Tax refund when buying an apartment - what documents are needed

One of the most popular types of property deductions is a tax refund when purchasing an apartment. In the proposed material you can find out what necessary documents will be the basis for obtaining a refund of 13% contributed when purchasing a property in 2017.

Conditions for receiving a deduction when purchasing real estate

Among the incentive measures for individuals purchasing residential properties, a tax deduction plays a special role, allowing you to return money in the amount of 13% of the amount paid.

The legal right to 13% implies the return of part of the personal income tax withheld from citizens at the place of work.

The exercise of the right to receive a property deduction in the specified amount depends on the following circumstances:

• completing a transaction for the acquisition of residential real estate, which has passed the registration procedure with the Rosreestr authorities;
• receiving income at the place of work and withholding income tax from it, which will serve as the basis for calculating the amount of the deduction;
• filing a declaration to the Federal Tax Service inspectorate at the place of residence based on the results of the year in which the transaction was made, as well as in subsequent years to confirm the right to the remaining part of the deduction.

Citizens submit income declarations based on the results of the previous calendar year, and for some categories of persons there is an obligation to submit them.

To obtain the right to return 13% of the cost of housing, a citizen must submit a declaration, even if by law he is not required to do so.

Providing a deduction - stages of receipt

The rules for obtaining a deduction when purchasing real estate provide for the implementation by applicants and tax authorities of formalized procedural actions aimed at confirming the following circumstances:

• completing a transaction legally;
• whether the citizen has withheld taxes on income during the year in which the transaction was made;
• the correctness of filling out documents, including the correspondence of the transaction amount and the calculation presented in the declaration.

To request a refund of funds paid for an apartment or other similar property, you must:

• during the declaration campaign, submit a formalized declaration form in form 3-NFDL;
• submit this form along with a set of required documents to the Federal Tax Service inspectorate;
• receive confirmation of acceptance of documents and the start of the procedure for verifying the information provided;
• make sure you receive a notification confirming your right to a property deduction, as well as the amount of tax that is subject to refund.

In order for the tax authority to have the opportunity to conduct a desk audit, it is necessary to send all documents related to the transaction simultaneously with the declaration. The list of documents for a refund through the tax office may vary depending on the specifics of the transaction.

Package of documents for registration of deductions

The package of documents in 2017, allowing to legally return the due funds, includes:

• declaration in form 3-NFDL, submitted to the Federal Tax Service in the form of an original;
• documents identifying the applicant;
• a certificate in form 2-NDFL, which confirms the amount of accrued and paid taxes on the applicant’s income (if the citizen had a primary and additional place of employment, this certificate is issued by each employer);
• a citizen’s statement about the need for a tax refund;
• documents confirming the completion of the transaction (agreement, transfer act, extract from the Unified State Register);
• documents confirming the transfer of funds for the purchased housing (receipt, payment order from a credit institution, etc.).

The application for a 13% refund must contain information about the applicant and account details where the refunded part of the tax is to be transferred. The deduction is available only in non-cash form, so it is necessary to indicate account details at the credit institution.

The specified list of documents in 2017 is provided for purchasing and selling on the secondary housing market. For certain types of transactions, additional documents are required.

To obtain a 13% refund on interest on a mortgage loan, you will need to additionally submit an agreement with a credit institution, as well as a bank certificate about the interest for the reporting period. This requirement is associated with the possibility of receiving a return in the form of 13% of the interest under the contract.

Refund of money spent on repairs

If citizens have made repairs to a residential property they own, they also have the right to apply for a deduction for apartment repairs through the tax authority.

The return of money spent on real estate finishing is carried out on the general basis regulated by tax legislation, however, it requires the submission of a number of additional certificates:

• a basic set of documentation - declaration, 2-NDFL certificate, applicant’s passport;
• title documents for the housing property;
• contract agreement for repair and construction work, indicating the volume of work performed and an estimate of expenditure obligations;
• documents on expenses incurred (checks, receipts, payment orders, etc.).

Verification of these documents will include the validity of the expenses incurred, as well as their proper execution.

When the property is joint or returned to the spouse

Real estate can be registered as the common property of citizens (usually members of the same family or spouses). If the property belongs to spouses in half, in addition to general documents, it is necessary to provide the officials of the Federal Tax Service with an application to determine the shares in the common right to housing.

The shares in this option will be 50% for each spouse, and the exercise of the right to deduction will be carried out taking into account the share of expenses that each spouse incurred to purchase the property.

If you need to make a refund for your spouse, there are two options for submitting documents:

• if the contract specifies a single payment amount, then it is possible to distribute expenses for each spouse by filing a corresponding application (usually corresponding to the size of their share in common law);
• if the agreement specifies specific amounts of payments made by each spouse, the calculation is carried out according to the data of the expense documents.

Accordingly, the documentation to the Federal Tax Service will need to be supplemented with additional forms for one of the specified options.

If the owner of the share is a child

Registration of an object in the name of a child does not mean that his legal representatives will lose the right to deduction, although the child himself is not a personal income tax payer. A minor child can apply for a deduction when purchasing real estate according to the rules regulated by clause 6 of Art. 220 Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

In this case, all certificates regarding the object, or shares of the object acquired in the name of the children, will be submitted to the Federal Tax Service by one of his parents or both representatives.

If both parents decide to exercise this right, they must indicate in the application an increase in their property deduction at the expense of the minor’s share. Parents have the right to determine the distribution of the children's share to increase their deductions independently.

For pensioners carrying forward deductions to previous years

To return the balance of a previously recognized deduction to a pensioner who has registered pension rights and lost a source of income subject to personal income tax, special rules are provided. For this purpose, the balance of funds calculated for deduction during the last year when the pensioner could work is used.

As a rule, the specified amount is enough for the pensioner to exercise the opportunity to receive a deduction for the maximum possible four years.

Cases when you need to file a declaration for another person

The legislation provides that the application for a refund of funds is independently signed by the applicant in the presence of the citizen applying for a tax refund. However, it is also possible to prepare documents through a representative of the owner of the property.

To exercise such a right, in addition to the standard list of documents, it is necessary to provide a notarized power of attorney, which will detail in detail all the powers that the representative can exercise.

Regardless of the powers specified in the power of attorney, the deduction will be issued to the owner of the property, and not to his representative.

How to prepare and certify copies of all documents

Preparing documents for submission to the tax office requires special attention, because not only the period for verifying information, but also the right to receive a deduction depends on the correct completion of the declaration, or certification of copies of forms and certificates.

Certification of copies of documents is carried out in two possible ways:

• independently by the applicant, by making an appropriate mark on each page of the submitted documents;
• by notarizing copies.

Regardless of the method of certifying copies, they will have equivalent force for the tax office.

Submission of the declaration and necessary documents is carried out at a personal meeting with employees of the Federal Tax Service. It is also possible to send documents through the taxpayer’s personal account, however, this requires the applicant to have such a service after gaining access from the tax authority.