Excessive salary received. Return of wages according to accounting. The employee's obligation to return the excess

What is “overpaid wages”

By “overpaid wages” it is legitimate to understand (Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):

1. Amounts included in the paid salary due to “accounting errors” made by the accounting department of the employing organization.

An example of a counting error is unintentionally pressing an extra zero on the keyboard. But a failure in the accounting program does not always apply to such errors (appeal ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) dated March 27, 2013 No. 33-709/2013).

2. Amounts included in the paid salary as a result of a false assessment of the employee’s compliance with labor standards.

3. Amounts included in the paid salary as a result of unlawful actions of the employee himself (for example, if he “hacked” the accounting computer and awarded himself an additional bonus).

4. Amounts of vacation pay that were provided in advance, while the employee quit without working them.

5. Unprocessed advance.

6. Amounts of travel allowances that were subject to intended use, but it was not confirmed that they were used for their intended purpose.

For all overpayments listed in Art. 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer has the right to make a refund in accordance with the procedure established by law. Let us consider what conditions must be met.

When can overpaid wages be returned (and to what extent)

The employer has the right to withhold overpaid wages:

1. In the case when the overpayment is represented by an unpaid advance - without any additional conditions. The employer only needs to issue an order to withhold the overpayment (we will look at the specifics of its preparation below).

In Art. 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation there is an extremely dispositive norm that the employer must issue such an order within a month after the end of the period for “return of the advance, repayment of debt or incorrectly calculated payments.” But there are no rules for establishing such a period.

The maximum amount of refund of overpaid wages cannot exceed 20% of monthly labor income (Article 138 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

2. If the overpayment is represented by an amount accrued as a result of unlawful actions - only on the basis of a court decision (and the subsequent issuance of an order to withhold the overpayment).

Here it is assumed that the court will issue a writ of execution to collect the overpayment. In this case, the limit will be 50% of the salary.

3. In the remaining cases listed above, wages are recognized as overpaid - only with written consent from the employee (and the subsequent issuance of an order). The limit is 20%.

If written consent is not obtained, the employer has the right to recover the overpayment through the court. In this case, the following are not subject to recovery through the court (determination of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation from the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 25, 2013 No. 69-KG13-6):

travel allowances not supported by documents;
overpayment for vacations;
unearned advances after dismissal - if during the final calculations they could not be written off due to the insufficiency of the last paid salary, taking into account the limits.

The limit on the writ of execution is 50%.

How is overpaid amounts deducted from wages?

If an unpaid advance is identified, it is enough for the employer to issue an order to withhold the overpayment. This order states:

1. Reasons for the overpayment (“Due to the discovery of an unpaid advance”).

2. Amount of overpayment.

Don't know your rights?

3. An order to withhold this amount addressed to the chief accountant.

If written consent is required, it must be requested from the employee. For these purposes the following can be used:

a reconciliation report indicating the amount of overpayment (signed by the employer and employee);
notification to the employee about the need to agree to write off the overpayment (the employee can write “I agree” on it).

Based on the written consent received, the employer issues an order to withhold excess amounts paid from wages. It must contain a link to a document reflecting the fact of the employee’s consent to the return of overpaid wages.

Let us now consider the features of the return of overpaid wages by court decision.

What is the procedure for collecting overpayment through court?

The employer has the right to sue any types of overpayments, except for travel allowances, excess amounts for vacation pay and advances (after dismissal). A typical scenario is a judicial recovery of an overpayment due to an accounting error that the employee refused to admit.

In this case, the claim against the employee is filed on the basis of Art. 1102 and 1109 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, that is, the employer asks the court to recognize unjust enrichment for the employee.

The lawsuit states:

1. Name of the court.

2. Name of the plaintiff (company name, full name, individual entrepreneur), address.

3. Full name, address of the defendant.

4. Amount of claims.

5. The main text of the statement, which reflects:

the period of work of the defendant in the organization, his position;
the order on the basis of which the person was hired;
dismissal order - if he is no longer working;
circumstances of the overpayment;
links to documents confirming the existence of debt (for example, pay slip, bank account statement).

6. Request to recover from the defendant the amount specified in the application.

The documents to which there is a link are attached to the statement of claim.

The statute of limitations for the return of overpaid wages through the court is 3 years.

If the court makes a decision in favor of the employer, the latter receives a writ of execution, on the basis of which it writes off the debt from the plaintiff’s current labor income. And if he quits, he hands over the writ of execution to the bailiffs.

