The current legislation grants the right to engage in entrepreneurship in the forms listed by it. One of them is a sole trader.

general characteristics

Legal status individual entrepreneur- this is the legal status of the specified category of citizens, which predetermines the scope of rights and obligations, the limits of responsibility and protection. The singularity is characterized in his duality as a citizen ( individual) and as a subject of commercial activity. Therefore, the rules governing the activities of corporations and individuals (citizens) are subject to application.

Significance for the status of an individual entrepreneur is the nature and type of activity, which involves the personal employment of a person duly registered as an individual entrepreneur.

Other qualities that the considered status possesses are:

• the entrepreneur acts on his own behalf;
• independence of commercial activity;
• the goal is to achieve an economic result, to make a profit;
• increased liability.

A citizen of the Russian Federation, a foreigner or a stateless person has the right to become an individual entrepreneur. This does not affect the general content of rights and obligations, with the exception of restrictions on types of activities. An individual entrepreneur can become a capable person, including a minor, subject to the conditions specified in the law. Thus, a 14-year-old teenager has the right to carry out activities within the framework of the status under consideration with the consent of his parents (guardians, trustees). Persons deprived of legal capacity due to mental illness or incapacitated for other reasons cannot be entrepreneurs.

We must not forget that some citizens are prohibited from engaging in entrepreneurial activities by virtue of the law or on the basis of a court decision (state and municipal employees, deputies, persons to whom such a measure of punishment has been applied, etc.).

For the legitimacy of the implementation entrepreneurial activity it is required to comply with the administrative procedure and register as an individual entrepreneur. State bodies, authorized to act the fact of obtaining the status of an individual entrepreneur, the tax authorities are named. Registration is done by entering State Register relevant information on the acquisition by citizens of the status of an individual entrepreneur, its closure, and other necessary.

Advantages of the legal status of an individual entrepreneur

The following main positive aspects of the considered status are distinguished.

Compared to commercial organizations:

• the legislation provides for a simpler administrative procedure for registration and termination of the status of an individual entrepreneur;
• Individual entrepreneurs are provided with more options for using the simplified taxation procedure, for example, a patent regime;
• the organization must necessarily have an independent balance sheet (estimate), accounting should be kept. Sole proprietors do not have this obligation. They only keep records of income and expenses for the fulfillment of tax obligations.
• using the property in commercial activities, the individual entrepreneur is not obliged to separate it in any way from the rest, he and his family continue to use and dispose of it in the usual manner;
• It is easier for an individual entrepreneur to manage the income received from entrepreneurial activity. Participants (shareholders) of the organization, in order to make a profit, need to wait for the decision of the meeting, which is taken only if certain conditions are met.

Compared to ordinary citizens:

• obtaining the appropriate status in the manner prescribed by law eliminates the prospect of holding a person engaged in commercial activities liable for illegal business;
• it is not required to pay tax (personal income tax) on income received as a result of entrepreneurial activity;
• possibility labor activity not only as an individual entrepreneur, but also employment contract;
• Opportunities for more contracts and higher profits are expanding as many suppliers choose not to work with individuals, treating them as retail buyers.

Negative aspects of the legal status of IP

The capital of corporations is formed at the expense of contributions (contributions) of the founders (participants, shareholders), the rights of the latter to this property are terminated. With this capital, the organization meets the requirements of creditors. The founders are not involved in this process.

An individual entrepreneur, on the other hand, does not make a separate accounting of property used in commercial activities, and is fully responsible for everything that belongs to him.

In addition, such a regime carries additional risks for individual entrepreneurs of the loss of property used for commerce. As a result of a divorce, the subsequent division of property or foreclosure on the spouse's debts, an entrepreneur may be left without the fixed assets with which he conducts business (vehicles, real estate, etc.). It is possible to avoid the occurrence of such problems by concluding an appropriate marriage contract.

An individual entrepreneur has the right to carry out a limited list of activities.

So, he is not entitled to sell alcohol (other goods: medicines, weapons, etc.), open an investment fund, transport passengers and goods on certain modes of transport (for example, air), etc. In case of violation of this prohibition, he is threatened with administrative or criminal sanctions.

The use of some simplified taxation systems requires the acquisition of an administrative patent, which leads to additional costs for the entrepreneur.

Regardless of the activity of entrepreneurial activity, from the moment of registration, an individual entrepreneur is obliged to regularly submit reports in the manner prescribed by law and perform other duties of business entities.

When hiring employees, an individual entrepreneur is fully covered by the status of the employer, including the relevant obligations provided for by labor and tax legislation (to maintain personnel records management, transfer personal income tax as a tax agent, etc.).

IP responsibility

If a person violates the current legislation within the framework of his ordinary commercial activities, he is subject to property, administrative, criminal liability. This risk is also present in individual entrepreneurs. At the same time, he becomes the subject of responsibility both as a businessman and as a citizen.

Administrative responsibility involves violations of both tax and labor, customs and other legislation. Practice shows that untimely submission of reports, payment of taxes, contributions to funds, and other administrative offenses become standard violations for an entrepreneur.

Due to improper performance of obligations under contracts, individual entrepreneurs are brought to civil liability, which in more than fifty percent of cases leads to court proceedings: when selling goods of inadequate quality (in relation to consumers), non-payment or delay in payment for goods. This type of liability is material in nature and involves the application of financial sanctions in the form of fines, penalties, and other compensation for harm.

