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Accounting domain renewal. Questions about taxes and fees. Domain registration renewal

The organization registered a domain name for a period of 1 year (from 04/02/2014 to 04/01/2015), the registration cost was 600 rubles. The domain name is intended to recognize and search for a site with information about an organization on the Internet. The creation of a website is planned in the future. What is the procedure for reflecting the costs of registering a domain name in accounting?

Domain name registration is the entry of information about a domain and its administrator into a central database in order to ensure unique use of the domain. The validity period of domain name registration is one calendar year. After a year, it can be extended for the next year and so on.

In this case, we are not talking about qualifying costs as investments in an intangible asset, since the period of use is no more than 1 year (namely 1 year), that is, it does not meet the criteria established by paragraphs. "g" clause 3 PBU 14/2007 "Accounting for intangible assets."

Also, the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 26, 2002 N 16-00-14/107 states that the actual costs associated with registering a domain name, for accounting purposes, do not relate to intangible assets, but are recognized as expenses of the organization.

For accounting purposes, the conditions for recognizing expenses are specified in clause 16 of PBU 10/99 “Expenses of the organization” (hereinafter referred to as PBU 10/99):

Expenses are made in accordance with a specific agreement, the requirements of legislative and regulatory acts, and business customs;

The amount of expenditure can be determined;

There is a certainty that a particular transaction will result in a reduction in the economic benefits of the entity.

The expenses of an organization, depending on their nature, conditions of implementation and areas of activity of the organization, are divided into expenses for ordinary activities and other expenses (clause 4 of PBU 10/99).

Expenses for ordinary activities are expenses associated with the manufacture of products and the sale of products, the acquisition and sale of goods. Such expenses are also considered expenses the implementation of which is associated with the performance of work or provision of services (clause 5 of PBU 10/99).

For the purposes of PBU 10/99, expenses other than expenses for ordinary activities are considered other expenses.

In this situation, the domain name is intended to identify a site with information about the organization. Accordingly, the costs of acquiring a domain name are taken into account in accounting as expenses for ordinary activities (clauses 4, 5 of PBU 10/99).

Note that no PBU establishes a write-off procedure for this type of cost.

At the same time, according to clause 65 of the Regulations on maintaining accounting and financial reporting in the Russian Federation, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated July 29, 1998 N 34n, expenses incurred by the organization in the reporting period, but relating to the following reporting periods, are reflected in the balance sheet in accordance with the conditions for recognition of assets established by regulatory legal acts on accounting, and are subject to write-off in the manner prescribed for writing off the value of assets of this type. But neither domestic accounting standards nor Federal Law dated December 6, 2011 N 402-FZ “On Accounting” provide a definition of “asset”.

In accordance with clause 7 of PBU 1/2008 “Accounting Policy of the Organization” (hereinafter referred to as PBU 1/2008), if on a specific issue the regulatory legal acts do not establish accounting methods, then when forming an accounting policy, the organization develops an appropriate method based on of this and other accounting provisions, as well as International Financial Reporting Standards.

IFRS standards define assets as resources controlled by an entity as a result of past events from which the entity expects future economic benefits. An organization, owning an asset, has ownership rights to it and can receive and control the benefits from its use.

Almost the same definition is given in paragraph 7.2. The Concept of Accounting in the Market Economy of Russia, approved by the Methodological Council on Accounting under the Ministry of Finance of Russia and the Presidential Council of the Institute of Professional Accountants on December 29, 1997 (hereinafter referred to as the Concept).

Future economic benefits are the potential of assets to directly or indirectly contribute to the flow of cash into the organization (clause 7.2.1 of the Concept).

That is, any expenses that should bring economic benefits to the organization in the future are considered assets, and not just property or property rights. In our opinion, the costs of registering a domain name correspond to the listed parameters. So, for example, the right to own, use and dispose of a domain name can, in particular, be transferred to another person, including on a compensation basis (resolution of the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal dated 02/07/2007 N 09AP-18037/2006, N 09AP-18057 /2006-GK).

Thus, the costs of registering a domain name can be taken into account in accounting and reporting as an asset, and, since the period of use of the domain name is set to 12 months, as a current asset.

In accordance with the Instructions for the application of the Chart of Accounts for accounting financial and economic activities of organizations, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 31, 2000 N 94n, the account “Expenses” is intended to summarize information on expenses incurred in a given reporting period, but relating to future reporting periods future periods." The list of such expenses is open.

In accordance with clause 19 of PBU 10/99 “Expenses of the organization” (hereinafter referred to as PBU 10/99), expenses are recognized in the profit and loss statement by their reasonable distribution between reporting periods, if expenses determine the receipt of income over several reporting periods and when the relationship between income and expenses cannot be clearly defined and is determined indirectly.

