Sole proprietorship: everything about individual entrepreneurs, in plain language. Sole proprietorship: everything about individual entrepreneurs in simple terms

It's no secret that their business is most often organized by those who, by virtue of psychological features is unable to work "for his uncle", day after day to follow the instructions of a higher manager and not fully feel the final result of labor. Therefore, he will always find his own niche. This way of doing business is always in demand, because there are many industries economic activity, where large entities management is simply not needed.

A bit of history

Individual entrepreneurship in Russia began to develop quite a long time ago and has a rich history. Indeed, one of the main activities of the Slavic peoples was precisely trade. Under Peter the Great, for example, Russian merchants were well known far beyond the borders of Russia, and traditional fairs were attended by "entrepreneurs" from all over the great power. The further development of individual entrepreneurship during the reign of Catherine II was due to the complete abolition of monopolies and maximum freedom of trade. It should be especially noted that during this period even peasants were allowed to carry out entrepreneurial activities, and after the reforms of Alexander II and the abolition of serfdom, they received unprecedented opportunities for doing business.

Unfortunately, after the revolution of 1917, a "black period" began in the history of private entrepreneurship, which lasted almost 70 years. In the Soviet Union, entrepreneurs were considered speculators and held accountable. But already in 1987, in the light of changes and the onset of perestroika, the law “On Individual labor activity”, which laid the foundation for the revival of business in Russia.

So who is he?

Individual entrepreneur is considered by the legislation as an individual who carries out entrepreneurial activities in the prescribed manner without forming a legal entity.

The right to carry out such activities have:

citizens Russian Federation who have reached the age of 18, if their legal capacity has not been limited in court;
underage: in case of marriage; availability of permission from parents, guardians, adoptive parents to conduct entrepreneurial activity; on the basis of a court decision on full legal capacity; announcements by the guardianship and guardianship authorities that the person has been recognized as fully capable;
stateless persons, as well as foreigners: in the event that they temporarily or permanently reside in the country.

However, such type of activity as individual entrepreneurship cannot be registered by municipal employees and civil servants.

Duties and responsibilities

An individual entrepreneur, just like a commercial legal entity, conducts economic activities at his own discretion and bears full personal and financial responsibility within the limits of current legislation. Moreover, an entrepreneur who has not fulfilled his obligations is liable regardless of fault. Like legal entities, they are subject to inspections by the tax inspectorate and other regulatory authorities. If a private trader has hired employees, he is obliged to conclude labor contract and pay all taxes and fees in the same way as a commercial legal entity.

The main differences between an individual entrepreneur and a commercial legal entity

Despite the fact that these forms of doing business are quite similar, differences still exist. For example, sole proprietors can use the income from doing business at their own discretion and in full, while a commercial organization can only rely on quarterly dividends.

An individual form of doing business does not imply mandatory accounting, it is enough to maintain a cash book. Also, to register an individual entrepreneur, you do not need start-up capital, it is enough to pay a state duty, and indeed, it is necessary to draw up a much smaller package of documents. To conduct an individual business, it is not at all necessary to open a current account and register the seal of the enterprise, although this is not prohibited, but there are no restrictions on cash payments.

Features of taxation

The activities of both individuals and legal entities are regulated by the same provisions of the Tax Code, therefore, an individual entrepreneur is obliged to register as a taxpayer and independently transfer all due deductions. However, an individual entrepreneur is a small business entity, and therefore he has the opportunity to choose a system of taxation and reporting. And the choice is quite wide. Most often, one of three systems is used:

the usual system of taxation (OSNO) - provides for the payment of VAT, personal income tax. persons and unified social tax;
simplified system (STS) - in the event that an individual entrepreneur does not have employees and carries out only one type of entrepreneurial activity;
single tax on imputed income (UTII) - the activity itself is taxed, and not the business entity, it is charged based on the provisions of local legislation and within the list regulated by Article 346.26 of the Tax Code.

Classification

As you know, everything that is not prohibited by law is allowed. Therefore, an individual entrepreneur can do anything, if it does not contradict the law. Depending on the type of occupation, types of individual entrepreneurship can be divided into:

Licensed: requiring special permission from the relevant authorities - a license that is issued by the competent authority after fulfillment certain requirements. These include, for example, detective, pharmaceutical, geodetic, cartographic activities and much more.
Requiring special approval - a license is not required to carry out such activities, but it must be agreed, for example, with sanitary service or obtain permission from the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

In addition, there is a list of activities that individual entrepreneurship completely excludes, for example, production, disposal and repair military equipment and weapons, pyrotechnic products, manufacturing medicines, alcoholic products, sale of electricity and more.

Activities that can be carried out immediately after registration of an IP certificate are classified as ordinary (not licensed). The main criterion for referring to this category is the absence of harm from it and a threat to the life and health of citizens.

IP benefits

Exploring and analyzing individual entrepreneurship, there are several undeniable advantages:

high adaptation to local market conditions;
wide opportunities in the implementation of business ideas;
rather low costs for management and business activities;
simplified accounting;
concentration of profits in one hand;
more high speed capital turnover;
the ability to operate with relatively small capital;
high ability to make changes in goods and services, adapting to market needs.

Well, without flaws

Of course, like any other type of business, individual entrepreneurship cannot consist only of advantages. The disadvantages of this form of doing business include:

high level of risk, unstable position in the market;
high probability of insufficient competence of the management;
difficulties in attracting third-party funds, possible complications in obtaining a loan;
increased risks when concluding contracts;
dependence on more large companies, low competitiveness;
in case of failure, property liability extends, among other things, to the personal property of the owner.

However, the individual form of entrepreneurship is becoming more and more popular and in demand.

The question, what is IP, is incorrect. IP is not what, but who. This is an individual entrepreneur - a person who, according to the law:

At his own risk carries out the economic activity chosen by him in order to benefit from it;
Registered in this capacity in government agencies;
Did not form a legal entity.

It is difficult to argue with the first point, but there are nuances with the second and third.

So, you are tired of "working for your uncle" - a picky boss, strict discipline. You have decided to become your own master. And they have already filed an application. Well, let's see what it threatens you with.

Do I need to register an IP?

It depends on who is studying what. If you are a programmer, designer, artist, copywriter, journalist, accountant, repairing apartments, cars, computer equipment, a taxi driver with your own car, renting out your home, you don’t have to think much about it. Your work is not related to the need to rent or buy an office, workshop, other real estate and land, a place in the market or in a store and sign contracts with enterprises and organizations, you are unlikely to be identified by the police or the tax office. There are now millions of "unrecorded" entrepreneurs.

But remember, now you are your own serf. After leaving your official job and choosing the path of an entrepreneur without registration, you have lost:

The right to rest - now you will work not from eight to five with two days off, but all your free time from sleep;
Public health care and sick pay;
Paid vacation - you can leave, of course, any day, but they won’t give you business;
A retirement pension in old age, if you have not yet earned it;
The ability to apply to law enforcement agencies and the court if clients deceive you;
The right to travel abroad - many countries require proof of income to obtain a visa;
The possibility of obtaining a loan in many banks for the same reason;
If the police detain you for any reason, the first question will also be: what do you live on? And when it turns out that the income from unregistered business activities, the court has the right to withdraw from you these incomes (if it proves), objects of activity, force you to pay tax and bring you to administrative and even criminal liability.

Many, going into illegal business, simultaneously become registered with the labor exchange. At the same time, they receive unemployment benefits in addition to earnings for a year, and they can be treated free of charge in a state hospital. logical exit. But ... it is he who is described in the article of the Criminal Code "Fraud".

Convinced, I'll go to register

Well, you managed to do it quite easily. Most likely in one day. Today it is generally possible through the Internet. Let's find out how much your position has changed.

State registration as an individual entrepreneur has somewhat improved your position in paragraphs 2), 4) - if you pay insurance premiums in good faith, you will earn pension and sick leave. But, since no one knows how much an individual entrepreneur actually earns, insurance premiums are calculated for you on the assumption that you receive the minimum salary established by law in a given region. The amount of pensions and sick leave will be corresponding.

