How to close an individual business. Document retention periods. Collection of all necessary documents

​Liquidation of individual entrepreneurs, as a concept, does not exist in legislative acts. An individual entrepreneur is an individual, which means it is simply not possible to liquidate him. In this case, the term “closure” may be used. At the same time, many regard an individual entrepreneur as a legal entity and apply the concept of “liquidation” to it. Regardless of which definition is used, you should know the main points regarding the termination of the activities of an individual entrepreneur.

Basic moments

Before you begin to consider the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur, you should find out the reasons that may contribute to this:

• Personal decision of an entrepreneur to close his business.
• Financial instability.
• By decision of the judicial authority, the individual entrepreneur was declared bankrupt.
• Other cases encountered in practice.

In any case, compliance with the basic rules and requirements of the law in this part is required.

Liquidation of an individual entrepreneur is carried out within five working days from the date of submission of the relevant documents. An individual entrepreneur will be considered closed after making an entry in the register of individual entrepreneurs.

It is worth noting that if The individual entrepreneur has debt obligations, then it can be closed, but the individual himself will still have obligations to creditors, counterparties and extra-budgetary funds.

Termination of the status of an individual entrepreneur does not relieve one from liability for obligations that were assumed during the period of actual business activity. The entrepreneur will be liable with all his property for existing debts. At the same time, it is important to know how to terminate an individual entrepreneur with debts and what actions will need to be taken to do this.

Liquidation of individual entrepreneurs with debts

When closing an individual entrepreneur, you may be interested in the question of whether How to carry out the procedure if there are debts to the Pension Fund, the tax service and the bank?

Each individual case should be considered separately:

• Available debts to the pension fund. Problems with closing an individual entrepreneur in the presence of such debts should not arise, since the entrepreneur decides for himself whether to pay the debt before starting to liquidate his business or after completing the entire procedure. In any case, the debt will have to be paid even after the closure of the individual entrepreneur. As soon as the tax service makes an entry in the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs, all information will automatically go to the pension fund. If a citizen, already acting as an individual, does not pay the debt for a long time, the fund has the right to go to court.
• The IP still has dutybefore the bank on loans. The tax service does not have the right to refuse to close an individual entrepreneur if there is this type of debt. In principle, the situation will be the same as in the case of the Pension Fund. The debt will remain with the citizen and if no action is taken on his part to repay it, the creditor can collect the required amount of debt in court.
• The situation is more complicated if there is dutybefore the tax officeservice. It is not possible to repay the debt after the closure of the individual entrepreneur; all payments must be made before the start of the procedure. Before liquidation, a sole proprietor must prepare and file a tax return for all years of its existence. The document is submitted even if in fact no activity was carried out. If an individual entrepreneur previously filed returns on time, he will also need to submit reports for the last tax period.

Thus, closing an individual entrepreneur with debt obligations is not so difficult. It’s more difficult later, after closing, to remember to pay off debts to banks and the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, so as not to bring the situation to court.

Liquidation of individual entrepreneurs with employees

If an individual entrepreneur conducted his business with the involvement of labor, then on his part he must go through a full liquidation procedure, taking into account the interests of employees and the rules established by law.

You should close an individual entrepreneur with employees as follows:

• All employees must be notified of impending liquidation two months before its expected date.
• The Employment Center is notified within the same period.
• All required contributions for employees must be paid to the Pension Fund and extra-budgetary funds. If the entrepreneur paid his own contributions to the insurance company, he will need to deregister himself there.
• A final settlement is made to the employees, including all due compensation provided for in such cases by labor legislation.

The same procedure applies to employees who are on maternity leave at the time of liquidation. This rule is enshrined in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Documents for liquidation

If all the main organizational stages have been completed, it is time to begin preparing the required package of documents for submission to the tax service.

The general package of papers includes:

• Application on tax form P26001. If the form is submitted by the applicant himself, then the signature is not required to be notarized. When submitting papers, it will be stamped in the presence of a tax officer accepting the documents. If documents are submitted through a representative, the signature must be notarized.
• Passport and TIN of the applicant.
• Confirmation of payment of the duty. Its size is 160 rubles.

Such a small package of documents is submitted to the tax office to begin the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur.

You can submit documents in person, through a representative or by mail.

The fastest way is to submit in person, since it saves time that can be spent on drawing up a power of attorney for a representative and certifying signatures with a notary. Sending papers by mail requires compliance with certain rules:

• All submitted documents must be notarized.
• The letter is submitted in the form of a registered letter, with a completed notification of delivery and a list of attachments.

Some entrepreneurs turn to specialized companies that provide services for the liquidation of individual entrepreneurs. Such a decision would not be entirely justified, since closing an individual entrepreneur is not a complicated procedure. Moreover, such companies charge additional fees for their services.

Which method of submitting documents to the tax service will be chosen depends on the entrepreneur himself.

Step-by-step instructions for closing an individual entrepreneur

The stages of starting the procedure for terminating a business activity can be divided into preparatory and main.

