How to close an individual entrepreneur in 2021?

Entrepreneurs often have an important question: What does it take to liquidate your own business? In this article we will talk about how to close an individual entrepreneur yourself - step-by-step instructions for 2017 are posted below. What legislative nuances do you need to know so that in the future the businessman does not have friction with control authorities on the topic of non-payment of taxes or failure to submit reports?

Many individuals turn to specialized legal or accounting companies to carry out such a procedure. But in fact, you can do everything yourself, the main thing is to know the sequence of actions and carry them out in accordance with regulatory requirements. Let's figure out what it takes to close an individual entrepreneur quickly and without negative legal consequences.

When termination of IP is required:

If the current activity does not bring the expected income, there is no profit, and business operations are not carried out.
If the work on an individual entrepreneur is “hanging”, and the citizen plans to open a new direction with a different legal status.
If the fiscal burden turns out to be excessive, and the ability to repay obligations becomes less and less.
If the individual entrepreneur is officially declared bankrupt.
If the activity is carried out without the appropriate licenses, permits and permits, that is, it is illegal.
In the event of the death of a citizen.
If the judicial authorities make a decision to terminate or suspend activities.
If the entrepreneur is a citizen of another state and his residence permit has expired and the document has been cancelled.

Legally, the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur in 2021 is similar to the algorithm that was in effect in 2021. The main goal, as before, is that upon liquidation of a business, the entrepreneur is relieved of the obligation to prepare reports, pay taxes, including fixed payments “for yourself” and the transfer of other amounts associated with any activity - rent, utility costs, staff salaries, etc.

Note! The opinion that the closure of an individual entrepreneur frees an individual from the need to repay accumulated amounts of taxes, contributions and debts to counterparties, including personnel, is erroneous. According to stat. 24 of the Civil Code, the entrepreneur is liable for his obligations with all personal property (except for that which is not subject to collection under civil procedural law), which means that he must first pay off the debt and then begin the procedure for terminating his activities.

To close an individual entrepreneur on your own, you need to know what documents to submit, where and in what order. The main form is an application submitted to the registration authorities. You should prepare all the required documents in advance so as not to run into paperwork, waste extra time running around the authorities, and avoid penalties. So, what documentation will you need in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 1 of the stat. 22.3 of Law No. 129-FZ of 08.08.01?

Results

So, the answer to the question of how to suspend the activities of an individual entrepreneur for a while is clear: it will not be possible to officially suspend the activities of an individual entrepreneur and get rid of all the obligations associated with this status - the legislator does not provide for such a possibility.
An entrepreneur can only minimize the tax burden by using any suitable tax regime and submitting zero tax returns to the Federal Tax Service. It will not be possible to get rid of the obligation to pay insurance premiums at all, with the exception of certain cases not directly related to the actual termination of individual entrepreneurial activity. You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

What is needed to close an individual entrepreneur - list of documents:

An original copy of the passport and its copy.
Photocopy of TIN.
Application according to the unified form P26001.
Document confirming payment of state duty.
Certificate of registration of business in the Unified State Register of Entrepreneurs.
A certificate from the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation confirming the submission to the Pension Fund of information on the length of service, as well as insurance contributions.
A power of attorney certified in accordance with the established procedure when carrying out the closing procedure through an official representative.

Note! Even before liquidating an individual entrepreneur, it is necessary to submit all mandatory reports to the tax office and social funds, even if there are no operations. It will not be possible to close a business with reporting and tax debts.

Closing an individual entrepreneur - step-by-step instructions in 2021:

