Does the individual entrepreneur qualify as a small business? New criteria for small and medium-sized businesses

According to which, the revenue limit for classifying enterprises as small and medium-sized has doubled (for small enterprises the limit is now 800 million rubles, for medium-sized enterprises - 2 billion rubles). In turn, the Ministry of Economic Development, in a letter dated September 10, 2015 No. D05i-1163, stated that this resolution is applied when calculating the amount of revenue for previous calendar years. This means that if the organization’s revenue for 2014 was more than 400 million rubles, but less than 800 million rubles, then in 2015 it is considered “small”. Of course, provided that the other requirements for small businesses are met.

Who belongs to small businesses

The conditions for classifying legal entities and individual entrepreneurs as SMEs are defined in Article 4 of Federal Law No. 209-FZ dated July 24, 2007 (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 209-FZ) and include:
1) requirements for the structure of the authorized (share) capital of a legal entity;
2) the average number of employees for the previous calendar year, which should not exceed the following maximum values ​​of the average number of employees established for each category of SMEs:
- from one hundred one to two hundred and fifty people inclusive for medium-sized enterprises;
- up to one hundred people inclusive for small enterprises; among small enterprises there are microenterprises - up to fifteen people;
3) revenue from the sale of goods (work, services) excluding VAT for the previous calendar year, which should not exceed the limit values ​​for each category of SMEs.

New revenue limits apply for previous periods as well.

As you know, from July 25, 2015, the maximum amount of revenue for small companies increased from 400 to 800 million rubles. (Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation dated July 13, 2015 No. 702; see “”). From what period can these limits be applied? Simply put, will an enterprise whose revenue in 2014 ranged from 400 to 800 million rubles be considered a small enterprise? Yes, it will be, the Ministry of Economic Development responded.

Ministry specialists reported that this resolution is applied when calculating the amount of revenue for previous calendar years. Consequently, in 2015, the organization may become small or return to its previous status of a small business, which was previously lost due to the fact that revenue exceeded 400 million rubles.

When an organization loses its status as a small business entity

The authors of the commented letter also recalled another important change introduced by Federal Law dated June 29, 2015 No. 156-FZ. This law establishes that the category of a small or medium-sized business entity changes only if the values ​​of revenue and number of employees are above or below the limit values ​​for three (and not two, as before) consecutive calendar years.

Let's give an example. Since 2014, the enterprise has lost its small status, since revenue in both 2012 and 2013 exceeded 400 million rubles. At the same time, revenue for each of the last three years (2012, 2013, 2014) is less than the new limit of 800 million rubles. Consequently, in 2015 the organization is again recognized as small.

If the values ​​of the average number of employees and (or) revenue for 2014 do not correspond to the established limits, it is necessary to pay attention to the values ​​of the average number of employees and (or) revenue for 2013 or 2012. And if the indicators for these years correspond to the values ​​​​established for small enterprises (for example, revenue for 2012 and 2013 was less than 800 million rubles, and the limit was exceeded only in 2014), then the enterprise is recognized as small, despite exceeding the values ​​at the end of 2014 of the year. An organization will lose its status as a small business and move into the medium-sized category only if revenue exceeds 800 million rubles for three calendar years in a row.

What does small business status give?

Organizations and entrepreneurs belonging to small businesses can significantly simplify their accounting and reporting (see “”). They also have a simplified cash discipline procedure. In particular, they can cancel the limit on the cash balance in the cash register (see “”). In addition, for the period from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018, a ban is introduced on conducting scheduled non-tax audits of those organizations and individual entrepreneurs that are classified as small businesses.

The regulatory framework for the development of small businesses in Russia is the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ “On the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation,” which came into force on January 1, 2008.
In accordance with Law No. 209-FZ, small and medium-sized businesses include: consumer cooperatives included in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities; commercial organizations (except for state and municipal unitary enterprises); individuals included in the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs and carrying out entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity; peasant (farm) holdings that meet the conditions established by law.
The criteria for classifying organizations and individual entrepreneurs as small and medium-sized businesses are presented in Table. 1.
The maximum values ​​of revenue from the sale of goods (works, services) and the book value of assets are established by the Government of the Russian Federation once every five years, taking into account data from continuous statistical observations of the activities of small and medium-sized businesses. Currently, the criteria are determined by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated July 22, 2008 No. 556 “On the maximum values ​​of revenue from the sale of goods (works, services) for each category of small and medium-sized businesses.”
The category of a small or medium-sized business entity is determined in accordance with the most significant condition. For example, if in terms of the average number of employees the organization corresponds to a medium-sized enterprise, and in terms of revenue it corresponds to a small enterprise, the category will be established by the number of employees.
The category of a small and medium-sized business entity changes only if the limit values ​​are higher or lower than the limit values ​​of the average number of employees and sales revenue specified in Table. 1, for two consecutive calendar years.
Newly created organizations or newly registered individual entrepreneurs can be classified as small or medium-sized businesses in the year of commencement of activity based on indicators calculated from the date of state registration.

