How to correctly return the 13% income tax on the purchase of an apartment

02.01.2021

When purchasing real estate in 2013 (2012, 2011, 2010 and earlier), a property deduction is provided to buyers of an apartment, room, house or shares in them (for more information about what a deduction is and how it is applied, see the link). Having received a property deduction when purchasing an apartment, house, room (share in them), you can return the tax in the amount of 260,000 rubles. (or not pay it in the future). This is the income tax you have already paid or will be required to pay. For the procedure for providing a property deduction for real estate purchased after 2013 (for example, in 2021, 2020 and 2021), see the link.

What is a tax deduction?

If you are officially employed, you do not receive all the money you earn every month. Part goes to the budget of the Russian Federation. This is the 13% that is called personal income tax. Personal income tax is spent on a variety of needs of the country: education, housing and communal services, social programs, sports, transport, medicine and much more. The employer withholds personal income tax from your salary and then transfers it to the state.

So, a tax deduction is a real opportunity not to pay personal income tax for some time, or to return part of what has already been paid. If you spent the money on something recognized by the government as beneficial, such as an apartment, your expenses will not be fully tax deductible.

Agree, a very nice bonus.

Conditions for receiving a deduction

If you previously, when purchasing a previous apartment, already received a deduction and exhausted the limit, it is no longer possible to receive a deduction again.

To receive a property deduction, you must not only buy an apartment in Russia (in other countries they will not give a deduction), but also pay taxes regularly, and therefore be officially employed. You need to be a tax resident, for which you need to spend at least 183 days a year in your homeland (Article 207 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Also, you and the seller of the apartment should not be interdependent persons. This means that buying an apartment from your mother or sister and getting a deduction will not work. The tax authorities may also consider a boss and a subordinate to be interdependent - Article 105.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Well, to receive it, of course, you will need documents that will prove to the tax authorities that you actually purchased the apartment and paid for it.

What documents are needed to obtain a property deduction?

To receive a property deduction when purchasing an apartment (other real estate), you must provide the tax authorities with a declaration of Form 3-NDFL and a special application for the deduction. You can view the application form for property deduction by following the link. All expenses that you include in the property deduction amount must be supported by documents. The Form 3-NDFL declaration is accompanied by all documents that confirm the costs of paying for real estate (or interest on a mortgage loan) and your right to a tax refund. For more information on how the 3-NDFL declaration should be submitted, see the link.

Such documents include copies of:

— property deduction when purchasing an apartment or room on the secondary market:

• agreement for the purchase of an apartment (room) with all additional agreements and annexes to it;
• documents confirming the fact of payment for an apartment or room (for example, a receipt from the seller for receiving money from you, payment orders, etc.);
• certificates of ownership of the apartment (room);
• agreements on the distribution of deductions if an apartment or room was purchased as joint property (original!).

— property deduction when purchasing an apartment or room in a new building under an agreement on shared participation in construction or an agreement on the assignment of rights:

• an agreement for shared participation in construction (investment) or an agreement for the assignment of the right of claim with all additional agreements and appendices thereto;
• a document confirming the fact of transfer of an apartment or room (for example, an acceptance certificate);
• documents confirming the fact of payment for an apartment or room (for example, a receipt from the seller for receiving money from you, payment orders, etc.);
• agreements on the distribution of deductions if an apartment or room was purchased as joint property (original!).

— property deduction when purchasing a residential building and land plot:

• agreement for the purchase of a residential building and land plot with all additional agreements and annexes thereto;
• documents confirming the fact of payment for a residential building and land plot (for example, a receipt from the seller for receiving money from you, payment orders, etc.);
• certificates of ownership of a residential building and land plot;
• agreements on the distribution of deductions if a residential building and a land plot were purchased as joint property (original!).

- property deduction when paying interest on a mortgage loan spent on purchasing real estate:

• loan agreement with all additional agreements and appendices thereto;
• documents confirming the fact of payment of interest on the loan (for example, a bank certificate, account statement, etc.).

Attention! The specified list of documents is given in the letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated November 22, 2012 No. ED-4-3/19630. It is comprehensive. This means that tax authorities have no right to demand documents not named in this list. This letter is mandatory for use by all Russian tax inspectorates.

