must be documented. For this purpose, not only a special certificate is used, but also a decision issued by the judicial authorities. This act indicates the recognition of a person as dead in the prescribed manner.

To confirm the fact of termination of the company's work, an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities can be used. The situations listed above require full exemption from tax payments.

Features of application

Before changes in legislative standards in 2020, a deduction was provided for the payment of contributions for land in a strictly defined amount (10 thousand rubles), which was available to the following categories of beneficiaries:

• individuals who have state awards of the USSR and the Russian Federation, awarded the title of Hero of Russia or the USSR, full holders of the Order of Glory;
• disabled people of categories 1 and 2, persons unable to work since childhood;
• veterans and disabled people of World War 2, persons injured as a result of other military events;
• individuals who were injured as a result of the liquidation of man-made accidents and disasters;
• testers of highly toxic nuclear or thermonuclear weapons.

After legislative changes were made to Art. 391 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), pensioners were added to the categories of benefit recipients. Preference is given to citizens who own territory by inheritance or to persons whose individual plot is in perpetual use. Pensioners who have entered into a lease agreement are exempt from payments.

The obligation to transfer payments rests with the owner of the land plot.

Land tax benefits for pensioners are calculated based on its value according to cadastre information. An area equal to 600 m2 is excluded from the base subject to contributions. If a taxpayer owns 2 or more plots of land, then a discount can only be obtained for one pre-selected territory.

Do pensioners need to pay land tax?

Citizens who have retired, along with other persons, are responsible for paying tax payments. This applies to all types of fees, including land fees. In order to reduce the burden on the financial condition of the group of people in question, federal or regional authorities decide to provide individuals with preferences.

This means that, in general, citizens of retirement age have obligations to pay taxes. However, there are exceptions. A reduction in the amount of payment or its complete cancellation is envisaged.

Such exceptions apply to persons who:

• classified as small northern peoples (these provisions affect only those areas that are intended to be used for the purpose of farming or farming);
• use the allotment when a lease relationship has been established between the parties;
• use is free of charge;
• possess an allotment that is included in the holdings of a mutual fund.

The legislation also indicates that it is possible not to pay taxes for areas that are not considered by the objects for charging the fee.

Benefits for summer cottages for pensioners in Moscow and the Moscow region

Land tax for pensioners in the capital and region is charged to all owners of plots. Only some Moscow residents are exempt from paying land tax on an amount not exceeding 1 million rubles:

• disabled since childhood;
• persons with disability group 1 or 2;
• disabled people and combat veterans (including the Great Patriotic War);
• parents with many children (adoptive parents);
• persons injured as a result of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

For pensioners - owners of summer cottages living in the Moscow region, certain benefits are also provided. The size of the preference and categories of recipients are determined at the municipal level, for example:

This is important to know: Fine for an unregistered house on a summer cottage

What has changed in legislation in recent years

Until changes were made to the legislation, that is, until 2018, federal benefits intended for pensioners were provided. They assumed that ten thousand rubles had to be subtracted from the value of the land plot, after which taxes were calculated.

This decision is considered by experts to be unfair. This conclusion is based on the fact that equal amounts were calculated from the value of plots located in the capital and in the villages. In these cases, the price fixed in the cadastre implied significant differences for different areas of the country.

In addition, ordinary pensioners could not use the benefit in question. It was assumed that only citizens deprived of the ability to work, as well as veterans, had the right to apply for a preference.

In connection with the introduction of amendments to land legislation in 2020, the benefit began to be expressed not in the established value, but in hundred square meters. It is assumed that currently citizens may not pay taxes on 6 acres of land. This preference applies to all categories of pensioners.

Important! The preference in question can also be used by a person who has taken a well-deserved retirement with length of service. Such situations assume that the citizen’s age category is lower than that of ordinary pensioners.

Tax benefits for pensioners - how to take advantage of them

When a person has grounds for using exemptions when calculating land taxes, and this benefit is not specified in the received notification of the need to make a payment, then the citizen needs to contact the tax authority with an application.

There are several ways to send a document:

• personal transfer;
• by mail;
• using MFC;
• when using a personal account located on the official portal of the Federal Tax Service.

In a situation where a citizen previously sent such an application to the authorized body, but did not write that the right to use the benefit applies to a specific period, in the future there is no need to submit such applications to the Federal Tax Service.

There are also situations when preferences are provided automatically. This happens when a person does not submit an application for the use of preferences, while the Federal Tax Service receives information about his/her reaching the established age. For males this is 60 years old, for females - 55.

A certain list of documentation will need to be attached to this act. It includes:

• written confirmation of disability status (this certificate can only be obtained by contacting a healthcare institution);
• if a person has the status of a Hero, then this fact also requires documentary confirmation;
• if a person has received pension payments, then in addition he provides the corresponding certificate.

Attention! The list of additional documentation depends on the basis on which preferences are assigned. To clarify information on this matter, you will need to contact the authority responsible for calculating benefits.

Who is eligible for the benefit?

In order to reduce the financial burden for citizens classified as vulnerable from a social point of view, the legislator introduces benefits.

There are these types of preferences:

1. Established at the federal level . In this case, the citizen’s place of residence does not affect the ability to use the benefit. Today, preference is expressed in the use of tax deductions amounting to 6 acres.
2. Local benefits . In this case, the possibility of using relaxations is affected by the territory of residence of a particular person and the municipality where the allotment is located. This means that benefits are applied according to an act issued by the authority of a particular entity.