The scenario under consideration, when the overpayment is withheld from the employee, there is an alternative in the form of withholding the company's losses from the guilty party.

An alternative to withholding: how to write off losses from the income of the guilty party

In the general case, the responsible person in the accounting department of the company is recognized as the culprit in the event of overpayments. In this case, it matters whether an agreement on liability was concluded between the accountant and the employer.

If yes, then the accountant fully compensates the loss to the employer (Articles 242-244 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If not, then the loss is partially covered - within the limits of the monthly salary (Article 241 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

In this case, there are the following criteria for admitting guilt of an accountant (letter of Rostrud dated October 19, 2006 No. 1746-6-1):

proof of the commission of an illegal act;
the presence of a direct connection between this action and the fact of overpaid wages;
proof of the commission of an illegal act by the accountant.

The circumstances of non-admission of guilt reflected in Art. 239 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

If the accountant refuses to compensate for losses in an amount exceeding the average monthly salary, the employer has the right to initiate recovery of these losses through the court (Article 248 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

If an accountant repays a loss on the basis of a liability agreement or in the amount of average earnings, then the limit on monthly write-offs from his salary will be 20%. If losses are withheld on the basis of a writ of execution after winning the case in court, then the limit will be 50%.

The employer can withhold overpayments, depending on the type of employee’s debt, under several scenarios: without additional conditions, with the consent (or direct order) of the employee or by court. Different deductions may have different priorities and limits on the amount of the employee’s labor income.

According to Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, wages are considered overpaid and must be returned by the employee in the following cases:

counting error;
proven by the commission or court of the employee’s guilt in idle time or failure to comply with labor standards;
unlawful actions of an employee established by the court in order to receive unearned money.

Basic Rules

At the same time, according to Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer issues order to withhold overpaid wages from an employee. If the amount is large, you will need to withhold for several months, since the company has the right to withhold no more than 20% of the accrued monthly salary.

An employee with this order must must be familiarized with signature and indicating the date of familiarization, with written confirmation of your consent to withhold the specified amount in the agreed monthly amounts (if the amount is large and it is not possible to withhold it for one month).

The second option is also possible - the employee writes himself application addressed to the head of the organization with a request to make a deduction overpaid (including interest). According to him, this could be more than 20% per month.

Looking for an answer? Ask a question to the lawyers!

9630 lawyers are waiting for you Quick response!

Ask a Question

If a counting error is detected for a resigned employee, it is necessary to notify him about it by registered mail within a month from the date of discovery of the error. At the same time, reflect the request to independently return the excess amount received. It should also be warned that in case of refusal of a voluntary return, forced collection of the amount will follow.

Going to court

In case of contacting, An application must be submitted with the following documents:

a copy with the defendant;
settlements for overpaid wages;
a report drawn up at the enterprise about the identified error with compliance;
a copy of the letter sent to the dismissed employee with notification of its dispatch.

At trial present the originals of all the above documents. During the trial, you will have to prove the fact of a calculation error or the employee’s guilt.

Overpaid wages that are not subject to return by the employee

It is prohibited to demand the return of funds specified in paragraph 3 of Article 1109 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Also not subject to withholding overpaid wages in case of a counting error, if the corresponding order is not issued in a timely manner, with which the financially affected employee is familiarized with signature.

Technical errors do not apply to counting errors. And therefore, it is prohibited to withhold overpayments from an employee due to errors in the accounting program and other monetary documents, or incorrect application of laws and regulations.

In particular, Overpaid wages are not refundable:

payment for longer vacations;
twice: as for himself and as if for his namesake;
salary was paid incorrectly while on vacation;
the accountant accrued an unspecified allowance;
The premium was paid by mistake.

Approaching the issue that has arisen not from the side of legal acts, but simply from a human perspective: everyone knows what amount is due to them. An accountant is in charge of payroll, and he does not always have the opportunity to thoroughly check everyone before payment.

Withholding the amount of damage for overpaid wages from the guilty person

Based on Chapter 39 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, overpaid wages that are not subject to return by the employee, may be withheld by the employer from the accountant who made this mistake, whose guilt will be confirmed during the administrative investigation of this fact. The employer can also punish the chief accountant for insufficient control in this area of accounting.

According to Article 248, upon damage caused by employees, a order (instructions) of the manager within the time limits established by law.

If the established period for issuing an order (instruction) has expired, and also if the amount recovered from an official is more than his monthly salary, recovery of damage is possible only with the consent of the guilty employee or through the court.