For the commission of serious offenses in the field of business activities (crimes), an individual entrepreneur faces the risk of criminal liability as a citizen: for trade alcoholic products, weapons, other types illegal business. The size of sanctions under this type of liability is stricter than under administrative liability.

Features of protection of IP rights

A characteristic feature of the status of an individual entrepreneur is also recognized that if the dispute with his participation is of an economic nature, and the other party is also a business entity, it is subject to consideration by an arbitration court. And conflicts with citizens (consumers) or disputes in which an individual entrepreneur does not act as a businessman are the subject of court proceedings. general jurisdiction.

Thus, the dual position of an individual entrepreneur is also manifested in the features of the protection of rights, giving him the right to act both as a business entity and as an individual (citizen).

In addition to judicial protection, an entrepreneur has the right to use other methods of protection, in particular, in relation to acts of state bodies, to appeal against them in an administrative procedure.

In addition, IP is subject to the requirement to comply with pre-trial settlement of the dispute in the event of such a conflict arising from economic activity.

Termination of IP status. Bankruptcy

In the event that a citizen decides to terminate independent entrepreneurial activity, he has the right to take actions for voluntary closure. The loss of status occurs after the relevant information is entered into the USRIP in accordance with the administrative procedures established by law.

The presence of an entrepreneur in debts for taxes and other obligatory payments is not a reason for refusing to take actions to terminate his activities.

The liquidation of an individual entrepreneur provides for a simplified procedure compared to similar procedures for organizations.

The necessary registration actions are carried out by the tax authorities. After conducting checks, they make an entry about the termination of entrepreneurial activity by the person in the USRIP and issue a notice to the former entrepreneur.

In the event that an individual entrepreneur is unable to satisfy the monetary claims of creditors and / or pay taxes and other obligatory payments, he is declared bankrupt. Since October 1, 2015, the legislation on this issue has undergone changes.

Cases of bankruptcy of individual entrepreneurs or citizens who have lost this status in the presence of unliquidated obligations as a result of entrepreneurial activity are subject to consideration in the framework of arbitration proceedings.
Based on the results of a court decision to declare a person bankrupt, a legal procedure for the sale of property belonging to him is introduced, which takes place in accordance with civil procedural legislation, and the status of an individual entrepreneur is lost.

Article 23 Civil Code It is determined that any citizen has the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity from the moment of state registration as an individual entrepreneur. The head of a peasant (farm) economy is recognized as an entrepreneur from the moment of state registration of the peasant (farm) economy. In the territory Russian Federation entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity may also be carried out by foreigners and stateless persons.

A person who has reached the age of 18 (who has become fully capable) can engage in entrepreneurial activities. However, persons over the age of 16 can be recognized as fully capable with the consent of their parents or by a court decision (emancipation) and engage in entrepreneurial activities without waiting for the age of majority.

It is forbidden to engage in such activities to persons deprived of this right by a court decision, state and municipal employees, incapacitated.

In accordance with article 11 of part 1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, individual entrepreneurs are individuals registered in the prescribed manner and carrying out entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity, as well as heads of peasant (farmer) households. At the same time, individuals who, in violation of the requirements of the law, have not registered as individual entrepreneurs and conduct entrepreneurial activities, will be considered individual entrepreneurs in tax legal relations, i.e. they are not entitled to refer to the fact that they are not registered as an individual entrepreneur in the event of disputes with the tax authorities.

The status of an individual entrepreneur is dual. On the one hand, the entrepreneur is subject to the rules governing the legal status of a citizen (individual). On the other hand, engaging in entrepreneurial activity brings an individual entrepreneur closer in status to a legal entity. So, for entrepreneurial activities of citizens carried out without forming a legal entity, the norms of the Civil Code, which regulate the activities of legal entities that are commercial organizations, are accordingly applied, unless otherwise follows from the law, other legal acts or the essence of the legal relationship.

However, in general, the differences between legal entities and individual entrepreneurs are significant, especially in terms of property. Since an individual entrepreneur is a natural person, all property belongs to him personally and, when conducting business activities, is not divided in the legislation into home property and business property. Accordingly, no one can ask the individual entrepreneur where he got the equipment on which he works. But at the same time, if the founders of an LLC are liable for the debts of their organization only in the amount of their share in authorized capital, then the individual entrepreneur is liable for business debts with all his property (except for a short list of property that cannot be foreclosed).

In tax legislation, the difference between organizations and individual entrepreneurs is even more significant. Despite the fact that organizations and individual entrepreneurs have general taxes(STS, UTII, ESHN, MET, VAT, etc.), part of the taxes the individual entrepreneur pays as an ordinary individual and does not have, for example, corporate income tax (individuals pay personal income tax), corporate property tax (individuals pay tax on the property of individuals, and only on real estate), IP transport tax is also paid as individuals, according to those sent from tax office notifications. Also, individual entrepreneurs have a special tax regime that only individual entrepreneurs can use - the patent taxation system (PSN).

Because Since an individual entrepreneur has all his personal property, then he does not have a problem how to put money "in his pocket". Unlike a commercial organization, where in order to receive money from an established organization, the founders need to distribute profits and pay personal income tax on dividends, an individual entrepreneur has all the money earned already and when shifting entrepreneurial revenue into his pocket, he does not have to pay additional taxes, except for already paid to them as individual entrepreneurs from business income.

Almost every citizen can open an IP. The legal status of an individual entrepreneur has a lot of advantages over such legal form as a legal entity. After all, the owner of the IP can manage without deep knowledge of accounting and without an accountant. However, even in this seemingly simplest area, there are a lot of pitfalls, so it’s worth getting acquainted with the legal personality of an individual entrepreneur even before contacting the IFTS.

Who can become an entrepreneur

Any adult, capable and respectable citizen of the Russian Federation can receive the coveted status. Provided that he has a residence permit, and the type of future activity is included in the list allowed for this legal form.

Even if the age of majority is still far away, a citizen can try his luck with the consent of his parents (guardians), a court decision on full legal capacity or a copy of the marriage certificate.

The following persons will receive an unequivocal refusal to register as an individual entrepreneur:

• In whose name IP is already opened, since the federal law No. 129 prohibits the opening of two or more individual entrepreneurs by one citizen.
• Persons who were refused by a court decision (Federal Law No. 129, 22.1 art., 4 p.).
• Persons convicted under articles 105.125, 228.245, 126.127, 275.284, 131.135, 205.227, 150.157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
• Incapacitated or drug addicted persons.
• Civil servants and employees of municipal institutions.
• Foreigners without a temporary residence permit.

How to get IP status

The only body that is authorized to register an individual entrepreneur is the Federal Tax Service. But even here there are nuances. A citizen must apply to the authority at the place of residence, but not all authorities are endowed with registration powers, for example, in Moscow there is only one such branch - the 46th.

To obtain the legal status of an individual entrepreneur, you need to provide a mandatory package of documents to the registration window of the Federal Tax Service Inspectorate and pay a state duty. Everything is simplified to the limit here, since the IP works alone and does not need a charter designed to divide rights, duties and shares of capital between co-founders.

You can send documents to the Federal Tax Service not only in person, but also in other ways:

• by mail with a description of the attachment;
• through a trustee in the presence of a power of attorney certified by a notary;
• online through the FTS website.

Status characteristic

Entrepreneur is simple individual, which has the right to conduct commercial activities without forming a legal entity and is endowed with specific rights and obligations.

The legal personality of an individual entrepreneur is characterized by the fact that the same rules apply to individual entrepreneurs as to natural persons, as well as some rules of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation that regulate the activities of legal entities. This duality is main feature civil law status of an individual entrepreneur.

What is IP based on?

As soon as the individual entrepreneur receives the USRIP record sheet (a certificate has not been issued since 2017) and collects all the documents necessary for entrepreneurship, he can start work.

Unlike legal entities, entrepreneurs do not have constituent documents because they are not required. Why? A private businessman acts alone, and after registering an IP, a new commercial facility is not created, even the TIN of the IP and the TIN of an individual are the same number. But the organization can be owned by several founders at once, so they need a charter with a clear distribution of rights, duties and shares of capital. Yes, and TIN organizations are assigned a separate one, in no way connected with the TIN of the founder.

If a legal entity acts according to the charter of an enterprise, then an individual entrepreneur - exclusively based on the very fact of acquiring IP status. In contracts, he must indicate his status and indicate the required details. There is no need to make any clarifications in the form of "acting on the basis of ...".

However, in order for the actions of the entrepreneur to be legal, he must store in his accounting department and provide, as necessary, all mandatory documents. Both legally important and accounting. Legally important papers include:

• passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
• the USRIP record sheet, which has been issued instead of a certificate since 2017;
• certificate of registration, which was issued before 2017;
• certificate of TIN;
• notice of tax registration.

The list of documentation secondary in importance depends on the type of activity and on the specifics of doing business. It may include:

• personnel nomenclature (if the entrepreneur employs workers);
• health and safety briefings (for individual entrepreneurs with staff);
• licenses (when performing specific types of work);
• tax documentation (mandatory for all reports, declarations and other papers).

Rights and benefits

A citizen who has received the legal status of an individual entrepreneur retains the rights of an individual and acquires a number of specific rights:

• He has the right to perform all actions not prohibited by law, the purpose of which is to make a profit.
• The peculiarities of the legal status of an individual entrepreneur allow him to count on protection in arbitration courts if the dispute concerns entrepreneurial activity, or in civil courts if the dispute affects civil law relations.
• IP may use commercial purposes their personal property and property, such as a vehicle. In this case, the norms of the law for individuals apply to him, that is, he will pay the transport tax as an individual. The same property can be used for personal purposes.
• The status of an individual entrepreneur allows you to apply the patent taxation system, on which there is absolutely no reporting. Plus the taxpayers special regimes(USN, UTII) may not pay personal income tax and VAT.
• An entrepreneur has the right to join the ranks of employers, but in some special regimes the number of hired employees is limited. For example, only employers who have hired no more than 10 people can switch to PSN.
• A "private trader" has the right to work for hire, enter into legal relations as an individual, become a founder or co-founder of organizations. He can become the director of his own IP, but in this situation he will have to pay insurance premiums for himself and as an individual entrepreneur, and as an employee.

Responsibilities

The special legal status of an individual entrepreneur imposes on him obligations and restrictions that apply to individuals and legal entities. Among the most important are:

• Mandatory payment of taxes, the list of which depends on the chosen tax regime.
• Paying contributions to your pension and health insurance. And if the taxpayer hired staff, then contributions for him: on account of a future pension, for medical service and in the FSS (Social Insurance Fund).
• Delivery of certain reports, the type of which depends on the taxation system, and storage of all acts, contracts, legally important papers and other documents within the period established by legislators.
• The impossibility of entering the state, civil and any other service.
• Conducting only those activities that are permitted for individual entrepreneurs and entered in the USRIP at the time of registration.

