Deduction when buying an apartment by spouses: distribution

16.02.2021

Property deduction when purchasing residential real estate reduces your income subject to income tax. As a result, income becomes less. The amount of tax you are required to pay is also reduced. If tax was withheld from you without such a deduction, an overpayment of income tax appears. The budget must return it to you.

These are the general rules for obtaining a tax deduction, which also apply to apartments between spouses. The deduction can be obtained at work or directly from the tax office. Moreover, in any option, you need to provide documents to the inspection that confirm the costs of purchasing the apartment. For more information on how to receive a deduction, see the link.

Which spouse is entitled to a tax deduction?

Buying an apartment can be done in different ways. Here are the most popular options:

common joint property (without indicating the size of shares) with the apartment registered in the name of only one of the spouses, or for each of them;
shared property indicating the size of the share of each spouse.

In all situations, both husband and wife receive the right to deduction. Of course, provided that each of them has such a right in principle. That is, they did not use the deduction in the past, the apartment was not purchased with state money. budget, maternity capital or from a close relative.

The total deduction amount is equal to the cost of purchasing a home. For example, rooms, houses, apartments. But its maximum size is limited by law. The deduction for each buyer cannot exceed 2 million rubles.

How to get a mortgage refund?

You can apply for an interest deduction only when the main deduction has already been selected. Step-by-step instructions for receiving interest deduction:

Collection of title documents. To receive a deduction, you need to collect a package of documents: a copy of your passport (the original is presented to the tax agent), a mortgage agreement, a loan repayment schedule, a certificate of interest paid for the reporting period with confirmation of the absence of late payments, a 2-NDFL certificate, a 3-NDFL declaration, and an application for mortgage interest deduction.
If the apartment was purchased earlier than January 1, 2014, in case of joint ownership, you must provide an agreement (application) on the distribution of the deduction indicating the share. If the apartment was purchased after 2014, an agreement must be made if the cost of housing is less than 4 million rubles, because in this case the deduction amount for each owner is exactly 2 million rubles.
In the case of shared ownership, along with the declaration, you must provide a statement on the distribution of shares, which is drawn up when registering the property. At the same time, when purchasing housing before 2014, the interest deduction is distributed in the same proportions as for the main deduction, and when purchasing real estate after 2014, spouses can establish different proportions.
Sending documents to the Federal Tax Service by mail or in person. If a taxpayer is registered in his personal account on the website of the Federal Tax Service of Russia, he can send a declaration electronically, sign it with an electronic digital signature, and attach all the necessary documents to it.
At the end of the desk audit, which lasts 2 months, funds are transferred to the taxpayer’s account, which is done within a month.

If the spouses have entered into a marriage contract, then deductions are distributed in accordance with the shares in jointly acquired property, and an application cannot be drawn up.

More information about when and how to apply for a property deduction can be found here.

The process of returning taxes on mortgage interest, although quite complicated, is quite realistic. Read our materials on how to return part of the amount paid to the budget through the tax service and at your place of work, as well as whether it is realistic to apply for an interest deduction when refinancing a mortgage or repaying it early and how to do it.

Joint ownership of an apartment

Main! Real estate acquired during marriage becomes the joint property of the spouses, regardless of which of them it is registered in the name of. It also doesn’t matter which of them contributed money to pay for it. In any case, it is considered that they bore equal costs for its acquisition. This rule is spelled out in Article 34 of the Family Code. There is a similar rule in Article 256 of the Civil Code.

Therefore, if you bought an apartment while married and it was fully registered, for example, in the name of the husband, then it is considered that half of the apartment was paid for by the wife. The fact that only the husband appears in the apartment purchase and sale agreement and all payment documents has no significance. Exactly the same situation if the property is registered in the name of the wife. Then it is considered that the husband received ownership and paid 50% of the cost of this apartment. And it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t appear in the documents for her at all. Therefore, each of them has the right to deduction.

Moreover, they have the right to distribute the deduction amount among themselves in any proportion. It doesn’t have to be 50/50. It can be 30/70 or 10/90. They determine the specific deduction amount for each on their own. For this purpose, a special agreement is drawn up (details below).

