Assistance from the state for business development: what individual entrepreneurs and LLCs will receive

Article first published 02/08/2016, updated 05/26/2021.

Incredible, but true: the tax office takes about one and a half salaries from you per year. This money can be returned and spent on a new iPhone or a vacation by the sea. Our step-by-step instructions will tell you how to improve your financial situation through your tax budget. By the way, this is completely legal.

So, you can get your money back if in 2021 you:

• bought an apartment or house in the village;
• paid for studying at school or university;
• treated teeth and other parts of the body.

Found a suitable item? Congratulations - the state is in your debt.

What state support measures are there for organizations and individual entrepreneurs?

Free and fair business is the basis of the state economy: business organizes cash flows, produces goods, provides jobs - its role is difficult to overestimate.
All states, including Russia, are trying to develop systems for stimulating business and supporting entrepreneurs. The following types of support measures are distinguished:

• financial - payment of various amounts of money for business development or, conversely, provision of benefits for mandatory payments, for example, taxes;
• property - providing preferential opportunities to obtain real estate or land, for example, for rent;
• informational and educational - entrepreneurship support centers are being created throughout the country, which advise on business issues, train or allow them to exchange experiences with other entrepreneurs working in the same region.

The entrepreneurship support system has acquired particular importance in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and the growing economic crisis.

Support for entrepreneurs works simultaneously for several purposes:

• encouraging citizens to create their own businesses and, accordingly, increase economic activity;
• encouraging small and medium-sized businesses as the economic basis of the state economy;
• directing funds and efforts to the highest priority areas - there are separate support programs, for example, for innovative business areas.

In order to count on government support as an entrepreneur, it is important to understand what kind of business the state helps - government assistance is focused primarily on small and medium-sized businesses.

Small and medium-sized businesses are organizations and individual entrepreneurs that meet the criteria described in Art. 4 of Federal Law No. 209-FZ of July 24, 2007. Such criteria include, for example:

• average number of employees: up to one hundred people for small businesses and from 101 to 200 for medium-sized ones;
• income level for a calendar year: up to 120 million rubles - micro-enterprise, up to 800 million rubles - small, up to 2 billion - medium.

In accordance with Art. 4.1 209-FZ, a unified register of SMEs is maintained. The register is maintained by the tax service and contains information about all organizations that meet the criteria for SMEs.

General provisions

Many citizens are unaware of their rights and the things they can get for free. Any citizen of the Russian Federation in need can contact the local municipality, provide the necessary documents and get a real opportunity to receive a subsidy.

ATTENTION! The state does not have strict obligations to inform citizens about various types of benefits, allowances and subsidies.

To obtain it, you may need to collect the necessary certificates and signatures, knocking on the thresholds of various government bodies . To avoid such a waste of time, it is imperative to familiarize yourself with the possible options and package of documents.

Many programs are aimed at improving living conditions, eliminating social inequality, and rewarding for special services to the country.

Subsidies from the employment center

Employment centers are structures whose main tasks are to help citizens find work and legal sources of income. In addition to selecting suitable vacancies for the citizen who applies, employment centers offer a wide range of educational programs with the help of which a citizen has the right to improve his qualifications, obtain an additional specialty and thereby increase his chances in the labor market.

Since business is one of the types of legal employment, employment centers also encourage citizens who intend to go into business. If a person opens his own company or registers as an individual entrepreneur, one of the types of business subsidies from the state that he has the right to count on is a one-time subsidy from the employment center.

Its size is small - only a few tens of thousands of rubles - this is not enough for start-up capital, but enough to pay for the expenses associated with organizing a business:

• notarial acts;
• the services of a lawyer hired to draw up the necessary documents and advise the future entrepreneur;
• state duties;
• initial purchase of forms, printing.

Only a citizen who is registered as unemployed and has submitted an application of intent to open a business has the right to receive it.

General overview

For those who closely follow the latest legislative updates, it will not be a surprise to learn that not all relaxations introduced earlier remain relevant in 2021. An example is the refusal of preferential deductions, the amount of which previously amounted to 12 thousand rubles. And yet, subsidizing the self-employed seems to be a more promising option for developing the tax regime, since it opens up a number of new opportunities for this category of market entities. The main thing is to understand the operating principle of the system and be able to take advantage of the preferences in a timely manner.

Grants

The company has the right to receive assistance to individual entrepreneurs from the state and in the form of a grant, for example, with the help of the Innovation Promotion Fund.

The fund supports modern, innovative areas of activity, start-ups, and young scientists. The amount of funding depends on the specific program and reaches 25 million rubles.