  To change the main or additional types of activity, you need to apply for a change in information to the USRIP.

Another important feature of the civil law status of an individual entrepreneur is that he is liable for unfulfilled obligations with all his property and property even if they are not engaged in business. And he cannot dispose of property acquired during marriage without the consent of the spouse. Of course, if this nuance is not provided for in the marriage contract.

Loss of entrepreneur status

The status of an individual entrepreneur is canceled:

• by personal decision of the businessman;
• in case of death;
• By the tribunal's decision;
• when canceling a permit for temporary/permanent residence of a foreigner in the Russian Federation.

Features of bankruptcy

Business is always risky. Even well-thought-out strategies cannot give a 100% guarantee of stable growth. If debts grow like a snowball, and the entrepreneur’s funds are no longer enough to pay debts to creditors, the arbitration court will rule on the bankruptcy of the IP.

An entrepreneur can apply for bankruptcy:

• the business entity itself;
• creditors, but only those whose requirements are directly related to the activities of this individual entrepreneur;
• authorized body.

If the bankruptcy procedure has already begun, other creditors whose requirements do not correlate with the activities of the individual entrepreneur, as well as ordinary persons acting as creditors, can also present their claims.

Persons with the status of an individual entrepreneur are liable to the court with all their property. And those that are involved in entrepreneurship, and those that are used only for personal needs.

State of affairs after bankruptcy:

• The court enforces the claims of creditors in a special manner (according to the degree of importance). After making the calculations, for which there were enough funds, the businessman is released from the fulfillment of all remaining obligations related to entrepreneurship. But not from personal requirements.
• Canceled at the time of bankruptcy state registration IP and all licenses issued to the businessman.
• After bankruptcy, a citizen will not be able to restore his legal status as an individual entrepreneur. It will also not be possible to get it again until 5 years have passed after the completion of the bankruptcy procedure.

Advantages and disadvantages

The dual legal status of an entrepreneur has its advantages and disadvantages, which can help or hinder business development.

Some regions seek to support small businesses and introduce a huge number of benefits, which makes the status of an entrepreneur even more attractive. However, when choosing a form of legal personality, it is necessary to evaluate not only the simplicity and complexity of doing business. Some will be comfortable within the framework of entrepreneurship, while others will be cramped, so before making a final decision, weigh the pros and cons.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation states that business activity is an activity that a citizen carries out to obtain regular profits (by legal means). It is important that he does it at his own risk.

It is also allowed by law to conduct business without forming a legal entity. To do this, they undergo state registration as an individual entrepreneur (hereinafter referred to as IP). What is the legal status of an individual entrepreneur? How to become one and what are the features of the organizational and legal form (hereinafter referred to as OPF) of an individual entrepreneur?

Individual entrepreneurs are individuals, but the provisions of the laws of the Russian Federation, which also apply to legal entities, apply to them at the same time. This is due to the fact that people registering as IP expand their civil rights(they can engage in activities that persons without IP cannot carry out), but do not create a new business entity.

The main right of an individual entrepreneur, which he receives at the time of state registration, is to carry out commercial activities (if it is not prohibited by law) and receive profit from it.

You have to pay for everything. And it's not even a figurative expression. As a payment for the opportunity to have a business, the IP transfers taxes to the state treasury. They are withdrawn in the form of duties, contributions (insurance or pension, for example) to funds (PFR, FSS), as well as direct taxes (such as personal income tax).

IP pays taxes as an individual. For example, if in an activity it uses vehicles, then he pays for them exactly as an individual. For legal entities, a similar tax (due to other legal requirements) may be higher.

What is the difference between the legal status of individual entrepreneurs and legal entities? The fact that individual entrepreneurs are responsible for the obligations of all their property, including personal ones, while legal entities work only within the framework of authorized capital.

In terms of litigation, the status of an entrepreneur also differs from legal entities. Individuals resolve their rights and disputes in Arbitration Courts and courts of general jurisdiction. In order to better understand the status of an individual entrepreneur, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the civil law status of an individual entrepreneur.

One of them is that in Russia there is no single act that would clearly establish:

1. Who is an IP?
2. What are his responsibilities?
3. What are his rights?

Answers to these questions have to be sought in various articles and provisions of domestic legislation. A single structure of the legal status of an individual entrepreneur at the federal level has not been defined. Yes, in some subjects of the federation there is no such problem. Local deputies took appropriate measures to eliminate it in order to support small businesses.

It is much easier to provide benefits to that category of citizens, the signs of which are clearly defined by law (in this case, this category is individual entrepreneurs).

To know all the strong and weak sides IP payer status and decide whether to switch to IP or not, you need to study in detail a large number of Codes of the Russian Federation? No.

The IP form has advantages and disadvantages over:

• ordinary citizens;
• other OPFs.

Compared to ordinary citizens, sole proprietors have one significant advantage, from which all others are derived - sole proprietors can legally engage in commercial activities, while ordinary citizens cannot. If civilians do business without establishing an individual entrepreneur or legal entity, then they will be held accountable (administrative or even criminal) under the law.

In terms of taxation, entrepreneurs also stand out among ordinary citizens. Individual entrepreneurs do not pay income tax at a rate of 13%. But they must regularly pay contributions to state funds.

AT financial plan activities of individual entrepreneurs are more profitable than the activities of legal entities. It all starts with registration.