Features of the distribution of property tax deductions between spouses when purchasing housing (apartments, houses)

From this material you will learn the features:

receipt and distribution of property tax deductions when purchasing housing (apartment, house) by spouses in common shared ownership;
receipt and distribution of property tax deductions when purchasing housing (apartment, house) by spouses in common joint ownership:
receipt and distribution of property tax deductions in the case of registration of housing (apartment, house) solely for one of the spouses;
receiving and distributing a property tax deduction if one of the spouses has already received a tax deduction previously;
receipt and distribution of property tax deductions in the case of registration of housing (apartment, house) in common ownership with children.

The rules that govern the procedure for receiving and distributing property tax deductions when purchasing housing (apartment, house) in a marriage between spouses depend on several conditions:

what kind of ownership the housing (apartment, house) was purchased in - individual, shared or joint;
The property was purchased before January 1, 2014 or after January 1, 2014.
This is due to the fact that from January 1, 2014, significant changes were made to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation related to obtaining a property tax deduction;
For reference. The “date of purchase of housing” should be considered the date of the certificate of registration of ownership rights when purchasing under a purchase and sale agreement or the date of the transfer deed when purchasing housing (apartment, house) under an agreement of shared participation in construction.
whether a marriage contract has been drawn up between the spouses, defining a special property regime.
For the purposes of this material, it is assumed that no marriage contract was concluded between the spouses.

Let us consider the features of receiving and distributing property tax deductions by spouses in these situations.

Receipt and distribution of property tax deductions when purchasing housing (apartment, house) by spouses in common shared ownership

When purchasing housing (apartment, house) in common shared ownership, the shares of each spouse are clearly allocated and, accordingly, are written down in the certificate of registration of ownership of housing (apartment, house).

In this case, the property tax deduction is distributed strictly in accordance with the prescribed share of housing (apartment, house), and neither spouse can refuse his share or receive a property tax deduction for the other spouse.

(clause 3, clause 2, article 220 “Standard tax deductions” of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation)

Even if one of the spouses has already received a property tax deduction, the other spouse will still be able to receive a property tax deduction only in the amount of his share.

(letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated July 11, 2013 No. ED-4-3/ [email protected] , Ministry of Finance of Russia dated February 27, 2013 No. 03-04-05/9-148).

The dependence of the value of the property tax deduction of each spouse on the cost of housing (apartment, house) and on whether the housing was purchased before January 1, 2014 or after.

If housing (apartment, house) was purchased by spouses before January 1, 2014

For housing (apartments, houses) purchased before January 1, 2014, there is a limit on the total property tax deduction for a housing property in the amount of 2 million rubles.

(paragraph 25, paragraph 2, paragraph 1, article 220 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in the old version, Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 06/21/2012 N 03-04-05/5-756, dated 06/08/2012 N 03-04-05/9-706 , dated March 15, 2012 N 03-04-05/7-307, Federal Tax Service of Russia dated September 19, 2012 N ED-3-3/ [email protected] ).

Accordingly, even if housing (apartment, house) costs more than 2 million rubles, then only 2 million rubles will participate in the process of distributing the property tax deduction between spouses.

Example 1. Spouses A. and B. in 2013 bought an apartment worth 3 million rubles as common shared ownership. Moreover, the share of each spouse in this property was 50%.

In this case, the property tax deduction will be distributed between the spouses in accordance with their shares in the property.

The maximum amount of property tax deduction for the entire apartment is 2 million rubles, since the apartment was purchased before January 1, 2014, and accordingly, each spouse will have the right to receive a property tax deduction in the amount of 1 million rubles. ( 130 thousand rubles to be returned ).

Example 2. Spouses A. and B. in 2013 bought an apartment worth 1.5 million rubles as common shared ownership. Moreover, the share of each spouse in this property was 50%.

Spouse B. does not work and does not receive income subject to income tax (NDFL). The couple wanted the working spouse to receive the entire property tax deduction in the amount of 1.5 million rubles.

The tax office rightfully denied spouse A. a property tax deduction in the amount of 1.5 million rubles, since with common shared ownership, each spouse can count on a property tax deduction only in the amount of their share.

Accordingly, spouse A. will be able to receive a property tax deduction only in the amount of 750 thousand rubles. and, accordingly, 97,500 rubles to be returned.

Example 3. Spouses A. and B. in 2013 bought an apartment worth 3.5 million rubles as common shared ownership. In this case, the share of each spouse in the property was 50%.

Spouse A. had previously received a property tax deduction when purchasing another apartment and, accordingly, cannot receive a property tax deduction again.