According to Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, wages are considered overpaid and must be returned by the employee in the following cases:

counting error;
proven by the labor dispute commission or court of the employee’s guilt in idle time or failure to comply with labor standards;
unlawful actions of an employee established by the court in order to receive unearned money.

Basic Rules

At the same time, according to Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer issues order from an employee. If the amount is large, you will need to withhold for several months, since the company has the right to withhold no more than 20% of the accrued monthly salary.

An employee with this order must must be familiarized with signature and indicating the date of familiarization. with written confirmation of your consent to withhold the specified amount in the agreed monthly amounts (if the amount is large and it is not possible to withhold it within one month).

The second option is also possible - the employee writes himself application addressed to the head of the organization with a request to make a deduction overpaid wages (including interest). According to him, this could be more than 20% per month.

If a counting error is detected for a resigned employee. It is necessary to notify him about it by registered mail within one month from the date of discovery of the error. At the same time, reflect the request to independently return the excess amount received. It should also be warned that in case of refusal of a voluntary return, an appeal to the court will follow to forcefully collect the amount.

Going to court

In case of appeal to the district court. An application must be submitted with the following documents :

a copy of the employment contract with the defendant;
settlements for overpaid wages;
a report drawn up at the enterprise about the identified error in compliance with the statute of limitations;
a copy of the letter sent to the dismissed employee with notification of its dispatch.

At trial present the originals of all the above documents. During the trial, you will have to prove the fact of a calculation error or the employee’s guilt.

Overpaid wages that are not subject to return by the employee

It is prohibited to demand the return of funds specified in paragraph 3 of Article 1109 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Also not subject to withholding overpaid wages in case of a counting error, if the corresponding order is not issued in a timely manner. with which the financially affected employee is familiarized with signature.

In particular, Overpaid wages are not refundable :

payment for longer vacations;
payment of wages twice: both for oneself and as if for a namesake;
salary was paid incorrectly while on vacation;
the accountant accrued an unspecified allowance;
The premium was paid by mistake.

Withholding the amount of damage for overpaid wages from the guilty person

Based on Chapter 39 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, overpaid wages that are not subject to return by the employee, may be withheld by the employer from the accountant. who made this mistake, whose guilt will be confirmed during the administrative investigation of this fact. The employer can also punish the chief accountant for insufficient control in this area of accounting.

According to Article 248 of the Labor Code. upon damage caused by employees, it is issued order (instructions) of the manager within the time limits established by law .

If the established period for issuing an order (instruction) has expired. and also if the amount recovered from an official is more than his monthly salary, recovery of damage is possible only with the consent of the guilty employee or through the court.

Withholding of overpaid wages

Payroll calculation, especially with an impressive number of personnel, is a very labor-intensive process, in which annoying errors occur, for example, the accrual and payment of excess amounts. This article will tell you how to correct the situation and what accounting records to use to document the withholding of overpayments.

Withholding of overpaid wages

Legislators guard the interests of company personnel and are quite strict regarding the issue of collecting overpaid amounts of earnings. They can be retained without the employee’s written consent only in cases the list of which is presented in Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation:

if the result of an excessive payment was a counting error, i.e. admitted in arithmetic calculations;
if the salary is calculated on the basis of documents confirming the fulfillment of planned tasks, and then it is proven (by a labor dispute commission or a court) non-compliance with labor standards or idle time;
if the overpayment of wages was caused by illegal actions of the employee, for example, by filing documents for standard personal income tax deductions that he is not entitled to, which will also require an appropriate court decision.

In other cases, it is impossible to withhold the excess amount of earnings from the employee. It can be returned only on the basis of written consent to withhold. The accountant should take this fact into account. It should be noted that most of these situations are resolved peacefully, and the employee who received an amount exceeding the required earnings gives permission to withhold. We will look at the technical side of the problem and give examples of adjustment entries.

Return of overpaid wages in accounting

Since salary accrual is reflected according to K/t 70 from D/t production accounts (20, 23, 26, 29, etc.), then the adjustment will be the reversal of these same correspondence accounts for the amount of overpayment. Experts consider the most optimal method of return to be to write off the reversed amount to account 73 (D/t 73 K/t 70), and then deduct from it.

It should be remembered that no more than 20% can be withheld from an employee’s salary at the employer’s initiative (Article 138 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The only exception is the desire of the employee, either to confirm in writing the deduction of the amount in full (if it is above 20% of earnings), or to personally pay the overpayment to the company’s cash desk.

Let's look at an example of how to retain overpaid wages.