The preparatory stage includes:

1. Submission of reports and repayment of existing debt obligations. The main thing is to pay off your tax debts.
2. Fulfillment of contractual obligations. If an individual entrepreneur has unclosed obligations to counterparties, then they should be closed before the start of the liquidation procedure. If this does not happen, then the counterparties can sue and hold the debtor liable not as an individual entrepreneur, but as an individual.
3. Removal of a cash register from registration if the activities of an individual entrepreneur were carried out with its help. To do this, you will need to visit the tax authority where the device was initially registered and submit the appropriate application.
4. Closing a current account. According to the rules, an individual entrepreneur is not required to open a current account to conduct business. But if you still have one, you will need to come to the bank that opened it and write an application to close it. At the time of closing, all transactions on the account must be completed.

The main stage includes the following activities:

1. An application is being prepared in form P26001. The document form can be downloaded from the tax service website or from our website. The document is filled out on the computer or by hand, using a pen with black ink. All required fields must be filled in; corrections and crossing-outs are not allowed.
2. The fee is paid according to the details of the tax service. Payment can be made through any bank branch, ATM or Internet.
3. The completed package of papers is submitted to the tax authority. You can also submit documents for closing through the MFC. Such centers are open in almost all major cities, which makes submitting documents easier and saves time.
4. Issuance of a certificate of termination of activity by the tax authority to which the papers were submitted.

The liquidation of an individual entrepreneur in itself is not difficult. If you approach the procedure competently and wisely, then there should be no delays.

Closing a current account

This stage includes the following actions:

1. Preparation of documents for termination of the current agreement with the bank in which the account is opened.
2. Payment of all debts to the bank and counterparties.
3. Withdrawing funds to cash.
4. Submitting an application to close an account.
5. After official closing, receive the relevant certificate.
6. Notification of the tax service and funds about the closure of the account.

If at the time of closure an individual entrepreneur has large debts, then the best option would be to file for bankruptcy. But such a decision will require the individual entrepreneur to perform additional, more complex actions regulated by the norms of a separate law.

Closing an individual entrepreneur through the State Services portal

Another option for closing an individual entrepreneur is to submit papers through the official portal of state and municipal services. Detailed step-by-step instructions can be found on the website itself, which has accessible functionality and is easy to use.

To start working with the site, you will need to register, then fill out the required form in the required selected section and upload documents.

The documents you will need are the same as when closing an individual entrepreneur by visiting the tax authority in person.

If all actions are completed correctly, an electronic notification will be sent to the email address specified in the contact information section.

The period for closing an individual entrepreneur will be the same - 5 working days.

An important nuance is the presence of an electronic digital signature with which documents will be signed. If there is no such signature, then the application on the tax form will have to be filled out separately and submitted in person to the tax office or sent by mail, having previously been certified by a notary.

If there are no difficulties using the site, then submitting documents will not take much time, which will avoid queues and wasting time. But, in fact, this option is not entirely convenient due to the receipt of an electronic signature, since this will require you to go through additional measures, pay money and spend time waiting for its preparation.

Therefore, before choosing a method for closing an individual entrepreneur, you should weigh the pros and cons, including assessing your own capabilities.

Actions after closing an individual entrepreneur

What to do after closing an individual entrepreneur? After completing the event to close the IP, you will need to carry out a certain number of activities.

An individual entrepreneur should remember that deregistration with the tax authority does not interfere with the conduct of a tax audit of activities over the years of work of an individual as an individual entrepreneur. This means that at any time the tax service can request the documents of an individual entrepreneur for analysis.

Therefore, a person who has closed his business should keep working documents for a long time:

• Primary papers must be stored for 4 years.
• For the calculation and payment of insurance premiums - 6 years.

Don’t forget about paying debts to the Pension Fund, creditors and former employees.

There is no need to notify the pension fund yourself; the tax service will provide all the necessary information. Receipts that will need to be paid are usually sent by mail or can be requested by contacting the fund in person. After paying all debt obligations, you will be deregistered with the Pension Fund as an individual entrepreneur. The measures should be carried out within 15 days, starting from the date when the individual entrepreneur was officially recognized as closed by the tax service.

There is no need to delay settlements with creditors and former employees. If debts are not paid, they can sue. In this case, you will have to pay more, since a penalty will be charged on the amount of the principal debt, and employees will have to make additional compensation.

Thus, the closure of an individual entrepreneur is a rather serious step that requires the manifestation of responsibility, both at the closure stage and after it.

This step-by-step instruction describes in detail the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur. With its help, you will get the most complete idea of ​​how to close an individual entrepreneur in 2019, and also save your time searching for the necessary information.

1. Choose a method for closing an individual entrepreneur

There are two ways to close an IP:

1. Independent closure of an individual entrepreneur. A fairly simple procedure, which consists of preparing a number of documents and performing some preparatory procedures (paying taxes, fees, dismissing employees, etc.). In addition, by going through all the steps of closing an individual entrepreneur on your own, you will gain invaluable experience that may be useful to you more than once.
2. Paid closure of individual entrepreneurs through a specialized company. Suitable for those who want to save their time and do not want to delve into the process of closing an individual entrepreneur on their own.

How much does it cost to close a sole proprietorship?

Close the IP yourself

Close an individual entrepreneur for a fee through a specialized company

The cost of paid closure of an individual entrepreneur depends on the region, but usually ranges from 1,000 to 5,000 rubles. The state fee for closing an individual entrepreneur, as a rule, is not included in this amount.

Note: the cost does not take into account the costs of taxes and fees, contributions, fines that may need to be paid, as well as the costs of settlements with employees (if any).

Comparison of independent and paid closure of individual entrepreneurs

Closing method	Advantages	Flaws
Independent closure of an individual entrepreneur	Useful experience in preparing documents and communicating with government agencies. Saving money on paid services from law firms.	Possible refusal to close an individual entrepreneur due to errors in prepared documents. The result is a loss of time and money. BUT, if you follow these instructions and carefully prepare documents, the risk of refusal is reduced to 0.
Paid closure of an individual entrepreneur through a law firm	The specialized company assumes the risk of refusal to close the individual entrepreneur. Preparation, submission and receipt of documents from the tax service are possible without your participation.	Additional expenses. Transfer of personal data to third parties. You will have a poor understanding of the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur.

2. We carry out preparatory actions

Before its closure, according to the law, an individual entrepreneur must fulfill only the first two points; he can fulfill the rest after cessation of activity. But, in practice, tax authorities often require that all the actions described below be performed at once.

Payment of taxes, fines and penalties to the Federal Tax Service

At this stage, you need to know exactly what amounts of taxes, fines and penalties you need to pay. Directly, the amount of taxes payable depends on the taxation system on which the individual entrepreneur is located. You can obtain accurate information about existing debts and overpayments of taxes, fees and fines by reconciling settlements with the tax authority.

You can read more about individual entrepreneur taxes on this page.

Paying insurance premiums “for yourself”

Deregistration of cash register equipment

If by the time the individual entrepreneur is closed you have not made the transition to a new type of cash register, to deregister you need to write an application, and on the day of submitting it to the tax authority, call an engineer from your central service center, who must draw up a fiscal report. Next, you need to submit the following documents to the Federal Tax Service (the list may differ in different tax authorities):

• application for deregistration;
• KKT passport;
• cash register registration card;
• cashier-operator's journal;
• agreement with the central service center;
• removed fiscal report;
• passport;
• a copy of the latest financial statements (declaration, balance sheet).

If you work at an online cash register, to deregister you will need:

1. Fill out an application for deregistration of the online cash register and, within one business day from the date of occurrence of the circumstances in connection with which deletion was required, send it to the Federal Tax Service (to any tax office in paper form, through the personal account of the cash register, or through the OFD). Additionally, you need to provide a report on the closure of the fiscal drive.
2. Receive a card about deregistration of the cash register. The deadline for generating a Federal Tax Service card is 5 working days from the date of application. After another 5 working days, you will be sent an up-to-date card through the CCP or OFD office (if desired, you can request a paper copy from the tax office).

3. We prepare the necessary documents for closing an individual entrepreneur

Application for closure of individual entrepreneur

An application in form P26001 is the main document required to terminate the activities of an individual entrepreneur (download the form). Detailed instructions for filling out, as well as application samples for 2019, can be found on this page.

Receipt for payment of state duty

In 2019, the state duty for closing an individual entrepreneur is 160 rubles. You can generate a receipt and also pay for it online using this service on the official website of the Federal Tax Service (section State duty for registration of individual entrepreneurs). There you can print out a paper receipt and pay for it at any convenient Sberbank branch.

4. We check the collected documents

The final set of documents should include:

1. Application for closing an individual entrepreneur (form P26001) – 1 copy.
2. Original receipt of state duty with a stamp of payment.

5. Submit documents to the tax office

The collected documents must be submitted to the tax authority that registered it (for example, in Moscow this is Federal Tax Service No. 46), and not to the one where it was registered (this does not apply to paying taxes and submitting reports). You can find out the address and contact information of your tax office using this service.

When independently submitting documents to the Federal Tax Service, an individual entrepreneur does not need to certify the signature on the application. However, when submitting documents through an authorized representative or sending documents by mail (necessarily with a declared value and an inventory of the contents), notarization is required.

6. We receive a document confirming the closure of the individual entrepreneur

After receiving the documents, the tax service is obliged to issue (send) a receipt confirming their receipt and, within 5 days, close the individual entrepreneur by issuing (sending) you a corresponding notification (form No. 2-4-Accounting) and the Unified State Register of Entrepreneurs (EGRIP) Record Sheet.

After the closure of the IP

Please note that:

• an individual is not exempt from paying taxes, fines, insurance premiums and other debts incurred during his activities as an individual entrepreneur;
• if any of the actions described above to prepare for the closure of the IP have not been completed, then after closure they must be completed as quickly as possible;
• if there is an IP seal, its destruction is not necessary;
• if necessary, an individual entrepreneur can be opened again immediately after closure (for example, for a quick transition to another taxation system).

An economic entity operating as an entrepreneur may also decide to terminate its activities. For such a case, this individual needs to know how to close an individual entrepreneur. After all, an entrepreneur can carry out this procedure independently or engage a competent organization specializing in this. The first option is not as expensive as the second, although it will require some knowledge.

Practice shows that many entrepreneurs decide to close their business. They may have a variety of reasons for this.