Taking into account the above, the organization itself has the right to determine the method of accounting for these expenses (at a time or distributing them over the validity period of the domain name registration), having approved it in the accounting policy.

The following entries can be made in accounting:

1) in case of one-time recognition of costs
Debit ( , ) Credit ()
- the amount of costs for registering a domain name;

2) in case of accounting as deferred expenses
Debit

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 website expenses that is the best accounting option.

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 on 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 to 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.

Recently, organizations are increasingly using the capabilities of the Internet to promote their name and products (goods, works, services), in particular by opening Internet sites. After launching the site, the organization bears the costs of hosting, updating and creating new content, website promotion, etc. Doctor of Economics talks about accounting and tax accounting of individual expenses for the website and their reflection in 1C: Accounting 8. , Professor S.A. Kharitonov.

Hosting costs

An Internet site can be hosted on the organization’s own server or on the server of another company (provider).

Hosting services are understood as services provided on a regular basis for placing an organization’s website on a provider’s server, permanently connected to the Internet. As a rule, in this case, the Internet provider not only provides disk space on its server for rent, but also provides technical support and maintenance of the site.

An organization's expenses for paying for hosting services can be classified in accounting as expenses for ordinary activities (clause 5 of PBU 10/99) under the element “Other costs” and taken into account in the period to which they relate, regardless of the fact of their payment.

In tax accounting, expenses for hosting services are subject to inclusion in expenses associated with production and (or) sales on the basis of subparagraphs. 25, 28 or subparagraph 49 of paragraph 1 of Article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

If a one-time payment is paid to the provider for hosting services, it is taken into account as an advance payment (advance payment). At the end of each month, the corresponding part of the advance payment is credited upon receipt of a certificate of completion from the provider.

If there is an invoice issued by the provider, the organization has the right to deduct the amount of VAT (subclause 1, clause 2, article 171, clause 1, article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) provided that the website is used in activities subject to VAT.

Organizations that apply a simplified taxation system with the object of taxation being income reduced by the amount of expenses can take into account hosting costs as advertising (subclause 20, clause 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), provided that the site contains advertising about goods (works, services) ) produced (performed, provided) by the organization.

Website maintenance costs

After the site is launched, there is a need for site maintenance, i.e. maintaining it in working condition. These are mainly content edits: updating price lists and photo galleries, changing texts. At the same time, for more efficient operation of the site, it may be necessary to place or replace a banner, install an online consultant, update the design using flash technologies, etc.

When attracting third-party contractors, the costs of website maintenance services are reflected in accounting as expenses for ordinary activities (clause 5 of PBU 10/99). For tax purposes, they are classified as other expenses associated with production and sales (clause 49, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If new information is posted on the website for advertising purposes, the expenses can be taken into account as advertising (subclause 28, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) (UFTS for Moscow dated January 17, 2007 No. 20-12/004121).

The basis for accounting for site maintenance services is the contractor’s act of service rendered (work performed).

If there is an invoice issued by the contractor, the organization has the right to deduct the amount of VAT (clause 1, clause 2, article 171, clause 1, article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) provided that the site is used in activities subject to VAT.

Organizations using a simplified taxation system with the object of taxation being income reduced by the amount of expenses can take into account the costs of website maintenance as advertising (clause 20, clause 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), provided that advertising about goods (works) is posted on the website , services) produced (performed, provided) by the organization.

Domain name renewal costs

The created site is assigned a domain name - a unique identifier that is given to a specific IP address.

The costs of the initial registration of a domain name for accounting and tax purposes are included in the initial cost of the site.

Renewal (prolongation) of a domain name is carried out, as a rule, annually and provides the organization with the opportunity to retain a specific name for its website on the Internet. Domain name renewal does not lead to changes in the quality characteristics of the website and therefore does not affect its initial cost.

In accounting, the costs of domain name renewal are classified as expenses for ordinary activities as other expenses (clause 5 of PBU 10/99). In tax accounting, they are taken into account as part of expenses associated with production and sales on the basis of paragraphs. 49 clause 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Letter of the Federal Tax Service for Moscow dated January 17, 2007 No. 20-12/004121).

If there is an invoice issued by an accredited domain name registrar in the Russian Federation, the organization has the right to deduct the amount of VAT (subclause 1, clause 2, article 171, clause 1, article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) provided that the website is used in activities subject to VAT.

Services for registering and renewing a domain name are considered provided from the moment the necessary information is entered into the domain name register. However, since the use of a domain name is long-term, renewal costs, despite their small size, should be taken into account evenly throughout the year. To do this, they are first accounted for in account 97 “Deferred expenses”, and then written off evenly over the validity period of the domain name.