It is much easier and cheaper to obtain such a status than to establish an LLC or JSC:

1. It is not necessary for an individual entrepreneur to acquire a seal and a bank account (although most often entrepreneurs draw up these attributes).
2. LLCs and JSCs initially invest in registration in the form of authorized capital, individuals are not required to do this.

Entrepreneurs have a wider choice of taxation systems than legal entities.

In case of non-compliance with any requirements of the law, for individual entrepreneurs, sanctions are not as significant as for legal entities (smaller fines, for example).

Individual entrepreneurs can dispose of income at their own discretion: withdraw it from the business, invest it back into the company without reporting. Legal entities cannot do this. The founders of LLC and JSC can withdraw money in the form of dividends, for example. However, they are required to pay the established tax on them.

The situation is similar with the property of an individual entrepreneur. Moreover, members of his family have the right to dispose of this property at their own discretion.

A businessman with the status of an individual entrepreneur can not only be self-employed, but also combine entrepreneurial activity and cooperation with an employer under an employment contract.

It was noted above that individual entrepreneurs have the right to act as employees without closing the individual entrepreneur. True, this right does not apply to all positions. A businessman does not have the right to simultaneously be registered as an individual entrepreneur and hold any public office. This is prohibited by law.

Many companies and individuals often prefer legal entities rather than individual entrepreneurs when cooperating. What is it connected with? For many citizens, the status of an LLC or JSC (in any form) is more credible than an individual entrepreneur. There is no compelling rationale for such behavior. It is only generally accepted that LLC and JSC are more reliable than individual entrepreneurs and cooperation with them is more promising, although this is not at all the case.

It is necessary to judge not by the OPF, but by the results of the development of a company or an individual. Unexpectedly, both LLC and individual entrepreneurs can equally terminate their activities.

The disadvantages include the fact that individual entrepreneurs are liable for obligations with all personal property, including those belonging to the family. In this case, legal entities have a more advantageous position.

Family relationships also influence IP. For example, in the event of a divorce (if the terms of the marriage are not agreed in advance), the profits from commercial activities are equally divided between the spouses. At the same time, it does not matter when one of the spouses registered an individual entrepreneur: before marriage or after - everything is considered jointly acquired property.

To avoid such a situation, an individual entrepreneur can draw up a prenuptial agreement, which will clearly define all the conditions for the division of property in the event of a divorce.

In order for a citizen to obtain the status of an individual entrepreneur, it is necessary to contact the Federal Tax Service and submit an appropriate application with a package of documents attached to it.

The deadline for processing documents for individual entrepreneurs in 2019 is three days.

What documents do citizens of Russia need to submit to the Federal Tax Service for registering an individual entrepreneur?

1. Application (form P21001).
2. Receipt of payment of the state duty for registration. Cost: 800 r.
3. Copy of the passport.

For foreign citizens to this list are added:

1. A copy of the TRP / permanent residence document.
2. Certified translation of the passport of the native state.

A similar procedure can be performed (following the procedure) through the website of the Federal Tax Service.

If the applicant initially decided that he would switch from the main tax collection system to another preferential regime, then a notice of the transition must be attached to the documents (in two or three copies).

The simplified taxation system or STS (or “simplified”) is divided into two types: income 6%, income minus expenses 15%. In the first case, the tax is levied in the amount of 6% of the income received, in the second - on the difference between income and expenses in the amount of 15%.

A patent or PSN does not imply the payment of any taxes at all. A patent is a document that is acquired by an individual entrepreneur and gives him the right to engage in certain types of business on preferential terms (they are determined by the laws of specific subjects of the federation separately).

Individual entrepreneurs on a single tax on imputed income or UTII (or "imputation") pay a fixed income, which is established by the regional authorities for each type of business that is allowed on UTII, individually.

With a single agricultural tax (ESKhN), the situation is similar to that with UTII. Only those individual entrepreneurs who receive more than 70% of all profits from the sale of agricultural products (production or sales, for example) have the right to switch to the UAT.

The general taxation system (OSNO) is the most disadvantageous for an entrepreneur, not only in terms of the amount of taxes charged, but also in terms of reporting. In order to correctly and correctly report to tax payments, an entrepreneur needs to have an accountant on staff with work experience and significant professional skills. Not every specialist can handle this.

Individual entrepreneurs who use preferential taxation regimes (STS, ESHN, UTII) need to purchase and register cash register. It is also necessary for owners of online stores and entrepreneurs who are engaged in retail alcohol or products containing more than 15% ethyl alcohol.

In other cases, an individual entrepreneur acquires a check printing machine. This will help automate accounting and record the entrepreneur's cash flow, which is convenient when reporting to the tax authorities.

In addition, receipts give a guarantee to customers that they can return or exchange the goods in case of a defect or for any other reason. However, some items are non-refundable.

For example, the following are non-refundable:

1. Cosmetics and perfumery.
2. Textile products.
3. Household furniture.
4. Auto.
5. Products from precious metals.

After registering a citizen as an individual entrepreneur, a corresponding entry is made in the unified state register of individual entrepreneurs, and the citizen himself registers with the tax authority.

The presence of the legal status of an individual entrepreneur gives a citizen wide opportunities for conducting economic activities:

• trade;
• production;
• services.

The state gives benefits to businessmen with this status. In particular, it allows you to legally engage in entrepreneurial activities in the above business areas. For this, it collects taxes from them.

Some citizens believe that the mandatory payment of taxes can be attributed to the shortcomings of individual entrepreneurship, but this statement can hardly be called fair, because absolutely all citizens of the country pay taxes in one form or another. This is one of the main sources of state income, with the help of which roads, houses are built, various benefits are paid, for example.