If, in addition to the costs of purchasing the apartment or house itself, you include in the deduction the costs of finishing it (completing the house), then you will also need documents that confirm them. These may be contract agreements with builders for finishing work, cash register receipts confirming payment for these works, sales receipts for the purchase of building materials and cash register receipts confirming their payment. If there are no documents, then the amount of such expenses cannot be included in the deduction.

Deduction limit

The deduction will not always be equal to your actual expenses for the apartment. There is a limitation: the state is ready to refund the tax only for a certain amount, and no more.

Now the deduction limit when purchasing an apartment, according to Article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, is 2 million rubles.
This is how it was installed in 2008. Before this, the limit was 1 million rubles. This means that if you bought a home after 2008 for 1.7 million rubles, the deduction amount will be equal to your expenses, i.e. it will be 1.7 million rubles.
If you paid 2, 6 or 10 million rubles for an apartment, the deduction in each case will be 2 million rubles. According to the limit, it is clear what the maximum amount can be returned: 13% of 2 million is 260 thousand rubles.
A nuance: if you purchased an apartment before 2014, then the limit is tied specifically to this apartment; it cannot be “reached” by another purchased apartment. If you bought an apartment later than 2014, the situation is better. You can use the remainder of the limit when purchasing your next apartment, if you have not exhausted it immediately.

Property deduction: when is there a right to it?

The right to a property deduction arises in the year when you bought real estate (house, apartment, room, etc.) and received ownership of it. Moreover, it does not matter what month of the year this happened. It is important that this happens no later than December 31st. Otherwise, the right to deduction will arise next year.

Please note that ownership of real estate appears after state registration of a transaction (for example, sale or purchase). State registration is the making of the necessary entries in the State Register of Rights to Real Estate and Transactions with It. Typically, the date of entry into the register and the date of issue of the Certificate of Registration of Property Rights do not coincide (the certificate, as a rule, is issued “in hand” a little later). So the date of issue of the certificate itself does not matter. If the transaction was registered, for example, on December 30, 2013, and the certificate was issued in January 2014, then ownership was received in 2013, not 2014. The date on which the transaction was registered is usually indicated on the Certificate of Title.

Example: You bought an apartment under a sales contract. The corresponding entry was made in the state register on December 25, 2013. You became eligible for the deduction in 2013. Accordingly, all income for 2013 (from January 1 to December 31) can be reduced by deduction.

An exception to this procedure is provided only for apartments purchased under an agreement of shared participation in construction (DDU). A deduction for such apartments can be obtained after concluding a DDU agreement, paying for it and issuing an acceptance certificate for the apartment from the developer to the buyer. Accordingly, you can count on the deduction before registering ownership of the apartment.

The period during which you can apply for a property deduction is not limited by law. For example, having bought an apartment in 2013, you can claim a deduction and reduce your income received in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2021. And it doesn’t matter how many years have passed since the purchase of the apartment. There are only two nuances.

First , the deduction will be provided according to the rules that were in force in the year the apartment was purchased.

Second , you can claim a refund of taxes that have not passed three years since payment.

For example, you bought an apartment in 2013. However, after the deduction, you applied only in 2021. In such a situation, you can claim a refund of taxes paid in 2021, 2021 and 2021. Tax transferred in 2021 and earlier years will not be returned to you (more than three years have passed since it was paid).

You also do not have the right to claim a refund of taxes that were paid in the years preceding the year you purchased the apartment. So, if you buy an apartment in 2021, you will not be able to return taxes for 2021, 2021 or 2018. An exception to this procedure is provided only for pensioners. They have such a right.

Carrying forward the balance of the deduction to the next year

Only those whose annual income is more than 2,000,000 rubles will be able to receive the maximum amount of the deduction immediately. In this case, for the year you pay the state personal income tax in the amount of 260,000 (or more). This means that the tax office has something to return to you.

Everyone else will be refunded for the year only that part that they actually transferred to the budget in the form of taxes for this year. The rest can be obtained in subsequent years. Moreover, this can take as many years as is needed in your case - there are no limits, the main thing is that the entire allocated amount ends up with you.

Let's say your salary is 50 thousand rubles a month, and you should get 260 thousand back, since the deduction amount was 2 million. You receive 600,000 rubles a year and pay 78,000 rubles as tax to the state. It turns out that the tax will be returned to you within 4 years.