Organizations using a simplified taxation system with the object of taxation being income reduced by the amount of expenses, can take into account the costs of renewing a domain name as advertising (subclause 20, paragraph 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), provided that advertising about goods (works) is posted on the website , services) produced (performed, provided) by the organization.

Costs for SEO company services

The effectiveness of a website as a means of attracting new customers depends on its position in search engine results for certain user queries. Typically, the higher a site's position in search results, the more interested visitors come to it from search engines. To increase the site’s position, search engine optimization of the site (SEO from the English search engine optimization, or the Russian equivalent of SEO) is performed - a set of measures to optimize internal (HTML code, structure, content) and external (quantity and “quality” of referring resources) parameters, aimed at improving the site’s position in search engine results for certain user queries.

As a rule, to perform search engine optimization of a website, organizations turn to specialized companies that provide such services.

Expenses for the services of SEO companies before the site is put into operation are included in the initial cost of the site as expenses to bring it to a state suitable for use.

For an existing website in accounting, they are classified as expenses for ordinary activities as other expenses (clause 5 of PBU 10/99). In tax accounting, expenses for the services of SEO companies are taken into account as part of expenses associated with production and sales, as other expenses (subclause 49, clause 1, article 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) or advertising costs (subclause 28, clause 1, article 264 Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

If there is an invoice issued by the contractor, the organization has the right to deduct the amount of VAT (subclause 1, clause 2, article 171, clause 1, article 172 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) provided that the site is used in activities subject to VAT.

Organizations using a simplified taxation system with the object of taxation being income reduced by the amount of expenses, can take into account expenses for the services of SEO companies as advertising (clause 20, paragraph 1, article 346.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation), provided that advertising about goods is posted on the website ( works, services) produced (performed, provided) by the organization.

Content Management Costs

Recently, content management systems (CMS from the English Content Management System) have become very popular. With the help of such systems, organizations can modernize and update their websites. Exclusive rights to 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 in accounting and tax accounting for current 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.

Reflection of expenses for a website in “1C: Accounting 8”

Let's look at the following example to reflect the costs of an internet site in 1C:Accounting 8.

Example

Belaya Akatsiya LLC has a website on the Internet, which is hosted on the provider’s server (Provider LLC). The site was created to promote products manufactured by the organization. Sales of products are subject to VAT at a rate of 18%.

1) According to the terms of the agreement with the provider, hosting services are paid quarterly in the form of an advance payment. The provider submits a monthly report and invoice for the services provided.

The amount of advance payment for hosting services in the third quarter amounted to RUB 7,080, including VAT. For the services provided, three acts and three invoices were received from the provider in the amount of 2,360 rubles. each, including VAT 360 rub.

2) At the end of the second quarter, Belaya Akatsiya LLC paid the accredited registrar (Domain Name Registrar LLC) to renew the site’s domain name for a year. The cost of services amounted to 141.60 rubles, including VAT of 21.60 rubles.

3) To update the site content and promote it in the third quarter, a third-party organization, Content LLC, was involved. The cost of services was 118 000rub., including VAT 18,000 rub. The contractor presented a certificate and invoice for the services provided. Under the terms of the agreement, payment for services is made on the basis of an act of provision of services signed by the parties to the agreement.

Let's consider the reflection of operations in the program.

1. Operations under an agreement with Provider LLC.

1.1. Transfer of advance payment to the provider.

The transfer to the prepayment provider is registered using documents Payment order(to prepare an order to the bank) and Debiting from current account for type of operation Payment to the supplier(to reflect the debiting of funds from the account in accounting and tax accounting). Since the services have not yet been provided, the amount transferred to the provider is taken into account as the debit of account 60.02 “Advances issued” (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1

1.2. Registration of the received invoice for the transferred advance payment.

Upon receipt from the provider of an invoice for the transferred advance payment, the organization has the right to deduct the tax paid. The supplier invoice is registered using a document Invoice received with invoice type For advance(Fig. 2). For auto-filling, it is recommended to enter a document based on the document Debiting from current account.

Rice. 2

1.3. Reflection of the hosting services provided.

The fact of monthly provision of hosting services is reflected in the document Receipt of goods and services for type of operation Purchase, commission.

Data for reflecting services in accounting and tax accounting is entered on the tab Services(Fig. 3).

When filling out the tabular part in the columns Cost account (AC) And Cost account (CO) account 44.02 “Business expenses in organizations engaged in industrial and other production activities” is indicated (if the organization is engaged in trading activities, then 44.01 “Distribution costs in organizations engaged in trading activities”) is indicated if the organization is in the columns Subconto 1 (BU) And Subconto 2 (NU)- cost item with type of expense Other expenses. Organizations of wholesale and retail trade in columns Cost account (AC) And Cost account (CO) indicate account 44.01 “Distribution costs in organizations engaged in trading activities.”