And in paragraphs 6), 7), 8) there are very significant changes. The police now have no complaints against you, the documents are in order. Entrepreneurs get visas even better than employees. Loans are provided by many banks. Now you can enter into contracts with organizations, rent real estate and equipment, open your own store, workshop, atelier or cafe, hire workers. You can freely dispose of your earnings, count the tax according to the simplified system - only 9% on dividends, and if you switched to UTII - generally keep records of income only for yourself. Almost no bureaucracy.

But there is one but. Do you know why in America PEs (private entrepreneurs) are even billionaires, owners of newspapers, steamships and factories, while in our country IP is mostly small, even micro-business? And everything that is larger -. The fact is that individual entrepreneurs are responsible for the debts formed in the course of doing business with all personal property. And the members of the legal persons in such a case lose only their right to it.

That is, if the IP fails, its property will be described by bailiffs. Alas, this is the fate of so many small businesses. However, there is a lifeline. Article 446 of the Code of Civil Procedure prohibits the confiscation of the only housing, if it is not bought on a mortgage, personal plot, stock of provisions, ordinary household items and those used for professional activities, some others. A car and a garage, a second apartment, luxury items, money in bank accounts will inevitably be taken away. If they are issued to you, of course, they will be found.

An individual entrepreneur does not have the right to obtain licenses for the sale of potent poisons, certain medicines, and alcoholic beverages. Many paying companies do not want the services of an individual entrepreneur because of the conflict of taxation systems, leading to the fact that the "big" company actually pays this tax for the entrepreneur. An individual entrepreneur has the right to switch to, but then he will pay more to the treasury, he will be forced to keep double accounting, which greatly complicates the workflow. Without special education You can’t handle such accounting yourself, you will have to spend money on an accountant.

An individual entrepreneur cannot conduct joint business with anyone. He must conduct all business personally; he has no right to hire a director even during his vacation. That is, he cannot rest or be treated, leave without stopping the company. All documents for him to sign will have to be brought to the clinic. An individual entrepreneur is obliged to make payments to social funds constantly, even if there was no activity at all in the reporting year or the entrepreneur was seriously disabled and could not do it physically. In 2011, the amount of such a payment for an entrepreneur amounted to 16,160 rubles. A little, if they are, where to get. And if temporarily there is no place?

For individual entrepreneurs, issuing an invitation to enter the Russian Federation for their foreign partners is much longer and more difficult than it is for legal entities. faces. Much longer for individual entrepreneurs and the procedure for obtaining entry into the border zone.

Or maybe it's better to become a society?

By virtue of what has been said, it is clear: a person should register as an individual entrepreneur if he takes only the first steps in entrepreneurship, does not understand anything in accounting, has chosen a simple, completely non-risk type of business. And in the future, he is not going to expand his business. As soon as a little experience is gained, it is necessary to close the IP activity, in return (LLC). Although it was better to do it right away.

In this society, you, strange as it sounds, can be the only participant. In the CIS countries, unlike most of the rest of the world, the law allows this. That is, the same entrepreneur, but with much greater opportunities and, at the same time, with sharply limited liability compared to individual entrepreneurs. You can appoint yourself a CEO or, conversely, hire another person for this position and go on vacation to a resort. If necessary, invite partners-participants to the society. You will transfer to yourself the amounts of payments to insurance funds sufficient to accrue the maximum pension in the future and solid payments for sick leave. Straw laying does not interfere.

When the company's property is sold, you will lose it, but nothing more. The property of the company can be completely legally removed from its balance sheet in anticipation of the collapse. Instead or in parallel, open as many new companies as you like. Papers, however, will have to be written a little more, but not by much. But this is a separate conversation.

New entrepreneur or already experienced and long time a working businessman always experiences legal information hunger. If he is not a lawyer by profession, and does not have legal practice, then it is quite difficult for him to understand the whole variety of legislative acts that regulate the position of individual entrepreneurs and business activities.

The federal law on individual entrepreneurs, the adoption of which was discussed at one time, was never adopted, and there is currently no single normative act that combines all the norms aimed at regulating the activities of entrepreneurs in Russia.

In the proposed article, we will try to fill this gap and combine everything that the law says about, its status and the activities that it conducts.