In August, an accountant of a company working for OSNO discovered an accounting error in the calculation of salaries for July: sales consultant Ivanov R.T. in excess of the due amount, 10,000 rubles were excessively accrued and paid.

Ivanov’s salary is 30,000 rubles. per month. The company pays insurance premiums at general rates + accident insurance premiums in the amount of 0.2%. Salaries are paid at the end of the month.

You will have to withhold no more than 20% of the accrued salary, so the amount of withholding will be 5220 rubles. (30000 – 30000 * 0.13) * 20/100 = 5220 rub. Since the amount of the overpayment includes personal income tax (which should be returned), the overpaid wages will be 8,700 rubles. (10,000 – 10,000 rubles × 0.13).

The listed insurance deductions are also subject to adjustment. The adjustment entries are as follows:

Return to the cash desk of overpaid wages: postings

If an employee returns the excess accrued and received amount to the cashier, then the accounting entries will be as follows:

D/t 20,23,26 K/t 70 – overpayment of wages reversed;
D/t 73 K/t 70 – the amount of overpayment is written off for other settlements with personnel;
D/t 50 K/t 73 – the overpayment amount has been accepted at the cash desk;
D/t 70 K/t 68 – reversal of accrued personal income tax;
D/t 20,23,26 K/t 69 – reversal entries for insurance premiums from the overpayment amount.

If retention is not possible

It happens that it is impossible to return the wrongly paid salary. For example, an employee quit and left. In such cases, it is impossible to recover the amount of overpayment, and it is recognized as a bad receivable. The amount of debt is written off from the reserve for doubtful debts (if any) or, if the reserve has not been created, is attributed to a loss, including it in other expenses.

In accounting, the write-off of salary debt is reflected by the following entries:

D/t 76 K/t 73 – overpaid wages are written off;
D/t 91-2 K/t 76 – the salary debt is written off and cannot be collected.

Reasons for accrual and process of returning overpaid wages

In organizations, sometimes it happens that an employee receives an excessive amount of wages. These are isolated cases that in no way should become a pattern. And it doesn’t matter for what reason the overpayment of funds occurred: due to the fault of the employee himself, due to an accountant’s mistake, due to some technical problems, due to dismissal, vacation provided in advance, or others. In most of these circumstances, the employee meets the employer halfway and allows the overpaid salary to be returned. Of course, you can try to follow the legislative documents and check the accuracy of all calculations several times, but no one can guarantee that an accidental failure will not occur at some stage. First, it’s worth considering all options for correcting the error and getting a refund.

Read also: Sick leave on a business trip

Possible reasons

There are two types of reasons why excess accruals should be returned:

arithmetic errors;
errors made by the responsible person who performs payroll calculations.

This is not a simple division: in the first option, the employer independently returns the posting of overpaid wages to the budget. In the second, the employee is notified and only with his consent, funds overpaid for some reason are returned to the budget. Next, we will look at return methods.

Refund in case of arithmetic error

If there is an arithmetic error in the overpayment of funds (salaries) to an employee, the manager can issue an order to deduct them without the employee’s consent within a month to return them back. No objections from the employee can serve as an obstacle to this. Once a month has passed from the date of payment of the incorrect amount, it is no longer possible to make any deductions. According to the law, the enterprise is deprived of such a right; even legal proceedings are unacceptable, since there is no possibility of filing a claim.

Refund due to another error of the responsible person making accounting entries for wages

In this case, two options are possible: correcting errors in the current year and correcting errors of past years.

Bug fixes this year

The current period in budgetary organizations is considered to be the time from the first of January to the thirty-first of December of the same year.

In the current period, amounts are reflected in the recovery of cash expenses. They are entered into accounting based on the employee’s application. The funds themselves are credited in accordance with the codes by which deductions were made. The amount of expenses, after being credited, is reduced to the required amount. Also, actual expenses are adjusted.

Mistakes of past years

Transactions that were carried out later are considered to be transactions of previous years. For example, if an error was identified in February 2016 for November 2015, then it must be corrected, but as an error from previous years. They cannot be corrected, as happened in the current one, by restoring cash transactions and adjusting actual expenses. All amounts of excess accruals for previous periods are transferred to the general budget fund.

What to do if an excessive payment of wages has been identified?

The first step is to notify the manager and notify the employee in writing. It is necessary to indicate for what reason and in what amount the overpayment occurred. The document must also contain a proposal to return the agreed amount with the possibility of calculation from the next salary. We should not forget that the withholding percentage should not exceed twenty of the total monthly earnings. When written consent is received from the employee, it is worth starting the return procedure. Otherwise, the dispute can only be resolved by court proceedings.

