Issuance of an advance payment for a business trip to an employee with a record:

Debit 71 Credit 50 (52)

The employee was given cash (traveler's checks) to pay for travel expenses.

If the money to pay for travel expenses is credited to the corporate plastic card, make notes:

Debit 55 Credit 51 (52)

Listed cash to a special card account;

Debit 71 Credit 55

The amount of the advance given to the employee for the payment of travel expenses has been taken into account.

The procedure for recording the expenses of a business trip employee depends on the purpose of the business trip.

If a business trip is necessary for the needs of the main (auxiliary or service) production, then reflect the employee's expenses by posting:

Debit 20 (23, 29) Credit 71

The expenses for a business trip necessary for the needs of the main (auxiliary, servicing) production are written off.

If the business trip is related to the management activities of the company (for example, checking the activities of a branch, participating in a meeting of shareholders), then reflect the expenses in the entry:

Debit 26 Credit 71

Expenses for a business trip necessary for managerial needs are written off.

If the business trip was related to the sale finished products or goods, then reflect the costs of it by posting:

Debit 44 Credit 71

Expenses for a business trip related to the sale of finished products (goods) are written off.

The cost of a business trip associated with the purchase of a property increases its value. Record these costs as follows:

Debit 08 (10, 41) Credit 71

Debited travel expenses associated with the purchase intangible assets or fixed assets (materials, goods).

If an employee went on a business trip related to the return and transportation of defective products, reflect the costs of it with a record:

Debit 28 Credit 71

The expenses for a business trip related to the return and transportation of defective products are written off.

If the business trip is related to the receipt of other income by the company (for example, the conclusion by an employee of an agreement on the provision of property to the organization for rent), then write off the expenses of the business traveler as a posting:

Debit 91-2 Credit 71

Expenses for business trips related to the receipt of other income by the organization are written off.

The same posting is done if the employee paid for certain non-production expenses on a business trip (for example, expenses for sports events, recreation, entertainment, etc.) and your company reimburses them.

Write off the amount of VAT on travel expenses by postings:

Debit 19 Credit 71

The amount of VAT on travel expenses is taken into account;

The tax deduction of the VAT is made.

Please note: You can only write off VAT on travel expenses if you have invoices. The exception is travel tickets. They are enough to deduct VAT on the journey. However, the tax amount should be highlighted in them as a separate line.

The amount of VAT on non-production expenses to tax deduction do not accept. Write it off by wiring:

Debit 91-2 Credit 19

Written off VAT on non-production expenses.

Example

On December 22, 2005, an employee of Passiv LLC Petrov was sent on a business trip to Samara for 8 days.

Petrov's expenses amounted to:

For the purchase of air tickets - 3540 rubles. (including VAT - 540 rubles);

For hotel accommodation - 7080 rubles. (including VAT - 1080 rubles);

To pay for communication services - 236 rubles. (including VAT - 36 rubles).

All expenses are documented.

The order of the head of "Passiva" approved the daily allowance for business trips across Russia - 300 rubles. per day. Petrov was given a daily allowance in the amount of 2,400 rubles. (300 rubles/day x 8 days).

The amount of the advance given to Petrov to cover the expenses on a business trip amounted to 10,000 rubles.

Situation 1

Petrov was sent on a business trip to conclude an agreement on the purchase of materials.

Debit 71 Credit 50

Debit 19 Credit 71

Debit 68 subaccount "Calculations for VAT"

Debit 10 Credit 71

9200 rub. (3000 + 6000 + 200) - business trip expenses are included in the cost of materials.

Situation 2

Petrov was sent on a business trip to conclude an agreement on the sale of finished products "Passiva".

The accountant "Liability" must make entries:

Debit 71 Credit 50

10 000 rub. - an advance payment for a business trip;

Debit 19 Credit 71

1656 rub. (540 + 1080 + 36) - VAT on travel expenses is included;

Debit 68 subaccount "Calculations for VAT"

1656 rub. - VAT deduction made;

Debit 44 Credit 71

9200 rub. (3000 + 6000 + 200) - business trip expenses are included in sales expenses.

Accountable funds in the amount of 856 rubles. (10,000 - 3540 - 7080 - 236) overspent by Petrov, the Liability accountant must enter in line 625 (620) of the balance sheet for 2005.