General rules governing the activities of individual entrepreneurs

One way or another, all normative acts that are published in the Russian Federation must comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. At the same time, if some issue is not regulated by law or other document, then you can always turn to the Basic Law of the country and find the answer there. This, in particular, is used by some entrepreneurs, who appeal against various normative and individual prescriptions, as being inconsistent with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in the courts, including the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.

The right to engage in entrepreneurial activity is guaranteed to every citizen by Article 34 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It allows everyone to use their abilities and property available to them to engage in entrepreneurial activities. The direct use of this article allows you to find arguments when challenging the regulations and orders of state bodies, which either directly or indirectly impede the implementation of entrepreneurial activities. At the same time, it is not so important that this applies to one specific citizen or an indefinite circle of persons whose rights and legitimate interests have been violated.

Deciphering the concept of entrepreneurial activity is contained in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This normative act, according to many legal experts, is the second most important law in our country. Entrepreneurial activity, according to Article 2 of the Code, is characterized by the following features:

this activity is carried out independently, on the basis of the autonomous will of the subject,
it is carried out at your own risk, and all for the results of the activity lies with the person carrying it out,
focus of activity - making a profit, and systematic,
sources of such profit - the use of property, the sale of manufactured or resold goods, the provision (performance) of services (works),
is carried out with the obligatory registration of business entities.

The same norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation apply to the entrepreneurial activities of individuals as to the activities of commercial organizations - legal entities.

At the same time, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation established direct condition, the fulfillment of which is necessary for a citizen to be able to engage in entrepreneurial activity. Article 23 of the Code establishes that an individual has the right to engage in entrepreneurship only from the moment of his state registration. Moreover, if a citizen has not carried out the registration prescribed by law, but, nevertheless, is engaged in such activities, then these rules will also apply to him.

Registration of citizens as entrepreneurs is carried out in accordance with the Law "On State Registration of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs". The law establishes that the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs is maintained to collect information about all citizens conducting entrepreneurial activities.

You can read more about what individual entrepreneurs now receive instead of a registration certificate at the link:

The state body authorized to register individual entrepreneurs is the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation. It is to the territorial body of the tax inspectorate at the place of his permanent residence that a citizen needs to apply if he wants to register as an entrepreneur.

Tax issues of IP activities

It is not by chance that the functions of registering individual entrepreneurs and maintaining the register of entrepreneurs were transferred to the tax service. Registration of individuals as entrepreneurs has as its key goal, among other things, the full, correct and timely collection of taxes and fees. Unlike other aspects of entrepreneurial activity, almost all issues of taxation of entrepreneurs are collected in one regulatory act - the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. The exception here is the rates and other parameters of regional and local taxes.

To select the taxation system that is most suitable for doing business, a citizen must refer to the second part of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. It is here, knowing what the future entrepreneur will do, that one can decide on the tax regime. The general taxation regime, the simplified system and the main parameters of UTII are spelled out in the second chapter of the code. For information on regional and local fees, please refer to the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and resolutions of local governments.

Please note: An application for the transition to a simplified taxation system can be submitted simultaneously with an application for registration of a citizen as an entrepreneur. And for this, accordingly, it is necessary, using the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, to determine the taxation system used.

Licensing of IP activities

Another normative act that a citizen should familiarize himself with before starting his activity as an individual entrepreneur is the law “On Licensing Certain Types of Activities”.

Please note: Some of the requirements for persons wishing to engage in licensed activities are difficult to meet. An entrepreneur should familiarize himself in advance with what requirements are imposed by law and assess his capabilities.

The law establishes a list of activities for the implementation of which entrepreneurs, as well as legal entities, state registration alone will not be enough. In order to engage in such activities, a permit (license) from a specially authorized body is required.

The law specifies where to apply if an entrepreneur wishes to carry out licensed activities and in what order. The conditions for issuing and reissuing licenses and the terms during which licenses are valid are also determined.

Checks of individual entrepreneurs

An important moment in the activity of an entrepreneur is the situation when state and municipal control and supervisory authorities show interest in his activities. The legitimate interest of control and supervisory authorities in relation to individual entrepreneurs is manifested in the conduct of control measures - inspections. So that in the process of their implementation there would be no abuse on the part of controllers, a law was adopted on the implementation of control. The law contains the basic rules for conducting inspections, and an entrepreneur should be familiar with its main provisions.