Rice. 3

Invoice details for hosting services are registered on the document tab Invoice. Since all conditions for applying a VAT tax deduction have been met (services have been provided, an invoice has been presented), the checkbox is checked (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4

When posting a document, entries are entered to account for expenses and VAT, as well as to offset the advance payment (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5

Hosting services for the second and third months of the quarter are reflected in a similar manner.

1.4. Recovering VAT from advance payment.

To restore the amount of VAT accepted for deduction when transferring advance payment, a document is entered at the end of the quarter Generating sales ledger entries. Filling is done using the button Fill in. Amounts to be restored are given on the tab Recovering from advances(Fig. 6).

Rice. 6

2. Operations under the agreement with Domain Name Registrar LLC

2.1. Transfer of payment to the registrar.

Payment for domain name renewal in the program is registered in the same way, i.e. using documents Payment order And Debiting from current account for type of operation Payment to the supplier. When posting a document Debiting from current account the transferred amount is recorded in the debit of account 60.02 “Advances issued”.

2.2. Reflection of services provided for domain name renewal.

To reflect the fact of domain name renewal, a document is also used Receipt of goods and services for type of operation Purchase, commission. Data for reflecting services in accounting and tax accounting is also entered in the tabular section on the tab Services, but taking into account the following features.

If the organization’s accounting policy provides for the inclusion of such costs as one-time expenses, then the tabular part is filled out in the same way as accounting for costs for hosting services (see clause 1.3).

If the accounting policy of the organization provides for the inclusion of such costs as expenses during the year, then in the columns Cost account (AC) And Cost account (CO) account 97.21 “Other deferred expenses” is indicated, and in the columns Subconto 1 (BU) And Subconto 2 (NU)- the corresponding directory article Deferred expenses(Fig. 7).

Rice. 7

In the reference article Deferred expenses indicated (Fig. 8):

- Type of RBP - Other;

- Method of recognizing expenses - By month;

- Type of asset - Inventories.

The article also indicates the amount of expenses, the start date and end date of the write-off, the account and analytics for writing off expenses from account 97.21 “Other deferred expenses.”

Rice. 8

Invoice details for domain name renewal services are registered on the tab Invoice. Since all conditions for applying a VAT tax deduction have been met (services have been provided, an invoice has been presented), the checkbox is checked Record VAT deduction in the purchase ledger.

2.3. Write-off of expenses for domain name renewal (including them in the expenses of the current period).

Monthly debiting from account 97.21 of expenses for domain name renewal in the amount of 1/12 of the total amount of expenses is carried out automatically when the operation is completed Write-off of deferred expenses the regulatory procedure for closing the month (Fig. 9).

Rice. 9

3. Operations under the agreement with Content LLC.

3.1. Reflection of services provided for updating content.

To reflect the services provided for updating content, the document is also used Receipt of goods and services for type of operation Purchase, commission. The document is filled out in the same way as hosting services are reflected in accounting (see 1.3). The only peculiarity is that during the transaction, an entry is not generated to offset the advance payment, since under the terms of the agreement, payment is made on the basis of an act of provision of services signed by the parties to the agreement.

3.2. Payment for services provided for updating content.

The transfer of payment for services to the contractor is registered using documents Payment order And Debiting from current account for type of operation Payment to the supplier.

Document Debiting from current account filled out in the same way as transferring payment to the provider (see 1.1). The difference is that when posting a document, a debit entry is entered into account 60.01 “Settlements with suppliers and contractors,” i.e., accounts payable to the contractor are repaid (Fig. 10).

Rice. 10

In general, under one contract with the contractor (an element of the directory Contracts of counterparties) there may be debt under several acts (documents Receipt of goods and services).

When paying for a specific act in the form of a document Debiting from current account need to choose Debt repayment- According to the document and details Calculation document indicate the document to be paid for Receipt of goods and services.

When paying with one payment order for several acts at once in the form of a document Debiting from current account you need to check the box List and in the table field Payment decryption Enter data on separate lines to account for payment of each settlement document.

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 a legal entity, it may make sense to contribute the domain name as a contribution to the authorized capital or re-register it to the 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 in each specific case will have to recognize which characteristic features of which object prevail 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 acts as an intangible asset for the registrant and must be amortized over the expected life of use.

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.

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 a keyword that characterizes the information located at this 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 of a budgetary institution for creating 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. For example, Federal Law No. 273-FZ of December 29, 2012 “On Education in the Russian Federation” includes 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 to post information about their activities on their 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 in accounts payable for other work, 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 in the name of an institution, but another situation is also possible - registration is carried out in the name of an individual (for example, a provider of website development services). 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, it is the specialists of the budgetary institution who need to take care of the correct registration.

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.