Submission of reports - at this stage it is checked whether all reports, declarations and calculations for taxes paid are submitted to the control authorities; it would be optimal to carry out a reconciliation with the Federal Tax Service, the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation and the Social Insurance Fund. If the reconciliation process reveals any discrepancies in reporting or taxes, you should submit the data, pay off the debt as quickly as possible, after which you can continue with the liquidation procedure.
Deregistration of cash registers with the Federal Tax Service is not required for all entrepreneurs, but only for those who were required to use cash register equipment in their activities. To carry out the withdrawal procedure, take with you the cash register itself and the relevant documentation for it, and then go to the tax inspector.
Resolving issues regarding current debt obligations - repaying all accumulated debts to the budget, extra-budgetary funds, personnel, and contractors of the individual entrepreneur is a prerequisite for the smooth completion of activities. Of course, there are situations when you have to close an individual entrepreneur in 2021 with debts, but we will talk about this separately.
Dismissal of hired employees is carried out only after full completion of settlements with the personnel.
Payment of the established amount of state duty - the amount is not large - 160 rubles. (Subclause 7, Clause 1, Statute 333.33 of the Tax Code), but the main thing is to correctly indicate all the required details (you can get it from the tax office) and fill out the payment document correctly. If you come to the Federal Tax Service with a complete package of documentation, but the receipt for the state duty is issued with errors, you will be refused to initiate the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur and will have to start all over again, that is, pay the fee a second time. You can fill out the document online or through an operator at Sberbank. Don't forget to make a copy of the payment document for yourself.
Receiving a certificate from the Pension Fund of Russia - when closing an individual entrepreneur, the territorial branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation issues the taxpayer a certificate-extract confirming the absence of debts and full repayment of insurance premiums by the individual.
Deregistration from the Social Insurance Fund is not required from June 11, 2016, but it is necessary to pay off debts on contributions.
Closing a bank account - not all individuals have an open bank account, but if you have one, you need to close it. To do this, you will need to visit a bank branch and fill out the appropriate application. Don’t forget to check in advance whether all obligations have been repaid - remember that execution of payments requires operational time.
Formation of an application f. P26001 – the document provides registration information for the individual entrepreneur (full name, OGRNIP, INN), his contact information and the method for obtaining the final documentation for closing the entrepreneur. When submitting the form yourself, the signature is placed directly at the tax office, when sent by mail/through a representative - in advance in the presence of a notary.
Submission of a package of documentation to the Federal Tax Service - all documents can be brought to the tax authorities where the initial registration was carried out, in person, sent by mail or electronically, or transmitted through your own representative. The procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur via the Internet is discussed in more detail at the end of the article.
Receiving documentation on the completion of the activities of the individual entrepreneur - after you have submitted all the required documents for closing the individual entrepreneur, the tax authority gives you a receipt for the acceptance of the forms, and after 5 days (working days) gives you a notice of deregistration of the f. 2-4-Accounting.

Note! Even after closure, the individual entrepreneur continues to be responsible for its obligations arising in the course of its activities until they are repaid; destruction of the seal is not necessary; and the re-opening of a business by the same citizen is not prohibited by law.

What taxes will an individual entrepreneur not pay on NAP and what kind of reporting will he submit?

The type of tax under consideration has an advantage over other taxation systems, since it replaces the following types of mandatory payments:

VAT (with the exception of VAT levied on objects imported into the territory of the Russian Federation);
Personal income tax (this rule covers the income of an individual, which could conditionally be subject to personal income tax);
You don’t have to pay insurance premiums to compulsory health insurance and compulsory medical insurance for yourself. That is, you save on average 40,000 rubles per year. The amount is small, but still nice.

A huge advantage of the transition of individual entrepreneurs to NAP is the COMPLETE lack of reporting. Have you used the services of an accountant or services like Elba? You can safely forget about them! There is no need to submit declarations, show a book of income and expenses, etc.

All you need to do is pay taxes through the special “My Tax” application. It is available on the App Store and Google Play. The tax is calculated automatically, but payment is made manually. This allows you to avoid incorrect debits of funds. Read on and find out how the application works.

How to close an individual entrepreneur with debts

Is it possible to close an individual entrepreneur with debts and how? Previously, such a procedure was impossible, but now those entrepreneurs who did not manage to pay off their obligations on time have a chance to stop operating even if they have debt. It is important to remember that after the liquidation of an individual entrepreneur, debts do not disappear anywhere and are transferred to the citizen with the right to collect both property and money.

The fact of non-payment of obligations to counterparties at the time of closure of the individual entrepreneur does not prevent the procedure from being carried out by the tax authorities, especially since the Federal Tax Service does not have such information. But in order not to let down his partners and not to delay the termination of work, an entrepreneur can enter into an agreement of intent with counterparties, the terms of which reflect the terms of repayment of obligations with a deferment. Or you can declare yourself bankrupt, which will mean forced liquidation and write-off of debt by decision of the judicial authorities.

Regarding debts to the budget, the situation is more complicated - an individual is unlikely to be able to close an individual entrepreneur if there are unpaid amounts of tax obligations. You must first repay the debt yourself, otherwise you cannot avoid not only a refusal to register the liquidation, but also the accrual of penalties. And you will have to pay tax on arrears in any case.

Note! There is no need to pay off debts with an expired statute of limitations - more than 3 years.

Individual entrepreneur on NAP - who can switch to this taxation system?