Arithmetic (counting) errors

It is generally accepted that counting errors include computer glitches, incorrect addition of document components, glitches in an accounting program (for example, double paychecks), mechanical errors in data entry, and so on. Their fact is confirmed by the way of writing an explanatory note about incorrect calculation of wages.

If there was no accounting error or dishonest intentions of the employee, then collection is possible only with the consent of the employee himself. Based on this, in the case of accrual of double monthly earnings, the excess can only be returned by proving the employee’s guilt, for example, that, having learned about the transfer of wages to a bank account, he came to the cashier and received it again. An argument to confirm guilt can be a certificate from the bank about the exact time of the money transfer.

If the presence of an error is proven, all entries for the return of funds should be made to the same accounts as when accruing, only the credit and debit accounts should be swapped. Then we get 50, 51, 55, 68, 73 and 98 receipts for the accounts, and 08, 20, 23, 25, 26, 44, 69, 84, 91, 96 - credit.

There is a simpler option - to reflect the amount in accounts 50 (debit) and 70 (credit). But at the same time, the expenditure turnover of the last account may increase.

Unworked vacation

Sometimes, immediately after leaving the vacation provided in advance, the employee is dismissed. In this case, the employer can withhold the required amount independently (in this case, the accountant reflects the salary postings in account 73). If the amount of the salary is less than the amount of the debt and the employee refuses to voluntarily pay the missing amount, then it is necessary to go to court and prove in court proceedings that the employee is guilty of unjust enrichment. The court's decision varies. In one case, the court admits the employee’s guilt and orders him to return the owed money in full, and in the other - only the vacation pay debt.

Accountant's responsibility

What to do if, at his own request, an employee does not return the overpaid salary?

Since the accountant is financially responsible for damage to the enterprise, he is obliged to compensate for the loss, but only in an amount not exceeding the average monthly salary. If the amount is more than the average monthly salary, the accountant returns only an amount equal to the average salary (clause 2 of Article 133 of the Labor Code).

Refund by an employee of an overpaid amount: Video

Overpaid wages

In what cases should overpaid wages be returned? How to reflect the return of an overpayment in accounting? When are taxes and insurance premiums recalculated and when not?

When calculating salaries, vacation pay or benefits, it is important to keep all the rules and subtleties in mind. Otherwise, it’s very easy to make a mistake in your calculations. Let's talk about how to correct the mistake if it nevertheless slipped past your eyes.

The company found itself in debt to the employee? Just pay him the remaining amount plus any interest due. If the error is in favor of the employee, then the situation becomes more complicated. The company does not always have the right to simply take and retain the overpayment. Let's talk about what to do if you overcharge an employee.

When overpaid wages are returned by the employee

Overpaid wages are returned in three cases (Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The first is that the accountant made a counting, that is, arithmetic error. For example, he added or multiplied numbers incorrectly, forgot to divide, or similar errors. The second case is when a labor dispute commission from among the company’s employees or a court found the employee guilty of failure to comply with labor standards or idle time. The third case - the employee was overpaid due to his illegal actions, which was confirmed by the court in its decision. For example, when applying for a job, a person presented a fake education diploma.

If the accountant used an incorrect calculation algorithm, the overpaid wages are not withheld from the employee. In this case, there is no need to recalculate your salary. But the employee can return the money voluntarily (clause 3 of Article 1109 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Then you will recalculate the salary.

Let's say an employee refuses to reimburse an overpayment. In this case, for the company it is a debt that is unrealistic to collect. Depending on the adopted accounting policy, either write off the bad receivable against the reserve for doubtful debts, or include it in other expenses if the reserve was not created (clause 11, 14.3 of PBU 10/99).

The postings will be like this:
DEBIT 76 CREDIT 73
- overpaid wages are written off;

DEBIT 91 subaccount “Other expenses” (63) CREDIT 76
- bad receivables are written off.

Should a computer program failure be considered a counting error? That's a moot point. Even judicial practice on this issue is full of contradictions. Some judges regard a computer program failure as a type of counting error. This conclusion was made, for example, in the ruling of the Samara Regional Court dated January 18, 2012 in case No. 33-302/2012. The judges decided that the company legally withheld the overpaid amount from the salary, even without the employee’s consent.