It is important for an entrepreneur to learn how to properly manage their income. One of the reasons budding entrepreneurs fail at the start is a waste of money.

Firstly, in order for a business to develop, it is constantly necessary to invest in it, and at the initial stage, this may have to be done “out of one's own pocket”. How to invest from the "pocket" if it is empty? Yes, you can take a loan, but is it reasonable if you can correctly redirect the profits already received without paying interest to the bank? In addition, late payment of debts will not lead to anything good.

Second, what if the investment was received from the state? For example, as part of a small business support program. They cannot be spent at one's own discretion, investments of this kind must be accounted for, and if obligations are not met, severe penalties will follow.

So, it is impossible to be guided by the principle “my profit: I do what I want”. You need to approach everything wisely and make balanced actions - this is the essence of business.

A businessman is responsible to clients, employees, the state:

1. If obligations to the client are not fulfilled, the entrepreneur will miss out on profits.
2. If the obligations to the employee are not fulfilled, then, perhaps, the individual entrepreneur will lose a specialist who in the future could bring him large incomes.
3. If a businessman does not fulfill his obligations to the state, then administrative or even criminal sanctions may be applied to him.

Therefore, starting work as an individual entrepreneur is a serious step that needs to be carefully considered. In some countries, in order to obtain entrepreneurial status, similar to an individual entrepreneur in Russia, it is necessary to undergo a psychological test, the results of which will serve as the basis for granting such status or refusing it.

Unfortunately or fortunately, such testing has not yet been introduced in the Russian Federation. To obtain the status of an entrepreneur, you only need to meet certain criteria (for example, not have a court ban on doing business), as well as submit a certain package of documents to the executive body involved in the registration of individuals and legal entities.

The legal status of an individual imposes a number of restrictions on a citizen, increases the level of his responsibility to the state, but at the same time gives privileges compared to ordinary citizens and other forms of business organization.

Entrepreneurs who want to implement their ideas and make a profit from it are required, first of all, to legalize their activities by going through the state registration procedure. At this point, there are difficulties with the choice of the organizational and legal form of doing business. To make a decision, you need to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages existing forms organizations, but not everyone is aware of what it means to become an individual entrepreneur, and what is meant by its legal status.

Sole Proprietor - individual or legal entity

Those who have not come across the concept of "individual entrepreneur" before would like to figure out who an individual entrepreneur is - an individual or a legal entity. According to the definition given in Article 23 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, an individual entrepreneur is a citizen engaged in entrepreneurship without forming a legal entity. It turns out that an individual entrepreneur cannot be classified as a legal entity.

When registering an individual entrepreneur, a citizen not only retains his status as an individual - from the moment the enterprise is legalized, he acquires specific rights and obligations.

An individual entrepreneur has a unique legal status that combines the rights of ordinary citizens and legal entities

It can be concluded that individual entrepreneurs should be classified as a separate group of persons who have rights and obligations acquired in connection with the start of business management, but at the same time are equated with individuals in all other sectors of life.

Definition and characteristics of entrepreneurial activity

Entrepreneurship is an activity that is registered in accordance with existing laws, begins with a business owner ready to take risks in order to regularly make a profit and consists in performing any work, providing services or selling goods to the population.

The main features of the work of entrepreneurs:

1. Only citizens registered with the tax authorities who have received the right to be called individual entrepreneurs apply for its implementation. If there was no registration, the activity does not cease to be called entrepreneurial, but is recognized as illegal. This should be understood in such a way that a person will not be relieved of the need to pay debts to those with whom he entered into an agreement, the fact that at the time of the transaction he was not an individual entrepreneur. The court will not be on his side.
2. Independence (organizational and property).
3. Extraction of profit (the list of methods for obtaining it is closed).
4. The presence of risk (with illiterate business management or by chance, circumstances may arise that will cause the loss of the property acquired by the individual entrepreneur).

Employees are not considered entrepreneurs - their activities do not have the above signs of entrepreneurship.

Legal status of IP

The civil legal status of an individual entrepreneur means the legal status of an individual entrepreneur in the field of commercial relations, which affects the list of his rights, obligations and the level of responsibility and determines their position in the system of legal relations, taking into account the specifics and nuances of their conduct economic activity.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation promises the citizens of Russia the freedom to use their own skills, ideas and savings to organize their own business or realize themselves in other areas of work, if this is not prohibited by Russian laws.

The Constitution of Russia gives every inhabitant of the country the right to use knowledge, skills and savings in order to carry out commercial activities permitted by applicable law.

The legal status of an individual entrepreneur is characterized by duality - at the same time, regulations related to all ordinary residents of the country and business entities are applicable to its work.

The right to engage in entrepreneurship arises from the date of registration of a citizen of the Russian Federation, a foreigner or a stateless person as an individual entrepreneur.

If a person wants to be engaged in cattle breeding or growing cultivated plants, entrepreneurship will take the form of a peasant economy, also not a legal entity.

The heads of a peasant (farm) economy are required to undergo state registration and obtain the official status of an individual entrepreneur

Entrepreneurial legal capacity and legal capacity appear at the same time, and the right to entrepreneurship is exercised exclusively independently - it does not happen that an incapacitated person becomes legally capable due to the fact that a legal representative has assumed part of his obligations.

