Limitation period for taxes: what is it and how is it calculated?

Payment of taxes by individuals and legal entities of the Russian Federation is required for the timely filling of the state budget and the full maintenance of the state administrative apparatus. Tax deductions are also required for the development of social projects, comprehensive support for the poor, and so on.

To ensure control, individuals and legal entities must submit reports on tax liabilities.

The limitation period is a statutory period set aside for the protection of rights in a lawsuit by a citizen or legal entity whose rights, in his opinion, have been violated. If the term expires, the court has the right to refuse the request to restore rights, but only if there are objective reasons supported by evidence.

Note! In the tax legislation of Russia, the definition of the concept of "statute of limitations" is not deciphered. But this applies to procedural law. Tax legislation indicates certain deadlines, if missed, the court may refuse to open tax proceedings to the tax service in order to recover taxes.

What is the statute of limitations? Article 113 states that the taxpayer is given 3 years from the date of the commission of a tax crime. However, articles 120 and 122 provide for exceptions - in the presence of gross violations of the rules for accounting for expenses and income.

There are many taxation systems, and which one to choose remains a question. article will answer.

The reference point starts from the first day of the specific tax period following the one when the offense was committed.


Limitation periods for each category of taxpayers

In total, there are three categories of taxpayers who are required to pay taxes on time:

  • individuals;
  • legal entities;
  • individual entrepreneurs.

The limitation period for collection of transport taxes is three years. If representatives of the tax service apply to the court for recovery, the court may refuse only because the notification of the mandatory payment of transport taxes cannot fit into the three-year period preceding the calendar year.

Considering the above law, attention is focused on the provisions of Article 10, which also indicates a three-year period. If a person has not been attracted by the tax service to pay taxes for a five- or ten-year period, he will have to pay the amount only for the last 3 years.

Legal entities

There is no normative act in state legislation that would allow non-payers to get rid of the need to pay debts for a certain period. To understand how to act in such a situation, one should turn to judicial practice.

The right has been violated, representatives of the tax authorities want to restore it by applying to the court for help. The latter draws attention not only to the law, but also to such a thing as the limitation period. But if the concept of "statute of limitations for taxes" is absent in the legislation, what should be done in this case?

It turns out that everything is simple. preemptive term different from the statute of limitations for the collection of debt obligations. They are calculated from the moment when the demand to pay the tax was sent, and not from the moment when such an obligation arose.


If you choose the latter option, you must write an application at the representative office of the fiscal service.

Note! Payment of overpayment in the presence of fault on the part of the payer is carried out within 3 years from the moment of its establishment. Article 78 of the Tax Code points to this. In the event of an overpayment, in which the tax service is guilty, the payer is allowed to both demand a sum of money and apply to the court for help.

As for the statute of limitations for such overpayments, it is also three years. Unpaid taxes and overpayments for which the statute of limitations has expired must be written off by the fiscal authority. This requirement is spelled out in Article 59 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

For more information about the statute of limitations for taxes, see this video: