Penalty for non-payment of taxes

Liability for late payment of taxes

In the previous article, we dealt with the main issues of tax debt. Now let's find out what kind of liability is threatened and to whom it will be applied if taxes are not paid on time.

The regulatory authorities may impose financial, administrative and criminal liability on the company and its officers in case of violations of tax and other laws.

Financial liability is not imposed for violations committed during the quarantine period, but administrative liability may be.

Amount of financial responsibility

Various fines are imposed for violation of the terms of payment of tax liabilities, and their amount depends on the duration of the delay:

• up to 30 calendar days of delay following the last day of the tax payment deadline - a 10% penalty of the tax debt;
• more than 30 days - a fine of 20%.

The penalty will be charged in proportion to the amount of the debt paid. That is, if you have paid only half of the tax liability, the penalty will be charged only to the second half of the unpaid liability. If you paid, for example, 50% of the tax liability on the due date, 35% of the tax liability was paid within 30 days after the deadline, a 10% penalty will be applied to it, and the remaining 15% of the tax liability was paid on the 40th day, a 20% penalty will be applied to it.

For individual entrepreneurs of the first and second groups of single tax payers, a different amount of fines is provided: for late payment of the single tax, a fine of 50% of the single tax rate is imposed.

In addition to the fine, late payment of taxes is subject to a penalty.

Tax agents and taxpayers are liable for non-payment of taxes before or during the payment of income to another person. For the first violation, a fine of 25% of the tax amount is payable to the budget. For a second violation, a fine of 50%, and for a third violation, a fine of 75%.

Penalties may be imposed for a period of 1095 days, based on a tax notice.

Administrative responsibility

Administrative liability is imposed on an official for failure to submit or late submission of payment orders for the transfer of tax liabilities. For the first violation, the fine will range from UAH 85 to UAH 170, and for a repeated violation within a year from UAH 170 to UAH 255.

Administrative protocols against officials are drawn up by tax inspectors, then these protocols are submitted to the court and only then can the fine be paid. A person can be held liable for late payment of tax within three months from the date of the offense. However, a person can be held liable for non-payment of tax within three months from the date of detection of the offense.

If you paid your taxes on time and the delay was caused by the bank, then you will not be held liable.

Criminal liability

It is applied quite rarely and only to those who evade taxes. The minimum amount of debt is from UAH 3.153 million.

What changes will take place from 01.01.2021?

For violation of tax payment deadlines, the amount of the fine will be reduced:

• up to 30 calendar days overdue - 5% instead of 10%;
• more than 30 days overdue - 10% instead of 20%.

The concept of "intentional" violation of the terms of payment of tax liabilities will be introduced. If you deliberately fail to pay taxes (up to 90 calendar days overdue), you will face a fine of 25% of the overdue amount. If the delay exceeds 90 calendar days, a fine of 50% will be imposed.

But for an "unintentional" violation of the tax payment deadlines, the penalty will be 10% of the amount of the delay. You will most likely have to prove that you failed to pay taxes on time unintentionally, as tax inspectors will likely think otherwise.

In the next article, we will discuss the procedure for deferring tax debt.