Let's look at the most common of them:

1. The most common reason is the liquidation of an individual entrepreneur due to the lack of financial capabilities for the further functioning of a small business. Closing can be carried out either by the entrepreneur himself or by a court decision when bankruptcy proceedings are underway against an individual.
2. Liquidation of an individual entrepreneur, carried out for the purpose of moving to another organizational form of doing business. For example, opening an LLC. Very often, individual entrepreneurs are closed for this reason because they want to carry out activities for which the creation of a legal entity is required by law (alcohol sales, insurance activities, pawnshops, lending, etc.). In this case, the closure of an individual entrepreneur coincides with the registration of a new enterprise, that is, both packages of documents can be submitted to the tax office at the same time.
3. When an entrepreneur is unable to run his business and, because of this, has no desire to work in the future, he also submits documents to the Federal Tax Service to close the individual entrepreneur.
4. An individual working as an entrepreneur may decide to close an individual entrepreneur due to health problems. The business is closed due to the death of a person who is an individual entrepreneur.
5. An entrepreneur can engage not only in activities for an individual entrepreneur, but also have another type of employment, for example, working under an employment contract. Due to heavy workload and lack of free time, he may close his business.
6. Termination of business in order to optimize taxation or avoid paying taxes altogether. Entrepreneurs often close and reopen individual entrepreneurs in order to change the tax regime to a preferential or more profitable one for them. This reason may result in administrative penalties for violation of the law.
7. Termination of activity on the basis of a decision banning it.

Attention! Whatever the reason for terminating a business, it is necessary to properly close the business.

Bankruptcy or closure – which is better?

Depending on who makes the decision to terminate the activity, there are two ways to carry out this procedure. If an individual entrepreneur is forced to close the business by his creditors, then the entrepreneur must go through bankruptcy.

When an entrepreneur announces this decision on his own and he has no debt to other persons, he is deregistered according to a simplified scheme.

Voluntary termination of business provides that even if an entrepreneur has debts, he pays them off on his own without creditors going to court. As soon as they are paid, the Federal Tax Service will close his business if he submits application p26001.

Bankruptcy assumes that individual entrepreneurs are unable to make appropriate payments, so creditors will need to apply to the courts. It can also occur on the initiative of the debtor-individual entrepreneur. It differs from bankruptcy of a legal entity.

At the same time, consideration of the case in court requires the submission of all lists of debts, which must be documented. It will also be necessary to document with the help of documents that the entrepreneur does not have the opportunity to pay them off on his own.

During the consideration of the case, the court may decide to seize for repayment the property owned by the individual entrepreneur - buildings, land plots (with the exception of real estate in which the entrepreneur lives), transport, jewelry, art objects, property the price of which is more than 100 minimum wages, money, minus living wage, etc.

In this case, all seized property must be sold at auction, and the money received as a result of the auction must be paid to creditors. Debts for which the funds received are not sufficient are subject to write-off.

When choosing how to close an individual entrepreneur, an entrepreneur needs to understand that if he has enough funds, it is better to pay off his debts voluntarily and calmly deregister with the Federal Tax Service.

Attention! However, if the debt significantly exceeds the property and funds available to the individual entrepreneur, then it is better to initiate bankruptcy proceedings. In this case, the entrepreneur will lose part of his funds, he may be prohibited from operating as an individual entrepreneur, but as a result of bankruptcy he will be able to write off all remaining debts.

Closing an individual entrepreneur step by step instructions in 2019 if you have no employees

Let's look at how to close an individual entrepreneur in more detail, breaking this procedure into steps.

At the same time, the closure of an individual entrepreneur in 2019, the list of necessary documents and actions are not much different from previous periods.

Step 1. Fill out an application on form P21001 to close the individual entrepreneur

Legislation stipulates what documents are needed to close an individual entrepreneur. First of all, the entrepreneur needs to find and fill out an application for termination of business.

It is better to compose documents using appropriate Internet services, which allows you to use the latest version of the forms that are currently used for these purposes.

If the entrepreneur enters data into the form manually, then he needs to use a pen with black ink. A specialized company can also draw up an application in form p26001 for an individual entrepreneur, but this will require additional costs.

Attention! If the application is submitted by a proxy, it must be notarized. A person acts on the basis of a power of attorney. When submitting an application in person, there is no need to have it certified by a notary.

Step 2. Pay the state duty

The required package of documents also includes a receipt for payment of the state duty for the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur. Its amount in 2019 is set at 160 rubles.

You can pay the state duty both through bank branches and through terminals. When filling out a receipt manually, you must indicate the following BCC - 182 1 08 07010 01 1000 110.

Attention! A receipt can be created using the service on the tax website. Since the original receipt is submitted to the inspector along with the application, it is advisable to first make a copy of it.

Step 3. Form a package of documents

To terminate activities as an entrepreneur, you must submit the following package of documents:

• Original receipt for payment of the state fee in the amount of 160 rubles.

Attention! Reconciliation with the pension fund is not required at this time. The Federal Tax Service and the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation will carry out the reconciliation independently as part of an interdepartmental exchange.

Step 4. Submit documents

After the entire package of documents has been collected - application form p26001, as well as a payment slip for payment of the duty, it must be submitted to the tax office.

This can be done using several transfer options at once:

• Through the Internet. To do this, you can use the Internet resource “Submission of electronic documents for state registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs” on the Federal Tax Service website. However, for this procedure you must have a valid qualified electronic digital signature.
• Take it personally to the Federal Tax Service, which previously carried out the registration. You must have a passport or other document with you that can confirm your identity. Having accepted the documents, the inspector issues a receipt confirming their receipt.
• Hand over into the hands of the inspector through a proxy using a notarized power of attorney;
• Send by post or courier service.

Important! When submitting forms through a representative or by mail, the application must be certified by a notary. Submitting an application through the State Services portal or by contacting the MFC is impossible.

Step 5. Receive documents

The law allows five days for consideration of the submitted package of documents. After this time (on the 6th day), the applicant must go to the tax office with his passport, and there receive an extract from the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs, which will include information about the completion of work as an entrepreneur.

Attention! If the Federal Tax Service for any reason refuses to deregister an entrepreneur, then they must issue a document containing the reasons for this refusal.

Step 6. Submit reports

The following reports must be completed and submitted:

• If the individual entrepreneur worked with hired employees, the calculation of insurance premiums must be completed and submitted after the dismissal of all employees;
• If an individual entrepreneur uses it, it must be sent before the 25th of the month, after the month of closure;
• Individual entrepreneurs cannot be rented out until the 20th of the month, after the quarterly closure.

Important! A tax return for the simplified tax system must be submitted even if there has been no recent activity. In this situation, the form will contain zeros. But for UTII there is no zero declaration - the calculated amount of tax will have to be paid in any case, and this amount must be shown on the form.

Step 7. Pay taxes and fees

When closing a business, the entrepreneur must transfer all necessary taxes and payments:

• If there are employees, contributions for them. They must be transferred within 15 days from the date of submission of the final calculation;
• - within 15 days from the date of receipt of notification of the closure of the individual entrepreneur. Contribution amounts are calculated in proportion to the number of days of work in a given year. It is recommended to do this after the actual closing, and not before, because at that moment the exact date will not yet be known, and both underpayment and overpayment may occur.
• Contribution of 1% to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation on income over 300 thousand rubles. – are calculated in the usual manner, they must also be paid within 15 days from the fact of closure.
• If the entrepreneur is on the simplified tax system, the obligatory payment must be transferred to the budget before the 25th day of the month after the month of closure;
• If the individual entrepreneur is on UTII, the payment must be transferred to the budget before the 25th day of the month following the closing quarter.

What if the individual entrepreneur still has debts?

Running a business involves financial risks. These include the formation of debts to suppliers, the budget and social funds. The law allows for the closure of an individual entrepreneur with existing debts, but they will not be written off, but will be transferred to the individual.

Debts to counterparties

The law does not oblige an entrepreneur to pay off all his debts to suppliers upon completion of his activities. In fact, the tax office will not know to whom and how much the individual entrepreneur still owes. However, debts will not be written off upon closure, which means that any company can sue to repay the debt owed to it, as well as pay interest and compensation.

If an entrepreneur sees that he cannot fully repay all debts, he can do the following:

• Conclude an agreement of intent with your creditors, which specifies the timing and volume of repayment of obligations to them;
• Or start bankruptcy proceedings. Then the debtor will have his existing valuable property (real estate, vehicles, art, etc.) confiscated, which will be sold through an auction. However, debts that cannot be covered will be written off as determined by the court.

Debts on taxes and contributions

Previously, it was impossible to close a business if the individual entrepreneur still had a debt on payments to the Pension Fund. At that time, the tax office required the provision of a certificate from the Pension Fund confirming the absence of debts.

Now you can choose at what time to repay the existing debt - immediately, when the procedure is completed, or after the actual liquidation of the individual entrepreneur.

However, even if you choose the second option, you should not be mistaken that the fund will eventually forget about the existing debt. From time to time he will remind you of the need to repay it, and if this does not happen, he will transfer the case to court and the bailiffs will deal with the collection of the debt.

You can do the same with debts to social insurance - you can choose to repay them immediately or pay by receipt after closing. But this will also have to be done without fail.

It will not be possible to close a business with tax debt. This body will require, before completing the procedure, to pay off all existing tax debts, as well as accrued fines and penalties. Submitting a tax return is also mandatory.

Attention! If an entrepreneur does not have his own funds at the time of closure to pay tax debts, then the Federal Tax Service may begin a forced bankruptcy procedure with the seizure of his property and its sale through an auction.

Actions after closing an individual entrepreneur

When the process of liquidating an individual entrepreneur is completely completed, the former entrepreneur needs to complete a few more steps to completely close his business:

• Drive up to the pension fund and social security, where you need to notify them of the end of your business. You also need to pay off all debts on mandatory contributions. To do this, the funds will provide receipts with the required amount due. The transfer will need to be made within 15 days.
• Go to your bank, where you can apply to close a current account for business purposes;
• If you bought them, you need to deregister them with the Federal Tax Service. You can also terminate the maintenance contract with the technical center, if one has been concluded.
• Terminate all contracts for services that were concluded for the entrepreneur - Internet, telephony, garbage removal, etc.

Important! After closing, you must retain all documentation, accounting documents and reports for another four years.

Is it possible to open an individual entrepreneur after closing?

Sometimes a situation may arise when an entrepreneur, after having already closed his own business, wants to try his hand at business again. The law does not prohibit it after closure, but in this case it is very important how exactly the business was closed.

• The business may be closed according to a court decision, since the individual entrepreneur was no longer able to make payments to the budget or to his partners. In this situation, since the individual entrepreneur has been liquidated, it will be possible to open a business again only after 12 months - this is the period during which the ban on business activities is in effect.
• If the individual entrepreneur decided to open it voluntarily, then you can register again at any time, even the next day. This step is very convenient if you need to change the tax regime to a new one, change the nature and form of organization of activities, etc. However, this can only be done if the entrepreneur has no debts to third parties, the budget, employees, etc. .

