Purchasing a Microsoft subscription upon installation. How to account for the costs of an electronic journal

How to reflect in accounting the costs associated with subscriptions to electronic periodicals? Will the costs of an electronic journal reduce the tax base under the simplified tax system? The answers are in the article.

Question: How to take into account the costs of an electronic journal in accounting and tax accounting if the invoice arrived on July 31, 2014, and the journal period is from 01/01/2015 to 06/30/2015 under the simplified tax system?

In the second case, for accounting purposes, intangible assets received for use are accounted for on an off-balance sheet account in the valuation established by the agreement (clause 39 of PBU 14/2007). The chart of accounts does not provide for a separate off-balance sheet account for accounting for intangible assets received for use. Therefore, the organization needs to independently open an off-balance sheet account and consolidate this in its accounting policies for accounting purposes. For example, account 012 “Electronic subscription publications”.

The one-time payment for the granted right to use the electronic publication should be reflected in accounting in account 97 “Deferred expenses” and included monthly in expenses for ordinary activities during the validity period of the license agreement (paragraph 2, clause 39 of PBU 14/2007).

In accounting, reflect the prepayment by posting:

Debit 60 Credit 51
- the cost of the right to use the electronic publication has been paid.

After gaining access to the electronic publication, make notes:

Debit 012 " Electronic subscription publications »
- the cost of the right to access the electronic publication is taken into account;

Debit 97 Credit 60
- the cost of the right to access the electronic publication is charged to deferred expenses.*

Determine the mechanism for transferring future expenses to cost yourself. The following expenses can be written off:
- evenly;
- in proportion to income received from sales;
- in other ways.

Determine the period for writing off expenses by the period for which access to the electronic subscription publication was provided. The beginning of this period (the beginning of the period of use of the subscription publication) is determined by the format of the software provided. For example, for the Internet version - from the moment the code is activated.

The period of use of the subscription publication is specified in the contract.

The established procedure for writing off expenses of future periods should be fixed in the accounting policy for accounting purposes (clause, PBU 1/2008, letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 12, 2012 No. 07-02-06/5).

Monthly during the period of access to the electronic subscription publication, make the following entries:

Debit 26 (44) Credit 97
- part of the payment for using the electronic publication has been written off*.

This procedure is based on the provisions of the Instructions for the chart of accounts (accounts, PBU 10/99.

Elena Popova, State Advisor to the Tax Service of the Russian Federation, 1st rank

2.Article : Question: Our company ordered and paid the cost of a subscription to an electronic magazine. Will these costs reduce the tax base under the simplified tax system?

A.P. Pryanikova, accountant

Answer: The answer to this question depends on whether you are ready to defend your position in court.

The fact is that the “simplified” can take into account the costs that are indicated in paragraph 1 of Art. 346.16 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. However, this list of expenses is closed. And expenses for subscription to electronic publications are not mentioned in it.

At the same time, some judges believe that such costs can be taken into account in expenses under the simplified tax system as material expenses on the basis of paragraphs. 5 clause 1 art. 346.16 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This decision, in particular, was made by the FAS of the West Siberian District in Resolution dated January 22, 2007 N F04-8976/2006(29957-A67-40) and the FAS Volga District in Resolution dated March 29, 2006 in case No. A65-25615/05- CA2-9. The arbitrators justify their decision by the fact that periodicals are necessary for the company's production activities.

Thus, if your organization includes the cost of an electronic subscription in its expenses, it may have to prove the legitimacy of its position in court.*

Magazine "Simplified", 2012, N 5

" № 20/2011

Question: The organization applies the simplified tax system with the object “income minus expenses”. Is it possible to take into account the cost of a subscription to a legal magazine as expenses under the simplified tax system? O.E. Khamadeeva, LLC NPP Soyuzgaztekhnologiya, Tyumen

Answer: As you know, the list of expenses taken into account during the “simplification” is closed. Taxpayers applying the simplified tax system with the object of taxation “income reduced by expenses” can only take into account those expenses that are listed in paragraph 1 of Article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. And subscription to periodicals is not mentioned in it.

