The website may be classified as an intangible asset. In addition to the costs of its creation, the company must pay additional costs for the site. This is a domain name (a set of Latin letters by which an Internet user can find a site) and hosting (a service for providing a server on which the site will be located). The company pays for such services:
When placing a site on the Internet (as a rule, payment is made for one year of site operation);
After the first year of work - annually.
When initially placing a website on the Internet, such expenses are included in the cost of the intangible asset. These costs are directly related to bringing intangible assets to a state suitable for use.
The company created its own website. She paid a third party 47,200 rubles for developing the structure, designing and writing a program for it. (including VAT - 7200 rubles). RUB 3,400 was spent on registering exclusive rights to the program. The cost of the domain name was 354 rubles. (including VAT - 54 rubles). Payment for annual hosting - 2242 rubles. (including VAT - 342 rubles).
These costs are reflected in the following entries:
Debit 19 Credit 60
7200 rub. - VAT on services of a third party related to the creation of the website is taken into account;
Debit 08-5 Credit 60
40,000 rub. (47,200 - 7,200) - the cost of services for creating a website is taken into account;
Debit 08-5 credit 60
3400 rub. - reflects the costs of registering exclusive rights to the program (website);
Debit 19 Credit 60
54 rub. - VAT is taken into account on the costs of purchasing a domain name;
Debit 08-5 Credit 60
300 rub. - expenses for purchasing a domain name are taken into account;
Debit 19 Credit 60
342 rub. - VAT on hosting costs is taken into account;
Debit 08-5 Credit 60
1900 rub. - hosting costs are taken into account;
Debit 04 Credit 08-5
45,600 rub. (40,000 + 3400 + 300 + 1900) - expenses for the site are reflected as part of intangible assets;
Debit 68 Credit 19
7596 rub. (7200 + 54 + 342) - accepted for deduction of VAT on the costs of creating a website.
Payment of costs for a domain name and hosting in subsequent years of using the site is not included in the cost of intangible assets. This is due to the fact that PBU 14/2007 does not provide for the possibility of changing the initial value of an intangible asset in this situation. Therefore, such costs (essentially, for the subsequent maintenance of the site in working order) should be taken into account as expenses for ordinary activities. Moreover, if the company pays them immediately for a long period of time (for example, for a year), then they can be written off from expense accounts either at a time or gradually based on the period for which they were paid. The procedure for writing off such costs (one time or gradually) must be determined by the company's accounting policy.
Example
Let's go back to the previous example. Let's assume that in the second year of the site's operation, the company again paid for the services of providing a domain name and hosting.
Their cost was:
By domain name - 472 rubles. (including VAT - 72 rubles);
For hosting - 2360 rub. (including VAT - 360 rubles).
These services will be provided to the company for 12 months. When recording and paying these costs, the accountant will make the following entries:
Debit 19 Credit 60
72 rub. - VAT is taken into account on the costs of maintaining the domain name;
Debit 20 (44) Credit 60
400 rub. (472 - 72) - costs of maintaining the domain name are taken into account;
Debit 60 Credit 51
472 rub. - the costs of maintaining the domain name have been paid;
Debit 19 Credit 60
360 rub. - VAT on hosting costs is taken into account;
Debit 20 (44) Credit 60
2000 rub. (2360 - 360) - hosting costs are taken into account;
Debit 60 Credit 51
2360 rub. - paid hosting costs;
Debit 68 Credit 19
432 rub. (72 + 360) - accepted for deduction of VAT on the costs of maintaining the site.
Situation 1
According to the company's accounting policy, such costs are written off at a time. In this case, the company records the following:
Debit 90-2 Credit 20 (26, 44)
2400 rub. (400 + 2000) - costs for a domain name and hosting have been written off.
Situation 2
According to the company's accounting policy, such costs are written off gradually over the period to which they relate. Therefore, the company has the right to write off expenses monthly in the amount of:
To maintain a domain name:
(472 rub. - 72 rub.) : 12 months. = 33 rub.;
For hosting:
(2360 rub. - 360 rub.) : 12 months. = 167 rub.