In the first year after purchasing an apartment, you will be able to take home 78,000 rubles, in the second and third years - also 78,000 each, and in the fourth year you will receive the remaining 26,000 rubles.

If a pensioner buys an apartment, an exception is provided for him. He will be able to return the tax for 4 years at once. To do this, he needs to submit 4 declarations at the same time: for the year in which the housing was purchased, and 3 years before that.

What expenses are taken into account when providing a property deduction?

Such expenses can be divided into three groups. The first is for construction or purchase:

• residential building (shares in it);
• apartments (shares in it);
• rooms (shares in it);
• a plot of land provided for housing construction or a plot on which a residential building is located (share in it).

The second is to pay interest on loans and credits that were provided for the construction and purchase of the above-mentioned objects (residential building, apartment, room, etc.). The third is interest on bank loans received for on-lending of the mentioned loans and credits.

The costs of constructing or purchasing a residential building (share in it) include your costs:

• for the purchase of the residential building itself (including unfinished construction);
• for the development of design and estimate documentation;
• for the purchase of construction and finishing materials;
• for construction work or services (completion of a house that has not been completed) and finishing;
• for connection to electricity, water, gas supply and sewerage networks or the creation of autonomous sources of electricity, water, gas supply and sewerage.

The costs of purchasing an apartment or room (share in them) include your costs:

• to purchase the apartment, room or share itself, or the rights to them in a house under construction;
• for the purchase of finishing materials;
• for work related to the finishing of this property
• for the development of design and estimate documentation for finishing work.

Attention! As you can see, these expenses include not only the direct cost of the house or apartment itself, but also the costs of completing or finishing them. So, such costs can be included in the deduction provided that you are purchasing, for example, a house that has not been completed with capital construction (that is, unfinished). And for such objects they issue a special certificate of state registration. Therefore, if you bought a house that has been completed, you will be prohibited from including these expenses in the deduction.

Regarding the apartment, it must be purchased in a new building (preferably under an agreement of shared participation in construction). If the apartment was purchased on the secondary housing market, then it will not be possible to include the costs of finishing it in the deduction (see letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated August 15, 2013 No. AS-4-11/14910). One more requirement. If you are buying a house or apartment that needs finishing, this should be clearly stated in the purchase and sale agreement or DDU. At the same time, we remind you once again that regardless of the amount of such expenses, the deduction cannot exceed 2,000,000 rubles.

Example A person purchases an apartment and applies for a property deduction.

Situation 1 The apartment costs 2,400,000 rubles. It needs finishing. Finishing costs amounted to 340,000 rubles. In this case, the deduction will be provided in the maximum amount - 2,000,000 rubles. Moreover, finishing costs do not need to be documented. They will not be included in the deduction amount anyway.

Situation 2 The apartment costs 1,800,000 rubles. It needs finishing. Finishing costs amounted to 560,000 rubles. In this case, the deduction will be provided again in the maximum amount - 2,000,000 rubles. Finishing costs must be documented in a minimum amount of 200,000 rubles.

Situation 3 The apartment costs 1,250,000 rubles. It needs finishing. Finishing costs amounted to 480,000 rubles. In this case, the deduction will be provided in the amount of: 1,250,000 + 480,000 = 1,730,000 rubles.

Finishing costs must be documented for the full amount included in the deduction in the amount of 480,000 rubles.

Attention! Interest on the mortgage loan taken out to purchase this apartment will increase the amount of the property deduction.

Deduction from the employer

If you declare a deduction at your place of work, you will immediately receive a salary increased by 13% - there is no need to wait for next year, as is the case with the declaration. This happens due to the fact that the employer stops transferring your personal income tax to the budget. All tax you have already paid at the beginning of the year will be refunded to you immediately.

To realize this opportunity, you need to bring a notice from the tax office to work. To do this, you need to fill out a tax application on the website, attach all the required documents to it, and sign with an electronic signature (it will be generated in your personal account). Within one month, the tax office will send you the necessary document.

The tax notice is valid for one year. To receive the balance, you will need to receive the notice again and give it to your employer.

If you are married

Both spouses have the right to a deduction, so when buying an apartment, no matter who you register it for, claim two deductions. Both the wife and the husband can return 260 thousand rubles, since each has a limit of 2 million.

