Accounting policy is a set of methods of accounting. Accounting policy is developed and signed by the Director or by the Chief accountant of a company. The accounting policy is approved during the process of creating a company and is valid until its liquidation. The Tax Code of the Russian Federation explicitly states that the accounting policy should be applied consistently from year to year, and changes should be made only in case of changes in legislation on taxes and fees, applied accounting methods or the beginning of new types of activities, changes in company management (Article 313 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation ).

Accounting policies are divided into objectives:

• for accounting purposes;
• for tax purposes.

The following key issues can be addressed in the policy for accounting purposes:

• plan of accounts;
• forms of primary documents of the organization. 

According to Federal Law 402 on Accounting, the unified forms of primary documents are no longer mandatory. That is, the company, as before, can use them in its activities, but for this it must approve them in the accounting policy:

• methods of accounting for inventories;
• method of depreciation;
• the method of accounting for goods by trade organizations;
• the method of accounting and distribution of income and expenses;
• the method of determining the proceeds from the execution of works or the provision of services.

The following key issues can be addressed in the accounting policies for tax purposes:

1. Method of recognizing income and expenses, namely:

• the accrual method - income and expenses are recognized in the account as they arise, that is, in the reporting (tax) period in which they occurred, regardless of the fact of their payment;
• cash method - income and expenses are recognized on the day of receipt or retirement of funds as payment for the transaction.

2. Depreciation method.

3. Formation of reserves, namely:

• provision for bad debts. The reserve for doubtful debts is created to ensure that in the organization’s financial statements the data on its receivables are reliable. In this regard, in the presence of doubtful debt, it is necessary to create a reserve;
• reserve for vacation pay and fees. The rules for creating this reserve are governed by article 324.1 of the Tax Code. According to this reserve, you should reflect in your accounting policy the adopted reservation method, the maximum amount of deductions and the monthly percentage of deductions to the specified reserve;
• reserve for the repair of fixed assets. Article 260, paragraph 3, of the Tax Code of the RF establishes that for a uniform write-off of expenses, the taxpayer has the right to create a reserve for forthcoming repairs of fixed assets. The rules for its creation are defined in article 324 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

Declaration when using the simplified tax regime:

Regardless of the selected tax base, organizations and entrepreneurs applying this tax regime shall submit a tax return in the form of KND 1152017.

The declaration must be submitted once a year:

• for IP (Individual entrepreneur), the deadline for filing is no later than April 30 of the year following the reporting year;
• for LLC (limited liability company) - no later than March 31 of the year following the reporting one;
• however, each quarter, no later than the 25th day of the month following the reporting quarter, it is necessary to make advance payments.

Declaration when using unified tax on imputed income regime:

The unified tax on imputed income  is a special tax regime for medium and small businesses that applies only to certain types of activities.  Organizations and entrepreneurs using this tax regime file a tax return in the form of KND 1152016.The declaration must be submitted quarterly before the 20th of the month following the reporting quarter.

Declaration when using the uniform agricultural tax regime:

The uniform agricultural tax regime is a special tax regime for organizations and entrepreneurs engaged in agriculture. Organizations and entrepreneurs using this tax regime file a tax return in the form of KND 1151059.Declaration on UAT shall be submitted once a year not later than March 31 of the year following the reporting year.

The declaration on this tax is submitted by all organizations and entrepreneurs who do not use special tax regimes.

The declaration must be submitted quarterly on a cumulative total not later than the 28th day of the month following the reporting period. Declaration for the year must be submitted before March 28 of the year following the reporting year.

VAT is a value added tax - 20% of the difference between the cost of goods / services and the cost of their production.

The VAT declaration must be submitted by all organizations and entrepreneurs who do not use special tax regimes.

VAT returns must be submitted every quarter no later than the 25th day of the month following the reporting quarter.

Property tax is a tax imposed on the property of the organization. The tax base is all movable and immovable property being on the balance sheet of the company.

The payers of this tax are all organizations that have movable or immovable property on their balance sheets and do not use special tax regimes.

