How to properly rent out an apartment
Renting out apartments is one way to supplement your family budget. However, to avoid trouble, it must be done correctly. Some citizens do not conclude lease agreements, which can lead to problems with tenants later on.
For example, a tenant may refuse to vacate and start blackmailing the property owner by reporting them to the tax authorities, leading to significant penalties. In such a case, you will first have to pay the tax and relevant fines, and only then file a lawsuit for eviction. Moreover, you will have to pay a lawyer for drafting the lawsuit and representing your interests in court, and also pay a state fee for filing the lawsuit.
If there is no lease agreement describing the condition of the apartment and the property transferred, it will be extremely difficult to recover damages caused to the residential premises and the owner by the tenant's actions: damage to furniture, plumbing, wallpaper, and flooring, flooding the downstairs neighbors, huge bills for telephone calls.
Thus, concluding a lease agreement is primarily important for the landlord.
A lease agreement is concluded in writing and is considered concluded from the date of registration by the district, city, town, village executive committees, or the local administration of a district within a city. It should be noted that failure to comply with the form of the agreement established by law does not exempt an individual from the obligation to pay fixed amounts of income tax.
After concluding the lease agreement, you must register with the tax inspection at your place of residence, where tax authority employees will help you calculate the tax amount, explain the procedure and deadlines for its payment to the budget, and provide the bank details necessary for transferring the tax to the budget.
The fixed income tax rates are established by regional and Minsk City Councils of Deputies within the limits of rates set by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of August 4, 2006 No. 497 "On the payment of fixed income tax". Consequently, the fixed amounts of income tax paid by citizens when receiving income from renting out an apartment differ in different cities and settlements.
It should be noted that fixed income tax rates are established not for the apartment as a whole, but for each rented room in the apartment. Thus, when renting out, for example, three rooms in a three-room apartment, the rate is multiplied by three.
The deadlines for paying income tax depend on the payment method. The legislation provides for two methods. A citizen independently determines how to pay the fixed income tax: for the entire calendar year no later than the working day following the term established in the lease agreement for the actual provision of the apartment for rent. Payment of fixed amounts of personal income tax for each subsequent calendar year is made no later than the 1st day of the year for which the payment is made; for one month no later than the working day following the term established in the lease agreement for the actual provision of the apartment for rent, and subsequently - monthly no later than the 1st day of the month for which the personal income tax is paid.
Evasion of payment entails responsibility provided for by Part 8 of Article 13.6 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses: intentional non-payment or incomplete payment of the tax amount entails a fine of 20 percent of the unpaid tax amount, but not less than 5 basic units (currently - not less than 900,000 rubles).
In addition, the unpaid tax amount will be recovered in full.
Tax authorities are authorized to draw up protocols and consider cases of administrative offenses.
Inspection officers regularly carry out control measures against individuals evading tax on renting out apartments.
Thus, over two months of 2015, three such cases were identified. The source of information for identifying "illegal apartment lessors", as a rule, are neighbors.
Therefore, considering the relatively low tax rates compared to the income received from renting out an apartment, as well as to avoid unjustified risks, it is better to rent it out legally.
Valeriy KURTIN, Head of the Individual Taxation Department
of the Tax and Duties Ministry Inspectorate of the Republic of Belarus for the Oktyabrsky District of Vitebsk