1. Criteria for classification as small and medium-sized businesses

The average number of employees of an enterprise for a calendar year is determined taking into account all its employees, including employees working under civil contracts or part-time, taking into account the actual time worked, employees of representative offices, branches and other separate divisions of the enterprise.
Revenue from the sale of goods (work, services) for a calendar year is determined in the manner established by the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
The book value of assets (the residual value of fixed assets and intangible assets) is determined in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on accounting.

Small business- this is a business activity carried out by subjects of a market economy according to criteria (indicators) established by laws that constitute the essence of the concept. The main criterion for classifying market economy entities as small businesses is, first of all, the average number of workers employed at the enterprise during the reporting period. The following criteria for classification as small businesses are most often used: the average number of employees employed at the enterprise, the size of the authorized capital, the annual turnover received by the enterprise, usually per year, and the amount of assets.

In accordance with the Federal Law of the Russian Federation dated July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ “On the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation,” small and medium-sized businesses include consumer cooperatives and commercial organizations included in the unified state register of legal entities (with the exception of state and municipal unitary enterprises), as well as individuals included in the unified state register of individual entrepreneurs and carrying out entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity (hereinafter referred to as individual entrepreneurs), peasant (farm) enterprises that meet the following conditions:

1. for legal entities - the total share of participation of the Russian Federation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, municipalities, foreign legal entities, foreign citizens, public and religious organizations (associations), charitable and other funds in the authorized (share) capital (share fund) of these legal entities persons should not exceed 25% (except for the assets of joint-stock investment funds and closed-end mutual investment funds), the share of participation owned by one or more legal entities that are not small and medium-sized businesses should not exceed 25%;

2. the average number of employees for the previous calendar year should not exceed the following maximum values ​​of the average number of employees for each category of small and medium-sized businesses:

§ from 101 to 250 people inclusive for medium-sized enterprises;

§ up to 100 people inclusive for small businesses; Among small enterprises, microenterprises stand out - up to 15 people;

3. revenue from the sale of goods (work, services) excluding value added tax or the book value of assets (residual value of fixed assets and intangible assets) for the previous calendar year should not exceed the limit values ​​​​established by the Government of the Russian Federation for each category of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The average number of employees of a micro-enterprise and small enterprise for a calendar year is determined taking into account all its employees, including employees working under civil contracts or part-time, taking into account the actual time worked, employees of representative offices, branches and other separate divisions of the specified micro-enterprise, small enterprise .

A microenterprise is one of the following business entities: individual entrepreneur; private enterprise; a fishing peasant farm, and sometimes a limited liability company. Attribution to other categories of business entities (for example, medium and large businesses) is possible if the above boundaries do not comply with established standards.

A micro-enterprise is a payer that pays the following taxes: on personal income; on profits and various duties. Payment procedure and tax rate for micro-enterprises The basic tax rate is 9% of turnover for the calendar year. However, there are some peculiarities. For example, if the number of employees per quarter exceeds five people, then 2% is added to the indicated tax rate (9%) for each individual employee.

Microenterprises are small business enterprises. The circle of such enterprises includes newly created business entities or those that have been operating for a year from the moment of their registration. Thus, any organization with insignificant turnover and a small number of employees can be classified as a micro-enterprise. The criteria for these enterprises are as follows: the staff employs about 15 people, and the average annual revenue does not exceed 60 million rubles. It is also necessary to pay attention to the book value of assets, calculated in the form of the residual value of fixed assets including the amount of intangible assets. Definition of criteria

The first criterion is that the average number of employees of a microenterprise is determined for a calendar year, taking into account not only those employed on staff, but also employees registered under civil law contracts, part-time workers, as well as employees of branches or other structural units. The actual time worked is taken into account.

The second criterion is that revenue received from the sale of goods for a calendar year can be determined in accordance with tax legislation.

The third criterion - the residual value of fixed assets with intangible assets is determined by small and micro enterprises in accordance with the relevant accounting legislation. Register of micro-enterprises Special government bodies responsible for supporting such business entities maintain appropriate registers in order to record the recipients of this support. Moreover, even if the statistics of a micro-enterprise indicate that it is classified as a small enterprise, this does not mean that it will be included in this register. It also happens the other way around, a business entity is on the register and is not a small one. Advantages of creating micro-enterprises A newly created micro-enterprise has a number of advantages for a successful start. Thanks to the creation of favorable conditions, many entrepreneurs create just such enterprises. One of the advantages for individual entrepreneurs is the reduced tax rate (9%), including: personal income tax; payments of state importance for compulsory social insurance; state duty for business risk, as well as tax on enterprise income.