Spouse B. will be able to receive a property tax deduction only in the amount of her share, that is, 50% of the maximum amount of property tax deduction for a housing property:

50% x 2 million rubles = 1 million rubles, respectively, to the return of 130 thousand rubles.

If housing (apartment, house) was purchased after January 1, 2014

When purchasing housing (apartment, house) after January 1, 2014, the limit on the total property tax deduction of spouses of 2 million rubles no longer applies , and each spouse can receive a property tax deduction in the amount of 2 million rubles.

Since 2014, the restriction on property tax deduction applies not to a housing property, but to a person.

Example 4. Spouses A. and B. in 2014 bought an apartment worth 3 million rubles as common shared ownership. In this case, the share of each spouse in the property was 50%.

In this case, each spouse will have the right to receive a property tax deduction in the amount of 1/2 of the cost of the apartment, that is, 1.5 million rubles and, accordingly, 195 thousand rubles to be returned.

Example 5. In 2014, spouses A. and B. bought an apartment worth 7 million rubles as common shared ownership. In this case, the share of each spouse in the property was 50%.

In this case, each spouse will be able to receive a property tax deduction in the amount of 2 million rubles, that is, the maximum amount of property tax deduction and, accordingly, return 260 thousand rubles of tax paid (personal income tax).

Distribution of property tax deduction between spouses for mortgage interest

If spouses buy an apartment with a mortgage or some other housing loan, then regardless of who the loan is issued to , the loan interest deduction is distributed in the same way as the main property tax deduction , in accordance with the spouses’ shares in the property.

(Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 09/20/2013 N 03-04-05/39132, dated 09/01/2010 N 03-04-05/6-512, Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated 03/21/2011 N 20-14/4/ [ email protected] ).

Example 6. Spouses A. and B. bought an apartment worth 2 million rubles as common shared ownership. In this case, the share of each spouse in the property was 50%. To purchase an apartment, the couple took out a mortgage loan in the amount of 1 million rubles. The loan was issued entirely to the spouse, the spouse acted only as a guarantor.

As a result of purchasing an apartment, each spouse will be able to receive:

property tax deduction in the amount of 1 million rubles from the purchase price of an apartment and
property tax deduction in the amount of 50% of the interest paid on the loan.

In this case, it will not matter which of the spouses will be issued payment documents for the payment of the loan for the purchase of an apartment.

Property tax deduction for the purchase of housing (apartment, house) by spouses in common joint ownership

In accordance with the Family Code of the Russian Federation (Articles 33, 34 of the RF IC), all property acquired by spouses during marriage is their joint property.

(Article 33 “The concept of the legal regime of property of spouses” and Article 34 “Joint property of spouses” of the Family Code of the Russian Federation).

Therefore, it does not matter which spouse actually bears the costs of purchasing the home. Both are considered to contribute to such expenses.

(Clause 2 of Article 34 “Common property of spouses” of the Family Code of the Russian Federation).

Consequently, when purchasing housing (apartment, house) in joint ownership, both spouses have the right to a property tax deduction with the ability to distribute it by agreement.

By default, the property tax deduction is distributed in equal shares, that is, 50%, but spouses have the right to redistribute it in any proportion, up to 100% and 0%.

The shares of the property tax deduction are determined by submitting to the tax office an Application for the distribution of shares signed by both spouses.

(This provision is supported by letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 04/08/2015 N 03-04-05/19849, dated 03/26/2014 N 03-04-05/13204, dated 09/13/2013 N 03-04-07/37870, Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 18.09 .2013 N BS-4-11/ [email protected] ).

Important. An application for distribution of property tax deduction is submitted once. And subsequently, the spouses cannot change the ratio in which the property tax deduction will be received, including transferring the balance of the property tax deduction to the other spouse.

(Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 09/07/2012 N 03-04-05/7-1090, dated 08/28/2012 N 03-04-05/7-1012, dated 07/20/2012 N 03-04-05/9-890, dated 05/18/2012 N 03-04-05/7-647).

The size of the property tax deduction for each spouse depends on the cost of housing (apartment, house) and whether the housing was purchased before January 1, 2014 or after.

If housing (apartment, house) was purchased before January 1, 2014

For housing (apartment, house) that was purchased before January 1, 2014, there is a limit on the total property tax deduction for a housing property in the amount of 2 million rubles .