When issuing funds for a business trip in foreign currency, the accountant should:

Capitalize cash foreign currency received from the bank at the official exchange rate on the day of its receipt;

Issue foreign currency to an employee at the official rate on the day of issue;

Reflect the expenses of the seconded person at the official exchange rate on the day the advance report is approved;

Adjust (increase or decrease) the debt of the accountable person based on the official exchange rate foreign exchange effective on the day of approval of the advance report or on the day of drawing up financial statements(if by this time the debt has not been repaid).

If on the date of approval of the advance report (date of reporting) the exchange rate turned out to be higher than on the date of its issue, then a positive exchange rate difference arises in accounting.

Record the amount of the positive exchange rate difference as follows:

Debit 71 Credit 91-1

A positive exchange rate difference is reflected.

If on the date of approval of the advance report (date of reporting) the exchange rate turned out to be lower than on the date of its issue, then a negative exchange rate difference arises in accounting.

Record the amount of the negative exchange rate difference as follows:

Debit 91-2 Credit 71

A negative exchange rate difference is reflected.

How to pay for a business trip of a trade union member who is also a full-time employee of the organization? Details in the article

Question: An employee of the enterprise was sent on a business trip of a non-productive nature - training through the trade union. Behind him is kept average earnings for the duration of the business trip, which is accrued at the expense of membership dues. Dt 76.42 Kt 70, which is provided for in the collective agreement. Question: Is deductions to the funds accrued for this type of employee's income: PFR, FSS, CHI, NS?

Answer: Yes, it's charged. Payment for travel time on trade union matters is not included in the list of payments exempt from insurance premiums. Therefore, it must be charged insurance premiums for compulsory pension (social, medical) insurance and contributions for injuries (Articles 421 and 422 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, clause 3 of Article 20.1 of the Law of July 24, 1998 No. 125-FZ).

Rationale

How to pay for a staff member's business trip

How to pay for a business trip of a trade union member who is also a full-time employee of the organization

If such an employee is sent on a business trip, then remuneration depends on whether the business trip is related to his work activity or not.

According to the general rules, a full-time employee is sent on a business trip to perform a job assignment. That is work responsibilities. Such an employee needs to reimburse expenses associated with a business trip and pay average earnings. Thus, if an employee - a member of a trade union on a business trip performs his labor duties, pay him travel allowances and average earnings.

And if an employee travels on the affairs of the trade union committee, then he will not fulfill his labor duties. Such trips are not business trips. Accordingly, the organization should not pay any salary or average earnings during the trip on trade union affairs. Reimbursement of travel, accommodation and per diem expenses is also optional.*

Payments in kind, that is, goods, works or services, should be taken into account as their value, including VAT and excises. This is stated in paragraph 7 of Article 421 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

What payments should be credited for insurance against accidents and occupational diseases

Object of taxation

Contributions for insurance against accidents and occupational diseases are subject to payments and remuneration accrued to employees within the framework of labor relations or under civil law contracts (if such an obligation is provided for by the contract). This procedure applies both to employees who are Russian citizens and to employees who are foreigners and stateless persons. This follows from the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 5, paragraph 1 of Article 20.1 of the Law of July 24, 1998 No. 125-FZ.

The payments and remunerations, on which contributions for insurance against accidents and occupational diseases are calculated, in particular, include *:
- salary;
- allowances and additional payments (for example, for length of service, length of service, combination of professions, night work, etc.);
- bonuses and remuneration paid within the framework of labor relations or civil law contracts;
- payment (full or partial) by the organization for its employee of goods (works, services);
- payments and remuneration in the form of goods (works, services);
- compensation payments behind unused vacation(both related and not related to dismissal).

According to p.p. 12 p. 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, other expenses related to production and sales include the following travel expenses:

• - travel of the employee to the place of business trip and back to the place of permanent work;
• - Renting a home. Under this item of expenses, the employee's expenses for paying for additional services provided in hotels (with the exception of expenses for services in bars and restaurants, expenses for room service, expenses for the use of recreational and health facilities) are also subject to reimbursement;
• - daily allowance or field allowance within the limits approved by the Government Russian Federation;
• - registration and issuance of visas, passports, vouchers, invitations and other similar documents;
• - consular, airfield fees, fees for the right of entry, passage, transit of automobile and other transport, for the use of sea channels, other similar structures and other similar payments and fees.

As follows from the above, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, for the purposes of calculating corporate income tax in terms of travel expenses, normalizes only daily allowances and field allowances. All other travel expenses are not standardized.