It is generally accepted that the main conditions for registering a micro-enterprise are: the participants are individuals who can simultaneously be members of the board of an LLC (if this particular form of organization was chosen when registering the enterprise); not exceeding the threshold level of the enterprise’s turnover (60 million rubles); the number of employees should not exceed the established standard (15 people). A micro-enterprise has the right to register as a VAT payer. Pros and cons of the existence of a micro-enterprise Positive aspects of the functioning of such an enterprise: a report to the tax authorities is submitted quarterly, payment is made in the same way; when submitting the annual report, you do not need to provide a sworn auditor’s opinion; there are no obligations to make advance payments for corporate income tax; the possibility for employees of micro-enterprises to work part-time at several business entities; relatively low costs for maintaining accounting records in an enterprise. Negative aspects of micro-enterprises: employees of such enterprises cannot enjoy certain benefits; accounting is the same for all small businesses; a transition to another category of enterprise (for example, medium or large business) is possible only with the onset of a new calendar year.

Thus, we can confidently say that a microenterprise is an independent business entity that has its own fixed assets and maintains accounting records. In other words, such enterprises are no different from large and medium-sized businesses, except for the amount of turnover and fixed assets, as well as the number of employees.

Recently, quite a lot of attention has been paid to small and medium-sized businesses in our country. and belonging to these business categories may enjoy some benefits, including:

• the possibility of using special tax regimes, reduced tax rates and other tax benefits;
• the right to apply simplified procedures and forms of accounting and static reporting;
• the opportunity to participate in state support projects for small businesses and receive subsidies from the state budget.

Recently, the fact that a subject is classified as a small business has become of great importance in the field of government procurement: such participants in announced requests for proposals, other things being equal, are given priority over competitors. Some competitions are initially held with the condition that only small / medium-sized businesses can apply for participation in them, and their status must be confirmed.

How to determine which category of entrepreneurs you belong to? The criteria that allow an individual entrepreneur or legal entity to be classified into any of the categories are specified in Federal Law No. 209-FZ of July 24, 2007, aimed at the development of small forms of entrepreneurship in the country.

In 2015, the revenue criterion was doubled, and in 2016 another change was made to the law, which came into force in August. Now, instead of proceeds from sales, you should take all income from business activities.

Important! Income from business activities is calculated according to the rules of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. That is, you simply take its value from the declaration for / UTII / income tax, depending on the regime.

Let's combine the criteria into one table:

Legal entities use all three criteria, individual entrepreneurs use only two: number of employees and income.

The number must take into account all employees, including those who work under the GPA and holding multiple positions. Employees of branches/representative offices/separate divisions of legal entities must also be counted.

The income limit was changed back in July 2015; the Government of the Russian Federation doubled the previous limits: previously they were 60, 400 and 1,000 million rubles, respectively.

Separately, we note that in order to obtain the status of a small business, an individual entrepreneur or legal entity must meet the specified criteria for three years (this period has also been increased by the latest Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, previously it was two years). A similar situation arises when a small enterprise loses its status and moves to the next business category. That is, if you are now a small business, then even if you exceed the limit on numbers or revenue next year, you will still be a small business. To move to the medium-sized business group, the limits must be violated for three years.

Due to recent changes, there is now no need to confirm the status of a small business - it is automatically assigned based on the data of your tax returns. In this case, income from the declaration for the previous year is taken for analysis.

From the latest news, it is also worth noting that since August 2016, the Federal Tax Service has been creating a register of small businesses, where it includes everyone who belongs to it. This will again simplify work for small businesses, since in order to receive the benefits they are entitled to, they will not have to provide additional documents: the presence of a company in the register already confirms that it belongs to a small business.

The register is available on the website Nalog.ru.

Here you can use the “Register Search” service to view data on yourself or your counterparties. To do this, in the search field you need to enter the TIN or OGRN or OGRNIP or the name of the legal entity or full name of the individual entrepreneur.

Which came into force on June 30, the share of participation of foreign legal entities, as well as enterprises that are not small and medium-sized, in the authorized capital of small and medium-sized businesses was increased from 25 to 49 percent. The same law establishes that the category of a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) changes only if the values ​​of revenue and number of employees are above or below the limit values ​​for three (and not two, as before) calendar years.

Let us recall that the criteria for small and medium-sized businesses are given in Article 4 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 209-FZ). Such entities include consumer cooperatives, commercial organizations (with the exception of state unitary enterprises and municipal unitary enterprises), individual entrepreneurs and farms, for which the following conditions are met.

The first condition is the average number of employees

For the previous calendar year, the average number of employees of an organization or individual entrepreneur should not exceed the number limits for each category of SME entity:

• from one hundred one to two hundred and fifty people inclusive for medium-sized enterprises;
• up to one hundred people inclusive for small enterprises (among small enterprises, microenterprises are distinguished - up to fifteen people).