Thus, in particular, the law establishes that there are two types of inspections: scheduled and extraordinary. As you can see from the name of the first, their holding is planned in advance. What an informed entrepreneur cannot but know.

Scheduled inspections should take place no more than once every three calendar years. The law establishes that before the beginning of the year in which the supervisory authority plans to conduct an inspection in relation to a particular entrepreneur, it must include data about him (on the planned inspection) in the annual plan of inspection activities. The plan prepared in this way is sent by the control body to the prosecution authorities. And already, accordingly, after checking this plan by the employees of the prosecutor's office, the plan of verification measures becomes part of the general (consolidated) plan of verifications for the year.

Practical value, this moment, for businessmen has the following. Before the beginning of the new year, all summary plans for inspections for the coming year must be posted on the Internet. An individual entrepreneur can get information about whether a scheduled inspection is planned for him, and when this will happen, both on the website of the subject of the federation in which he operates, and on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. Search on the website of the Prosecutor General's Office is carried out by PSRN, his last name, first name and patronymic, or by the name of the organization.

Unscheduled inspections are coordinated with the prosecutor's office, as a rule, on an individual basis. The entrepreneur learns about them, usually shortly before the start of the audit.

Is a law on individual entrepreneurs required in modern conditions?

Analysis legislative framework, existing for 2019, and the main concepts of the development of civil legislation allow us to conclude that individual entrepreneurs operating without forming a legal entity are practically equated with legal entities in their rights and obligations. Main differences between these two entities economic activity lie in their civil status. In particular, the ability of a person, as a founder of a business with the formation of a legal entity, not to be liable for his debts in the event of negative results thereof. In addition, it should be borne in mind that, as a rule, the business of individual entrepreneurs is small or medium, which also determines the features of its regulation.

But, since, in general, individual entrepreneurs are equated with other business entities, then, according to most experts, a separate law on individual entrepreneurs, in principle, is not required.

Expert opinion

Maria Bogdanova

More than 6 years experience. Specialization: contract law, labor law, social security law, intellectual property law, civil procedure, protection of the rights of minors, legal psychology

Federal Law No. 480-FZ of December 25, 2018 extended the moratorium on scheduled inspections of small businesses from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020. For these purposes, a new article 26.2 was introduced into the Federal Law of December 26, 2008 No. 294-FZ “On the Protection of the Rights of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs in the Implementation of State Control (Supervision) and Municipal Control”.

It is envisaged that from 2019, scheduled inspections will not be carried out in relation to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs that are included in Single register small businesses. All SMEs are included in a special register on the website of the Federal Tax Service.

It is impossible not to mention another innovation of legislators since the beginning of 2019 - the introduction of a special regime that implies the payment of a tax on professional income (PIT) by both entrepreneurs and citizens whose independent work does not need registration of IP (tutors, nannies). For this purpose, the law “On conducting an experiment ...” dated November 27, 2018 No. 422-FZ was adopted (hereinafter - Law No. 422-FZ).

For the time being, only a few subjects of the Russian Federation will apply the new taxation system:

Tatarstan;
Kaluga region;
Moscow region;
Moscow.

If this experiment is successful, then new law for individual entrepreneurs and citizens who are not, it will be extended to the entire territory of the Russian Federation. The trial period is set to 2028. The purpose of introducing a new tax is to take into account the self-employed population, to withdraw it from the shadow business. For individual entrepreneurs who have become NAP payers, its rate will be 6%.

IP is a concept that has long become an integral part of our lives. IP is a form of registration of small and medium-sized businesses and has a number of its own characteristics. Almost every successful entrepreneur, regardless of whether he is the owner of an LLC or another form of business organization, started with obtaining the status of an individual entrepreneur.

IP - deciphering the concept

The abbreviation IP stands for individual entrepreneur and is the organizational and legal form of doing business. Any individual entrepreneur, first of all, is considered a small business entity.

Today, the definition of an individual entrepreneur includes any officially registered natural person who provides his services without forming any commercial structure. Previously, individual entrepreneurs were also called private entrepreneurs. This status is acquired only after registration with the tax authorities.

Who can become an IP?