Entrepreneurs operating without forming a legal entity (individual entrepreneurs, self-employed) and living in those regions of Russia where this experiment will operate or is already operating will be able to take advantage of the new tax regime. The transition of individual entrepreneurs to NAP is not mandatory.

To implement it, a number of conditions must be met:

Entrepreneurial activity is carried out by a person without an employer or the use of hired workers.
A person derives profit from the exploitation of his own property or personal activities.
The activity is not included in the list of exceptions not covered by the innovation. The list was approved by Art. 4.6 Federal Law - 422.
The amount of annual income is not higher than 2.4 million rubles . If this indicator is exceeded, the individual entrepreneur is obliged to pay tax according to the rules of the taxation system under which he worked previously. Self-employed people who do not have individual entrepreneur status will pay personal income tax. Annual income can be checked through the application. At the beginning of the next tax year, a person can again switch to IPA.

For an example of the use of NPD, you can consider the work of a massage therapist at home, photography and video shooting on order, the sale of food and non-food products of your own making, the services of a toastmaster, designer, etc.

At the same time, it is important to understand that if the individual entrepreneur has switched to NAP, then you DO NOT lose your status as an individual entrepreneur. You do NOT become self-employed, but simply use the tax system.

The procedure for switching individual entrepreneurs to NPD is completely reversible. However, there is a nuance. Read the article carefully so you don't miss it! You can ask questions in the comments or leave a request through the form on the website.

Closing an individual entrepreneur with debts to the Pension Fund

The procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur in 2021 if there are debts to the Pension Fund differs in that entrepreneurs are allowed to begin the procedure for terminating their activities even if they have obligations to the Pension Fund. However, you should not think that after the liquidation of the business they will forget about you and will allow you not to pay insurance premiums. If an entrepreneur submits documents for closure to the tax office, and the Pension Fund receives information about the presence of current debt, the funds will be claimed in any case - before or immediately after closure.

How long can a citizen pay off his debts to the Pension Fund of Russia? Before you start transferring funds, you should check with the Pension Fund to clarify the exact amount of the amount to be repaid. And 14 days are allotted for debt payment from the date of closure of the individual entrepreneur. At the same time, be prepared for the fact that if you have outstanding debts, you may be refused to terminate your activities. And although the legislation of the Russian Federation does not directly provide for such a turn of events, often “on the ground” individuals are not given the opportunity to complete the work of an individual entrepreneur until full settlement with the budget and extra-budgetary funds.

Important! If an individual entrepreneur was closed, and the court awarded you a penalty, but there are no funds, what should you do? In this situation, the state can collect debts at the expense of the citizen’s property. At the same time, according to executive documents, the property named in the statute cannot be confiscated from the debtor. 446 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation - personal belongings, household items, the only housing, food, transport for a disabled person, etc.

We submit documents to the tax office

The collected documents must be submitted to the tax authority where the individual entrepreneur was registered. You can find out the address and contact information of your tax office using this service.

When independently submitting documents to the Federal Tax Service, an individual entrepreneur does not need to certify the signature on the application. However, when submitting documents through an authorized representative or sending documents by mail (necessarily with a declared value and an inventory of the contents), notarization is required.

When submitting documents remotely to the Federal Tax Service, you will need an electronic signature. Read our article about which specific digital signature to choose for an individual entrepreneur.

In March 2021, the Federal Tax Service finalized the electronic service “State registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs”. This is due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Through the service, you can send applications for closing an individual entrepreneur to the registration authority in electronic form without using an electronic signature. The application is accompanied by a scanned image or photograph of the pages of the passport with information about the issue of the document, series and number, as well as a photo (selfie) with an open passport.

How to close a non-working individual entrepreneur

How to properly close an individual entrepreneur in 2021 if activities are not carried out for various reasons? It happens that an entrepreneur opened his business, but did not work for a single day. If this is your situation, then you must keep in mind that even in the absence of business activities and employment contracts with hired personnel, a citizen is obliged to pay a fixed amount of insurance premiums to the state every year - the amount is approved annually at the federal level. In addition, the obligation to submit reports is not excluded depending on the applicable tax regime.

If reports were not submitted, fees were not paid, when the individual entrepreneur is closed, these violations will “pop up” and sanctions will be assessed in the form of fines and penalties. You will have to repay the amounts, and only after that you can begin to liquidate the business. The procedure is no different from that described above, including payment of the state duty, filling out an application form P26001 and conducting reconciliation with control authorities for settlements.