Therefore, according to the Russian Ministry of Finance, expenses for subscriptions to newspapers, magazines and other periodicals cannot be taken into account under the simplified tax system, even if they are used in the main activities of the organization. We know of one court decision in which the court supported this point of view.

But, according to some experts, there are several options for accounting for subscription costs in expenses under the simplified tax system.

Firstly, subscription costs can be taken into account in accordance with subparagraph 18 of paragraph 1 of Article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation as expenses for communication services, since according to the All-Russian Classifier of Types of Economic Activities (OKVED), subscription services to periodicals are classified as other postal services activities (code 64.11.14). But the financial department does not share this point of view, so it will most likely have to be defended in court. It is difficult to predict how the court will decide the case.

Another possible option is to take into account the costs of purchasing periodicals as part of material costs. However, organizations that need subscription publications to carry out their main activities, for example, companies providing consulting or legal services and purchasing specialized publications, have the greatest chance of defending such expenses. But judicial practice is contradictory: there is an example where the court agreed with the tax authorities and refused to allow taxpayers to recognize expenses for periodicals.

In our opinion, the third option for cost accounting seems to be the most realistic. An employee of an organization can subscribe to himself, and the employer will pay him compensation for the use of personal property (printed publications). Then the compensation amounts can be qualified as labor costs and included in expenses.

But we would like to immediately note that this option also has a weak point. According to the Russian Ministry of Finance, monetary compensation for the use of property for official purposes does not relate to labor costs, but to other expenses associated with production and sales (subclause 49 of clause 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), the list of which is open to organizations that are payers income tax. And with “simplified”, as already mentioned, the list of expenses is limited and there are no “just other” expenses in it.

If an organization risks taking subscription costs into account as labor costs, then it is necessary to try to protect itself by issuing compensation for the use of property in accordance with Article 188 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and the requirements imposed by tax authorities for this type of expense.

The said article of the Labor Code states that when an employee uses personal property with the consent or knowledge of the employer and in his interests, the employee is paid compensation for the use, wear and tear (depreciation) of tools, personal vehicles, equipment, other technical means and materials belonging to the employee, as well as expenses associated with their use are reimbursed. The amount of reimbursement of expenses is determined by agreement of the parties to the employment contract, expressed in writing.

This means that when applying for compensation, the following conditions must be met.

Since the organization is going to include the costs of paying compensation as labor costs, a written agreement between the employee and the employer must be formalized as an additional agreement to the employment contract (or immediately included in the terms of the employment contract when hiring). The parties determine the amount, procedure for compensation of expenses, and most importantly, what kind of property the employee will use, that is, a list of periodicals to which he will subscribe.

Since we are talking about personal property, that is, owned by the employee, it would be useful to have documents confirming the employee’s payment for subscriptions to publications. The same documents will also be useful to justify the amount of compensation paid to the employee. Expenses taken into account under the simplified tax system must be economically justified. The same requirements for exempting the amount of compensation from “salary taxes” are put forward by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia. As these departments explain, compensation for the use of an employee’s personal property is not subject to insurance premiums and personal income tax in the amounts specified in the agreement of the parties. In this case, the amount of reimbursement of expenses must correspond to the economically justified costs associated with the actual use of the said property for the purposes of work. That is, the organization is obliged to have copies of documents - both confirming the employee’s ownership of the property used, and confirming the expenses incurred by him when using this property for work purposes.

Article 188 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for the payment of compensation for the use employee personal property. It follows from this that the employee to whom compensation is paid should personally use his property in the performance of his work duties. Accordingly, the periodicals ordered must be necessary for this particular employee to perform his job duties. Therefore, it is advisable to write in the employee’s job description or in the employment contract about the obligation to analyze specialized periodicals. For example, an accountant's job responsibilities may include analyzing accounting media and informing the accounting department about the procedure for applying the law, including existing arbitration practice.

