Compensation for vacation in Russia: the conditions for issuing and applying the law

The opportunity to relax in almost any country in the world, depending on financial possibilities and desires, has appeared relatively recently. However, in recent years, the summer holiday area has sharply declined: terrorism, fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate, sanctions of Western countries and other reasons make an ever increasing number of Russians voluntarily or involuntarily stay in Russia. However, the options for good rest (both beach and ski, active, sightseeing, family and so on) in our country have increased significantly. But even such a situation is far from appealing to all representatives of the Russian population.

Legislative changes

Unlike the era of the USSR, when isolation from the outside world was considered a rule, in modern Russia both society and the state are negatively affected by this situation in the tourism sphere. True, the society was divided: a part of the population was quite satisfied with the rest at the domestic resorts, the rest hesitated or continued to aspire abroad.

The reaction to the current situation was changes in the legislative sphere. The law on compensation of rest in Russia was passed. If employees, going on vacation, preferred resorts in their homeland, the government can give a refund for rest. In this way, the governing body is trying to attract as many tourists as possible in the domestic tourism, since there are many fascinating places in Russia, where you can go for family holidays, and for young people or the elderly.

According to the redacted 255 and 270 articles of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (the law of compensation for rest in Russia 8710366), from the beginning of 2016, Russians have the right to reimbursement of funds used to organize recreation in Russia.

How is the procedure conducted, what are the objectives of the new bill? About this further.

Tasks of the new bill

The bill on compensations for rest in Russia was designed as early as 2013. The document included several important provisions:

1. Strengthening and development of the domestic tourist base. Despite the great opportunities (many historical monuments, beautiful and diverse nature), in Russia there are traditionally few tourists, both foreign and Russian.
2. Further development of the social support program. In modern Russia, more than 60% of residents can not afford summer trips during the holidays due to lack of financial resources, which leads to social tension.
3. Raising the standard of living of some social strata of the population. Subject to a holiday in the territory of Russia, any Russian citizen can receive cash in the amount of up to fifty thousand rubles per person. At the same time, a working member of the family pays income tax (13%).

Financial preferences

The number of expenses that can be compensated for vacation in Russia include:

• Payment for transport;
• accommodation;
• Cost of food;
• Services for excursions.

Circle of applicants for a refund

A company employee can receive compensation for finances spent for rest in Russia. Money is refunded for vacation expenses:

• The employee himself;
• His spouse;
• Minor family members;
• Children studying at the full-time department of the university and not reaching the age of twenty-four;
• Elderly parents.

Refund procedure

There are two options for returning compensation for vacation in Russia:

1. Return of financial resources by the employer.
2. Refund of money by tax authorities.

It is important that all costs must be documented. Therefore, you should save all checks and tickets (for each member of the family), and also conclude an agreement with a travel agency.

Refund of financial resources by the employer

Spent money can be paid by the employer of the holiday-maker. At the same time, in the accounts the company pays for the rest of the employee in Russia as an item of own expenses. Such spending should be officially conducted through the accounting department of the firm where the employee works.

Cash payments by tax authorities

Otherwise, the compensation for the funds spent on rest in Russia is made by the tax service. The issuance of funds goes along a path similar to the situation when it comes to buying real estate. The graduate needs to visit the nearest tax structure and submit financial reports in which all expenses for rest are recorded. To papers it is necessary to enclose also documentary acknowledgment of expenses (the permit from the tour operator, checks for payment of entertainments, tickets and so on).

The citizen receives compensation in the form of a tax deduction. In most cases, the amount of compensation will correspond to the actual costs of vacation, but also the payment should not exceed fifty thousand rubles.

Example calculation of compensation

For example, a family of four bought holiday packages. The cost of one ticket was 75 thousand rubles, so that the family vacation will cost in general 300 thousand rubles (75 x 4). Compensation of 50 thousand for rest in Russia is calculated per person (according to the legislation). So, only 200 thousand rubles are liable for compensation.

After receiving compensation for vacation in Russia, the employee is also required to pay tax at a rate of thirteen percent of the amount of money returned for release, ie twenty six thousand rubles (200,000 x 13%). Thus, the actual expenses for vacation will amount to 126 thousand rubles, instead of the initial 300 thousand rubles. For one member of the family rest will cost 31.5 thousand rubles. Save 43.5 thousand rubles for each member of the family or 174 thousand rubles for rest in general.

basic information

Summarizing, we will point out that a tourist voucher must be officially purchased at a travel agency, and all checks confirming payment for all kinds of services provided to travelers during a trip by the hotel, travel agency and so on should be preserved.

Documents for all family members who spent their holidays with the reporting person are submitted only by one person. Return of funds is made simultaneously with the issuance of a salary to an employee or in advance in a specified order. A citizen who received compensation is also required to pay a tax of 13%.

The law on compensation of rest in Russia will not have retroactive effect. This means that the costs of holidays of previous years are not compensated even if the necessary documents are available.

Employer preferences

It is necessary to take into account the following nuance: according to the adopted bill, the employer of the holiday-maker is absolutely not obliged to compensate the employee for the costs of vacation. He only got the opportunity to do it at will.

The decision to compensate for rest in Russia is usually taken only after scrupulous analysis of the state of the company's budget. For small businesses, there are agreements that allow employers not to reimburse expenses for vacation in Russia. But for those campaigns whose financial condition allows them to return their vacation money to their employee, the advantage lies in the fact that by agreeing to return the money spent to the holiday maker, the firm reduces the level of tax duties. That is, the sums of money spent by the campaign for reimbursement of costs to the traveler are counted as expenses.

Moreover, employers have the legal capacity to enter into agreements with travel agencies to purchase permits for their employees and close relatives. So, the price of travel for the company will decrease, as in travel agencies there are significant discounts for corporate clients. Such cooperation is useful for tour operators, employers, and, of course, the holidaymaker and his relatives.

In the future, the adopted law will be clarified and explained by the legislators.

Russia is a country with outstanding tourist opportunities, which are currently being used inefficiently. The introduction of the bill on compensation for rest in Russia offers significant opportunities for strengthening Russian tourism and neighboring economic areas. It is also expected to increase the number of jobs and increase the amount of monetary charges to the state budget.