Attention! When registration occurs again, the entire process must be completed in full. There is no simplified procedure due to the fact that the citizen was already an individual entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship brings tangible benefits, allowing a person to do what he loves and earn money. Opening your own business is easy, but in the event of a liquidation process, difficulties may arise. Step-by-step instructions on how to obtain a certificate and what documents are needed to close an individual entrepreneur are discussed below.

Liquidation of individual entrepreneurs

You can close the activities of a private entrepreneur yourself or with the help of third-party companies that offer to close an individual entrepreneur in a short time. Initially, the process may seem labor-intensive, so many turn to intermediaries. There are no difficulties with the question of how to liquidate an individual entrepreneur. First, you should complete the employment relationship with employees, if the entrepreneur had any, and prepare some documents. After all operations have been completed, the seal should be destroyed.

What is needed to close an individual entrepreneur

Termination of an individual's activities as an entrepreneur is possible at any time. First, to close an individual entrepreneur, you need to draw up an application on your own behalf. It must be prepared in accordance with the law, since failure to comply with the methodological recommendations may result in a refusal to cancel the business. Closing a business activity is carried out in accordance with established regulations and consists of several operations.

The step-by-step instructions consist of the following sequence of actions:

• filling out documents;
• payment of duty;
• visiting tax authorities.

Documents for closing an individual entrepreneur

It is worth noting that filling out the necessary forms can be done using a computer (for example, the “Taxpayer” program) or by hand. In the latter option, you need to fill out the papers using a black rod and only in capital block letters. Which documents for closing an individual entrepreneur necessary? Firstly, this is a passport or other proof of identity (based on this, a liquidation card is issued). Secondly, an application filled out by the entrepreneur in form 26001, and a receipt indicating that the state duty has been paid.

Statement

On the website of the state tax inspectorate in Excel format you can download an application for closing an individual entrepreneur. You can fill it out manually or on a computer using Courier New font (18 points). It must be printed, but only signed in the presence of a tax inspector. There is no need to certify your own signature with a notary in order to close an individual entrepreneur when submitting documents yourself.

State duty

In addition to the completed application, a receipt for payment of the state fee for closing the individual entrepreneur is required. The receipt form itself can be obtained from the Ministry of Taxes website. The payment amount is 20% of the amount charged for registering an individual entrepreneur. Today this amount is equal to 160 rubles. You can pay it at banking institutions. The FSN service allows you to pay the fee by bank transfer.

The procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur

When submitting an application on your own, the entrepreneur takes the entire package of documents and sends them to the tax office. Some people wonder whether the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur through the MFC is possible. Liquidation is carried out within up to five days, so the intermediary of the multifunctional center simply cannot meet the deadline. Some centers offer this type of service, but you should be aware that the deadlines may be delayed, and it is possible to receive a refusal due to incorrect completion of the documentation, which entails re-submission and payment of a fee.

If the entrepreneur worked alone, then there are no questions about how to close the business, but if there were employees on staff, then you should remember the nuances:

1. Notify all employees of the upcoming liquidation (this is done at least two months in advance, and everyone’s notification is confirmed by a signature).
2. Send interim reports to the Pension Fund.
3. Notify the Employment Center with the obligatory indication of the full name of the employees, their qualifications, position and average salary.
4. Close the bank account that was used to service the activities of an individual entrepreneur.
5. Make final payments to each employee.
6. Pay insurance premiums to the Social Insurance Fund and fines. Check out the online service for generating reports to the Social Insurance Fund.

If a cash register was used in the entrepreneur’s work, then it must be deregistered. Five days are allotted for this. To do this, you must provide a package of documents consisting of a cash register card, a cash register passport and an application. All this can be submitted independently or sent by registered mail. In addition, you must pay off your debts within fifteen days. In some cases, the tax inspector may request a certificate from the Pension Fund indicating that there is no debt. This is illegal - Law No. 212-FZ says so.

With debts

Recently, terminating the activities of an individual entrepreneur has become easier. This can be done even if you have debt, however, it is worth considering that it will not go anywhere, but will be registered with the entrepreneur. Closing an individual entrepreneur with debts depends on the type of debt:

Tax debt	Before liquidation, the entrepreneur must submit a declaration to the tax authorities and pay off all debts, since the law does not allow other options.
Debt to the Social Insurance Fund	The debt can be repaid after the liquidation of the individual entrepreneur, but it is not written off from the entrepreneur, but transferred to the individual. If the debt is not repaid, interested parties can sue the former entrepreneur to collect the debt from him.
Debt to the Pension Fund
Debt to employees and creditors

Online

If you have a digital signature, it is possible to close an individual entrepreneur online. There is nothing complicated here, since the list of documents remains the same, and it is sent to the inspection through the FSN website. After this operation, the entrepreneur will receive a response from the tax inspector confirming receipt by email. In a similar way, a notification of the liquidation of an individual entrepreneur will be received, after which a USRIP record sheet will be issued stating that the individual is no longer an entrepreneur.

By mail

In addition to the options discussed above for a personal visit to submit an application and the opportunity to terminate activities through the global network, you can close an individual entrepreneur by mail. To do this, you need to send the prepared documentation by registered mail. It is important to note that in this case it is necessary to notarize your own signature, as well as attach a certified copy of your identity document.

Video

Entrepreneurs often have an important question: What does it take to liquidate your own business? In this article we will talk about how to close an individual entrepreneur yourself - step-by-step instructions for 2017 are posted below. What legislative nuances do you need to know so that in the future the businessman does not have friction with control authorities on the topic of non-payment of taxes or failure to submit reports?

Many individuals turn to specialized legal or accounting companies to carry out such a procedure. But in fact, you can do everything yourself, the main thing is to know the sequence of actions and carry them out in accordance with regulatory requirements. Let's figure out what it takes to close an individual entrepreneur quickly and without negative legal consequences.

How to close an individual entrepreneur in 2017

Unfortunately, the instability of the economic situation in the country and the lack of profit are forcing many entrepreneurs to close their own businesses. Some people switch to another, more in-demand activity, while others prefer to work under an employment contract and regularly receive a small monthly salary. Whatever the root causes, the result is the same - before starting a new business, it is necessary to liquidate the old one.

When termination of IP is required:

• If the current activity does not bring the expected income, there is no profit, and business operations are not carried out.
• If the work on an individual entrepreneur is “hanging”, and the citizen plans to open a new direction with a different legal status.
• If the fiscal burden turns out to be excessive, and the ability to repay obligations becomes less and less.
• If the individual entrepreneur is officially declared bankrupt.
• If the activity is carried out without the appropriate licenses, permits and permits, that is, it is illegal.
• In the event of the death of a citizen.
• If the judicial authorities make a decision to terminate or suspend activities.
• If the entrepreneur is a citizen of another state and his residence permit has expired and the document has been cancelled.

Legally, the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur in 2017 is similar to the algorithm that was in effect in 2016. The main goal, as before, is that upon liquidation of a business, the entrepreneur is relieved of the obligation to prepare reports, pay taxes, including fixed payments “for yourself” and the transfer of other amounts associated with any activity - rent, utility costs, staff salaries, etc.

Note! The opinion that the closure of an individual entrepreneur frees an individual from the need to repay accumulated amounts of taxes, contributions and debts to counterparties, including personnel, is erroneous. According to stat. 24 of the Civil Code, the entrepreneur is liable for his obligations with all personal property (except for that which is not subject to collection under civil procedural law), which means that he must first pay off the debt and then begin the procedure for terminating his activities.

To close an individual entrepreneur on your own, you need to know what documents to submit, where and in what order. The main form is an application submitted to the registration authorities. You should prepare all the required documents in advance so as not to run into paperwork, waste extra time running around the authorities, and avoid penalties. So, what documentation will you need in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 1 of the stat. 22.3 of Law No. 129-FZ of 08.08.01?

What is needed to close an individual entrepreneur - list of documents:

1. An original copy of the passport and its copy.
2. Photocopy of TIN.
3. Application according to the unified form P26001.
4. Document confirming payment of state duty.
5. Certificate of registration of business in the Unified State Register of Entrepreneurs.
6. A certificate from the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation confirming the submission to the Pension Fund of information on the length of service, as well as insurance contributions.
7. A power of attorney certified in accordance with the established procedure when carrying out the closing procedure through an official representative.

Note! Even before liquidating an individual entrepreneur, it is necessary to submit all mandatory reports to the tax office and social funds, even if there are no operations. It will not be possible to close a business with reporting and tax debts.

Closing an individual entrepreneur - step-by-step instructions in 2017:

• Submission of reports - at this stage it is checked whether all reports, declarations and calculations for taxes paid have been submitted to the control authorities; it would be optimal to carry out a reconciliation with the Federal Tax Service, the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation and the Social Insurance Fund. If the reconciliation process reveals any discrepancies in reporting or taxes, you should submit the data, pay off the debt as quickly as possible, after which you can continue with the liquidation procedure.
• Deregistration of cash registers with the Federal Tax Service is not required for all entrepreneurs, but only for those who were required to use cash register equipment in their activities. To carry out the withdrawal procedure, take with you the cash register itself and the relevant documentation for it, and then go to the tax inspector.
• Resolving issues regarding current debt obligations - repaying all accumulated debts to the budget, extra-budgetary funds, personnel, and contractors of the individual entrepreneur is a prerequisite for the smooth completion of activities. Of course, there are situations when you have to close an individual entrepreneur in 2017 with debts, but we will talk about this separately.
• Dismissal of hired employees is carried out only after full completion of settlements with the personnel.
• Payment of the established amount of state duty - the amount is not large - 160 rubles. (Subclause 7, Clause 1, Stat. 333.33 of the Tax Code), but the main thing is to correctly indicate all the required details (you can get it from the tax office) and fill out the payment document correctly. If you come to the Federal Tax Service with a complete package of documentation, but the receipt for the state duty is issued with errors, you will be refused to initiate the procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur and will have to start all over again, that is, pay the fee a second time. You can fill out the document online or through an operator at Sberbank. Don't forget to make a copy of the payment document for yourself.
• Obtaining a certificate from the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation - when closing an individual entrepreneur, the territorial branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation issues the taxpayer a certificate-extract confirming the absence of debts and full repayment of insurance premiums by the individual.
• Deregistration from the Social Insurance Fund is not required from June 11, 2016, but it is necessary to pay off debts on contributions.
• Closing a bank account - not all individuals have an open bank account, but if you have one, you need to close it. To do this, you will need to visit a bank branch and fill out the appropriate application. Do not forget to check in advance whether all obligations have been repaid - remember that execution of payments requires operational time.
• Formation of an application f. P26001 - the document provides registration information for the individual entrepreneur (full name, OGRNIP, INN), his contact information and the method for obtaining the final documentation for closing the entrepreneur. When submitting the form yourself, the signature is placed directly at the tax office, when sent by mail/through a representative - in advance in the presence of a notary.
• Submission of a package of documentation to the Federal Tax Service - all documents can be brought to the tax authorities where the initial registration was carried out, in person, sent by mail or electronically, transmitted through your own representative. The procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur via the Internet is discussed in more detail at the end of the article.
• Receiving documentation on the completion of the activities of the individual entrepreneur - after you have submitted all the required documents for closing the individual entrepreneur, the tax authority gives you a receipt for the acceptance of the forms, and after 5 days (working days) gives you a notice of deregistration of the f. 2-4-Accounting.