The second condition is revenue from the sale of goods (works, services)

The revenue of an organization or individual entrepreneur from sales excluding VAT for the previous calendar year should not exceed 60 million rubles. for microenterprises, 400 million rubles. for small enterprises and 1 billion rubles. for medium-sized enterprises.

Revenue limits are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the previous version of Article 4 of Law No. 209-FZ obligated to review such values ​​every five years. The commented law excludes the requirement for such frequency.
An important point: previously, in order for an organization or individual entrepreneur to receive or lose the status of an SME, both conditions (average headcount and revenue indicators) must be met or not met for two consecutive calendar years. And according to the new rules, effective from June 30, the category of a SME will change only if the values ​​of revenue and number of employees are above or below the limit values ​​for three consecutive calendar years. That is, if, for example, revenue for 2013-2015. will exceed 400 million rubles, then the organization will cease to be recognized as a small business entity only in 2016.

The third condition (for organizations only) is the share of participation in the authorized capital

Until June 30, small and medium-sized businesses, in general, included organizations whose authorized capital included:

• the total share of participation of the state, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, municipalities, foreign organizations, public and religious organizations, as well as charitable and other foundations did not exceed 25 percent.
• the share of participation of one or more enterprises that are not small and medium-sized enterprises did not exceed 25 percent.

As of June 30, the share size requirements for some organizations have changed. Now, small and medium-sized businesses, in general, include organizations whose authorized capital includes:

• the share of participation of the state, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, municipalities, charitable and other foundations, public and religious organizations in the authorized capital of the organization does not exceed 25 percent;
• the total share of participation of foreign legal entities does not exceed 49 percent;
• the total share of participation of one or more enterprises that are not small and medium-sized does not exceed 49 percent.

Let us remind you that organizations and entrepreneurs belonging to small businesses can significantly simplify their accounting and reporting (see “”). In addition, a simplified procedure for cash discipline applies to them (see “”).

Which came into force on June 30, the share of participation of foreign legal entities, as well as enterprises that are not small and medium-sized, in the authorized capital of small and medium-sized businesses was increased from 25 to 49 percent. The same law establishes that the category of a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) changes only if the values ​​of revenue and number of employees are above or below the limit values ​​for three (and not two, as before) calendar years.

Let us recall that the criteria for small and medium-sized businesses are given in Article 4 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2007 No. 209-FZ (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 209-FZ). Such entities include consumer cooperatives, commercial organizations (with the exception of state unitary enterprises and municipal unitary enterprises), individual entrepreneurs and farms, for which the following conditions are met.

The first condition is the average number of employees

For the previous calendar year, the average number of employees of an organization or individual entrepreneur should not exceed the number limits for each category of SME entity:

• from one hundred one to two hundred and fifty people inclusive for medium-sized enterprises;
• up to one hundred people inclusive for small enterprises (among small enterprises, microenterprises are distinguished - up to fifteen people).

The second condition is revenue from the sale of goods (works, services)

The revenue of an organization or individual entrepreneur from sales excluding VAT for the previous calendar year should not exceed 60 million rubles for micro-enterprises, 400 million rubles for small enterprises and 1 billion rubles for medium-sized enterprises.

Revenue limits are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the previous version of Article 4 of Law No. 209-FZ obligated to review such values ​​every five years. The law excludes the requirement for such frequency.

An important point: previously, in order for an organization or individual entrepreneur to receive or lose the status of an SME, both conditions (average headcount and revenue indicators) must be met or not met for two consecutive calendar years. And according to the new rules, effective from June 30, the category of a SME will change only if the values ​​of revenue and number of employees are above or below the limit values ​​for three consecutive calendar years. That is, if, for example, revenue for 2013-2015. will exceed 400 million rubles, then the organization will cease to be recognized as a small business entity only in 2016.

The third condition (only for organizations) is the share of participation in the authorized capital

Until June 30, small and medium-sized businesses, in general, included organizations whose authorized capital included:

• the total share of participation of the state, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, municipalities, foreign organizations, public and religious organizations, as well as charitable and other foundations did not exceed 25 percent.
• the share of participation of one or more enterprises that are not small and medium-sized enterprises did not exceed 25 percent.

As of June 30, the share size requirements for some organizations have changed. Now, small and medium-sized businesses, in general, include organizations whose authorized capital includes:

• the share of participation of the state, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, municipalities, charitable and other foundations, public and religious organizations in the authorized capital of the organization does not exceed 25 percent;
• the total share of participation of foreign legal entities does not exceed 49 percent;
• the total share of participation of one or more enterprises that are not small and medium-sized does not exceed 49 percent.

Let us remind you that organizations and entrepreneurs belonging to small businesses can significantly simplify their accounting and reporting. In addition, a simplified procedure for cash discipline applies to them.