Different regions provide individual preferences. Not all entities have the financial capacity to establish benefits for pensioners.

To clarify the issue of using relaxations, you must contact your local administration. Currently, citizens who have applied for a well-deserved retirement in accordance with the provisions of current legal acts can receive a preference. It does not matter on what basis the payment of pension funds is made.

If we talk about the status of an old-age pensioner, then you need to reach 55 and 60 years of age. It is worth considering that starting from 2020, reforms in the pension sector are being implemented across the country. As this process is completed, different minimum retirement ages will be established. By 2023, these indicators will be 60 and 65 years.

In addition, the following categories of persons are entitled:

• citizens who have the status of a disabled person or a WWII veteran;
• those who have lost their ability to work, including in childhood;
• persons holding the title of Hero of the Russian Federation or the USSR;
• citizens injured as a result of the Chernobyl accident.

The deduction can only be used for one plot.

How to calculate the tax if the plot is more than 6 acres

If a citizen is entitled to use the preference, but the plot has a larger area than the one to which the deduction applies, he will have to pay tax. In such a situation, a certain formula is used to calculate the amount to deposit funds into the Federal Tax Service.

It looks like this:

N = NB *ST*K*DS-L,

Where:

• N – amount of tax payment;
• NB – tax base (determined based on the value reflected in the cadastre);
• ST – rate calculated by each individual subject individually;
• K – coefficients that depend on the period of ownership of the plot;
• DS – presence of ownership shares;
• L – preferences.

By substituting the required values, you can calculate the payment amount.

Legal regulation

Legislative land tax is regulated by the Tax Code, as well as a number of federal laws and acts. Not long ago, there were big changes in tax legislation, which resulted in an increase in the tax on garden plots. This is due to the fact that until January 2020, the tax was calculated based on the inventory value of the site, and now on the cadastral value, which is quite close to the market price of the property. The inventory value is several times lower than the cadastral value since it is calculated more simply.

The taxation of objects that are included in Rosreestr and for which the cadastral value has been determined will be calculated in a new way. The law establishes a transition period until 2020.

Payment of land tax and property tax is made using receipts that a citizen receives at the tax office. These documents contain a detailed calculation scheme and you will no longer need to independently calculate the amount of tax.

How to check land tax debt? See here.

Who is entitled to benefits?

Benefits may be provided on the following grounds:

• the area established by law, which the site should not exceed;
• low-income citizens;
• persons under special social protection.

Tax relief can also be implemented by reducing the tax rate, reducing the amount of the taxable base, or complete exemption from paying tax. To clarify the current tax breaks in the region, you must contact the local branch of the Federal Tax Service.

This is important to know: How to register an abandoned summer cottage as a property

An example of applying the benefit - if you own 2 plots

For example, when a person has the rights to own 2 plots, measuring 9 and 15 acres , then a rate of 0.3% is applied to such objects. One of the plots is located closer to a populated area, for this reason its cadastral value is higher compared to the second.

The cost of one hundred square meters in this case is 340 thousand rubles. For another plot of land, this price is 210 thousand.

A person can choose only one plot to use the preference. If this is the first plot, then 9 – 6 = 3 acres. Only for this volume of property will you need to pay tax. You will need to multiply the rate by the cost according to the cadastre by the rate = 3 * 210,000 * 0.3% = 1890 rubles will have to be paid to the treasury.

If the full cost of the tax had been paid, the amount would have been 5,670 rubles (9 * 210,000 * 0.3%). The savings amounted to 3,780 rubles.

Thus, the abolition of the tax for persons who have retired has not occurred at the present time. It is envisaged to establish preferences at the federal and regional levels.

How to apply for benefits

You will have to confirm your right to a discount yourself by personally submitting a written notification of the required form to the Federal Tax Service office at your place of residence or registration of the land plot, or by sending an electronic application to the organization’s website. You need to act in the following sequence:

1. If you own two plots or one with an area of ​​over 600 m2, select the territory for which the discount will be issued.
2. Collect documents justifying the preference.
3. Fill out the notification, indicating the details of official documents proving the right to the benefit or attaching them to the application form.
4. Submit the collected documentation to the tax service before November 1 of the current year. If you need to receive a discount for 2020, then information must be submitted before July 1, 2018.

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List of required documents

The list of required documentation to justify an individual’s right to preference is established by municipal authorities. The standard list of official papers provided to the Federal Tax Service looks like this:

• passport or other taxpayer identification card;
• pensioner's certificate;
• data confirming ownership of the territory;
• a correctly completed discount notification form.

What special benefits are available to pensioners over 70 years of age?

Current Russian legislation, for the most part, does not distinguish citizens into separate benefit groups based on their attainment of a particular age. The direct and characteristic exception in this case is elderly people who are over eighty years of age. They have the right to additional pension provision, as well as a number of benefits, for example, complete exemption from the obligation to pay for capital repairs.

Reference! An elderly person may have the right not to pay contributions for major repairs only if he lives alone or with a citizen who has a similar benefit.

Senior citizens who have reached the age of 70 have the right to preferential benefits on a general basis and, in general, the scope of their rights is similar to that of pensioners of other age categories.

However, as in the case of pensioners over 80 years of age, upon reaching 70 years of age, citizens have a special benefit in paying contributions for major repairs. Thus, senior citizens from seventy to eighty years old, in fact, pay only 50% of the required amount.