The right to organize their business as an individual entrepreneur has:

• capable citizens (without obtaining anyone's consent);
• partially capable minor citizens aged 14 years and older (after obtaining the written consent of legal representatives, certified by a notary) and minors who have entered into an official marriage or emancipated by a court decision or guardianship and guardianship authorities.

The law prohibits the following groups of people from opening a company:

1. Those who are in the public service, law enforcement officers, the military.
2. Already registered IP.
3. Deprived of the right to conduct business on the basis of a court decision, if the ban has not expired.
4. The enterprise of which was forcibly closed, if 12 months have not passed after the entry into force of the court decision.
5. Those who have a criminal record or have been prosecuted in the past for criminal acts, after the commission of which it is legally impossible to engage in certain types business (for example, those convicted of murder do not have the right to open children's institutions) or entrepreneurship in general.
6. Stateless persons and foreigners who are on the territory of the country, without having legal grounds(temporary residence permit, residence permit).

The law limits individual entrepreneurs in choosing an occupation. For example, the alcohol trade is available only to business owners who have registered an LLC.

Individual entrepreneurs do not have the right to sell alcohol and medicines, to open a security company and to some other activities

The sole proprietor performs actions on his own behalf and is subject to the same legal regulations that apply to work commercial companies(unless it contradicts the essence of the legal relationship or legislative norms).

Individual entrepreneurs are given the right to enter into any legal commercial contracts. Also, business owners can participate in general partnerships and merge with firms and non-profit organizations for joint activities.

Individual entrepreneurs have the right to conduct business on their own, without the involvement of hired workers, or they can hire personnel for the enterprise.

Individual entrepreneurs have the right to hire employees or work independently without the involvement of hired labor

Individual entrepreneurs pay off the accumulated debts with all the property they own as owners - owned in full or by shares in joint ownership that are not involved in business affairs. Only the property listed in Art. 446 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation:

Features of the legal status of IP

There are no laws that would contain a complete description of the essence of the civil legal status of an individual entrepreneur. Regional laws are adopted with the expectation of the most active growth of small enterprises, but at the federal level there is no single normative act not accepted.

IP status occupies an intermediate position between the position commercial organizations and individuals. Individual entrepreneurs are participants in economic turnover who themselves have not formed any economic entity. In this regard, the legal status of an individual entrepreneur is special and has its own distinctive features.

Existing laws emphasize the special position of individual entrepreneurs, but they have to rely on a huge number of regulations in order to determine the rules and conditions for doing business.

IP rights and benefits

An individual entrepreneur has certain rights and has benefits established at the federal and regional levels. By the way, regional authorities often provide assistance to the development of entrepreneurship.

1. The right to engage in any legitimate commercial activity for financial gain.
2. IP in certain situations may act as an individual. For example, when operating a car in the course of business activities, an individual entrepreneur transfers transport tax to the Federal Tax Service on an equal basis with all car owners.
3. The IP has the right to apply to Court of Arbitration(as an individual entrepreneur) and to the courts of general jurisdiction (as a citizen of the Russian Federation).
4. Income can be used in any amount for personal needs by the individual entrepreneur and his family.
5. IP is exempt from the calculation and transfer to the personal income tax budget.
6. The individual entrepreneur has the right to hire employees.
7. The law allows IP:
   • work on labor contract(but not in any position),
   • become a founder of an LLC,
   • establish or participate in public organizations,
   • exercise all the rights available to ordinary citizens.
8. An individual entrepreneur has the right to make his own seal imprint and open a current account, but is not obliged to do either one or the other.
9. An individual entrepreneur and members of his family have the right to use the property involved in the work of the enterprise for personal needs.

Responsibilities and Restrictions of the IP

The status of an individual entrepreneur imposes certain obligations on its owner, and from the side of the legislation some restrictions are imposed on its work:

1. An individual entrepreneur must pay taxes and fees in accordance with the terms of the taxation regime he prefers, as well as make payments to the FSS, PFR.
2. Individual entrepreneurs are required to submit reports on time as commercial firms.
3. Individual entrepreneurs must take on the role of tax and insurance agent for the employees they hire, withhold funds from their wages to pay insurance premiums and personal income tax.
4. Individual entrepreneurs are subject to a ban on combining business activities with public service, work in the prosecutor's office and other authorities.
5. An individual entrepreneur does not have the right to use real estate acquired during marriage if the spouse did not give him consent to this.
6. The law limits individual entrepreneurs in the choice of types of economic activity. In particular, they are prohibited from selling medicines and alcoholic beverages, as well as from opening a security agency.
7. The individual risks everything he owns. The property of an individual entrepreneur is not divided into personal and participating in business.
8. An individual entrepreneur is not entitled to transfer the right to engage in entrepreneurship by inheritance; after his death, only property passes to the heir.

IP and marriage contract

Family people who are going to register themselves as an individual entrepreneur should take into account one more thing related to property and future earnings. In addition to the fact that an individual entrepreneur is not entitled to use real estate purchased during the marriage without the prior consent of the husband (wife), in the event of a divorce, the income of the individual entrepreneur and the property used in the course of business management will be divided in half.

In the event of a divorce, half of the income of the entrepreneur and property involved in commercial activities will go to the former spouse

The fact that the registration of an individual entrepreneur took place even before receiving a certificate from the registry office will not matter. Therefore, if there is any doubt about the strength of family relationships, you should protect your business by signing a marriage contract, which would directly indicate the procedure for dividing possessions in the event of a break in family ties.

Acquiring the legal status of an individual entrepreneur

The right to open a company is associated with the need to pass the state registration of the business owner as an individual entrepreneur and register it with the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation.