The company on the simplified tax system is engaged in the sale of upholstered furniture by order. Can an organization include as expenses: bank services for maintaining an account and receiving trading proceeds, installation services for the Bank-Client system, payment for access to the Simplified electronic magazine, purchase of a printer, laptop, table for a trading place?

Answer

Bank services and client bank

At the same time, some judges believe that such costs can be taken into account in expenses under the simplified tax system as material expenses on the basis of subparagraph 5 of paragraph 1 of Article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This decision, in particular, was made by the FAS of the West Siberian District in resolution dated January 22, 2007 No. F04-8976/2006(29957-A67-40) and the FAS Volga District in resolution dated March 29, 2006 No. A65-25615/05-SA2- 9. The arbitrators justify their decision by the fact that periodicals are necessary for the company's production activities.

Thus, if your organization takes into account the costs of electronic subscriptions in expenses, then it may have to prove the legitimacy of its position in court.

Purchasing office equipment

If the cost of a printer or computer was less than 40,000 rubles, then their full amount is taken into account as material expenses after they are put into operation (letter of the Ministry of Finance dated November 14, 2008 No. 03-11-04/2/169).

If the initial cost of office equipment is 40,000 rubles. or more, and its service life exceeds 12 months, then it is a depreciable fixed asset (

Constant changes in legislation force both the accountant and the director to become familiar with periodicals that publish various regulations and comments on the order of their application. Is it possible to take into account the costs of periodicals when applying a simplified taxation system?

If a “simplified person” applies the object of taxation “income minus expenses,” then he has the right to take into account expenses according to the list of clause 1 of Art. 346.16 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. This list is closed, and subscription costs are not mentioned. However, in our opinion, subscription costs can still be taken into account. Let's consider the available possibilities.

I. PERELETOVA, General Director
CJSC "Consulting Group "Zerkalo"

COMPENSATION OF EMPLOYEE COSTS

In our opinion, the most optimal option today is the following option.

An employee of the organization (for example, an accountant) subscribes in his name. The organization compensates him for these expenses, thus, for the purposes of calculating the single tax, such expenses are taken into account as part of labor costs on the basis of sub-clause. 6 clause 1 and clause 2 art. 346.16 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

It should be borne in mind that in order for an organization to compensate an employee’s expenses, such compensation should be provided for in his employment contract, describing in detail the costs of what literature he will be compensated for. The manager needs to approve by his order a list of literature, the cost of which the organization will compensate the employee. The basis for this is Art. 188 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes the employer’s obligation to pay compensation to the employee in cases of use of the employee’s personal property in the interests of the employer.

Sometimes tax authorities insist on payment of personal income tax and unified social tax (for persons using the simplified taxation system - contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation for compulsory pension insurance) on such compensations.

The tax authorities argue their position by the fact that in sub. 3 p. 1 art. 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which exempts from personal income tax compensation payments related to the taxpayer’s performance of labor duties, we are talking about compensation established by law, and compensation for subscription is not directly established in any regulatory act.

But in this case, the general rule established in Art. 163 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation: the employer must provide the employee with the necessary working conditions. And from Article 164 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation it follows that cash payments to reimburse an employee for the costs of performing his official duties are compensation.

Therefore, if, for example, accounting literature is issued to an accountant, then payment for it falls under compensation to the employee in connection with his work activity. Of course, the amount of such compensation cannot exceed the cost of the subscription. In addition, the employer will need evidence confirming the compensatory nature of payment for the subscription cost (relevant provisions of collective and labor agreements, orders, subscription receipts paid by the employee, etc.).

As for the payment of contributions to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, these payments to the employee are exempt from UST taxation on the basis of sub-clause. 2 p. 1 art. 238 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and, therefore, they are also not subject to pension contributions - since the Unified Social Tax and pension contributions have the same object of taxation and the basis for calculation (see paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the Federal Law of December 15, 2001 N 167-FZ " On compulsory pension insurance in the Russian Federation").