To receive a grant, you must submit an application, which includes a detailed business plan. A grant assumes a specific goal - money is provided for a certain period, from several months to several years, during which the recipient of the funds achieves the stated result and reports on it.

Possible targets include, for example:

• development of an intellectual property object and official registration of rights to it;
• organizing the activities of the enterprise and hiring a certain number of employees;
• release into production and sale of your own product;
• achieving a certain level of revenue.

If the stated result is not achieved, the Fund has the right to demand the return of the money provided.

Subsidizing for individuals

In Russia, subsidizing citizens plays an important role. State authorities purposefully or with the help of various budgetary and extra-budgetary funds provide subsidized funds to certain categories of individuals:

1. Low-income citizens. This procedure is carried out by the social protection service and also involves a declarative nature. To receive a subsidy for a specific need, you must contact social security institutions and submit a written application.
2. Citizens who have a congenital or acquired disability, and persons (most often close relatives) who care for a disabled person.
3. For people who have retired. Subsidized payments for: travel in city and intercity transport, for health improvement in sanatoriums and other expenses.
4. Persons who do not have official employment, are registered at the labor exchange or have organized entrepreneurial activities (new businessmen).
5. Citizens who have distinguished services to the country. This category includes: veterans of WWII or current military operations.
6. People who need improved living conditions.
7. Large families and young married couples.
8. Citizens who have suffered any damage as a result of natural or man-made disasters.

To consider an application for a subsidy payment and make a definite decision regarding the application, you must include with the application a document confirming the citizen’s right to apply for a cash payment.

Attention!

As a supporting document, a certificate confirming that a person has a disability group or a birth certificate of children can be provided when applying for payment for a mother of many children.

How to account for a business development grant

Question : We received financial support from the regional budget in the form of a grant for business development as a small enterprise. The simplified tax system does not take into account the income listed in Art. 251 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

According to paragraphs. 14 clause 1 art. 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, grants are means of targeted financing. We apply the simplified tax system with the object of taxation “income”. Is it possible not to include the received grant in income?

Answer : You must include the grant amount in non-operating income. But the procedure for such inclusion will depend on whether the grant was provided within the framework of the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 N 209-FZ “On the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter referred to as Law N 209-FZ) or not. Let us explain in more detail.

Read in full in ConsultantPlus

Federal and regional business support programs

Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 316 dated April 15, 2014 approved a federal program aimed at widespread business development and improving the business climate in the country. In particular, the program has a subprogram focused on supporting small and medium-sized businesses.

The subprogram involves the allocation of funds from the budget to finance preferential lending to organizations operating in priority areas, for example:

• in agriculture;
• tourism;
• healthcare;
• catering;
• science and development of new technologies.

The program involves co-financing financial assistance to businesses from federal regional budgets. An entrepreneur has the right to find out how to obtain assistance for individual entrepreneurs from the state within the framework of the program in a specific region on the resource of the administration of their region or the website of a regional government authority specializing in entrepreneurship problems.

Individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation organize their own regional measures to support small businesses, the essence and requirements of which are contained in regional information resources and local business support centers.

Zemstvo doctor

The program exists to support young medical workers who are sent to work in rural areas . Currently, paramedic stations are being built in villages, but there is an acute shortage of qualified personnel. The presented program is aimed at filling such gaps.

A specialist can count on payments of up to 1 million rubles subject to the following conditions:

1. the applicant's age is no more than 30 years;
2. The minimum period of work in the village is 5 years.
3. The funds will be used to purchase housing or a house.

To receive payments, the young doctor applies to the local administration. The program is valid in any corner of the Russian Federation. We note the package of documents presented to the applicant.

• Passport.
• A work book with the fact of being hired in a specific locality.
• Diploma of higher or secondary education.
• The actual address of the specialist in a specific locality.
• Document on delivery for registration to receive a cash grant.

It is possible to provide copies of documents.

Tax holidays for SMEs

Federal Law No. 477-FZ of December 29, 2014 introduced another form in which state assistance is provided when starting a small business - tax holidays for entrepreneurs in the first two years of their activity.

A tax holiday is a period during which the tax rate is zero. Individual entrepreneurs who apply a simplified taxation system and conduct activities in such areas as scientific, industrial or social have the right to count on it.

The provision of tax holidays is also regulated at the regional level: each subject of the Russian Federation independently determines what types of economic activities are entitled to receive fiscal relief and set restrictions, for example, on the number of employees of the organization.

How to complete and submit an application

The application for a subsidy is made according to the form from Appendix 4 to the Rules, approved. Resolution No. 1513.

statements here.

Subsidy application form

The application can be sent electronically through your personal account on the Federal Tax Service website or via TKS.

If you do not have a personal account, the application can be filled out on the Federal Tax Service website, and then printed, signed and sent by mail.

Support for SMEs participating in government procurement

Federal Law No. 98-FZ of 04/01/2020 established that for procurement with restrictions among SMP, the state customer has the right not to establish a requirement to ensure the execution of the contract and warranty obligations until 12/31/2020. The exception is when the contract provides for an advance.

Read more about all measures to support suppliers in government procurement: “High alert mode in procurement: new rules due to coronavirus.”

It should be remembered that, regardless of the situation, customers are obliged to carry out at least 15% of their purchases exclusively among small businesses and select a contractor from among them - the legislator guarantees that at least 15% of budget money transferred to customers will go to small businesses;

Additional support measures due to coronavirus

Government assistance to entrepreneurs became especially important in 2020 during the coronavirus epidemic, when the forced shutdown of almost the entire global economy led to an unprecedented drop in activity and profits. Many enterprises were suddenly left without the ability to operate, earn money to pay employees, current expenses, taxes, payments, not to mention the formation of assets and reserves.

In such a situation, direct money for business from the state in 2021 became an adequate measure - all organizations that suffered from the epidemic are paid funds in an amount corresponding to the number of business employees. Each employee in the state is entitled to a payment in the amount of the minimum wage - 12,130 rubles. To receive payment from the state, a number of conditions must be met:

• the organization must belong to one of the affected industries. The industries recognized as affected are listed in Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 434. It is important to understand that the attitude towards the affected industry is determined by the organization’s main OKVED code. That is, if the main code relates to the affected industry, the company will receive a payment, if not, it will not. Even if one of the company’s minor OKVED documents is included in the list of victims and the company conducts most of its activities using it, it will not receive payment;
• the company should not fire employees: dismissal of no more than 10% of the headcount as of April 1, 2021 is allowed, and if the company employed two people, one of whom was fired - that is, 50% of the employees were actually fired - the company will still receive the payment.

Another form in which assistance from the state is provided to individual entrepreneurs in 2020 is preferential lending at 2% per annum. To receive such a loan, a company must be in the affected industry. In addition, if over the next year the company retains 90% of its employees, the loan will be written off, and if 80 - 90% of the employees are retained, half will be written off.

Affected companies have the right to count on:

• suspension of inspections and enforcement of penalties;
• extension of deadlines for submitting reports and documents upon request;
• suspension of bankruptcies.

Self-employed people who pay professional income tax are also entitled to some assistance in connection with the coronavirus:

• those who registered in this capacity in 20219 - these are self-employed people in Moscow, the Moscow region, Tatarstan and Kaluga - will receive back the entire amount of tax paid in 2021;
• self-employed people who registered in this capacity in 2021 will receive tax capital in the amount of the minimum wage, from which they will be able to calculate the tax accrued to them in 2021. The tax capital will not be paid directly - if the self-employed does not count it against the tax, it will be burned at the end of the year.

If you bought a home

You can return 13% of the cost of purchased housing. The maximum amount from which money will be returned if you paid for the apartment with your own funds is 2 million ⃏. If you bought an apartment with a mortgage - 3 million ⃏.

Even if you bought an apartment for 10 million or five apartments for a million each, you will receive 13% of 2 million. Not more.

There is a life hack: you can register your living space as shared ownership. You buy an apartment for 5 million in half with your spouse - each of you receives 13% of two million ⃏. Total: 260 thousand for each or 520 thousand for a family.

To apply for a tax refund when purchasing a home, you need:

• a copy of the purchase and sale agreement with the developer or owner;
• or an acceptance certificate and an agreement for participation in shared construction;
• a copy of the payment document: check, receipt, seller's receipt;
• certificate of state registration of rights (if you have not registered the apartment yet, do so);
• statement from spouses if the deduction has been distributed.

If you took out a mortgage, you can return another 13% of the interest paid (from three million ⃏ maximum). Interest on interest, Karl! This means you can get another 390 thousand. For this you need:

• a copy of the loan agreement with the mortgage payment schedule;
• a certificate from the bank about interest paid for the year;
• documents confirming payment: usually it is enough to bring a certificate from the bank, but some tax authorities require payment, it is better to be on the safe side.

By law, you can get back money spent on home renovations. But in practice this is almost meaningless. Firstly, the apartment must have a rough finish - this is recorded in the acceptance certificate. It should cost less than two million. Two million is the maximum amount with which you can return the cost of purchasing a home. And repairs are the same expense item.

If you managed to buy a new apartment for one and a half million and invested another 500 thousand in renovations, collect all the receipts for the finishing materials and for the work of the craftsmen. If repairs are done by private owners without a contract, nothing will come of it.