water tax introduced in Russia not so long ago: in 2005, the State Duma decided to add another chapter to the Tax Code, intending in this way to increase budget revenues by increasing the fiscal burden on business. This article will look at payers water tax, as well as its base, rate and billing period.
It is not so easy to determine who is the payer of the tax today due to periodic changes and intricacies of the Tax and Water Codes. Let's start with the fact that since 2005, in order to obtain certain types of "water" activities tax law required to obtain a license and pay water tax.
However, already in 2007, the Water Code abolished licensing and allowed doing business on the basis of agreements and decisions of authorities, replacing tax payments with rental ones. Thus, we see a picture that is not easy to perceive: if an entrepreneur received a license before 2007, then he was recognized as a taxpayer, but only for the duration of the license. Instead of renewing the license, it was necessary to conclude a new water use agreement and pay non-tax payments. If the entrepreneur decided to start activities after 2007, then the payer water tax it is no longer recognized, since from this year it was not required to obtain a license.
That's not all. There is a type of activity that is taxed water tax in any case, even in the absence of a license after 2007. This is an activity for the abstraction of water resources by an underground method (Law "On Subsoil" dated February 21, 1992 No. 2395-1).
So the obligations water tax have persons (organizations, individual entrepreneurs, ordinary citizens) who received a license before 2007. Such activities are associated with the special use of a water body for the following purposes:
In some subjects, for example, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, since 2015 all licenses obtained before 2007 have been canceled (clause 5, article 5 of the law dated June 3, 2006 No. 73-FZ).
Not all commercial structures using water resources in economic activity, have to pay water tax. Those entities in respect of which at least one of the following points is true are not payers:
In addition, if an entrepreneur has a license but does not actually use water resources, he does not have to pay water tax, however, the obligation to submit a quarterly declaration remains with him. Reporting with zero indicators will need to be submitted until the license is canceled (it is better to do it yourself).
For various types of activities, approaches to determining tax base for water taxwill be different:
The tax period for water tax is a quarter. The deadline for filing the declaration and paying the water tax is the 20th day of the month following the reporting quarter. Reporting must be submitted to the tax office where the water body used is located. This rule does not apply to the largest payers who submit a declaration to their inspection at the location of the organization.
The size of the bets water tax is calculated in rubles per base unit and varies depending on the regional location of the object, economic region, basin of a particular reservoir. For example, for the abstraction of water from the Volga River basin in the Central Economic Region by the underground method, the tax rate will be 360 rubles. per 1000 cu. m. And with underground water intake from Lake Baikal in the East Siberian economic region, the rate is already 678 rubles. per 1000 cu. m.
Also, the rate depends on how the water was taken - surface or underground.
If water is taken in an amount exceeding the established limit, then the rate is increased to five times.
Up to 10 times the rate increases when groundwater is withdrawn in case it is subsequently going to be resold.
If the payer cannot measure the amount of water used on his own, then the value of 1.32 is taken as a correction factor (in 2015 the coefficient was lower - 1.15) and an additional indicator of 1.1.
If water is withdrawn to meet the needs of the population, then a reduced rate of 70 rubles is applied. per 1000 cu. m of water.
In 2015, special coefficients were introduced that increase tax burden on water tax. These coefficients are given in clause 1.1 of Art. 333.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation for the period until 2026. From 2026, the corrective indicator will be calculated based on the dynamics of consumer prices.
The declaration must indicate the value of the rate, taking into account the corrective indicator with proper rounding in line 100.
We also note that after 2026 the coefficient will become mandatory for use even in relation to reduced rate water tax.
The water tax is calculated by the payer himself, for this you need to multiply the tax rate, taking into account the applicable coefficient per base.
The shipping business also involves the use of water resources, but the owners of this business do not pay water tax. Another tax is applicable to shipping - the transport tax - which has nothing to do with the water tax.
Also, since 2007, the legislation has canceled licenses for activities related to water use. The use of water resources is permitted on the basis of agreements, decisions approved by the relevant body of the subject of Russia. The agreement provides rent payments for water use, which is also not related to the water tax.
It can be concluded that the use of water resources for entrepreneurial activity continues to be paid, and financing comes from two sources: water tax and payments under the contract for the use of water resources. In the near future, it is planned to increase the fiscal burden due to increasing coefficients and, as a result, an increase in tax rates. Thus, Russian legislation is still at the stage of formation of a mechanism for control over the use of national water resources. The issue of rational use of resources implies the introduction of an efficient system of payments and is important not only from an economic point of view (filling the budget treasury), but also from an environmental point of view.