These transactions are reflected in the following records (monthly):
Debit 90-2 Credit 20 (44)
33 rub. - expenses for the domain name are written off;
Debit 90-2 Credit 20 (44)
167 rub. - hosting costs are written off.
Based on materials from the reference book
Since budgetary institutions use their own websites on the Internet, the issue of recording domain name registration services is currently relevant. Let's look at the features of accounting for expenses for your domain.
N.V. Fimina, chief specialist-expert of the budget accounting and reporting department of the Federal Treasury
What is a domain name
A domain name is a unique name on the Internet for the purpose of recording a website address. The network address (domain name) can reflect either keyword, which characterizes the information located at a given address or the name of the institution.
The domain registration and renewal service is the entry into the domain register of information about the domain name based on the applicant’s application.
Thus, domain registration is necessary for the convenience of addressing Internet nodes and the network resources located on them.
Registration agreement
The exclusive right to use the site meets the conditions for accepting it for accounting as an intangible asset (Instructions approved (hereinafter -)).
Objects of intangible assets are accepted for accounting at their original cost ().
When creating an intangible asset, the initial cost includes:
- amounts paid for the performance of work or provision of services when creating an intangible asset in accordance with an agreement (state (municipal) contract);
- expenses for remuneration of employees directly involved in the process of creating the asset;
- other costs directly related to the acquisition, creation of intangible assets and provision of conditions for using the asset for the intended purposes.
According to the author, the costs of registering a website domain name are associated with the creation of the website.
Expenses budgetary institution for the creation of a website are taken into account under Article 320 “Increase in the value of intangible assets” of KOSGU. This is established, approved (hereinafter referred to as).
A pressing question is: is it possible to pay for the costs of creating a website (including the costs of registering a domain name) using subsidies for the implementation of a state (municipal) task?
The answer depends on the business situation of a particular institution. So, for example, Federal Law dated December 29, 2012 No. 273-FZ “On education in Russian Federation» refers to ensuring the creation and maintenance of the official website of an educational institution within its competence in the established field of activity. And this law obliges educational institutions post information about your activities on your own official website.
This obligation was introduced by federal legislation, and the provision of state (municipal) services without website costs is impossible. If the institution does not provide paid services, there is no doubt that the creation of the website is related to the fulfillment of a government task.
EXAMPLE 1
For the first time, a federal budgetary institution registered a domain name in the RU Internet domain using subsidies for the implementation of a government task. The cost of services under the contract is 500 rubles. It is included in the initial cost of an intangible asset - a website. Expenses for the initial registration of a domain name are reflected in the debit of account 4,106 32,320 “Increase in investments in intangible assets - other movable property of the institution” and in the credit of account 4,302 26,730 “Increase accounts payable for other works and services.”
Domain registration renewal
Please note that the costs of paying for the agreement to renew the domain registration must be reflected in subarticle 226 “Other work, services” of the classification of operations of the public administration sector.
The application of subarticle 221 “Communication services” of KOSGU is a mistake. And what threatens the institution for this?
Thus, the judges equated domain registration services to services for booking a network resource.
However, at present, the procedure for applying articles (subarticles) of KOSGU is established in Instructions No. 65n. And in this document, services for booking a network resource are classified as communication services.
However, the point of view of the regulatory authorities on this issue has not yet changed.
They take a more cautious position, suggesting that the application of subarticle 221 of KOSGU actually indicates misuse of budget funds.
Domain registration and renewal services do not apply to the reservation of network resources. Reservation of network resources is the reservation of connection interfaces for connection to a public communications network.
Domain registration and renewal services are of a completely different nature.
As stated above, we are talking about entering information about a domain name into the domain registry, which is not a communication service.
EXAMPLE 2
A budgetary institution pays for domain registration renewal services using subsidies for the implementation of government tasks. The domain name is registered for one calendar year. The cost of the service is 150 rubles.
The following entries were made in accounting:
At the same time, the disposal of funds is reflected in off-balance sheet account 18 “Retirement of funds from the accounts of the institution” indicating the article (subarticle) of KOSGU. The “Application of KOSGU” service (posted on the journal’s website) will help you determine the correct code.