The law clearly states who can register themselves in the status of an individual enterprise. These include:

adult capable persons, then if persons who have reached the age of 18;
a capable minor upon reaching the age of 16, but strictly with the consent of the parents or guardians, or in the case of marriage;
citizens residing on the territory of the Russian Federation at the time of registration. It does not matter whether they are citizens of the Russian Federation or another state.

Municipal and state employees cannot register as individual entrepreneurs.

It is worth noting that it is recommended for novice entrepreneurs to choose the form of registration for the provision of services as an individual entrepreneur. In this situation, they will be able to try themselves as an entrepreneur, evaluate their possibilities and then, if necessary, choose another form of doing business, for example, an LLC.

Activities of an individual entrepreneur

What facts may indicate that a person is conducting entrepreneurial activities?

Manufacture and subsequent sale of certain things in order to make a profit.
Acquisition of property and its subsequent sale.
Maintaining records of business transactions related to the conclusion of transactions for the sale of services or goods.
The presence of stable relationships between buyers and sellers in a particular field of activity.

Note that when conducting these types of activities in the absence of registration with the tax authorities, an individual is not an individual entrepreneur.

Financial Features

IP has a number of its features in the financial sector.

Having registered with the tax office in the form of an individual entrepreneur, a person is obliged to pay a fixed payment to the pension fund. At the same time, on the basis of these deductions, the future pension is formed, the length of service goes.
Any woman who has issued an IP has the right to receive child care allowance up to 1.5 years in the event of the birth of a child.
A woman who has issued an IP, in the presence of voluntary insurance contributions to social insurance, is also entitled to maternity benefits.
In the presence of voluntary contributions to the Social Insurance Fund, any individual entrepreneur has the right to receive hospital payments. But at the same time, the amount of payments is calculated based on the minimum wages.
Another feature is that IP cannot. If necessary, an individual entrepreneur can only suspend its activities for a while, but still have to pay taxes.

Pros and cons of IP as a form of doing business

Like any type of activity, registration in the form of an IP has its positive and negative sides.

pros

Easy to register IP . So, for registration, you must provide a photocopy and original of your passport, an application for registration and a receipt for payment of state duty.
No mandatory revenue reporting . Unlike the owner of an LLC, an individual entrepreneur is not required to keep a pile of documentation. A thin barn book is enough.
Freedom from property tax used in business activities.
Less taxes compared to other forms of organization of activity.
Less fines . By analogy with taxes, an individual entrepreneur in case of violation pays a smaller amount of a fine than the owner of an LLC.
Less frequently audited by the tax what the statistics say.
Easy to close . If desired, IP can be closed within a few days. How to close an IP -.
No registration required legal address . When registering, the address of registration of the individual himself is indicated.
Sole Proprietorship of Income . The money earned, minus taxes, the entrepreneur can use for their own purposes.

The activity of the individual entrepreneur is included in the length of service, which ultimately affects the amount of the pension.

Minuses

It has IP and a number of its shortcomings, which include:

The impossibility of selling or buying IP . This is due to the fact that in fact IP is, in fact, individual.
An individual entrepreneur is liable for his obligations with property . That is, in the case of debts on loans or the unprofitability of the business, the counterparties will have to cover the losses caused to third parties - banks, out of their own pocket. Otherwise, the court has the right to oblige you to sell part of the property to pay off debts.
Ban on certain activities . An individual entrepreneur does not have the right to trade in alcoholic products, open banks, etc. In addition, when conducting activities that require a license, an individual entrepreneur can be fined or even liquidated.
Lack of confidence on the part of legal entities. Far from always legal entities seeking to enter into contracts with individual entrepreneurs. This is often due to the peculiarities of taxation.
Fixed contributions to the PF regardless of the presence or absence of activity. Even if you have not received a profit for several months, you will have to pay taxes.
It is not possible to have multiple co-founders at the registration level. A sole proprietorship can only be registered for one person.
The sole proprietor must run the business on his own , it cannot have substitutes or CEOs. Only IP has the right to sign. Even in the case of a serious illness, he will have to make a decision.

Video: Feedback on IP after a year of work

In the following video, you can hear a review about the IP - why it was opened, what features, what results after a year of work:

IP - is the simplest and fastest form of registration of a small business. Despite the fact that the IP status still implies some restrictions, it is ideal option to start a business, especially if you do not have the necessary skills to run a business.

