Correction of the PIT declaration

PIT settlement deadline expired on Tuesday 2 May. Tax payers who made a declaration in good time had time to look closely at the declared revenues, check the availability of allowances and the ways in which the income was settled or to transfer the tax to the relevant public benefit organisations. However, there are certainly taxpayers who made annual declarations at the last minute and, as is known, haste rarely goes hand in hand with accuracy.

Often mistakes are seen too late. When talking to friends on the May grill, it is noted that there was still room for further relief or that the tax base was wrong... For such persons, it is possible to submit a correction of the declaration, but how to justify it?

Correction of the declaration is nothing terrible.

It is worth mentioning that regulations Tax Ordinance [1] They clearly specify that taxpayers, as well as payers and collectors, may submit adjustments to tax returns as long as there is no contraindications in the content of separate provisions. It is worth mentioning in this regard two clear reasons.

first of them is the limitation of the tax obligation. That time limit is, according to tax rules, 5 years from the end of the calendar year in which the tax payment deadline expired[2]. This limitation also affects the question of the possibility of making a declaration, which therefore becomes unfounded as the tax obligation expires.

second a negative condition is the existence of grounds for suspending such power. They shall be shown under Article 81b Tax Ordinance. In general, such suspension occurs when proceedings or tax checks are conducted against the taxable person in the scope of the proceedings or checks.

Such authorisation shall not be granted until they have been completed.

If, therefore, the taxpayer does not apply to any of the situations mentioned above, he may make a correction of the declaration without hindrance. As a result, the initial submission will not be taken into account, but in the case of checks, the control body will verify the information resulting from the revised statement.

Moreover, there are no contraindications to make several corrections for a single declaration. Each time, however, the tax authority will take into account the latest correction as the appropriate statement for the year.

Nor does the provisions restrict the possibility of taking into account the additional tax credits which the taxpayer enjoys and which have been accidentally circumvented in previous declarations.

Reason?

To the end 2015 together with the correction submitted, the justification had also to be provided to its basis. Indeed, the absence of such a provision did not entail any sanctions in the field of tax law. The risk existed only in the area of carnoscarb legislation. From 1 January 2016 This obligation no longer applies.

The correction of tax returns can therefore be submitted without additional letters. This means that the addition of the justification, the ORD-ZU annex, is entirely optional. In addition, interest due, if any, shall be paid together with the correction.

However, it must be stressed that if the taxpayer did not make a tax return at all before the end 2 May 2023, it should attach to the declaration voluntary disclosure in order to avoid carnoscarp liability. However, in such a situation, the correction will not be effective as there is no declaration to be corrected.

It should also be borne in mind that the declaration indicates whether the correction results from the taxpayer's own initiative or from the action of the body in the context of tax control or verification activities. In addition, it is worth noting that the correction made in time 6 months from the last date of submission of tax returns in a given year allows for halving payment of interest on late payment[3].