Accordingly, the maximum property tax deduction for both spouses is 2 million rubles.

Example 7. In 2013, spouses A. and B. bought an apartment in common joint ownership for 2.5 million rubles. They agreed to distribute the property tax deduction in equal shares - 50% each.

As a result, each spouse will be able to receive 50% of the maximum property tax deduction for the entire apartment (2 million rubles) and return 130 thousand rubles. income tax (NDFL).

Example 8. In 2013, spouses A. and B. purchased an apartment in common joint ownership for 3.5 million rubles. Since the spouse does not work and is not a personal income tax payer, they agreed to distribute the property tax deduction as follows:

The spouse receives 100% of the property tax deduction and
0% goes to the spouse.

As a result, the spouse will receive a property tax deduction in the maximum amount - 2.0 million rubles and, accordingly, 260 thousand rubles to be returned.

Example 9. In 2010, spouses A. and B. bought an apartment in common joint ownership for 2.0 million rubles. They agreed to distribute the property tax deduction in equal shares - 50% each.

Having received part of the property tax deduction due to her, the spouse went on maternity leave and wanted to redistribute the property tax deduction so that the remainder of her tax deduction was received by her husband.

The tax office rightfully refused to redistribute the property tax deduction to the spouse.

She will be able to receive the rest of her property tax deduction after she returns from maternity leave and officially works again and pays income tax at a rate of 13% (personal income tax).

If housing (apartment, house) was purchased after January 1, 2014

When purchasing a home after January 1, 2014, each spouse can receive a property tax deduction in the amount of 2 million rubles, if the cost of the home allows, and the limit on the total property tax deduction for the property no longer applies.

(from January 1, 2014, the restriction on property tax deduction applies not to the housing object, but to the person).

Example 10. Spouses A. and B. bought an apartment worth 4.5 million rubles as joint property in 2014. Since the apartment costs more than 4.0 million rubles, the spouses can distribute the property tax deduction in equal shares, that is, 50%, and each of them will be able to receive a property tax deduction in the maximum amount of 2 million rubles and , accordingly, to a refund of 260,000 rubles.

Example 11. Spouses A. and B. bought an apartment worth 2.5 million rubles in 2014 as joint property.

Since the spouse does not officially work, it was decided to redistribute 100% of the property tax deduction to the spouse. As a result, the spouse will receive a property tax deduction in the maximum amount - 2.0 million rubles and, accordingly, 260 thousand rubles to be returned.

Distribution of property tax deduction for mortgage interest

Until now, we have looked at how the main property tax deduction from the purchase of an apartment is distributed when registering as joint property.

But the question remains of how the property tax deduction is distributed in relation to interest paid on a loan to purchase an apartment.

The regulatory authorities express a clear opinion on this issue:

Regardless of whose name the loan and payment documents for the payment of interest are issued, the property tax deduction for the interest paid is distributed in exactly the same shares as those chosen by the spouses for the main property tax deduction.

(Letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 08/25/2011 N 03-04-05/7-597, dated 07/14/2008 N 03-04-05-01/243, Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 04/26/2011 N KE-3-3/ [email protected ] , Federal Tax Service of Russia for Moscow dated 02/19/2010 N 20-14/4/01 [email protected] ).

Example 12. Spouses A. and B. bought an apartment with a mortgage. In this case, the mortgage agreement was executed entirely in the name of the spouse, and the spouse acted only as a guarantor.

Since the spouse was about to go on maternity leave, the spouses decided that the spouse would receive the entire property tax deduction and submitted a corresponding Application to the tax office for the distribution of shares of the property tax deduction.

As a result, despite the fact that the loan agreement is drawn up for the spouse, the property tax deduction for the mortgage interest paid will be received entirely by the husband after the main property tax deduction has been exhausted.

Application of property tax deduction in the case of registration of housing (apartment, house) individually for one of the spouses

Due to the fact that all property purchased during marriage is considered the common joint property of the spouses (Clause 1, Article 256 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Articles 33, 34 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation), the property tax deduction can be distributed even if when ownership is registered in the name of only one of the spouses.

(letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 04/20/2015 No. 03-04-05/22246, dated 03/18/2015 No. 03-04-05/14480, dated 02/01/2013 No. 03-04-05/7-87).