You can get 520 thousand rubles per family if your apartment costs 4 million rubles or more. If the apartment costs less than 4 million rubles, one of the spouses or both does not use the entire limit. Then you can return the balance when purchasing a new home.

There is an exception: if spouses purchased an apartment as shared ownership before 01/01/2014, then their right to deduction arose entirely from the property: the maximum payment will be 260 thousand per family. You cannot use the balance when purchasing a new home after receiving a deduction for such an apartment.

If you live in a common-law, unregistered marriage, you will not be able to get a double deduction.

Property deduction for joint purchase of an apartment (house)

The best option if you are the sole buyer of the property and all documents are issued in your name. But, as a rule, apartments are bought by families (for everyone). In this situation, there are two options:

• the first - into joint ownership (that is, the apartment becomes the common property of all buyers and shares in it are not distributed between them);
• the second - in shared ownership, indicating in the documents to whom and in what amount this or that share belongs.

In both options, the total amount of the property deduction remains unchanged (RUB 2,000,000 plus interest on the mortgage). At the same time, it is distributed among all buyers. In the first case (joint ownership), buyers decide independently how to distribute it. They write statements to the tax office and indicate in what proportion and to whom the deduction is due. For a sample application for distribution of deductions, see the link.

Example A wife and husband bought an apartment worth RUB 1,900,000. into joint ownership.

Situation 1 According to the spouses, the deduction is distributed as follows:

• wife - 50%;
• husband - 50%.

Accordingly, each buyer has the right to claim a deduction in the amount of 950,000 rubles. (1,900,000 x 50%).

Situation 2 According to the spouses, the deduction is distributed as follows:

• wife - 30%;
• husband - 70%.

Accordingly, each buyer has the right to claim a deduction in the amount of:

• wife 570,000 rub. (1,900,000 x 30%);
• husband 1,330,000 rub. (1,900,000 x 70%).

Situation 3 According to the spouses, the deduction is distributed as follows:

• wife - 0%;
• husband - 100%.

Accordingly, the entire deduction amount in the amount of RUB 1,900,000. declared by the husband. The wife has no right to deduction.

In the second case (shared ownership), the deduction is distributed among the co-owners in proportion to their shares. Moreover, if the apartment becomes the property of not only the spouses, but also their minor children, their parents have the right to receive a deduction for children (that is, they can increase their expenses by the amount of costs for purchasing shares for children).

Example An apartment worth RUB 1,900,000 was purchased. into shared ownership.

Situation 1 An apartment was purchased by a husband and wife in equal ownership (1/2 each). In this case, each spouse has the right to claim a deduction in the amount of 950,000 rubles. (1,900,000 x 1/2).

Situation 2 An apartment was bought by a husband and wife, while the husband owns 3/4 and the wife 1/4 of the apartment. Accordingly, each buyer has the right to claim a deduction in the amount of:

• husband 1,425,000 rub. (1,900,000 x 3/4);
• wife 475,000 rub. (1,900,000 x 1/4).

Situation 3 An apartment was purchased by a husband, wife and minor child in equal ownership (1/3 each). In this case, each buyer has the right to claim a deduction in the amount of 633,333 rubles. (1,900,000 x 1/3). In this case, one of the spouses can receive a deduction for the child themselves.

In this situation, he will receive a deduction in the amount of: 633,333 (his deduction) + 633,333 (deduction for the child) = 1,266,666 rubles.

If you used maternity capital

You can only receive a deduction from funds that you spent personally. The amount that was allocated to you as maternity capital is not your expenses, and therefore will not be taken into account.

If you bought an apartment for 2 million, and 450 thousand of them were paid with maternity capital, then the deduction amount will be equal to 1,550,000 rubles. The refund amount will be 201,500 rubles.

If you bought an apartment for 5 million, and 450 thousand of them were paid by maternity capital, your expenses are equal to 4,550,000 rubles. The deduction amount will be equal to the limit, 2 million, and 260 thousand rubles will be returned to you.

If you were not present at the transaction

It happens that it is not possible to come to a purchase and sale transaction, and then the buyer draws up a power of attorney for a friend or relative so that he transfers the money. In this case, the owner will still have the right to deduct. To prove to the tax authorities that these are your expenses, and not a friend or relative, attach to other documents a copy of the power of attorney, which states that you trust to pay your money for the apartment. Also attach a bank document, from which it is clear that the money was withdrawn from your account.