What are the water tax rates in 2018? The table with the rates is given in this reference material. Let's talk about the application of rates, increasing coefficients in 2018 and the features of calculating the water tax.
The water tax is of a federal nature, therefore the tax rates of the water tax are established exclusively by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. For water tax rates in 2018 are determined by article 333.12 tax code RF.
Traditionally, for 2018, water tax rates are set depending on the type of use of water resources by an enterprise or individual entrepreneur (see the corresponding table below).
This article is presented in such a format that allows you to understand in the future what will be the dynamics of deductions to the budget of the water tax.
For example, the water tax rates for 2018 must, in certain cases, be multiplied by a factor of 1.75:
As noted, the size of the tax rates of the water tax directly depend on the purpose of water use. So, for example, the water tax rate for water supply of the population (residential buildings):
When taking water within the limits of the standards from surface and underground water bodies the tax rate of the water tax in 2018 is:
| Economic region | River basin, lake | tax rate<*>in rubles per 1 thousand cubic meters. m of water taken from | |
| surface water bodies | underground water bodies | ||
| Northern | Volga | 300 | 384 |
| Neva | 264 | 348 | |
| Pechora | 246 | 300 | |
| Northern Dvina | 258 | 312 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 306 | 378 | |
| Northwestern | Volga | 294 | 390 |
| Western Dvina | 288 | 366 | |
| Neva | 258 | 342 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 282 | 372 | |
| Central | Volga | 288 | 360 |
| Dnieper | 276 | 342 | |
| Don | 294 | 384 | |
| Western Dvina | 306 | 354 | |
| Neva | 252 | 306 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 264 | 336 | |
| Volga-Vyatka | Volga | 282 | 336 |
| Northern Dvina | 252 | 312 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 270 | 330 | |
| Central Black Earth | Dnieper | 258 | 318 |
| Don | 336 | 402 | |
| Volga | 282 | 354 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 258 | 318 | |
| Volga region | Volga | 294 | 348 |
| Don | 360 | 420 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 264 | 342 | |
| North Caucasian | Don | 390 | 486 |
| Kuban | 480 | 570 | |
| Samur | 480 | 576 | |
| Sulak | 456 | 540 | |
| Terek | 468 | 558 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 540 | 654 | |
| Uralic | Volga | 294 | 444 |
| Ob | 282 | 456 | |
| Ural | 354 | 534 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 306 | 390 | |
| West Siberian | Ob | 270 | 330 |
| Other rivers and lakes | 276 | 342 | |
| East Siberian | Amur | 276 | 330 |
| Yenisei | 246 | 306 | |
| Lena | 252 | 306 | |
| Ob | 264 | 348 | |
| Lake Baikal and its basin | 576 | 678 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 282 | 342 | |
| Far Eastern | Amur | 264 | 336 |
| Lena | 288 | 342 | |
| Other rivers and lakes | 252 | 306 | |
| Kaliningrad region | Neman | 276 | 324 |
| Other rivers and lakes | 288 | 336 | |
Read also State duty at the registry office: how much in 2019
<*>To tax rates for water abstraction from surface water bodies for technological needs within the established limits, in relation to taxpayers operating heat and nuclear power facilities using a direct-flow water supply scheme, for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2005 inclusive, a coefficient of 0 was applied, 85 (art. 2 federal law dated July 28, 2004 N 83-FZ).
Separate water tax rates are established for the intake of sea waters within the framework of the following standards:
| Sea | Rate (rubles per 1000 cubic meters) |
|---|---|
| Baltic | 8.28 |
| White | 8.4 |
| Barents | 6.36 |
| Azov | 14.88 |
| Black | 14.88 |
| Caspian | 11.52 |
| Kara | 4.8 |
| Laptev | 4.68 |
| East Siberian | 4.44 |
| Chukchi | 4.32 |
| Beringovo | 5.28 |
| Pacific Ocean | 5.64 |
| Okhotsk | 7.68 |
| Japanese | 8.04 |
When using a certain surface water area, the water tax rate for 2017 is as follows:
| Economic region | Rate (thousand rubles per year per 1 sq. km) |
|---|---|
| Northern | 32.16 |
| Northwestern | 33.96 |
| Central | 30.84 |
| Volga-Vyatka | 29.04 |
| Central Black Earth | 30.12 |
| Volga region | 30.48 |
| North Caucasian | 34.44 |
| Uralic | 32.04 |
| West Siberian | 30.24 |
| East Siberian | 28.2 |
| Far Eastern | 31.32 |
| Kaliningrad region | 30.84 |
In the case of using the water area of surface sea waters, the tax rates for water tax are set as follows.