Accordingly, if housing (apartment, house) is registered in the name of only one of the spouses, then:

The property tax deduction can be received entirely by the spouse in whose name the housing is registered;
In this case, an application for distribution of property tax deduction is not required.
a property tax deduction can be distributed between spouses by agreement using an application for distribution of a property tax deduction.

Example 13. While officially married, spouses A. and B. bought an apartment for 2.0 million rubles. The apartment was decorated entirely in the name of the spouse.

Despite the fact that the apartment and all documents are registered in the name of the wife, the spouses decided that the spouse would receive a property tax deduction.

They submitted a corresponding application for the distribution of shares of the property tax deduction - 100% to the husband and 0% to the wife, to the tax office, and as a result, the husband received the property tax deduction in full - 2 million rubles and, accordingly, 260 thousand rubles to be returned.

Will a spouse to whom a 0% property tax deduction was distributed receive a property tax deduction in the future?

As stated above, when purchasing housing (apartment, house) in joint ownership, spouses have the opportunity to distribute the property tax deduction entirely to one of the spouses - in the proportion of 0% and 100%.

At the same time, when using the property tax deduction for housing purchased before 2014, a logical question was:

Will the spouse to whom the 0% estate tax credit was distributed be able to receive the estate tax credit in the future, or will he be deemed to have also “used” his estate tax credit?

The answer to this question is contained in letters from the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated January 15, 2013 N ED-3-3/ [email protected] and dated November 23, 2012 N ED-3-3/ [email protected]

They indicate that a taxpayer who has declared a property tax deduction of 0% and has not personally applied to the tax office to receive a property tax deduction, in the future, when purchasing (constructing) housing, may receive a property tax deduction under paragraphs. 2 p. 1 art. 220 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Accordingly, the spouse who did not take advantage of the property tax deduction will be able to receive it in the future.

Example 14. In 2009, spouses A. and B. bought an apartment worth 2 million rubles and registered it as joint ownership. The spouses decided that the entire spouse would receive the property tax deduction for the apartment.

In this regard, they distributed the property tax deduction in shares:

100% - spouse and
0% - spouse.

In 2012, the couple sold the purchased apartment and bought a new one for 3 million rubles, which was registered entirely in the name of the spouse. Since the spouse is not considered to have taken advantage of the previous property tax deduction (with a 0% share), she has the right to receive the entire property tax deduction for the new apartment.

As a result, the spouse received 2 million rubles of a tax deduction, respectively, returned 260 thousand rubles for the first apartment purchased and the spouse received 2 million rubles of a property tax deduction, respectively, returned 260 thousand rubles of tax for the second apartment.

If one of the spouses has already received a property tax deduction previously

Even if one of the spouses has already received a property tax deduction before, the spouses can distribute the property tax deduction entirely in favor of the other spouse (100% / 0%), and he will be able to receive a property tax deduction in the maximum amount.

(letter from the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated 04/04/2013 N ED-3-3/ [email protected] dated 03/11/2013 N ED-3-3/ [email protected] , dated 03/05/2013 N ED-3-3/ [email protected] , dated 02/25/2013 N ED-3-3/ [email protected] , dated 01/15/2013 N ED-3-3/ [email protected] , Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 05/28/2013 N 03-04-05/19367).

For reference. Previously, regulatory authorities were inclined to take the position that the spouse who had already received a property tax deduction could not participate in the distribution of the property tax deduction, and, accordingly, the second spouse could count on a property tax deduction of only 50% of the cost of housing.

Example 15. Spouses A. and B. bought an apartment as joint property for 2 million rubles. At the same time, the spouse had already received a property tax deduction earlier for another apartment.

The spouses wrote to the tax office an application for the distribution of shares, in connection with which the spouse will receive 0% property tax deduction, the spouse - 100%. Thus, the spouse will be able to receive a property tax deduction in full in the amount of 2 million rubles and, accordingly, a refund of 260,000 rubles.

Application of property tax deduction in the case of registration of housing (apartment, house) in common ownership with children

When purchasing a home in common ownership with a child (children), parents have the right to receive a property tax deduction for the children’s shares.

We discussed in more detail all the features of obtaining a tax deduction for children in a separate article “How to obtain a property tax deduction for a child when buying a home (apartment, house) from 2021.”

If you have any questions about the violation of your rights, or you find yourself in a difficult life situation, then an online duty lawyer is ready to advise you on this issue for free.