At the same time, in order to accept travel expenses when calculating income tax, attention should be paid to Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This article states that reasonable and documented costs incurred (incurred) by the taxpayer are recognized as expenses. At the same time, justified expenses are understood to be economically justified expenses, the assessment of which is expressed in monetary form, and documented expenses are understood to be expenses confirmed by documents drawn up in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, or in accordance with business practices in the state where such expenses were incurred, or documents indirectly confirming the expenses incurred (including a customs declaration, a business trip order, travel documents, a report on the work performed in accordance with the contract). In other words, starting this year, organizations will be able to reduce taxable income on the basis of any documents that somehow confirm the expense incurred.

It should also be noted that the tax authorities insist that travel expenses are included in the costs of the enterprise, accepted for tax purposes, only if they are related to production process enterprises.

At the same time, arbitration practice (Resolutions of the FAS of the Moscow District of March 13, 2002 No. KA-A40 / 1219-02 and January 29, 2001 No. KA-A40 / 6458-00) indicates that the production nature of the business trip and its expediency are determined, in particular, by internal documents approved by the head. Such documents can be, for example, orders, as well as travel certificates drawn up in accordance with established requirements, reports on the results of business trips, acts of work performed, correspondence with Russian and foreign firms, contracts with organizations to which employees were sent, telephone messages or automatic telephone exchange data, indicating a non-random choice of business trip points, concluded contracts for the supply of goods, as well as primary payment documents confirming the costs of business trips.

For non-production business trips, expenses are not taken into account for tax purposes. Non-production business trips should be distinguished from those that did not give a specific result. For example, an employee was sent on a business trip to conclude a contract for the purchase or sale of goods, but the contract was not concluded. Such a business trip is of an industrial nature, regardless of the result achieved (Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Central District of October 21, 1999 No. 81/10, Resolution of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District of June 27, 2001 in case No. KA-A40 / 1255-01).

Thus, for the purposes of the calculation tax base for income tax, an enterprise can include travel expenses incurred without any restrictions (with the exception of daily allowances and field allowances), provided that they are documented and oriented to production.

Separately, we will dwell on documentary confirmation of the costs of renting housing.

If the employee confirmed the expenses for renting housing with a cashier's check and a simple invoice, then these expenses undoubtedly reduce the taxable base for income tax. However, what if the employee confirmed the rental of housing only with a strict reporting form - a hotel bill in the form No. 3-G or a cash receipt order? Arbitration practice here is completely on the side of those organizations that take these expenses into account when calculating income tax, since the Tax Code of the Russian Federation indicates that expenses must be documented, but does not specify what kind of documents this can be done (Resolution of the FAS of the Moscow District of November 9, 16, 2005 in case No. KA-A40 / 11019-05, Resolution of the FAS of the North-Western District of February 16, 2004 . No. A56-14779 / 03, Decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North-Western District of June 4, 2003 No. A56-26589 / 02). Naturally, the documents must contain all the data required by the Accounting Law.

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that as part of the cost of renting a dwelling, only expenses for service in bars and restaurants, expenses for room service and expenses for the use of recreational and recreational facilities are not included in the tax base for income tax. All other additional services, including room reservation, are included in the corporate income tax base.

As regards the normalized part of travel expenses (per diems and field allowances), one should be guided by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of February 8, 2002 No. 93 "On the establishment of norms for organizations' expenses for the payment of daily allowances and field allowances, within which, when determining the tax base for corporate income tax, such expenses are related to other expenses associated with production and sales" (hereinafter - Decree No. 93).

Thus, Decree No. 93, when determining the tax base for corporate income tax, other expenses associated with production and sales include the expenses of organizations for the payment of daily allowances and field allowances within the following limits:

• 1) for each day of being on a business trip on the territory of the Russian Federation - daily allowance in the amount of 100 rubles;
• 2) daily field allowance paid to employees of geological exploration and topographic and geodetic organizations performing geological exploration and topographic and geodetic work on the territory of the Russian Federation, employees of forest management organizations, as well as employees of prospecting artels and others commercial organizations employed in the development of placer and small ore deposits of precious metals and precious stones with a mining period of up to 7 years, operated in the field:
  • - for work at field work sites located in the regions of the Far North and equivalent areas, as well as in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories and the Amur Region - in the amount of 200 rubles;
  • - for work at field work sites located in other districts - in the amount of 150 rubles;
  • - for work at the bases of geological exploration organizations located in the regions of the Far North and equivalent areas, as well as in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories and the Amur Region - in the amount of 75 rubles;
  • - for work on the bases of geological exploration organizations located in other areas - in the amount of 50 rubles.