In addition, there are a number of explanatory letters from the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Service on this topic. In particular, the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 03/02/2006 N 03-05-01-04/43 states that monetary compensation for the use of property belonging to an employee is exempt from personal income tax and unified social tax within the limits established by the organization. A similar position was expressed earlier, in a letter from the Department of Tax Administration of Russia in Moscow dated 05.05.2004 N 28-11/30684.

"... compensation paid to employees for the use of personal property... for business purposes within the established norms are, on the basis of subparagraph 2, paragraph 1, article 238 of the Code, amounts not subject to UST taxation, and accordingly are not subject to insurance contributions "(see letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 2, 2006 N 03-05-01-04/43).

That is, those compensations that are paid to an employee on the basis of Art. 188 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (related to the performance of his labor duties) are recognized as not subject to either personal income tax or unified social tax (for “simplified people” - contributions to the Pension Fund). COSTS FOR PURCHASE OF FIXED ASSETS

Some experts in periodicals recommend other ways to account for subscription costs when using the simplified tax system. It is proposed, in particular, to consider such costs as expenses for the purchase of fixed assets.

In accordance with sub. 1 clause 1 and clause 4 art. 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, expenses can include the costs of acquiring fixed assets recognized as depreciable property in accordance with Chapter 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

On the topic of accounting for subscription costs as fixed assets, there is a letter from the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 14, 2005 N 03-03-02-04/1/40. In this letter, Deputy Director of the Department of Tax and Customs Tariff Policy of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Mr. Ivaneev A.I. stated that since the Classification of fixed assets included in depreciation groups, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated January 1, 2002 N 1, does not classify accounting journals as fixed assets, it is impossible to take into account the cost of subscription in expenses that reduce the single tax.

We beg to differ with Mr. Ivaneev.

In paragraph 3 of Art. 4 of Federal Law No. 129-FZ of November 21, 1996 “On Accounting” states that “simplers” keep records of fixed assets according to accounting rules, i.e. according to the requirements of PBU 6/01 “Accounting for fixed assets”, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 30, 2001 N 26n.

As follows from paragraph 18 of this PBU, books and magazines are classified as fixed assets.

In addition, according to the All-Russian Classifier of Fixed Assets OK 013-94, periodicals are included in the fixed assets of organizations and have the following codes:

19 0001112 - Periodicals;

19 0001118 - Types of special scientific and technical literature and documentation.

By the way, the specified Classifier formed the basis of the very Classification of fixed assets included in depreciation groups, to which Mr. Ivaneev refers.

Periodicals were not included in the Classification because their cost per unit is usually less than 10,000 rubles. and on them in accordance with sub. 6 paragraph 2 art. 256 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not accrue depreciation (regardless of cost). They are immediately written off as expenses for income tax purposes.

But at the same time, under the usual taxation system, the cost of periodicals is included in fixed assets (depreciable property), which follows from subparagraph. 6 paragraph 2 art. 256 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (this is depreciable property for which depreciation is not charged).

We don't really like this method because it involves a lot of paperwork.

For each publication received, the taxpayer will have to draw up an act of acceptance and transfer of fixed assets in Form N OS-1, as well as draw up inventory cards in Form N OS-6 or Form N OS-6a (for a group of objects).

In addition, whether we agree with Mr. Ivaneev or not, the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 14, 2005 N 03-03-02-04/1/40 exists, and not taking it into account is more expensive. COSTS OF PAYMENT FOR COMMUNICATION SERVICES

As an option, it is sometimes proposed to take into account subscription costs as expenses for postal services (according to subparagraph 18, paragraph 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

The All-Russian Classifier of Types of Economic Activities (OKVED) allows this to be done, in principle, since it classifies subscriptions to periodicals as communication services (OKVED code 64.11.14).

There are no clarifications from authorized bodies on this topic.