The tax declaration for this tax is prepared in the form of KND 1152001, which reflects the average value of the organization’s assets on the 1st day of each month of the reporting period and the month following the reporting period. The reporting period for this declaration is the 1st quarter and the tax period is 1 year. According to the results of each reporting and tax period, the organization or entrepreneur must file a declaration and make advance payments. The declaration is submitted to the tax authorities no later than the 30th day of the month following the reporting or tax period.

Tax on personal income - a tax imposed on personal income or individual entrepreneur (who do not apply special tax regimes).

There are several forms of declaration for this tax:

• 2-NDFL - declaration of income of an individual. This report must be submitted by all organizations and entrepreneurs having employees. This declaration must be submitted once a year, no later than April 1, the year following the reporting year;
• 3-NDFL - this report should be submitted by an individual entrepreneur who does not use special tax regimes and by individuals who received incomes other than employer payments (property sales, provision of services, private practice, etc.). It is necessary to submit the declaration once a year until April 30 of the year following the reporting year.

Excise is a tax imposed on certain types of goods and included in the price of these goods. Goods subject to this tax are called excisable. These include - alcohol, tobacco, cars, gasoline, drugs, perfumes, etc.

The taxpayers of this tax are organizations and entrepreneurs selling or producing excisable goods. The full list of objects of taxation on excise is fixed in Article 182 of the Tax Code.

The tax declaration for excise taxes (excluding tobacco products) is completed and filed in the form of KND 1151084, on excise taxes on tobacco products in the form 1151074. The tax base and the amount of excise tax payable are reflected in these declarations. It is necessary to submit a declaration and pay tax every month, no later than the 25th day of the month following the reporting month.

In addition to the most common taxes and tax returns discussed above, there are less common taxes and tax returns, for which a small number of organizations and enterprises are recognized as payers. The obligation to file these tax returns depends on the property, activities and tax regime of the organization. All types of taxes, as well as the obligation to pay them are fixed by the tax code of the Russian Federation.

Any entrepreneurial activity may be ineffective and not generate revenue. However, this does not exempt the taxpayer from submitting a declaration. In this case, the so-called zero declaration is submitted to the tax authorities.

A zero declaration is a declaration that reflects information about the absence of a tax base for any tax (income tax, VAT, etc.). The concept of a zero declaration is only a colloquial term. Legally, the concept of a zero declaration is not fixed. In fact, a zero declaration, this is any declaration, the tax base for which is zero. The forms and deadlines for filing such a declaration are also standard and correspond to the tax for which it is filed.

Personnel records management is an activity aimed at developing and maintaining documents related to the accounting of personnel, working hours, and payroll calculations.

Personnel issues include the following positions:

• registration of employment;
• internal movement of workers;
• dismissal;
• regulation of relations between the manager and employees;
• organization of the labor process;
• other.

To keep records you need to properly organize workflow:

• develop an internal regulatory framework;
• prepare staffing for each state unit;
• make a regular arrangement;
• prepare labor agreements;
• develop personnel forms;
• issue T-2 cards;
• approve application forms for employees;
• prepare internal orders.

In accordance with the Federal Law of 01.04.1996 No. 27-FZ "On Individual (Personalized) Accounting in the Compulsory Pension Insurance System" organizations as well as individual entrepreneurs who have employees must submit individual information about each insured person working for them (including who have entered into agreements of a civil nature, on remuneration for which, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on insurance premiums, insurance premiums are charged) to the territorial body of pension fund at the place of registration.

Reporting deadlines:

Reporting on individual (personalized) accounting is to be submitted quarterly, not later than the 15th day of the second calendar month following the reporting period and together with:

• calculation of insurance premiums that have been calculated and paid for compulsory pension insurance to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation;
• insurance premiums for compulsory medical insurance to the Federal Mandatory Medical Insurance Fund and territorial funds for compulsory medical insurance.

If the number of employees of the company (including those who have entered into agreements of a civil law nature, on remuneration for which insurance premiums are charged in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation) exceeds 50 people, then the company is obliged to submit information in electronic form certified by an electronic digital signature.