Currency residents of Russia must report on accounts in foreign banks before June 1

Фото: Depositphotos

Russian citizens, including many who permanently reside abroad, must report by June 1 on the movement of their funds in foreign bank accounts, in accordance with the updated law “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control.”

Tax consultant Grigory Shchichko, head of the office of H&R Block Tax Accountants, explain who should provide the report, how this can be done, and possible fines.

The expert cites the opinion that Russian citizens who live permanently abroad do not have to file tax returns in Russia, a key mistake that many people make.

“It is necessary to separate two concepts - tax resident and currency resident. For tax residents [permanently residing abroad], there is a 183-day rule, or, in other words, 6 months. If during a calendar year a Russian citizen does not stay in the country for more than 183 days, he ceases to be a tax resident, accordingly, his income is not subject to taxation in Russia, and he does not need to file a declaration, says Shchichko.

The Law “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control” determines the procedure in relation to currency residents. They are not those who have not been in the country for more than 1 year. But, if you visited Russia even for 1 day during this year, you again become a currency resident, and you have the same responsibilities as before.”

Rosfinmonitoring is responsible for overseeing the implementation of this law. Among the changes in the wording of the law, it is possible to mention the fact that individuals are now obliged, on a par with legal entities, to submit reports on the movement of funds on all their accounts in foreign banks.

At the same time, even if you didn’t have any movement on the existing accounts for the whole year, you need to fill in the corresponding page of the report.

Prior to 1 June 2016, all citizens of Russia from among the currency residents must report for the entire 2015 year. The form consists of two pages and is filled in in Russian.

In the report, among other things, you must specify the name of the bank, the country of location of the bank, the number and currency of the account, the balance of money at the beginning of 2015, the amount of funds credited and debited, and the balance of funds at the end of 2015.

It should be noted that if there are several accounts, you must fill out a report for each of them separately. You can also fill out the form online - through your “Personal Account” on site of the Tax Service Russian Federation after pre-registration on it.

If the reporting is not submitted on time, the fine can be up to 3 thousand rubles (about $50), for a repeated unsubmitted report - up to 10 thousand rubles.

In addition, if it turns out that the citizen had previously forgotten for some reason to notify the tax authorities about opening an account abroad, he may be subject to an additional fine of 4-5 thousand rubles.

Even larger fines, according to Grigory Shchichko, can threaten foreign exchange operations unresolved by Russian law.

For example, if a citizen of Russia living abroad sold his house in another country, having received the full amount for it in a foreign bank account, and visited Russia for at least one day in the same year, he needs to indicate this transaction in his statements and pay with her taxes.

If this is not done, as the tax consultant says, a citizen may be fined the amount from 75 to 100% from an illegal operation, from the point of view of the Russian authorities.

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