Funds that were received in the form of a subsidy for the implementation of a state (municipal) task are not taken into account when calculating income tax ().
Accounting depends on documentation
As a rule, a domain name is registered under the name of an institution, but another situation is also possible - registration is carried out under individual(for example, for a website development service provider). This is not entirely true. And here's why.
Indeed, in civil law there is no prohibition on an individual who is not an individual entrepreneur being the owner of a domain name that is a word (phrase) that is not a trademark.
However, in the case of relations involving budgetary institutions, such a substitution of the copyright holder may be qualified as misappropriation of budgetary funds. Let us recall that, according to the Budget Code of the Russian Federation, the misuse of budget funds is the direction of budget funds of the budget system of the Russian Federation and the payment of monetary obligations for purposes that do not fully or partially correspond to the goals defined by the law (decision) on the budget, the consolidated budget list, the budget list, the budget estimate, contract (agreement). Or another document that is the legal basis for the provision of these funds.
Let's give an example. The budgetary institution enters into an agreement with the contractor (individual) for the development and maintenance of the site, including monitoring the performance of the site and the deadline for domain renewal. To make it easier to track domain renewal deadlines, an individual registers the domain in his or her name. If the performer’s services were paid for from budgetary funds, there is a normatively justified assumption that the result of the relevant work and services should also be registered with the institution.
Of course, a domain name has specific properties, but the institution should not allow contradictions with the norms of the Budget Code of the Russian Federation when registering legal relations. It is important to understand that the contractor himself, who registered the domain in his name, does not face any sanctions. Therefore take care of correct design needed specifically by specialists from budgetary institutions.
Accounting prospects
Currently, the task of bringing national accounting and reporting standards into compliance with international standards is being solved.
The basis for the application of IFRS is two groups of international standards:
- for commercial organizations - International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), developed by the IASB;
- for the public sector - International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS), developed by the IPSAS Board (IPSASB) under the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
The first ones were put into effect on the territory of the Russian Federation.
The second ones - IFRS OS - are not officially applied yet; there is only their official translation into Russian, posted on the website of the Russian Ministry of Finance.
The task of harmonizing national and international standards is being solved in stages, but in the long term, a transition to IFRS is planned in both the commercial and public sectors.
As for accounting for the costs of a domain name, let us explain the following.
Instruction No. 157n formulates the condition for recognizing an intangible asset - the ability of the object to bring economic benefits to the institution in the future.
However, in the case of a budgetary institution, such a condition for recognizing website costs as an intangible asset, such as the generation of economic benefits, will be observed extremely rarely. Therefore, with further accounting reforms, the costs of paying for domain name registration services will always be included in the expenses of the current period.
After creating a company, questions may arise regarding the use of domains. If the domain is already registered to one of the founders of the company, and the business is conducted within legal entity, it may make sense to contribute a domain name as a contribution to the authorized capital or re-register it to an established company.
Regarding the contribution of a domain as a contribution to the authorized capital, one should refer to the provisions of the law, which state that the contribution can be money, securities, other things or property rights or other rights that have a monetary value. Obviously, a domain is not money, not a security, or a thing. In this case, the domain can be classified as a property right or a right that has a monetary value, although experts have differing opinions on this matter. Some of them consider domains to be a means of individualization, since they are similar in nature to trademarks and trade names.
If we adhere to the above definition of a domain name, it will be impossible to include the domain in the authorized capital as a non-property right and a right with a monetary value. This opinion has certain weaknesses, but it should be noted that the analogy with other means of individualizing goods, services and companies is quite correct. Another opinion is that a domain is precisely a property right, a right of claim. It is based on a paid contractual relationship with the registrar, according to which you can require the domain name registrar to register the domain.
In accordance with the Accounting Regulations “Accounting for Intangible Assets”, in order to accept an object for accounting as an intangible asset, the following condition must be met: the organization has the right to receive economic benefits that this object is capable of bringing in the future, including the organization having proper executed documents confirming the existence of the asset itself and the right of this organization to the result of intellectual activity or a means of individualization. That is, there must be appropriate papers for the domain itself and for the organization’s right to use this domain. For the domain itself, as such documents, you can provide an extract from the register of a non-profit organization stating that the domain administrator is the appropriate person.
It’s worth clarifying: what is included in the authorized capital, website or domain? If the site (and the domain is included in its composition) - this is normal practice for working with intangible assets. Domain registration fees related to organizational expenses may be included as intangible assets. Intellectual property rights inspectors monitor the allocation of costs for the creation and development of a website. If the site developer prepares the paperwork correctly, no problems should arise, but if we consider the domain separately, then options are possible.
Tax accounting of transactions with a domain name
An enterprise, having registered a domain name, can use it for commercial purposes: sell, rent out, etc. At the same time, by paying only for registration services, the owner of a domain name can receive an asset that he may sell for an amount that exceeds the registration costs many times over.
But the fact that a domain name is registered does not mean that the domain name is in commercial use. The commercial use of a domain name begins from the moment someone wants to buy it.
The multifaceted nature of a domain name undoubtedly requires a special section in tax accounting, which would take into account all its features. However, e-commerce is a fairly new industry. And even if American tax experts believe that this area of legislation is just emerging and is in a chaotic state, then the position of Ukrainian legislation is even less certain. Therefore, in matters of taxation of transactions with domain names, one must be guided by the general norms of tax legislation.
From all of the above, it is clear that a domain name has the features of three completely different objects: a service, an intangible object and a tangible one. Taxpayers will have to determine in each specific case whether characteristic features which object prevails in order to reflect each specific transaction in tax accounting accordingly.
A domain name arises as a result of an agreement for the provision of services between the registrant and the registrar. The latter is obliged to provide the registrant with the services necessary for the technical support of the delegation and functioning of the domain name. Both parties must fulfill their obligations during the term of the contract.
The registrant reflects in tax accounting the receipt of a domain name as the receipt of services in the case when the functions of the domain name are reduced only to its role as an identifier of the address space, that is, when the domain name represents an address on the Internet, a “road” to a company whose products are nothing does not differ from the products of other manufacturers and traders. Such a domain name includes only its own value and does not reflect the name of any trademark.
The cost of purchasing a domain name that contains only its own name is either a gross expense or the cost of creating a website. The use of a domain name must be related to the business activities of the enterprise. If a domain name is purchased “in reserve,” gross expenses do not arise until the moment when the company decides: to promote its own website or a trademark whose name matches the name of the domain name.
If the name of the domain name coincides with the name of the company's trademark, then such a domain name is no longer just a postal address, since it tells the Internet user about the owner of such an address and his products. Like a trademark or business name, a branded domain name conveys a company's image, and buyers associate it with a particular company.
As mentioned earlier, a trademark is inseparable from the goodwill attached to it. Therefore, like a trademark, a domain name also represents the goodwill of a company or product, and the value of a website largely depends on the goodwill and reputation of the domain name - if the trademark loses its value, then the domain name loses its value as well.
If a significant part of the cost of a domain name is the cost of a trademark, then in the absence of special tax rules, the same tax rules as for a trademark (a mark for goods and services) are applied to such a domain name. If the cost of a domain name includes the cost of a trademark, brand, etc., then it serves the registrant intangible asset and must be depreciated over its expected life.
In this case, the costs of creating and maintaining a domain name can be attributed to the initial cost of the intangible asset “Trademark Rights” or reflected in the accounting of the intangible asset “Domain Name”. The choice depends on how independent the “Domain Name” intangible asset is and whether it can be separated from the trademark. If you combine a trademark and a domain name into one intangible object, then there will be big problems with determining the depreciation period of such an object, because it must be calculated based on the service life of both objects.
It is more convenient, of course, to reflect the domain name in accounting as an independent unit, although even here it is not easy to correctly determine the service life. On the one hand, few people buy a domain name to use it for less than a year. Although anything can happen. And if this happens, then the costs associated with registering a domain name are written off as gross expenses. On the other hand, everything changes so quickly on the Internet that it is almost impossible to accurately determine the lifespan of a domain name. The basic term can be considered the period of concluding an agreement with the registrar.
You can also focus on the term of use of the trademark, but only as a guide, because for some reason an enterprise may lose the right to use a domain name, but remain the owner of the rights to the trademark for a long time. Therefore, it is best to amortize a domain name during the period of its registration, but if the company is sure that re-registration (and more than one) will follow, then the average service life of the domain name can be determined taking into account the period of possible re-registrations. Moreover, the more famous the trademark, the longer the depreciation period of the domain name, and vice versa.
If an enterprise sells part of the business along with goodwill, a domain name and a trademark, then this is interpreted in tax accounting as a sale for compensation of total gross assets to another taxpayer. Such an operation is in accordance with clause 3.2.8. Article 3 of the VAT Law is not subject to VAT.
The sale of total gross assets means the sale of an enterprise as a separate business entity or the inclusion of the gross assets of an enterprise or its part in the assets of another enterprise, when the purchasing enterprise acquires the rights and obligations (is a legal successor) of the enterprise selling such assets. In e-commerce, this could be an online store that sells to another VAT payer.
The material nature of a domain name has long been the subject of careful consideration by Western experts. An intangible object can be transferred for use to another person, and at the same time retain such a right, which is impossible to do with a material object. For example, if you transfer a house or car to another person for use, then the transferring party can no longer use the same car or house.
The situation is similar with a domain name: if someone transfers a domain name to someone else for use, then, like a car, only one person can have the right to use the same domain name. But in other cases, a domain name cannot be equated to a car. Therefore, it is believed that a domain name has features of both tangible and intangible assets. Many Western experts find that domain name transactions are similar to real estate transactions. Thus, the chief administrator of Goldnames, David Teten, found 16 similarities between them:
1) the possibility of leasing (renting) - as we have already mentioned, you can rent a domain name in the same way as renting real estate;
2) the presence of a broker profession - there are brokers for the sale of both domain names and real estate;
3) assessment - in both cases the participation of qualified experts is required; expert appraiser, both here and there, is a prestigious profession that requires skills and the use of a certain technique;
4) bankruptcy – if Amazon. com suddenly goes bankrupt, there will be buyers who will willingly pay a high price for the site's domain name, for its brevity, brand, etc. Similarly, as if there were hunters to buy a relatively inexpensively bankrupt enterprise;
5) sale at low prices - buyers buy high-quality names relatively cheaply in the event of a financial crisis, premature death of the owner, etc. Similarly, in the early 90s, Asian corporations were bought cheap during the Asian crisis;
6) Bundling – Bundling similar domain names can increase their value. For example, Surfnotes. com, Surfnote. com, Surfnotes. net, and Surf-Notes. com are more valuable if sold as a package because a brand name firm doesn't want to give up its profits to competitors just because consumers misspell its domain name. This is similar to buying several nearby stores so that one large supermarket moves there;
7) capture of new objects - just as the first settlers in the Wild West captured new territories, the first registrants of new attractive names also receive a huge advantage, etc.
The solution to the riddle of the nature of a domain name is still ahead, but for now we will consider only one operation in which a domain name behaves exactly like a material object - this is the operation of transferring a domain name for rent (leasing). Leasing is a less expensive operation than registration, and it is recommended to use it when the company is just starting its activities. The difference between it and a purchase is that the registrant is paid, as a rule, monthly payments, and the lease term is short (with a possible buyout). Registration payments are made by the lessor.
Accounting for online store expenses is important if you are using the simplified taxation system (STS) and you apply the calculation formula “Income minus expenses”. In this article we will talk about the costs of an online store website.
It is worth noting that in addition to the simplified tax system, expenses are also taken into account in common system taxation (OSN), which does not apply to Internet trade.
Expenses for an online store website are the main expense items for an online store.
Costs for an online store website
Costs for an online store website include:
- Cost of creating a website;
- Costs for domain name registration and renewal;
- Hosting rental costs;
- Website promotion costs.
- Let's look at each type of expense in more detail.
Cost of creating a website
Online trading is, first of all, a website. The website contains all information about products, their descriptions, product catalogs, etc. Product order forms, payment options and delivery methods are also located here.
There are two ways to make a website: yourself or order it from a third-party company.
Reflection of website costs
Option 1. The website of the online store will be created and with all rights will be transferred to your company, and paragraphs 3 of Article 257 will be fulfilled Tax Code RF, (you buy a website), then the website of an online store in accounting is considered an intangible asset of the enterprise (clause 3, Accounting Regulations 14/2007, Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated December 27, 2007 No. 153n).
The creation of intangible assets is reflected in the debit of the subaccount “Acquisition of intangible assets”, account 08 “Investments in non-current assets”.
If the website of an online store is not transferred to the enterprise’s ownership, for example, renting an online store, then the costs of creating the website will be considered other expenses and will be taken into account in deferred expenses on account 97. The expenses will be written off during the designated period of use (rent) of the site , according to Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated 04-04-2007 No. 03-03-06/2/61.
We've sorted out the site, let's move on to the domain name.
Domain name registration and renewal costs
A website's domain name is its unique name, which is registered in accordance with the established procedure for a year. In subsequent years, the domain registration is renewed.
Worth the money. The amount of the initial domain registration is included in the first cost of the site, since the site cannot function without it if the site is registered as an intangible asset (clause 3 of Article 257 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
The amount for renewing a domain name registration is taken into account as part of the company's expenses and is written off evenly over 12 months (renewal period).
- In accounting, domain renewal costs are classified as deferred expenses, account 97.
- In tax accounting, these expenses are classified as other expenses associated with sales and production (subparagraph 49, paragraph 1, Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Let's move on to the hosting that hosts the online store website
Costs for hosting services for an online store
The website of the online store must be placed on the company's hosting server. This is a dedicated space on the hosting provider’s server for hosting Internet resources, including an online store.
Hosting costs money in the form of a monthly fee.
- In accounting: Payment for hosting services refers to expenses for ordinary activities, paragraph No. 5 of the Accounting Regulations (PBU) 10/99.
- In tax accounting, hosting costs are reflected as part of other expenses associated with sales and production. (Subclause 49, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
If you purchase own server and you host an online store on it, then the costs of the purchased server are taken into account as part of the organization’s fixed assets. The cost of the server will be repaid through depreciation.
Expenses for promoting an online store
The website of the online store needs promotion. This is a whole set of events. They can be either paid or free. Paid expenses for website promotions are classified as advertising and are classified as advertising expenses.
- In tax accounting, these expenses are taken into account in full when taxing profits (subparagraph 28, paragraph 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
- In accounting, promotion costs are expenses for ordinary activities (clause 5 of PBU 10/99).
Example of calculating website costs
You ordered the development of an online store website from a third-party company.
- The cost of development was 59 thousand rubles.
- You have received full rights to the created site;
- Initial domain registration cost 354 rubles;
- Hosting provider services cost 944 rubles. per month;
- Costs for automatic website promotion – 3,540 rubles. per month.
These financial transactions will be reflected in accounting as follows:
This is all about the costs of an online store website!
Especially for the site ".
Today it is difficult to find an organization that does not have its own website on the Internet. However, when accounting for the costs of a company's website, accountants usually still have a lot of questions. We answered the most important of them, and presented the answers in the form of a kind of guide. By following it step by step, an accountant will be able to figure out in a short time how to correctly reflect the cost of a website, the creation and maintenance of which has been entrusted to a third-party contractor.
Step one: find out who owns the exclusive rights
Information about the site owner provides an answer to the key question: whether to reflect the website as an intangible asset or simply write it off as an expense. If, along with the website, the customer organization also acquired exclusive rights to it, then the accountant will probably be able to show the intangible assets in both accounting and tax accounting (although this will require the fulfillment of some other conditions, which will be discussed below). If the developer owns the rights, then the customer does not have the right to reflect the asset, and he can only create costs.
The answer to the question of who retains the exclusive rights to the site should be in the agreement for its development. Sometimes the answer is in the title of the document itself. “Agreement for the alienation of the exclusive right to a work” shows that the website is owned by the customer company. “A license agreement granting the right to use a work” indicates that the owner is the developer. If the header does not contain information about the owner of the new site, the accountant will have to carefully study the text of the agreement. If there is no information about the transfer of rights, then by default the customer owns the rights, which directly follows from paragraph 1 of Article 1296 of the Civil Code.
It happens that according to the documents, the site is presented as a combination of several objects: design, photographs, text, graphics, program code, etc. Most often, the site is conditionally divided into only two components: the program and the graphic solution. In this case, exclusive rights to one element (for example, to a program) may remain with the developer, and for other elements may pass to the customer. Be careful: in such a situation, the accountant will not be able to show the intangible asset, since the exclusive rights do not belong to the customer company in full.
Let us add that the customer who has received the rights to the new site is not required to officially register it. According to paragraph 1 of Article 1262 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, such registration is exclusively voluntary. Consequently, the possibility of reflecting an intangible asset does not depend on the presence (or absence) of the corresponding paper from the registering authority.
Step two: determine the cost of the site
The cost of an Internet site consists of the amounts paid to its developer (excluding VAT). Also here you need to add the costs of the initial registration of a domain name. If, in order to modernize and update this site, an enterprise purchased a license to use a paid content management system (CMS), then the cost of the site must also include a license fee.
Websites costing 20,000 rubles. and less cannot be classified as depreciable property in tax accounting (Clause 1, Article 256 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Thus, they must be written off as expenses regardless of the transfer of exclusive rights and the fulfillment of other conditions. There are no cost restrictions in accounting, so if the rights to the site are acquired and a number of other criteria are met, the customer will be able to reflect the intangible assets.
Step Three: Set the Useful Life
As a rule, the period of use of the Internet site is not specified in the documents. Therefore, the organization has the right to install it independently and secure it, for example, by order of the manager. If the site is recognized as an intangible asset, this period will be needed to calculate depreciation. There is one nuance here.
When checking, tax officials may refer to paragraph 2 of Article 258 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. It says that if it is impossible to determine the useful life of an intangible asset, it must be depreciated at the rate of 10 years. In our opinion, the accountant should make the following counterargument. In this situation, it is possible to determine the useful life, which was done by the enterprise. For this reason, the rule requiring that an asset be depreciated over 10 years is not applicable here. If the site is not classified as an intangible asset, and its cost is written off as an expense, a self-approved useful life may be useful for writing off future expenses.
Step four: make the final decision on recognition of intangible assets
So, in tax accounting, an Internet site is an intangible asset if the customer company has received exclusive rights to it, and the cost of the site is more than 20,000 rubles. There are other conditions: the useful life must exceed 12 months, and the site itself must be able to generate income. In addition, the company is required to have supporting documents for the site (this is stated in paragraph 3 of Article 257 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). An agreement with the developer and an acceptance certificate are usually used as such documents. In accounting, the same criteria apply (except for cost).
Let’s assume that all conditions are met and the site is classified as an intangible asset. In this case, all amounts that make up the value of the asset should be reflected in the debit of account 08, subaccount “acquisition of intangible assets.” Then, at the time of commissioning (that is, when posted on the Internet), the cost of the site must be written off as a debit to account 04.
Depreciation should begin in the month following the date of publication on the Internet. If the useful life does not exceed 20 years, then the object belongs to the first to seventh depreciation groups. This means that in relation to it, both linear and non-linear depreciation methods can be used in tax accounting - at the company’s choice. If the useful life is more than 20 years, then the site is an asset from the eighth to tenth group, and the enterprise is obliged to use it (clause 3 of Article 259 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). In accounting, it is permissible to choose any of three methods: linear, reducing balance, or writing off the cost in proportion to the volume of products (work) (clause 28 of PBU 14/2007 “Accounting for intangible assets”). Most organizations, in order to bring tax accounting closer to accounting, approve the same methods of depreciation of intangible assets.
Step five: decide how to write off the cost of the site as expenses
Let’s assume that one or more criteria for classifying an object as intangible assets were not met. Then the accountant will write off the cost of the website as current expenses. In tax accounting (), you can go one of two ways: write off the entire amount at once or do it gradually over the useful life.
One-time recognition of expenses is a riskier method, but also more profitable for the company. The basis here is subclause 26 of clause 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which talks about writing off costs associated with the acquisition of rights to use computer programs and databases. An additional argument in favor of this approach can be provided by an enterprise that, in its accounting policy, classified such costs as indirect. After all, as you know, indirect costs are reflected simultaneously. In our opinion, it is the one-time recognition of costs for the website that is the best option accounting.
However, cautious taxpayers take a different approach and write off the costs in installments. Obviously because most inspectors consider this method to be correct. In this case, tax authorities refer to paragraph 1 of Article 272 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, which enshrines the principle of uniform recognition of income and expenses. This method is not beneficial for the organization, but it is guaranteed to eliminate conflicts with inspectors.
In accounting, strictly speaking, there is no choice, since, according to paragraph 19 of PBU 10/99 “Expenses of an organization,” costs are recognized by distributing them between periods if there is no clear connection between income and expenses. In other words, it is necessary to reflect the costs of the site on account 97 “Deferred expenses”. And then, during their useful life, write them off as production or general expenses, or as selling costs. However, in practice, many companies write off website costs in accounting in the same way as in tax accounting: either simultaneously or over the useful life. Of course, the one-time reflection of costs in accounting is a violation, but inspectors usually turn a blind eye to it. In this case, the organization receives the right not to use PBU 18/02 “Accounting for income tax expenses.”
Step six: if necessary, reflect the discrepancy between tax and accounting
A special situation is when in tax accounting the cost of a website is written off as current expenses, but in accounting an intangible asset appears. This is only possible in one case: when the customer company received exclusive rights to the site, but its creation cost no more than 20,000 rubles.
Here, it seems to us, it is better not to deviate from the accounting rules. Simply put, despite the discrepancy with tax accounting, intangible assets must be shown in the balance sheet. This will give rise to a taxable temporary difference and a deferred tax liability (DTL). The postings will be as follows:
During the period of emergence of an intangible asset:
DEBIT 68 subaccount “Income Tax” CREDIT 77
- IT has been accrued.
In subsequent reporting periods:
DEBIT 77 CREDIT 68 subaccount “Income Tax”
- IT is extinguished.
Step seven: deal with fees for domain, hosting and CMS
A domain, or unique name, is assigned to a site when it is created. The domain requires official registration, its validity period is one year. Thus, you have to register a domain name annually. If the site is an intangible asset, then the cost of initial registration should be included in the cost of the site. The fee for each of the subsequent domain registrations in both tax and accounting must be written off as operating expenses during the year. If the site is not recognized as an intangible asset, then the cost of both initial and repeated registrations must be included in the costs during the year in equal parts.
Most companies do not have their own server on which to host a website. Therefore, enterprises are forced to resort to hosting services, that is, to place their website on disk space owned by the provider. The latter, in turn, charges a monthly rent for this. In accounting, it is reflected as selling costs as part of the costs of ordinary activities. In tax accounting - as other expenses associated with production and sales.
Recently, paid content management systems (CMS) have become very popular. With the help of such a system, the user can modernize and update the site. Exclusive rights on a CMS always belong to its developer, and the site customer only buys a license (license key) to use the system.
Sometimes a license key gives the right to apply the CMS to only one domain name. In this case, the CMS system is “tied” to a specific site, and is taken into account in the same way as the site itself. If the site is an intangible asset, then the initial fee for the CMS key is included in the cost of the intangible asset, and subsequent payments are written off as expenses. If the cost of the site is written off as current costs, then the license fee for the CMS should also be charged to costs.
More often, organizations buy keys to multi-domain content management systems. Such CMS can be used to update several sites at once. In such a situation, the license for the system should be regarded as independent software and taken into account as the cost of purchasing a computer program.