The issue of the legality of taking into account the cost of a subscription as an expense when determining the taxable base for a single tax is constantly being discussed in the media, and the tax authorities, together with the Ministry of Finance, have definitely spoken out on this matter. Therefore, tax risks when attributing subscription expenses as communication services seem to us to be more significant than when accounting for the same expenses as compensation payments to an employee.

How to record subscription costs for electronic newspapers, magazines, online magazines and other electronic periodicals? This question contains many subtleties.

Accounting for subscription costs depends on the type of contract. How to subscribe to electronic publications?

Electronic subscription can be issued:

An agreement for the provision of paid services when providing a copy of a periodical in electronic form (clause 2 of Article 779 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

A license agreement with the transfer of non-exclusive rights to use the electronic resources of the publishing house (Article 1367 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation);

Agreement for the supply of an electronic subscription kit. What may be included in the set of documents? It may include an access code, user manual, etc. This type of agreement can be considered as a mixed agreement, consisting of a purchase and sale agreement, a service agreement and a license agreement. Under such agreements, the rules on agreements are applied for each element of the agreement of which it consists (clause 3 of Article 421 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Let's consider the first case. Payment for a subscription to an electronic publication in accounting is carried out as an advance payment (clause 3 of PBU 10/99).

Postings for subscription:

1.The company paid for a subscription, for example, for six months:

Dt 60 subaccount “Calculations for advances issued” Kt 51
– an advance payment for a subscription to an electronic magazine (newspaper) is transferred from the current account.

2.Then you receive the next issue of the magazine (newspaper) in electronic form. Make the following entries in your accounting:

D-26 (44) K-t 60 subaccount “Settlements with publishing houses”
– receiving a periodical from a supplier and writing off its cost as expenses;

Dt 60 subaccount “Settlements with publishing houses” Dt 60 subaccount “Settlements for advances issued”
This procedure is defined in the Instructions for the chart of accounts (accounts 60, 44, 26), and paragraphs 3, 18 and 19 of PBU 10/99.

Let's consider the second option.

If you enter into a licensing agreement, you acquire periodicals in the form of intangible assets.

Intangible assets are accounted for in an off-balance sheet account at the valuation specified in the agreement (clause 39 of PBU 14/2007). Since the chart of accounts does not provide for a separate off-balance sheet account for accounting for intangible assets received for use, the company can independently open this account and indicate it in the company’s accounting policies. For example, you can open account 013 “Electronic subscription publications”.

Postings for periodicals under a license agreement:

1. An advance payment for the right to use the electronic publication is transferred from the current account to the supplier.
D-t 60 K-t 51

2. After you have received access to the electronic publication, an entry is made in accounting:

Debit 012 “Electronic subscription publications”
– reflects the cost of the right to access the periodical;

3. When purchasing licensed electronic publications, a one-time payment for the right to use this publication is reflected in account 97 “Deferred expenses”, which is closed by monthly writing off the expenses for the magazine as expenses for ordinary activities. The period for writing off expenses is the validity period of the license agreement (paragraph 2, clause 39 of PBU 14/2007).

After you have received the access code to the electronic publication, make the posting
D-t 97 K- 60 - the cost of the periodical is deferred expenses

How are expenses for an electronic journal written off as cost? You can determine this yourself and approve it in your accounting policy (clause 4, 8 of PBU 1/2008, letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia No. 07-02-06/5 dated January 12, 2012). You can write off subscription costs as company expenses in the following ways:

– evenly;
– in proportion to the income received from sales. This method is most often used when several tax regimes are used simultaneously;
- in other ways.

How to write off expenses? When? Expenses for periodicals are written off over the period for which the publication was provided (access period). If you entered into an agreement for six months, then for these six months you need to write off the costs of acquiring intangible assets.

The beginning of the period of use of a subscription publication can be considered the moment of activation of the access code, or another format of the subscription publication specified in the contract. The subscription period must be specified in the contract.