An activity that regularly makes a profit is considered entrepreneurial. If you engage in such activities without registering an individual entrepreneur and not paying taxes, sooner or later you will have to bear responsibility to the state.

Responsibility is provided for in Article 14.1 of the Administrative Code. The fine for trading without registration ranges from 500 rubles to 2,000 rubles, and if the activity was subject to licensing or a special permit was required - from 2,000 to 2,500 rubles with confiscation of tools and production products.

Article 116 of the Tax Code provides for another fine for unregistered entrepreneurial activity - 10% of proven income, but not less than 40 thousand rubles.

In addition, the tax office can charge taxes and penalties on the amount of income that can be proved.

Another reason that becomes a decisive factor for many is the blocking of bank accounts. Many unregistered entrepreneurs accept money from customers to an individual's card account in a bank. Since 2017, banks have been actively blocking accounts for suspicious transactions on the basis of Law 115-FZ "On countering the legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism."

By registering as an individual entrepreneur, you will be able to accept money from customers to a current account on legal grounds and not be afraid of fines from the tax inspectorate.

IP registration

The procedure is quite simple, unlike the registration of an LLC.

In order to register as an individual entrepreneur, you need to send a package of documents to the tax office:

1. Application in the form P21001.

2. Receipt of payment of the state duty (800 rubles). Since 2019, when submitting registration documents to in electronic format duty will not need to be paid.

3. A copy of the passport.

4. Application for the application of the simplified taxation system (if it is planned to apply this regime).

A package of documents can be taken to the tax office in person, sent through a representative, sent by mail or sent electronically. You can send documents in electronic form directly through the website of the Federal Tax Service, but for this you first need to issue an electronic signature (about 1,000 rubles).

The tax office will register you as an individual entrepreneur within 3 working days after receiving the documents. If there are grounds for refusal or errors in the application, you will be denied registration, and you will have to resubmit the documents. You will have three months to resubmit the documents without paying the state fee again. If you do not meet this deadline or make a mistake again, you will have to pay a fee.

Ours will help you correctly draw up documents for registering an IP.

Where can an individual do business?

Anywhere in Russia, regardless of where it is registered.

An individual entrepreneur is always registered at the place of registration and is registered with the local tax office, to which the address of his registration belongs. He will have to pay taxes and submit reports to this inspection, regardless of where he conducts his business.

For example, if you are registered in St. Petersburg, and your business is in Kazan and Perm, you will pay and report to the St. Petersburg IFTS.

The exception is business on UTII and PSN. These are special taxation regimes, which we will discuss below. If an individual entrepreneur applies these special regimes, he must pay and report to the tax office at the place of business (with some exceptions).

What taxes does a sole proprietor pay?

It all depends on what system of taxation the individual entrepreneur has chosen.

For small businesses in Russia, there are 3 preferential taxation regimes that allow individual entrepreneurs to reduce the tax burden and reporting volume.

USN - simplified taxation system

The most popular mode among individual entrepreneurs, very simple and profitable.

By choosing this mode, you will pay taxes according to one of the options:

6% of all income received;
. 15% from the difference between income and expenses;

and at the same time you will be exempt from personal income tax, property tax (which you use in business) and VAT.

The object of taxation - "Income" or "Income minus expenses" you choose yourself and indicate this in the application. It will be possible to change the object only from the beginning of the next calendar year.

Reporting on the simplified tax system is only one declaration per year.

To start applying the simplified tax system from the first day of work, you need to send a notification to the IFTS along with registration documents or within 30 days after registration. Do not meet this deadline - you can switch to the simplified tax system only from the beginning of the next calendar year.

We described in detail what a simplified taxation system is, on what conditions it can be applied by individual entrepreneurs, how to pay tax and report.

UTII - single tax on imputed income

It also provides for the exemption of individual entrepreneurs from personal income tax, property tax and VAT.

It can only be used for certain types of activities and only in those regions where this regime has been introduced by local authorities. To find out if UTII is valid in your region, contact the local IFTS.

