If you are going to buy an apartment, then do not forget about the tax deduction that you can get from the state. The law that guaranteed you to receive such a tax refund was issued back in 1998, but due to the fact that it was recently revised with some changes, this topic has become relevant again.
Basic criteria for deduction
The tax deduction for the purchase of an apartment is provided only to an individual, deductions for individual entrepreneurs are not provided. Please note that you can count on a deduction by buying not only an apartment.
Obtaining additional tax benefits is also possible when buying a private house, part of a house or apartment, a room in an apartment, also when acquiring a land plot for construction or with buildings already existing on it. At the same time, housing should be located in Russia, and the buyer should be a citizen of this country.
Features of the tax deduction in 2014
Now let's take a closer look, how to get a tax deduction when buying an apartment, the amount that you can get, as well as features if you purchased a mortgage, and how the deductions for working people and pensioners differ.
Refund of a portion of income tax paid by a buyer is understood as a tax deduction. The maximum amount of income tax that can be returned to you when buying a new apartment is 260 thousand rubles, because, according to the law, you can reduce the tax base by a maximum of 2 million rubles starting in 2008 (previously the limit was 1 million rubles) even if you bought an apartment for 5.3 million.
Therefore, it turns out 2 million * 13% (personal income tax rate) = 260 thousand rubles. Moreover, earlier the personal income tax deduction was allowed to be received only once in life, even if the cost of the apartment was much lower than 2 million rubles. Now the new edition spells out the opportunity to take advantage of such a benefit several times, but the deduction will be calculated on the total cost of housing purchased. That is, if you bought an apartment for 1.2 million rubles, and a year later you bought a small plot for 1.9 million rubles, then reduce the tax base by 1.2 million in the first case and only by 0.8 million, making the second purchase.
Mortgage tax deductions
A significant change in the latest edition affected the acquisition of housing in a mortgage. Now everyone whose new apartment was bought on credit can receive a tax deduction from the state when buying an apartment on a mortgage, reducing their tax base by no more than 3 million rubles. Note that this applies only to the interest that was or will be paid to the bank for the mortgage, and not the entire loan amount.
Also, you can take advantage of the opportunity to receive such a benefit only once, regardless of whether you have spent the limit or not. Therefore, if you know that after some time you will buy another home on credit, the cost of which will be higher, it is better not to rush with the design of this deduction.
You receive a tax deduction when buying an apartment with a mortgage as you pay the loan itself. That is, the funds are returned to your account annually, depending on what part of the loan you paid back.
Tax deductions for pensioners
One of the main criteria in order to receive a tax deduction is that it can be received by every working citizen, from whose wages 13% of personal income tax is paid to the state. How to get a tax deduction when buying an apartment for a pensioner, because income tax is not deducted from his pension? Let's try to figure it out.
Tax deduction for working retirees
For working retirees, the 2014 edition of the Law states that they can transfer all of their lost tax deductions for acquiring an apartment several years ago, but no more than 3 years, that is, they can return the tax they paid for a maximum of the last three years, but not more than the maximum limit.
Consider the work of this Law. If a person retired in 2013, but continues to work and pay personal income tax, which is 13% of his salary, and in 2014 he bought an apartment, then at the end of the year such a pensioner can count on the deduction of income, since he is working properly paid taxes all 2014. At the same time, he still has the opportunity to receive deductions for 2011-2013, since he is a working pensioner. He should pay attention to the fact that if he has not used the entire amount to which tax deductions apply, then he must submit a declaration in 2015, too, until he uses his deduction to the maximum.
Tax deduction for recently retired pensioners
How to get a tax deduction when buying an apartment for a pensioner, if at the time of purchase he was not working?
If an employee has retired and does not work anymore, and bought a house in a couple of years, then he can count on a tax deduction, because the law clearly states that a pensioner can transfer a maximum of three such deduction from the moment the house was purchased, if during this period he had taxable income.
If a person became a pensioner in 2012 and no longer works, and in 2014 he made a purchase, then the tax deduction is due for him 3 years before buying an apartment, that is, for 2011-2013, since in 2013 he was already retired and did not pay taxes, then he can return the paid taxes only for 2011 and for 2012 until the moment of transition to retirement.