The manager of our organization was sent on a business trip to conclude a contract for the supply of products. This is exactly the goal that is listed in the job assignment. However, the desired result was not achieved. Is it possible in this case to take into account the costs of such a business trip when calculating income tax?

We believe that the cost of an employee's travel on a business trip can be taken into account when calculating income tax in any case. Even if the goals were not achieved. Let us present the arguments of our point of view.

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 (Article 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The purpose of the trip is determined by the head of the organization and is fixed in the job assignment, which is approved by the employer (clause 6 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, hereinafter - Regulation No. 749).

The employer is obliged to reimburse the employee for the costs of such a trip. This is expressly stated in Art. 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and in clause 11 of Regulation No. 749. At the same time, neither the Labor Code nor Regulation No. 749 contain such a condition for reimbursement of expenses as achieving the purpose of a business trip.

Thus, from the point of view of labor legislation, the employer is obliged to reimburse the employee for the costs of business trip regardless of whether the trip gave a positive result or not. Now let's move on to tax accounting.

By general rule travel expenses for income tax purposes are taken into account on the basis of subpara. 12 p. 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation as part of other expenses associated with production and sales. This norm of the Code does not contain a requirement that the expenses for business trips of an employee on behalf of the employer can be taken into account when calculating income tax only if the business trip was successful (the goals were achieved and the task was completed).

To reflect such expenses in tax accounting, the company must only comply with the requirements of Art. 252 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, that is, the costs must be documented, economically justified and carried out as part of activities aimed at generating income. As you can see, in order for an expense to be recognized in tax accounting, it is important to have an intention to receive income. When sending an employee on a business trip, the employer fulfills this requirement. After all, the purpose of the trip is indicated in the job assignment. This means that the expenses incurred are economically justified and can be taken into account when calculating income tax, regardless of the result of the business trip.

A similar point of view was expressed by the tax authorities in the letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated September 11, 2009 No. 16-17 / 082607.2. In their explanations, experts tax authorities noted that the organization has supporting documents confirming a positive result from the activities of an employee on a business trip ( preliminary agreements, protocols of intent), is not provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Consequently, the absence of a result in the form of concluded contracts or other signed documents does not indicate the non-productive nature of travel expenses. Of course, provided that the organization has properly executed supporting documents ( travel certificate, an order to send an employee on a business trip, a job assignment and a report on its implementation, an advance report with documents attached to it confirming the expenses incurred).

However, despite the availability of the above clarifications from the tax authorities, in practice there are cases when field inspectors do not recognize the costs of such business trips when calculating income tax. This is evidenced by arbitrage practice. Fortunately, it is in favor of taxpayers (see, for example, the decisions of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga District of July 11, 2012 in case No. A55-17726 / 2011, of the West Siberian District of October 4, 2011 in case No. A27-16987 / 2010). In the decision of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Urals District dated March 6, 2008 in case No. A60-1376/07, the judges indicated that the economic feasibility of travel expenses is not made dependent on the actual receipt of income based on the results of a business trip. By definition of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation of July 14, 2008 No. 8483/08, the transfer of this case to the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation was denied.

Thus, in the event of claims from the inspectors, it will not be difficult to prove in court the legitimacy of accounting for the company's disputed expenses.

At tax audits travel expenses are given special attention. There is always something to complain about here - either the documents are “wrong” drawn up, or the expenses themselves are “inappropriate”. Consider the most controversial situations

informal documents

All travel expenses must be documented. There are usually no problems with air and railway tickets - they are usually issued on standard forms. But in a hotel, in confirmation of payment, employees often receive a cash receipt, a receipt, or a document completely unknown to accounting science.

We will figure out whether a hotel cashier's receipt is necessary to confirm accommodation expenses. As a general rule, when paying for cash, you need to use a cash register. However, instead of checks, hotels can issue strict reporting forms - this follows from the law on cash registers. Currently, there is an order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 13, 1993 No. 121, which approved the form of a hotel bill (form No. 3-G). If the hotel draws up such a form, then it has the right not to use the KKM.

But even if the hotel does not issue either an invoice in the form No. 3-G or a KKM check, but writes out, for example, a cash receipt order, the cost of renting housing can still be taken into account in expenses. The fact is that tax code does not specify what kind of documents must be confirmed travel expenses. Therefore, the inspection must accept any document drawn up in accordance with the rules of accounting.