Other courts have held that the software glitch was a technical error rather than a computational error. And in this regard, there are no grounds for withholding the overpaid amount. An example is the appeal ruling of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) dated March 27, 2013 in case No. 33-709/2013.

In any case, we recommend obtaining the employee’s consent. After all, if the overpayment is withheld without his knowledge, the employee will have a serious reason to go to court. Resolve the issue amicably, and then the likelihood of conflict will be reduced to a minimum.

How to account for the return of overpaid wages

Before recovering overpaid wages, the head of the organization must issue an order in any form. This must be done no later than one month from the date of expiration of the period established for the return of the overpayment. It is determined at the discretion of the manager; there are no uniform requirements. If such a period was not set for the employee, the countdown must begin from the day the overpayment was discovered.

Rostrud believes that before deducting amounts from wages, the employer must obtain the written consent of the employee. Moreover, even in cases where the company has every right to withhold the overpayment by law (letter dated August 9, 2007 No. 3044-6-0).

Read also: Payments to military personnel upon dismissal at the end of the contract

Also provide the employee’s consent in any form. You can send him a notice about the amount of debt, the reasons for the overpayment, and in the same document ask him to return the money to the company. Another way to obtain written consent is to draw up a separate notice of the employee’s debt to the company with an offer to return the overpayment. In response, the employee will write a statement.

In accounting, reflect the adjustment of excessively accrued amounts using the following entries:
DEBIT 20 (23, 26, 44 ...) CREDIT 70
- excessively accrued wages were reversed;

DEBIT 73 subaccount “Overpaid wages” CREDIT 70
- overpaid wages are written off for settlements with personnel for other operations.

In general, you can deduct no more than 20 percent from your salary (Article 138 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

How to calculate taxes and contributions when returning overpaid wages

When deducting overpaid wages from an employee, personal income tax and contributions must be recalculated. Of course, if an employee was paid an extra salary not due to an accounting error, then do not recalculate taxes and do not submit updated declarations and calculations. For example, an employee brought you incorrect documents for standard tax deductions. However, this circumstance must be confirmed by a judicial act. In such and similar cases, we are not talking about an accountant’s mistake. This means that there is no need to make corrections to accounting and reporting.

Income tax. Let’s say an employee voluntarily reimburses the organization for overpaid wages. And they discovered this only in the next reporting or tax period. In this case, the income tax base for previous periods must be adjusted (Article 54 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). The same applies if the employee was overpaid due to an accounting error. After all, when the error was discovered, income tax reporting had already been submitted. Due to a calculation error, labor costs were overestimated, and the tax was correspondingly lower. Arrears have arisen. This means that the company is obliged to submit updated declarations to the inspectorate (clause 1 of Article 81 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Personal income tax. For personal income tax, on the contrary, there will be an overpayment as a result of correcting an error. If you recalculate this tax for previous tax periods when Form 2-NDFL has already been submitted, you will need to submit a certificate to the inspectorate again. In addition, clarifications will be needed regarding 6-NDFL.

The amount of overpayment withheld from the employee will be equal to the amount that he received in hand. That is, minus personal income tax. Within a year, you can return the tax or offset it against future payments (Article 78 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

For example, an employee was overcharged 1000 rubles. wages. But he received only 870 rubles in his hands. (1000 rub. - 1000 rub. × 13%). When the error is discovered, exactly 870 rubles must be withheld from the employee. And 130 rubles. will be listed as an overpayment for personal income tax.

Example How to adjust taxes
In September, the accountant of Vega LLC discovered that due to an error in the calculation, the company’s driver received an extra amount in his salary for July in the amount of 8,500 rubles. The company pays insurance premiums at general rates. The company charges contributions for injuries at a rate of 0.2 percent. In September, the accountant recalculated taxes on the amount of overpaid wages for July. The excess charges turned out to be:
- contributions to the Pension Fund - 1870 rubles. (RUB 8,500 × 22%);
- contributions to the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation - 246.50 rubles. (RUB 8,500 × 2.9%);
- contributions to the FFOMS - 433.50 rubles. (RUB 8,500 × 5.1%);
- contributions for injuries - 17 rubles. (RUB 8,500 × 0.2%).

Personal income tax from the overpayment was withheld in the amount of 1105 rubles. (RUB 8,500 × 13%). The organization uses the accrual method and reports income taxes quarterly. Based on the results of 9 months, the advance payment for income tax was calculated as an additional payment. Therefore, due to a calculation error when paying wages for income tax, arrears arose for this reporting period. The amount of arrears amounted to 2213 rubles. ((RUB 8,500 + RUB 1,870 + RUB 246.50 + RUB 433.50 + RUB 17) × 20%).