By choosing this mode, you will pay taxes not on actual income, but on estimated income. For each type of activity, the Tax Code prescribes a basic profitability, on the basis of which the tax is calculated, taking into account coefficients and physical indicators. How much you actually earn from this activity - more or less - the tax office will not be interested.

UTII reports must be submitted every quarter.

An individual entrepreneur can transfer a business to UTII at any time. To do this, you need to send an application to the tax office that refers to the address of the business (or to the IFTS at the place of residence for some types of activities).

OSNO - general system of taxation

If you do not switch to any of the listed special modes, you will automatically be listed on the OSNO - common system taxation. This means that you will be required to pay personal income tax on business income, property tax and VAT.

All this involves a lot of work on accounting and reporting, so before deciding to work for OSNO, make sure that you cannot use one of the special modes, or that OSNO is more profitable for you.

Other IP taxes

All other taxes (transport, land, water, etc.) you will have to pay only if there is an appropriate object of taxation. It does not depend on the applicable tax regime.

IP insurance premiums

In addition to taxes, all individual entrepreneurs are required to pay insurance premiums for two types of insurance: pension and medical.

Contributions consist of two parts: fixed and additional.

Fixed insurance premiums

This is a fixed amount that each registered entrepreneur must pay to the IFTS during the year.

In 2018, this is 32,385 rubles, of which 26,545 rubles are for pension insurance and 5,840 for medical insurance. The amount is indexed every year.

This amount does not depend on the income of the entrepreneur, or on the applicable taxation regime, or on whether the entrepreneur conducts business at all or simply has the status of an individual entrepreneur. From January 1 to December 31 of the reporting year, a fixed amount must be paid, in parts or in full.

You can reduce the fixed payment only in one case - if the entrepreneur was in the status of an individual entrepreneur for an incomplete year, that is, he either registered an individual entrepreneur in the current year, or vice versa, deregistered. Then fixed insurance premiums are calculated in proportion to the time that the businessman was in the status of an individual entrepreneur.

The Tax Code provides for only a few cases when an individual entrepreneur may not pay fixed contributions if he did not conduct business. This is caring for a child up to one and a half years old or a disabled person, military service, departure to another country with a spouse who is a diplomat or to a remote area with a spouse who is a military man.

Additional insurance premiums

This part of the contribution is dependent on income. If an individual entrepreneur earned more than 300 thousand rubles in a year, he must additionally transfer 1% of the excess amount to the budget. For this, 6 months are given after the end of the reporting year.

Reducing tax on insurance premiums

Due to insurance premiums, you can reduce tax payments: simplified tax system, UTII, ESHN or personal income tax. Entrepreneurs who earn up to 500 thousand rubles can thus not pay tax at all, because. it will be covered by insurance premiums.

The procedure for reducing taxes on contributions depends on the applicable taxation regime and on whether the entrepreneur has employees.

How to withdraw profit

Entrepreneurs, unlike organizations, have a great advantage. They can freely withdraw profits at any time and in any amount. All the money that is on the account of the individual entrepreneur or at the cash desk belongs to him, he does not have to coordinate their withdrawal from the account with anyone and pay additional taxes on the withdrawn amounts.

But be careful, because according to the law 115-FZ "On counteracting the legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime and the financing of terrorism", a bank can block a current account if the operation seems suspicious to them, this is now very common. Do not withdraw large amounts without urgent need, give clarifications to banks in time, and, if possible, pay for purchases with a corporate card.

IP liquidation

This procedure is as simple as registration. You just need to pay off tax debts, submit missing reports, pay the state duty and fill out an application to close the IP.

If there are employees, you must first dismiss them and deregister in the funds.

What else do entrepreneurs need to know?

1. According to the law, individual entrepreneurs have the right not to keep accounting records, provided that they keep tax records.

2. Individual entrepreneurs are released from the obligation to observe cash discipline.

4. For non-compliance with the terms of payments to the budget, submission of reports and other violations, individual entrepreneurs face fines. We have collected the most common violations in the article.

5. In addition to tax reporting, entrepreneurs sometimes have to submit if they fall into the annual sample of Rosstat.

Online accounting will help you with accounting, taxes and reports. Feel free to open an IP and register in our service. With us, you will do everything right.