Passing state registration as an individual entrepreneur is a sufficient condition for acquiring the status of an individual entrepreneur

To do this, it is necessary that the legal capacity of a person is not limited in relation to opening his own company:

• he must reach the age at which entrepreneurial legal capacity occurs;
• a potential individual entrepreneur should not hold the position of a state or municipal employee, judge, etc.;
• a citizen should not be limited in the ability to do business by a court decision;
• a person should not be declared partially or completely incompetent on the basis of, for example, a medical opinion that he has a mental disorder.

Registration is carried out at the place of residence and is a mandatory and sufficient condition for acquiring the official status of an individual entrepreneur. The procedure must be completed in the division of the Federal Tax Service of Russia serving the corresponding territorial entity.

Acquisition of the legal status of an individual entrepreneur by a minor

In Russia, not only persons who have reached the age of 18 have the right to become entrepreneurs, but also minors in the country. But for this they will need to comply with the requirements established by law.

The legislation of Russia allows minor citizens to register as an individual entrepreneur if there are grounds for recognizing them as capable

The right to register an individual entrepreneur for minors arises if there are grounds for declaring it legally capable:

1. Entering into a legal marriage (in the event of a divorce, legal capacity remains).
2. Emancipation (recognition as fully capable by the court or guardianship and guardianship authorities in the absence of parental consent).
3. Consent of both parents, adoptive parents or guardian to conduct business activities.

The minor must additionally attach one of the following documents to the standard set of papers:

1. Notarized copy of the marriage.
2. The decision of the guardianship and guardianship authorities to recognize the teenager as capable.
3. The decision of the court on the onset of full legal capacity.
4. Notarized written consent of legal representatives. If only one of the parents (adoptive parents) granted a business permit, the following is additionally provided:
   • death certificate of the second parent (if one of the parents has died),
   • a court decision on recognizing a citizen as missing (if the location of one of the parents is not established),
   • birth certificate without information about the father (if the child was brought up in an incomplete family).

In any case, a teenager cannot apply for registration as an individual entrepreneur until he is 14 years old. This is justified by the fact that Art. 28 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation prohibits persons under the age of 14 from entering into transactions related to commercial activities. And for registration with the Federal Tax Service and registration of a company, a passport is required, which can be obtained no earlier than the specified age.

Termination of the legal status of IP

Termination of IP status is also associated with a number of conditions that must be met, and occurs at the time of putting a mark in Single register(EGRIP) on the completion of its activities by employees of the Federal Tax Service.

Do not confuse the concepts of termination and suspension of the IP - in the second case, the business owner does not carry out commercial activities for various reasons, but has the right to resume business.

The law allows an entrepreneur to refuse the status of an individual entrepreneur on any day by voluntarily refusing to continue working as such. For this you will need:

• draw up an application in the form P26001,
• provide a receipt for payment of state duty,
• submit tax return from the beginning of the last reporting period to the date of completion of the IP,
• report the completion of economic activities to extra-budgetary funds.

To terminate the status of an individual entrepreneur, in addition to own desire There may be other legitimate reasons:

• death of an individual entrepreneur;
• decision by the court to close the enterprise;
• recognition of an individual entrepreneur as bankrupt (insolvent) in a judicial proceeding;
• the entry into force of a court verdict, according to which a sanction is imposed on an individual entrepreneur in the form of deprivation of his rights to conduct business for a certain period of time;
• cancellation of a document (or expiration of its validity), on the basis of which a foreign citizen or stateless person resided in Russia on a temporary or permanent basis.

If one of the above reasons for closing a company occurs, the state registration of an individual entrepreneur becomes invalid. Refusal of the IP status does not release the former businessman from obligations under contracts that were signed during the operation of his enterprise.

Termination of activity as an individual entrepreneur does not release the entrepreneur from his obligations under contracts concluded during the period of work

Positive aspects of the legal status of IP

The organizational and legal form of an individual entrepreneur in some aspects of doing business, when compared with an LLC, has a number of concessions, plus an individual entrepreneur is able to exercise some rights that ordinary residents of the country are deprived of. Within the framework of this article, we will limit ourselves to the positive aspects of entrepreneurship, due to the specific legal status of an individual entrepreneur.

Advantages of an individual entrepreneur over ordinary citizens

The status of an individual entrepreneur expands the possibilities of an ordinary individual, largely due to the fact that:

1. An individual entrepreneur has the opportunity to conduct commercial activities, while concluding transactions and regularly making a profit.
2. Individual entrepreneurs do not have to pay personal income tax.

Advantages of individual entrepreneurs over legal entities

If we compare individual entrepreneurs and LLCs in terms of the advantages of the organizational and legal form, it turns out that in general it is easier for entrepreneurs to start doing business and further develop the business:

Disadvantages of the legal status of IP

Obviously, in addition to the advantages of the legal status of IP, there are also negative aspects:

Video: IP or LLC (pros and cons)

Speaking of legal status IP, it is necessary to supplement it with the rights and obligations of an ordinary citizen in parallel. People who want to organize their own business, but refuse to register themselves as individual entrepreneurs, are stopped by the fear of property liability. However, honest activity without attempts to evade obligations and a realistic view of the risks involved can protect the business owner from the adverse consequences of inept entrepreneurial work. In general, some aspects of the legal status of individual entrepreneurs contribute to the rapid development of business, while others hinder this. The main thing is to correctly use its advantages.