Scientific degree of relationship

Brothers and sisters of students may be eligible for a tax deduction

Taking advantage of income tax breaks may soon become easier. A bill has been introduced to the State Duma to make it easier to receive a social deduction for education. If the document is accepted, the list of persons entitled to receive deductions for paying for the education of their relative will be expanded. In addition to parents, the student's brothers and sisters will be able to exercise this right.

The second stage of the declaration campaign has begun in Russia. Even if a person is not engaged in individual entrepreneurship and is not required to file a return, now is the time to visit the tax office. And not at all in order to leave money there, but, on the contrary, to receive overpaid taxes from the state. The right to so-called deductions, that is, to a refund of 13% of the amount spent on treatment, education or the purchase of housing, is available to everyone whose income is confirmed by a certificate in form 2NDFL.

Like any other deduction , the education deduction is not easy to obtain due to difficulties in collecting documents required by the tax office. Formally, the list of documents is small. It is enough to bring an agreement with the educational institution, a copy of its license, payment documents and the child’s birth certificate. In practice, problems with this deduction arise for almost every second person.

Only those who have a confirmed source of income are entitled to take advantage of the deduction. It is clear that this is not a full-time student, but a parent. But often parents, teaching a student to be independent, instruct him to pay for the semester himself. Tax inspectorates do not have the right to accept such payments: the one who claims the deduction must pay. The agreement with the educational institution must also be executed in the name of the person receiving the deductions. And if the mother comes to arrange for the child to go to university, and the father applies for the deductions, the deduction will be denied. And university staff do not always warn parents about how to draw up a contract correctly. In some tax offices, employees may accommodate parents with incorrectly completed education documents. But this is the exception rather than the rule.

Finally, one of the painful issues regarding tuition deductions is payment for institute services not on behalf of the parents, but on behalf of the older brother or sister. Such cases are not uncommon, but the Tax Code does not describe in any way the tax rights of a student’s relative in such a situation. Today, a taxpayer - a brother or sister - cannot take advantage of the right to a social deduction by educating another brother or sister at his own expense.

The bill submitted to the lower house eliminates this injustice in cases where, due to the student’s parents being retired or incapacitated, the student’s brother or sister pays full-time tuition fees in educational institutions. If the law is passed, this rule will apply in the event of the death of parents or one parent if they are divorced. Other conditions for receiving a deduction will remain standard. It will be possible to pay for a student’s education, having a tax benefit for this, until he reaches 24 years of age, the amount of the deduction will remain the same - no more than 50 thousand rubles. per year for each.

Irina SKLYAROVA