Tax deduction for pensioners who are retired for more than three years
If a pensioner has been retired for many years and, of course, does not pay income tax, he does not have the right to receive a deduction. However, in some exceptional cases, you can count on a tax deduction. For example, if a pensioner sells housing for 2 million rubles, which he had previously bought less than 3 years ago, and then in the same year bought a new home for 5 million rubles. When all offsets are taken into account when buying and selling, a pensioner can count on a refund of part of the amount of taxes paid. In order to find out whether you can use this deduction, contact the tax office, they will help you deal with this issue.
Tax deduction for non-working citizens
If at the time of buying the apartment you were not officially employed and you did not pay personal income tax 13%, then the important question arises: "How to get a tax deduction when buying an apartment for a non-working person?"
Please note that when buying an apartment, you can only hope to receive an income deduction at the end of the year and refund the tax paid this year. That is, if you paid in March 2014, and in October you bought an apartment, then you will receive deductions for the taxes you paid throughout 2013. Further, when you are hired, you will need to submit a certificate at the place of work for tax refund or at the end of next year to receive a refund for the whole year immediately.
Deadline for applying for a tax deduction
You don’t have to worry about the application deadline in order to use the tax deduction when buying an apartment. The limitation period is not limited for such an operation.However, you should take into account the nuances: if you submit an application more than 3 years after the acquisition, then you can expect a deduction on income for the last 3 years from the moment you submit all the necessary documents to the tax return.
You shouldn’t drag it too much with this process if an apartment is bought by a pensioner (the tax deduction and all the nuances associated with this case have already been discussed in the article earlier).
Documents required for the deduction
If you have already bought an apartment, then you need to draw up all the papers in order to draw up a tax deduction. Buying an apartment, documents and all the red tape will take a little time, if you know how to arrange everything correctly and what documents should be collected for this.
The list of all documents required for registration of the deduction of income tax:
- 3-NDFL - tax return;
- 2-personal income tax - income statement;
- home purchase agreement;
- documents confirming the owner of the apartment, or an act of transfer of ownership;
- passport;
- payment documents that confirm the purchase of housing;
- tax refund application;
- bank account for receiving money.
If you are also counting on the return of income when buying an apartment on credit, then in addition to all the above documents you need to bring along:
- loan agreement;
- a certificate from the bank on the amount of interest withheld for the whole year;
- loan payment documents (not all inspections require these documents).
Options for obtaining a tax deduction
After you have drawn up all the necessary documents, you can choose for yourself the method by which you will receive money.
- At the tax office. To do this, you submit an application, passport, to the inspection income statement (required!) and the current account to which funds will be transferred. Such an application must be submitted from the beginning of the year, but no later than May 1. After 3 months, the inspection can consider your application and transfer the same amount of funds to you to the account. With this option, you will receive the entire deduction for the previous year, in accordance with the data in your declaration.
- At the place of work. In this case, you provide some documents to the accounting department at the place of work, such as a tax certificate confirming that you are using this benefit, documents confirming the owner of the apartment, and a purchase agreement. The employer may request additional documents from you, since there is no certified list of documents.
With this arrangement, you will not receive the full amount at once, just personal income tax will not be deducted from your salary, thus, you will receive a salary 13% more than before.
If you cannot decide how to get a tax deduction when buying an apartment: at work or at the tax office, then after a year you can choose another method. For example, in 2014, submit documents to the tax office and receive a deduction from them, and in 2015 it will be possible to submit documents to the employer.
Cases where the inspection may refuse to deduct
The Inspectorate may refuse to receive your income tax deduction if your case falls into one of the following categories:
- if the apartment was bought by the employer for his employee;
- if the parties to the transaction are close relatives;
- if not all documents are provided;
- if you paid the cost of subsidies.
The article describes in sufficient detail how to get a tax deduction when buying an apartment. Now, when acquiring real estate, including on credit, know that almost every citizen of the Russian Federation who pays or paid taxes this year has the right to count on a tax deduction. In addition, even retirees who have recently retired may receive such a deduction.
Pay special attention to the correctness of filling out the documents that are submitted to the tax office, since incorrectly executed papers can help you get a tax deduction after buying an apartment a few months later.