From the name of the tax, it becomes clear that this state payment is related to water use and does not apply to all economic individuals and legal entities, but affects only those business entities that exploit the state's water resources in business.
This tax payment is not so popular and weighty in tax policy, economic planning, on the agenda of discussions, as VAT, income tax and special regimes. However, for last years water tax was affected by interesting legislative changes, which, of course, are worthy of attention.
Water payment refers to federal taxes, is charged directly from sources of income, i.e. it is direct, and is distributed in full in federal budget according to the budget legislation of Russia.
To date, chapter 25.2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is devoted to this payment. The chapter was adopted in 2004 and came into force in January 2005. Before the introduction of the water tax, its analogue was the tax levied for the use of water bodies.
Prior to the entry into legal and practical action of the Water Code of the Russian Federation, licensing of this type of management was carried out according to a government decree adopted back in 1997. And with the advent of the Water Code, the procedure and rules for obtaining a permit began to be based on this legal act, but water users who had previously received a license retained their rights until the deadlines for their documents expired.
Despite the new rules established by the code, water use related to the extraction of groundwater from the subsoil still requires licensing, as the Supreme Soviet of Russia ruled back in 1992. The exception is owners land plots on the right of ownership, lease or possession, using, within the limits of legislative norms, the water resources of their lands without the use of professional equipment, like explosive devices, for extraction.
The object of any tax is an action, or the result of an action, or physical property serving as the basis for taxation. For example, an action is the sale of products, the performance of work (VAT). The result of the action may be income (personal income tax, NGOs). The material object is the movable and real estate(property tax, land tax).
An object is a fact and the main reason for applying a tax to a particular subject.
For water tax, the object is actions - water use under a license in the following forms:
Article 333.9 of the code contains a list of 15 items of actions related to water use, but not included in the object of this tax. Among them are the uses associated with:
The water tax is charged to all those who carry out the licensed use of the country's water resources:
Since the presence of a license is an essential condition for incriminating a tax to a person, those entities that use water under water use agreements and decisions on permission to use water bodies in accordance with the provisions of the Water Code Russian Federation are not included in the circle of tax payers.
To calculate the tax, it is not enough to have an object, especially an action object. You need a cost projection of the object, which will become the basis for the mathematical calculation of the payment. This projection is the tax base. It is always a physical indicator.
For each action of water exploitation, the base is approved separately:
Water intake- the volume of water taken, which is calculated in cubic meters:
Use of the water area- area of the water area presented for activity in square meters:
Use for hydropower- the amount of energy produced during the tax period, in kWh;
Timber rafting- the volume of wood transported for taxable period, in cubic meters, * rafting distance in kilometers / 100.
With the end of the period, the taxpayer is obliged to perform actions related to the payment of taxes and reporting. In the case of a water tax, this interval is equal to a quarter.
The water tax is a rare tax for which exemptions are not defined.
Tariffs or rates are, in fact, the share of the taxpayer's income that the state requires to transfer to the treasury free of charge.
Typically, rates are in the form of percentages. For the water tax, rates are provided in a numerical format in rubles (specific rates) and correlate with the types of use, the economic zone designated by law.
Tariff examples:
There are also corrective coefficients for bets:
If the limit norms for water use are exceeded, the rates increase several times in accordance with Article 333.12 of the Tax Code of Russia.
If the entity does not have approved quarterly limits, then these norms are calculated using the formula: 1/4*annual limit.
Such gradations of both rates and economic zones and basins are due to the functions of the water payment. Fulfilling the main, fiscal role, the water tax, along with the mineral extraction tax, belongs to the natural resource instrument and performs the following tasks:
Rates are set according to the value and other factors of each water body.
Most taxes are calculated by the Federal Tax Service itself. However, in the case of water tax, the calculation is made by the taxpayers themselves.
The calculation formula is standard in all tax payments: rate * base.
The tax payable is summed up from calculations for all types of water use.