The company filed an updated declaration, but first paid additional income tax (RUB 2,213) and penalties for each day of late payment.

Insurance premiums. An error leads to a recalculation of taxes and contributions. If the base for contributions for previous reporting periods was underestimated, it is necessary to submit updated calculations for contributions. If the error did not lead to an underestimation of the contribution base or was discovered before the end of the reporting period to which it relates, then there is no need to submit clarifications. Contributions can also be recalculated in the reporting for the current reporting period. After all, the base for calculating contributions is formed on the date of accrual of payments (Part 1, Article 11 of the Federal Law of July 24, 2009 No. 212-FZ). This means that there are no grounds for adjusting the base for the reporting period in which the salary was excessively accrued (letter of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia dated May 28, 2010 No. 1376-19).

Example How to withhold an overpayment and what postings to make
To employee of Meteor LLC, S.V. Belov. paid wages for September in a larger amount than required. The reason is a counting error. The accountant discovered this only in October. The difference was 8,500 rubles. Accordingly, the employee received RUB 7,395 more. (8500 rub. - 8500 rub. × 13%).

The organization applies a general taxation system and pays contributions for insurance against accidents and occupational diseases at a rate of 0.2 percent. Insurance premiums are calculated at general rates.

Belov's salary is 30,000 rubles. Salaries are paid on the last day of the month. The employee does not have children, so he is not provided with a standard tax deduction. The maximum amount that can be withheld from a monthly salary is 5,220 rubles. ((RUB 30,000 - RUB 30,000 × 13%) × 20%).
The amount of overpaid wages is 7,395 rubles. (8500 rub. - 8500 rub. × 13%). The following entries were made in October:
DEBIT 26 CREDIT 70
- 8500 rub. - excessively accrued wages were reversed;

DEBIT 70 CREDIT 68 subaccount “Personal Tax Payments”
- 1105 rub. (RUB 8,500 × 13%) - excessively withheld personal income tax from the amounts collected was reversed;

DEBIT 26 CREDIT 69 subaccount “Settlements with the Social Insurance Fund”
- 246.50 rub. (RUB 8,500 × 2.9%) - over-accrued contributions to the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation were reversed;

DEBIT 26 CREDIT 69 subaccount “Settlements with the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation”
- 1870 rub. (RUB 8,500 × 22%) - excessively accrued pension contributions were reversed;

DEBIT 26 CREDIT 69 subaccount “Settlements with FFOMS”
- 433.50 rub. (RUB 8,500 × 5.1%) - over-accrued contributions to the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund of Russia were reversed;

DEBIT 26 CREDIT 69 subaccount “Settlements with the Social Insurance Fund for contributions to insurance against accidents and occupational diseases”
- 17 rub. (RUB 8,500 × 0.2%) - excessively accrued premiums for insurance against accidents and occupational diseases were reversed;

Withholding from wages overpaid amounts is generally prohibited. But still, it is carried out in a limited list of cases directly provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Let's consider how and under what circumstances it is possible to return the amount given to an employee in excess.

When does an employer have the right to withhold overpayments?

According to Part 2 of Art. 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer has the right to deduct debt from an employee’s salary:

if the employee for some reason has not worked out the prepayment received;
in order to reimburse the unspent part of the prepayment for a business trip, moving to another area, etc.;
in case of correction of errors made by the accounting department in wage calculations;
to reimburse the payment received by an employee guilty of failure to comply with labor standards or idle time;
upon dismissal in order to reimburse vacation pay for the unworked period of previously received vacation.

In all of the above cases (except for the first), the employer has 1 month to make a decision on deductions from wages.

As a general rule (Part 4 of Article 137 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), deduction of overpaid wages is not allowed. However, there are some exceptions. Let's look at them.

Refund due to inaccuracy in calculations

To withhold overpaid wages on this basis, it is important to understand that wages mean remuneration for work, since the above prohibition does not apply to other payments.

Information on how to distinguish payments included in wages from other types of remuneration can be found in the article .

Inaccuracy in calculations is the basis for the return of overpaid wages if the person who calculated it made an error. For example, when adding the amounts of bonus (200 rubles) and salary (10,000 rubles), instead of 200, 2,000 was entered into the calculation (i.e., an extra zero was indicated), etc.