Example 1

During the on-site inspection of Petromontazh LLC, the inspection decided that some of the company's travel expenses were incorrectly documented. The cost of staying at the hotel was confirmed by a receipt, which is not a form of strict accountability. At the same time, there was no KKM check from the hotel either. The inspectors charged the company with additional income tax and penalties. Petromontazh refused to pay and filed a lawsuit with the arbitration court.

The court upheld the firm and canceled the requirements of the IMNS. primary document, confirming the cost of living, contained all the details required by the law "On Accounting": name, date of compilation, content of the operation, signatures of officials. Therefore, it can serve as confirmation of the cost of renting housing (decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North-Western District of February 16, 2004 in case No. A56-14779 / 03).

In fact, during a business trip, an employee can live not only in a hotel, but also in a residential area that is not related to the hotel complex. In this case, the cost of renting housing can be confirmed by a document drawn up in free form(Decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North-Western District of June 4, 2003 in case No. А56-26589/02). It is only important that the cost of living, the date, the name of the organization and the signature be indicated in it.

But still it is better if the cost of travel and rental of premises are confirmed by strict reporting forms. The fact is that on the basis of the BSO, you can without question deduct VAT, which is included in the cost of hotel services.

Journey of a "non-employee"

It happens that a person is sent on a business trip who is not officially an employee of the company. There may be a variety of reasons for this: an employee may be on the staff of another, “friendly” company, or he may even receive an unofficial salary.

In this case, the inspectors during the inspection may consider that the payments to this employee (per diem, travel and accommodation) are not compensation for the business trip, but his income. The company will be charged income tax and personal income tax.

At first glance, the inspectors are right. The Labor Code defines a business trip as "an employee's trip by order of the employer" (Article 166 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). And an employment contract must be concluded between the employee and the employer (Article 56 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If there is no employment contract, then the payment of daily allowance, travel and accommodation cannot be included in the costs as business trip expenses and they are not subject to personal income tax exemption.

But one can argue in another way. The fact that the employee began to fulfill the task of the company, in itself, indicates that he is fulfilling his labor duties. And if the employee has started work, then the employment contract is automatically considered concluded (Article 67 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, even if the company and the employee did not draw up an employment contract on paper, the costs of a business trip of such an employee can be taken into account when calculating income tax and there is no need to pay personal income tax on them. Arbitration courts adhere to the same opinion (see, for example, the decisions of the FAS of the Moscow District of December 5, 2003 No. KA-A40 / 9726-03, the FAS of the Volga-Vyatka District of July 29, 2003 in case No. A31-541 / 1).

Of course, in order to avoid claims during verification, you can draw up fixed-term employment contracts for the duration of business trips. But even if this is not done, the cost of travel on behalf of the firm should still be considered travel expenses.

Command "on the contrary"

Usually, on a business trip, an employee leaves the city in which the company is located. And can some other settlement be the beginning of a business trip?

Often, inspectors believe that this is impossible. One such dispute was considered by the Federal Arbitration Court of the Northwestern District.

Example 2

The firm, registered in St. Petersburg, has hired Yuri Drugov, who lives in Moscow, as a consultant. According to the contract, the city of Moscow was listed as his place of work, but he had to regularly report to the company and, if necessary, come to St. Petersburg personally. Such trips were documented as business trips. But the inspection during the inspection decided that trips to the location of the company cannot be considered business trips. Consequently, the firm overestimated its costs. The company did not agree with the decision of the controllers and filed a lawsuit with the arbitration court.

The dispute was resolved in favor of the firm. A business trip is a trip to perform an official assignment outside the place of permanent work of an employee. Since the trips of the Moscow consultant were of just such a nature, the company rightfully compensated their employee (decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the North-Western District of January 9, 2004 in case No. A56-14042 / 03).

Thus, the expenses include the cost of the employee's travel from his place of work to the place where he must perform a business trip. The place of work is indicated in employment contract with an employee, and it may not match the city in which the company is registered. And with regard to the destination of the business trip, there are no restrictions at all. Consequently, an employee can go on a business trip to both the central division of the company and one of its branches.

A trip without a result

Not every business trip ends with the fulfillment of the assigned task. For example, the planned signing of a treaty may not take place. In general, a business trip may not end with a certain “material” result. But even in this case, travel expenses should be taken into account when calculating income tax, and you do not need to pay personal income tax on them. Sometimes inspectors try to challenge this, but to no avail.