Example 1 The company "Rodnik" received a license for the abstraction of water resources for industrial needs from a source in the Volga River basin. Water meters are available. The limit of water use per quarter is 300,000 cubic meters under the license. The Rodnik company exceeded this limit and carried out a withdrawal of 350 thousand cubic meters
It is necessary to calculate the tax for the period October-December 2016.
So, the excess amounted to 50 thousand cubic meters. Over-limit water use involves the use of a special compensating coefficient of 5. The rate for water withdrawal in the Volga basin is 300 rubles per 1,000 cubic meters.
The calculation is made in 2 parts:
Tax payable following the results of the last quarter of the year is 217,800 rubles. The transfer must be completed before January 20 and at the same time submit a reporting declaration.
Example 2 The company "Rodnik" has a license for timber rafting on the Volga river on purses. During the 4th quarter of 2016, the organization moved 2,000 cubic meters of wood over 1,800 km along the river. The tax rate under the code for the Volga basin for timber rafting is 1,636.8 rubles per thousand cubic meters.
As mentioned above, at the end of the tax period, the taxpayer has the obligation to transfer the payment to the budget and provide a report on its activities to verify the legitimacy of self-calculation.
The water tax is transferred on the 20th of January, April, July, September - that is, the next month after the end of each quarter.
The water tax is distributed in full to the federal budget.
IMPORTANT: Accounting as a payer of water tax is carried out at the inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service at the location of the water body, respectively, reporting is required to this territorial body.
The declaration shall be submitted no later than the tax payment deadline. A copy of the declaration is submitted individuals and foreign citizens also at the place where the license was issued.
You can download the tax return form for water tax and familiarize yourself with the procedure for filling it out at the link below.
It is permissible to submit the declaration both personally and indirectly through a representative, by mail or online filing in " Personal account taxpayer" on the website of the Federal Tax Service.
Separate liability measures have not been approved for the water tax, so sanctions for violations of obligations under the code apply in a general manner.
As with other offenses, fines and penalties are the measure of responsibility. 
For failure to submit a return or late submission, the penalty is 5% of the amount of tax due under this form for each month overdue. Minimum size fine - 1000 rubles, maximum - 30% of the tax amount.
Submission of a declaration not according to the rules for electronic filing imposes a fine of 200 rubles on the person.
Violations of the procedure for accounting for income and expenses - maintaining a logbook for water use - in one tax period - a quarter - imposes a fine on the entity in the amount of 10,000 rubles, for several quarters - 30,000 rubles.
Reducing the tax base as a result of illegal accounting - a fine within 25% of the tax amount - 40,000 rubles.
Non-payment or partial payment of tax leads to a fine of 20% of the tax amount.
Deliberate non-payment of tax - a fine of 40% of the tax amount.
Penalty is charged for each overdue day in the amount of 1/300 of the refinancing rate of the Bank of Russia.
From the moment of its adoption, the water tax is valid throughout the country. Since 2007 and until now, the issues of the need for this payment in the code, rates and differentiation procedure have been discussed. There was even a question of abolishing this payment in 2014, but the tax remained and even received prospects for an increase until 2025.
There are no other changes in Chapter 25.2 yet, although the water tax requires the attention of legislators and improvement.
Amendments are necessary for industrial consumers, since their share of water use is large and the size of the water tax has an impressive column in the accounting department.
The transfer of part of the powers to regulate water taxation would effectively affect the natural resource state of the regions, since the constituent entities of the Russian Federation can more carefully and reasonably apply the elements and tools of the water tax to perform regulatory functions.
Reducing the scope of the water tax - 15 points of objects that are not taxable - entails a reduction in the role of the tax in the overall system.
The tax rates are considered by many experts to be outdated and old-fashioned, and need to be changed to meet today's changed market conditions. The introduction of coefficients improved the situation in this matter.
Work is needed to bring Chapter 25.2 and the Water Code into unity.
It is necessary to expand the scope of water tax administration to improve the quality tax control and increase total amounts tax in the budget, since today the tax revenues do not cover the costs required for the conservation, development and maintenance of water bodies.
The water tax is regulated by chapter 25.2 of the Internal Revenue Code and is a federal payment. All the basic information about this tax, relevant for 2016, is collected in this material.