Recalculation if there is guilt in non-compliance with established labor standards or simple

To apply this basis, it is important to know:

what is non-compliance with labor standards (Article 155 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
what is meant by downtime (part 3 of article 72.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

According to Art. 160 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, labor standards mean various (temporary, quantitative, etc.) standards provided for by a given employer.

From Part 3 of Art. 155 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation follows: if an employee has not met the standard due to his own fault, he is paid a part of the salary corresponding to the fulfilled part of the standard.

According to Part 3 of Art. 72.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, downtime is understood as a temporary cessation of work for various reasons.

Based on Part 3 of Art. 157 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employee’s guilt during downtime is a reason for the employer not to pay him.

Examples when an employee is guilty of downtime:

got into an accident, violating traffic rules;
refused training in occupational safety rules and was suspended from work.

Such cases may lead to salary recalculation.

Committing illegal actions that resulted in excessive payment

This is one of the most difficult grounds for an employer, since the legislation does not contain specific criteria for unlawful actions. Consequently, any illegal acts that result in receiving a salary in a larger amount than required can be recognized as such. The illegality must be confirmed in court. Therefore, in order to use this basis, the employer must have appropriate evidence.

For example, if an employee falsified documents confirming the fact of his employment, the employer will have the right to demand the return of unlawfully received wages.

In each specific case, the relevant criteria for the illegality of an employee’s actions are subject to consideration by the court, taking into account all the circumstances of the case.

How to return overpaid wages?

In order to properly process the withholding, the employer should:

Issue an administrative act (for example, an order) on behalf of management on the deduction of appropriate amounts from the employee’s salary, indicating in it the grounds and general amounts of such deduction.
Familiarize the employee with this act against receipt.
For each salary payment, hand over to the employee a payslip indicating the grounds and specific amounts of deduction from this payment (Article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

In order not to violate the employee’s right to payment when deducting from wages, it is necessary to take into account the restrictions established by Art. 138 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The amount of deductions is determined from the amount remaining after deducting personal income tax.

The deduction limits are as follows:

as a general rule, the maximum amount of all deductions is no more than 20 percent (at the initiative of the employer and in the absence of objections from the employee);
in cases reflected in federal laws, 50 percent may be withheld;
in some cases provided for in Part 3 of Art. 138 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (collection of alimony, compensation for harm, etc.), the withholding can be 70 percent.

The last 2 points are applied by court decision or as a result of enforcement proceedings.

Situations are possible when an employee independently expresses a desire to have more deducted from his earnings than is limited by law. In this case, he will be required to submit an application addressed to the employer.

Results

Deduction of overpaid amounts from wages is prohibited, except for a number of reasons. The relevant grounds are listed in Part 4 of Art. 137 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. When withholding, it is necessary to comply with the restrictions established by Art. 138 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

In what cases should overpaid wages be returned? How to reflect the return of an overpayment in accounting? When are taxes and insurance premiums recalculated and when not?

When overpaid wages are returned by the employee

The postings will be like this:
DEBIT 76 CREDIT 73
- overpaid wages are written off;

DEBIT 91 subaccount “Other expenses” (63) CREDIT 76
- bad receivables are written off.

The company filed an updated declaration, but first paid additional income tax (RUB 2,213) and penalties for each day of late payment.

- 1105 rub. (RUB 8,500 × 13%) - excessively withheld personal income tax from the amounts collected was reversed;

DEBIT 26 CREDIT 69 subaccount “Settlements with the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation”
- 1870 rub. (RUB 8,500 × 22%) - excessively accrued pension contributions were reversed;

DEBIT 26 CREDIT 69 subaccount “Settlements with FFOMS”
- 433.50 rub. (RUB 8,500 × 5.1%) - over-accrued contributions to the Federal Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund of Russia were reversed;

DEBIT 73 subaccount “Overpaid wages” CREDIT 70
- 7395 rub. - overpaid wages are written off for settlements with personnel for other operations;

DEBIT 26 CREDIT 70
- 30,000 rub. - Belov’s salary for October was accrued;

DEBIT 70 CREDIT 68 subaccount “Personal Tax Payments”
- 3900 rub. (RUB 30,000 × 13%) - personal income tax was withheld from Belov’s salary;

DEBIT 70 CREDIT 73 subaccount “Overpaid wages”
- 5220 rub. - part of the overpaid salary for September was withheld from Belov’s salary for October;

DEBIT 70 CREDIT 50
- 20,880 rub. (30,000 - 3900 - 5220) - Belov was paid his salary for October minus deductions.