Note! Even after closure, the individual entrepreneur continues to be responsible for its obligations arising in the course of its activities until they are repaid; destruction of the seal is not necessary; and the re-opening of a business by the same citizen is not prohibited by law.

How to close an individual entrepreneur with debts

Is it possible to close an individual entrepreneur with debts and how? Previously, such a procedure was impossible, but now those entrepreneurs who did not manage to pay off their obligations on time have a chance to stop operating even if they have debt. It is important to remember that after the liquidation of an individual entrepreneur, debts do not disappear anywhere and are transferred to the citizen with the right to collect both property and money.

The fact of non-payment of obligations to counterparties at the time of closure of the individual entrepreneur does not prevent the procedure from being carried out by the tax authorities, especially since the Federal Tax Service does not have such information. But in order not to let down his partners and not to delay the termination of work, an entrepreneur can enter into an agreement of intent with counterparties, the terms of which reflect the terms of repayment of obligations with a deferment. Or you can declare yourself bankrupt, which will mean forced liquidation and write-off of debt by decision of the judicial authorities.

Regarding debts to the budget, the situation is more complicated - an individual is unlikely to be able to close an individual entrepreneur if there are unpaid amounts of tax obligations. You must first repay the debt yourself, otherwise you cannot avoid not only a refusal to register the liquidation, but also the accrual of penalties. And you will have to pay tax on arrears in any case.

Note! There is no need to pay off debts with an expired statute of limitations - more than 3 years.

Closing an individual entrepreneur with debts to the Pension Fund

The procedure for closing an individual entrepreneur in 2017 in the presence of debts to the Pension Fund differs in that entrepreneurs are allowed to begin the procedure for terminating their activities even if they have obligations to the Pension Fund. However, you should not think that after the liquidation of the business they will forget about you and will allow you not to pay insurance premiums. If an entrepreneur submits documents for closure to the tax office, and the Pension Fund receives information about the presence of current debt, the funds will be claimed in any case - before or immediately after closure.

How long can a citizen pay off his debts to the Pension Fund of Russia? Before you start transferring funds, you should check with the Pension Fund to clarify the exact amount of the amount to be repaid. And 14 days are allotted for debt payment from the date of closure of the individual entrepreneur. At the same time, be prepared for the fact that if you have outstanding debts, you may be denied permission to terminate your activities. And although the legislation of the Russian Federation does not directly provide for such a turn of events, often “on the ground” individuals are not given the opportunity to complete the work of an individual entrepreneur until full settlement with the budget and extra-budgetary funds.

Important! If an individual entrepreneur was closed, and the court awarded you a penalty, but there are no funds, what should you do? In this situation, the state can collect debts at the expense of the citizen’s property. At the same time, according to executive documents, the property named in the statute cannot be confiscated from the debtor. 446 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation - personal belongings, household items, only housing, food, transport for a disabled person, etc.

How to close a non-working individual entrepreneur

How to properly close an individual entrepreneur in 2017 if activities are not carried out for various reasons? It happens that an entrepreneur opened his business, but did not work for a single day. If this is your situation, then you must keep in mind that even in the absence of business activities and employment contracts with hired personnel, a citizen is obliged to pay a fixed amount of insurance premiums to the state every year - the amount is approved annually at the federal level. In addition, the obligation to submit reports is not excluded depending on the applicable tax regime.

If reports were not submitted, fees were not paid, when the individual entrepreneur is closed, these violations will “pop up” and sanctions will be assessed in the form of fines and penalties. You will have to repay the amounts, and only after that you can begin to liquidate the business. The procedure is no different from that described above, including payment of the state duty, filling out an application form P26001 and conducting reconciliation with control authorities for settlements.

How to close an individual entrepreneur via the Internet

Is it possible to carry out the closing procedure via Internet technologies or will you have to visit the tax office in person? You can liquidate a business without going to the Federal Tax Service using the State Services website. But not everyone has the right to do this, but only the person who has a confirmed entry on this portal. Registration of an entry does not take much time and is very simple, but sometimes you have to wait 1-2 weeks for confirmation of identity. In this case, the citizen is assigned a strengthened digital signature, which is obtained from a special accredited organization. Or you can verify your identity at the MFC by presenting your passport.

After which you must pay the fee and send the required documents electronically. After the expiration of the established period, a confirmation of exclusion from the register or refusal to close is received in the individual’s personal account. Similar opportunities are provided on the official website of the Federal Tax Service. There you can also submit an application electronically, but you will have to close the account, pay debts, and take a certificate from the Pension Fund in person.