From this article you will learn:
Water tax is paid by organizations and citizens engaged in special or special water use (clause 1, article 333.8 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Namely, these are two categories of people:
1) organizations and entrepreneurs that use surface water bodies on the basis of licenses issued before January 1, 2007 (date of introduction of the Water Code). In this case, the water tax must be paid before the expiration of the licenses;
2) organizations and entrepreneurs using groundwater bodies on the basis of licenses under the Law of the Russian Federation of February 21, 1992 No. 2395-1 “On Subsoil” (as amended on December 29, 2014).
Note that persons who use water on the basis of water use agreements or decisions on the provision of water facilities for use are not payers of water tax, provided that the document was received after January 1, 2007 (clause 2 of article 333.8 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
The following types of water use are subject to water tax (clause 1, article 333.9 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation):
Water bodies that are not subject to water tax are listed in paragraph 2 of Article 333.9 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. In particular, these include:
A quarter is recognized as a tax period for water tax (Article 333.11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
For each type of water use recognized as an object of water taxation, the tax base is determined separately for each water body (clause 1, article 333.10 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Thus, the tax base for water intake is the volume of water withdrawn from a water body for a tax period - a quarter. The indicator is calculated on the basis of the data of water meters, reflected in the logbook of water use. If there are no water meters, the volume of water withdrawn is determined based on the operating time and productivity of technical equipment or on the basis of water consumption rates.
The tax base for the use of water bodies in hydropower (without water abstraction) is the amount of electricity produced during the tax period.
The tax base when using the water area of water bodies (with the exception of wood floating in rafts and purses) is the area of the provided water space.
The tax base for water bodies used for floating wood in rafts and purses must be determined by calculation using the formula:
The tax base, we repeat, must be determined for each water body and for each type of water use (Article 333.10 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). For example, when water is taken from several rivers, the base must be calculated separately for each river, even if the tax rates for the basins of these rivers may be the same.
If different rates are set for a water body, the tax base is determined for each tax rate.
Water tax rates are specified in article 333.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. They are set in rubles per unit of the tax base. The rate depends on the type of water use. In addition, the rates differ according to economic regions, river basins, lakes and seas.
From January 1, 2015, the tax rates specified in paragraph 1 of article 333.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (for all types of use, except for the intake of water from water bodies for water supply to the population) are subject to indexation (clause 1.1 of article 333.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In 2016, the coefficient is 1.32. In 2015, the coefficient is 1.15.
When water is withdrawn in excess of the established quarterly (annual) limits, the rates are increased five times, taking into account the coefficients (clause 2, article 333.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The increased rates apply only to that part of the abstracted water that exceeds the limit.
If the company (entrepreneur) does not have measuring instruments, it is necessary to pay water tax with an additional coefficient of 1.1 (clause 4 of article 333.12 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
For all taxpayers, the same tax rate is set for water abstraction from water bodies for water supply to the population. So, from January 1 to December 31, 2016 inclusive, the rate is 93 rubles/thousand rubles. cube m of water resources taken from the water body. In 2015, the tariff was 81 rubles / thousand rubles. cube m.
The total amount of water tax is the result of summing up the amounts of tax calculated for all types of water use.
The tax must be transferred to the budget based on the results of the reporting quarter at the location of the facility (at the place of water use). This must be done no later than the 20th day of the month following the expired quarter (Article 333.14 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). That is, in 2016, the deadlines are as follows: no later than January 20 (for the IV quarter of 2015), April 20, July 20 and October 20.
For water tax, a tax declaration is submitted (clause 1, article 333.15 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The reporting form was approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 03.03.2005 No. 29n. The indicators in it must be reflected in full rubles.
The Federal Tax Service of Russia issued clarifications on filling out the declaration on the water tax. These are the declarations for 2015. However, the document can be guided in 2016.
So, when filling out the declaration on water tax for the reporting quarters of 2016, consider the following.
If the payer withdraws water more than the established limit, the water tax for such withdrawal must be paid five times. Then in section 2.1 of the declaration in line 110 you need to show the amount of the tax rate increased by a factor of 1.32 and by 5.
When water is withdrawn for water supply to the population in 2016, in section 2.1 of the declaration on line 100, you must show the water tax rate of 93 rubles. At the same time, even if the water is used in excess of the limit established in the license, the fivefold rate does not need to be applied.
If the payer does not have measuring instruments, in section 2.1 of the declaration on line 100 show the value tax rate multiplied by a factor of 1.32 and by a factor of 1.1.