TAXES AND TAX DEDUCTIONS

Shared ownership of an apartment

When purchasing an apartment in shared ownership, the documents indicate the size of the share of each spouse. It will be specified both in the purchase and sale agreement and in the extract from the state register of rights to real estate. Accordingly, they have the right to receive a deduction based on the costs of purchasing the share that is registered with the husband or wife. Moreover, in this case, it does not matter which of them the payment documents are issued for.

Moreover. They have the right to distribute the deduction in a proportion that is not related to the size of their share. For example, under a purchase and sale agreement, a share of 40% belongs to the husband and 60% to the wife. In general, they have the right to claim a deduction in the amount of:

husband - 40% of the cost of purchasing an apartment, but not more than 2 million rubles;
wife - 60% of the cost of purchasing an apartment, but not more than 2 million rubles;

But they have the right to establish any other distribution order. For example, it is agreed that the husband receives a deduction of 70%, and the wife 30% of the purchase costs. For this purpose, I am also drawing up a special agreement on the distribution of deductions (details below).

Is it possible to rewrite the form?

Spouses should think in advance about how they will distribute the deduction for the apartment? and in what proportion the income tax will be returned to each of them.

This is due to the fact that in the future it will be impossible to make changes to the distribution and rewrite the submitted application to the Federal Tax Service .

It is also unacceptable to transfer your part of the deduction to each other.

When deciding how the right to property benefits will be divided, you should take into account whether the person received official income in the year the apartment was purchased. If there was no such income, then there will be nothing to return.

In this case, you can transfer the right to use the deduction to the spouse who had the income. In this case, you can indicate in the application that the distribution is 0 and 100%.

The proportion of distribution can be any , the main thing is to think through and calculate everything in advance, since it will not be possible to rewrite the application for a property deduction.

What form should I use for separation?

There is a standard application form prepared by the Federal Tax Service. It is better to use this form to submit information to the tax office, but the law does not prohibit drawing up a document based on your own sample .

A standard application form for the division of property tax deductions between official spouses can be found here.

What does the application form for distribution from the Federal Tax Service look like:

Distribution of deductions between spouses

When purchasing an apartment in joint ownership, the law allows the deduction amount to be distributed between spouses in the proportion that they agree on. It doesn’t matter how the purchase is made (for one or for two). Expenses can be divided 50/50 or in any other proportion. For example, the husband 70% of the total cost of the apartment, and the wife 30%. Or the wife is 100%, and the husband is 0%.

For such distribution, a special document is drawn up - Agreement on the distribution of property tax deduction (see the link for a sample).

You need to distribute the deduction if the apartment costs less than 4 million rubles. Otherwise, no distribution is necessary. In such a situation, each spouse claims a deduction in its maximum amount - 2 million. If the value of the property is less than 4 million, then it is important to understand which of them will receive a deduction and in what amount.

The most profitable option is to provide the maximum amount to the one who receives the highest official income. This will help return the maximum amount of money to the family.

Example A husband and wife bought an apartment as joint property. Each of them received the right to a deduction.

Situation 1 The total cost of the apartment is RUB 5,500,000. In this situation, each of them has the right to claim a deduction in its maximum amount - 2,000,000 rubles. No agreement needed.

Situation 2 The total cost of the apartment is 3,500,000 rubles. In this situation, everyone will not be able to receive the maximum deduction. It is necessary to divide 3.5 million between husband and wife in any proportion and draw up an Agreement.

Let's assume that the husband officially earns more than his wife. Then the maximum amount can be distributed in his favor - 2 million, and the wife will receive the remaining amount - 1.5 million (3.5 million - 2 million).

Since the wife received a deduction of only 1.5 million, she will be able to get the remaining amount (0.5 million) when purchasing another residential property. For example, dachas or houses.

Situation 3 The total cost of the apartment is 1,800,000 rubles. Here you need to divide 1.8 million between husband and wife and draw up an Agreement. For example:

in favor of the husband 1.5 million, and in favor of the wife - 0.3 million;
in favor of husband and wife 0.9 million each, etc.

As in situation 2, each of them will be able to “get” the deduction amount when purchasing another residential property.

The distribution is meaningless if one spouse is not eligible for the deduction. For example, they have already used it before. In this situation, it can be claimed by the second spouse in the amount of the total amount of purchase expenses (but not more than 2 million rubles).