Example 3

The Tax Inspectorate conducted an on-site audit of CJSC Granma. The inspectors found out that in 2001 the company sent employees to regions where it had no contractors. In addition, following the results of the business trips, no contracts, protocols of intent, etc. were signed. The inspectors decided that the business trips were non-productive in nature and charged the company with additional income tax. Granma went to court and won the case. The judges pointed out that the lack of concrete results did not change the nature of the travel expenses. Since the business trip was correctly documented, the company reasonably included it in the expenses (decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Moscow District of September 17, 2003 in case No. KA-A40 / 6781-03).

Thus, regardless of the results, travel costs reduce tax profit. It is only important that the purpose of the trip is formulated (in an order or in a travel assignment) and this purpose is related to the activities of the company.

On the job - with insurance

As a rule, when buying a railway or air ticket, they sell a policy “in load” health insurance. In fact, insurance in this case is voluntary, and when buying a ticket, from insurance policy you can refuse. However, the cashiers who sell tickets “forget” to remind them of this. Although the price of insurance is low, let's see if it can be included in the costs and whether you will have to pay personal income tax.

The cost of the policy cannot be attributed to travel expenses. Nevertheless voluntary insurance employees can be taken into account when taxing profits if we are talking about insurance “exclusively in the event of the death of the insured person or the loss of the insured person’s ability to work in connection with the performance of his labor duties” (clause 16 of article 255 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The policy sold with the ticket provides insurance for just such a case, so it can be included in the costs.

Since the policy provides for life and health insurance for the employee, it is not necessary to withhold personal income tax from its value (clause 3 of article 213 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). It is also not necessary to accrue UST (subclause 7, clause 1, article 238 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

VIP room, food and entertainment

In addition to travel and accommodation, business trips may be associated whole line other expenses. This is the use by an employee at the airport of the hall of officials and delegations (the so-called VIP-lounge), a mini-bar in a hotel, food in a restaurant, etc. Usually, such expenses are not paid to an employee. And if the company nevertheless compensates them, they do it at the expense of net profit and withhold income tax. But in some cases, you do not need to pay extra taxes. Let's consider such situations.

Regarding the VIP-hall, there is now an official position of the Moscow Department of the Ministry of Taxes and Taxes of Russia, based on the explanations of the Ministry of Taxes of Russia (letter of the Ministry of Taxes and Taxes for Moscow dated August 7, 2003 No. 27-08a / 43214). Compensating these expenses, the company does not withhold personal income tax in the event that the use of the VIP-hall is provided for by the Regulations on business trips of the company. Approve such a Regulation - and you will not have to pay personal income tax. Official clarifications do not relate to income tax, but, in our opinion, such costs can also be taken into account in tax accounting, since the VIP lounge is directly related to the trip.

In principle, in the Regulations on business trips, you can mention the cost of meals in a restaurant, a mini-bar and other additional services in a hotel room. In this case, paying them, the company will compensate the employee for “other expenses incurred with the permission or knowledge of the employer” (Article 168 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The company is not required to pay personal income tax in this situation. But when checking, inspectors are unlikely to agree with this, and such expenses cannot be taken into account in tax accounting (subparagraph 12, paragraph 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If a business trip involves negotiations with partners, lunch in a restaurant can be spent as entertainment expenses. Within 4 percent of the wage fund, such expenses reduce taxable income (clause 2, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

One more situation is possible. Additional services may be mentioned on the hotel bill, but their cost is not shown separately. In this case, they must be included in the cost of living. Following this principle, even expenses for excursions and entertainment, the cost of which cannot be separated from the cost of accommodation or travel, can be treated as travel expenses.

Example 4

Sports non-profit organization"Stinol" in 2000 held training camps in Turkey. Athletes traveled to these camps on vouchers, the cost of which included excursions and an entertainment program. During the inspection, the inspectors attributed the cost of vouchers to the income of athletes and charged Stinol additional contributions to off-budget funds. The organization refused to pay, and in court it managed to win a dispute with the inspection. Since it was impossible to separate the cost of excursions from the price of vouchers, the judges decided that "Stinol" rightfully attributed the entire amount to travel expenses (decree of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Central District of November 20, 2003 in case No. A36-69 / 16-03).

V. Kalgin, PB expert