When writing off the costs of an electronic journal, we make a monthly entry:

Dt 26 (44) Kt 97
– part of the payment for the use of the periodical is written off as cost.

This write-off procedure is determined by the provisions of the Instructions for the chart of accounts (accounts 97, 60, 44, 26), paragraphs 18 and 19 of PBU 10/99.

Let's consider the third case.

Since the third case is a cocktail of a license agreement and an agreement for the provision of paid services, the resulting electronic journal is taken into account on an off-balance sheet account in the valuation determined in the agreement (clause 39 of PBU 14/2007). Costs are written off in the same manner as when subscribing to a license agreement.

Tax accounting of subscription costs for companies on OSNO.

Let's consider options when a subscription is necessary for the company's production activities, and is not directly related to the activity.

To reflect subscription costs in tax accounting, they must be economically justified, i.e. prove that these costs are considered justified and necessary for the company’s production activities.
Thus, tax authorities will not doubt, for example, a subscription to the journal “Glavnaya Ledger”, “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” and other legal or accounting literature, because this is due to proper accounting in the company.

It is also legal to subscribe to publications that publish the rules and regulations that the company uses in its activities, as well as management magazines, etc.

It will be difficult to prove the validity of the subscription, for example, if you subscribed to an interior design magazine, explaining that this magazine is necessary in the manager’s office to create the company’s image.

If you subscribe to a sports magazine, while your activity is related to the wholesale trade of cosmetics, then you will not be able to prove the economic justification of such expenses.

If you nevertheless took into account these costs in the cost price and accepted VAT for deduction, then the tax authorities, when checking, will remove these expenses and additionally charge you income tax and VAT, and, accordingly, penalties and fines.

If you subscribe to a newspaper or magazine that is in no way related to the company's activities, it is better to account for it at the expense of net profit.

In accounting, expenses for subscription to an electronic journal are reflected in account 91, subaccount 91-2 “Other expenses” and are not included in the calculation of income tax (clause 1 of article 252, clause 29 of article 270 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

VAT cannot be deducted on these publications either, since this is not related to production needs (clause 2 of Article 171 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If your costs are controversial and cannot be clearly classified as justified and justified, it is better to attribute them to profit. Otherwise, these expenses will need to be defended in court.

Now let's look at subscriptions to periodicals that become necessary in the process of production activities.

Subscriptions to periodicals for calculating income tax are included in other expenses associated with production and sales (clause 49, paragraph 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), we take it into account in the tax base for profit.

How to reflect VAT on subscriptions to periodicals?

We reflect VAT as follows:

Upon receipt of an advance invoice from the publisher, VAT is deducted (if there is any, of course) (clause 12 of article 171, clause 9 of article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

After receiving the number and issued invoice

We deduct VAT only on the number that has already been supplied;
- at the same time, we restore the amount of VAT in the same amount, accepted for deduction as an advance (clause 3, clause 3, article 170 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If your publications are daily, then the invoice for such publications is most often issued per month or quarter.

How to reflect a subscription to periodicals in simplified language.

As for taxpayers on the simplified tax system, subscriptions to periodicals are not included in the list of costs for “simplified taxation” (clause 1 of article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The Ministry of Finance in its letters (Letter N 03-11-06/2/151 dated 08/10/2009, N 03-11-04/2/12 dated 01/17/2007) and some courts also do not consider these costs to be legitimate (FAS Resolution UO N F09-11283/06-S3 dated 01/11/2007).

Tax authorities treat subscriptions differently. If you can 100% prove that your costs are justified, then perhaps they will side with you. Here you need to be guided by paragraphs. 5 p. 1 art. 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which states that if you need special literature for work, information from which you need to produce goods, provide services, perform work, such expenses should be classified as material and can be taken into account when calculating the simplified tax system.

Most often, the courts adhere to precisely this opinion (Resolution of the FAS PO N A65-1419/2008 of October 30, 2008; FAS ZSO N F04-8976/2006(29957-A67-40) of January 22, 2007).

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