How to fill out and submit an application for distribution of deductions

By law, this document can be drawn up in any form. However, often recommended samples are displayed on information stands in tax offices. You have the right to draw up a document in the form recommended by the inspection or fill it out on the form that is available with us.

DOES NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to refuse you on the grounds that your form does not correspond to the sample at the inspectorate . Our form was compiled on the basis of the official letter of the Federal Tax Service of Russia dated November 22, 2012 No. ED-4-3/19630, which contains recommended samples. This letter is mandatory for use by all Russian tax inspectorates.

Our website provides:

Completed application form for distribution of property deduction (as a sample).
Application template for distribution of property deduction in DOC format (see attached file). You can download it and fill it out using our sample and indicating your own data.

The application can be submitted to the inspection in person or sent by mail. When sending by post, the day of submission of the application is considered the date of its delivery to the post office.

In the first case (when transferring in person), draw up the document in two copies. Give the first one to the inspectorate. The second one will remain with you. In this case, ask the tax inspector accepting the application for a tax refund to put a stamp on the second (your) copy indicating acceptance of the application indicating the current date.

In the second case (sending by mail), send the application by a valuable letter with a list of attachments and, preferably, with acknowledgment of delivery. Be sure to save the mailing receipt and the subsequent notification received (if the letter was sent with a notification). These documents will confirm that the application has been sent to the tax office.

As a rule, an application for the distribution of deductions is submitted together with the personal income tax return (form 3-NDFL) for the corresponding year. The following is attached to the declaration:

application for a property deduction (see link);
documents confirming expenses for the purchase of real estate (for a list of documents, see the link, subheading “What documents confirm the right to deduction”).

Attention! If you do not have the data to fill out certain lines of the application (for example, you have not been assigned a TIN), do not fill them out or delete these lines from the template.

Can the distribution agreement and proportion be changed?

Can. The easiest way to do this is if none of you have received it yet. That is, the tax return with all the documents was sent to the inspectorate, but is under review there. In this situation, it is necessary to draw up updated declarations, a new Agreement and send them to the inspectorate. The verification of previous declarations will be canceled and the entire process will begin anew, taking into account the new distribution proportions.

If you have already received a deduction and received a tax refund, the situation becomes more complicated. According to tax authorities, in this case you no longer have the right to change the proportion. But they are wrong.

The law provides that you have the right to file an amended return if you made a mistake. Your mistake is the first distribution option. You have the right to correct it. To do this, you can draw up new, updated declarations and specify a different distribution procedure in them. A new agreement will also be required. The problem is that you will have to recalculate the deduction and the amount of tax for the entire period during which you received it. You cannot change it only from the year in which you decided to change the proportion.

Example A husband and wife bought an apartment as joint property in 2021. The cost of the apartment is 3,300,000 rubles. Everyone claims a tax deduction as a buyer of residential real estate.

Situation 1 The deduction is claimed for the first time on the declaration for 2021. By agreement between the spouses, the deduction is distributed as follows:

husband 60% of the amount of expenses, which will be 1,980,000 rubles;
wife 40% of the amount of expenses, which will be 1,320,000 rubles.

After filing the declaration, the spouses changed their minds and distributed the deduction as follows:

husband 50% of the amount of expenses, which will be 1,150,000 rubles;
wife 50% of the amount of expenses, which will be 1,150,000 rubles.

At this point, the declarations for 2021 were undergoing a desk audit and the deduction had not yet been provided to them.

In this situation, they can submit an updated declaration for 2020 and a new agreement. The declaration of each of them will contain a deduction in the amount provided for in the new agreement.

Situation 2 The deduction is claimed for the first time on the declaration for 2021. By agreement between the spouses, the deduction is distributed as follows:

husband 60% of the amount of expenses, which will be 1,980,000 rubles;
wife 40% of the amount of expenses, which will be 1,320,000 rubles.

Based on this ratio, the spouses received a deduction in 2021, 2021 and 2022. Then they changed their minds and distributed the deduction 50/50 (that is, 1,150,000 rubles each).

In this situation, they must submit an amended return for 2020, 2021 and 2022 and a new agreement. The declarations will contain a deduction in the amount provided for in the new agreement.

Most likely, the tax office will deny the right to a new distribution. Then this refusal will need to be challenged in the Tax Office of your region and in court.