Do accountants know the key points of tax audit on travel expenses?

1. Key points for tax audit on pre-tax deduction of travel expenses

Travel expenses are an important recurring expenditure item for administrative institutions and enterprises. During the tax audit and verification process, the main inspection is to examine various expenses such as transportation expenses, accommodation expenses, food expenses, and official miscellaneous expenses incurred during the business trip. During the verification, the person who reimburses the expenses must be an employee employed by the company, and the business trip must be for the purpose of business activities of the company. For pre-tax deduction of travel expenses, relevant supporting materials must be provided to tax inspectors, namely: name, location, time, task, payment voucher, etc. of the business traveler.

Travel expenses can be deducted as sales expenses and administrative expenses before corporate income tax, that is, legal certificates proving their authenticity should be provided.

2. The main content recognized by tax audit for travel expense reimbursement:

1. Expenses incurred during the business trip, including purchase, ship, train, and plane tickets, accommodation, and meals Subsidies and other expenses.

2. After the unit subsidizes business travelers' travel expenses in accordance with the standards stipulated by relevant departments, they are not allowed to reimburse the out-of-town meal expenses and business trip meal expenses subsidies again.

3. Meal expenses for entertaining customers in other places cannot be included in travel expenses. They should be included in business entertainment expenses and be deducted before tax in accordance with prescribed requirements.

3. Inspection of additional documents for tax audit on travel expenses

1. The authenticity of the reimbursement documents filled in by employees when reimbursing, and the original bills attached: namely: business trip application, air ticket (clear Discounted tickets), train tickets, bus tickets, boat tickets, accommodation invoices, meeting notices, tolls, bridge tolls, etc.

For travel expense reimbursement documents, if the original invoice does not have your name, it must be signed on the back.

2. For those who fly, the reimbursement of booking fees, change fees, refund fees, and fares to and from the airport must be true and legal receipts.

3. Calculate the number of days of business trip subsidy = the return date of the business trip - the departure date of the business trip.

4. Check that reimbursers fill in true and legal vouchers in accordance with corporate financial regulations. Enterprises that fill in the items incompletely or have unclear handwriting should provide additional explanations and provide legal and valid certificates; those that alter, forge or alter original bills, or falsely report the number of business trip days are invalid certificates and shall not be deducted before corporate income tax.

5. If the original bill is lost or damaged, the enterprise must provide a valid and detailed written explanation and the detailed items and amounts of the documents to be reimbursed.

6. Certification materials obtained that do not comply with the provisions of national tax laws shall not be used as evidence for pre-tax deduction of corporate income tax, such as: white slips, etc.

IV. Principles of tax audit determination for pre-tax deduction of travel expenses

According to Article 27 of the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Enterprise Income Tax Law": Relevant expenditures referred to in Article 8 of the Enterprise Income Tax Law , refers to expenditures directly related to obtaining income. The term “reasonable expenditures” as mentioned in Article 8 of the Enterprise Income Tax Law refers to necessary and normal expenditures that are in compliance with the routine of production and business activities and should be included in the current profits and losses or the cost of relevant assets. It can be seen from this that the "Enterprise Income Tax Law" and its implementation regulations allow pre-tax deductions for reasonable travel expenses.

Travel expenses are exempt from personal income tax. Tax audit determination:

The travel expense subsidy obtained by the reimburser is within the scope of the "Regulations on Certain Issues in the Collection of Personal Income Tax" (Guo Shui Fa (1994) No. 089) exempt from personal income tax.

① One-child subsidy;

② Implementation of the civil servant salary system does not include subsidies in the total basic salary, allowance difference and non-staple food subsidies for family members;

③ Childcare subsidy;

④Travel expense allowance, missed meal allowance.

Remember two aspects of understanding:

1. The above subsidies are within the standard range stipulated by relevant national departments. Those exceeding the standard must declare and pay personal income tax.

2. According to the current personal income tax law and relevant policies and regulations, units that pay transportation expenses and meal subsidies in cash to business travelers must declare and pay personal income tax.

V. Tax audit principles for reimbursement of travel expenses for external units

1. The external unit provides paid labor services to the enterprise. The contract stipulates that the travel expenses shall be borne or reimbursed by the unit, and the own enterprise shall bear or Reimbursement of travel expenses is a form of payment for labor expenses. After the enterprise obtains the service invoice provided by the service provider, it can deduct the labor service expenses before corporate income tax. For example, reimburse lawyers for case-handling travel expenses, and reimburse CPAs for travel expenses to audit subsidiaries in other places.

2. When customers come to the enterprise for business negotiation, the accommodation and transportation expenses reimbursed by the enterprise should be included in the business entertainment expenses and deducted before tax according to the prescribed standards.

3. The travel expenses reimbursed by the enterprise for persons who have no business relationship with others outside the enterprise shall not be deducted before corporate income tax.

6. Principle of tax audit classification of travel expenses and tourism expenses

Although business expenses and tourism expenses are one word different, there are certain differences in tax treatment according to the tax law.

The meaning of travel expenses: refers to various expenses such as transportation expenses, accommodation expenses, and miscellaneous expenses incurred during official business. Different units or departments may have different regulations on the specific expenditure range for travel expenses.

According to the specific rules and regulations of a unit or department, travel expenses within the specified limit can be reimbursed according to certain procedures and vouchers. The core premise is that it should be based on business needs and can bring certain economic benefits to the enterprise.

The meaning of travel expenses: "trip" means traveling, going out, that is, the process of traveling from point A to point B in space in order to achieve a certain purpose; "tour" means going out for sightseeing, sightseeing, and entertainment, that is, Travel for these purposes. The two together are tourism. Therefore, travel focuses on travel, and tourism not only has the meaning of sightseeing and entertainment.

The basic difference determines the tax audit treatment. Principle:

Travel expenses: As long as the conditions and contents are stipulated by the tax law and relevant national departments... they can be deducted before corporate income tax.

Travel expenses: According to the fiscal and tax regulations. [2004] No. 11 stipulates that enterprises and units organize tourism activities in the name of training courses, seminars, work inspections, etc. for personnel with outstanding marketing performance, and provide marketing performance rewards (including physical and valuable rewards) to individuals by waiving travel expenses and tourism fees. Securities, etc.), the full amount of the expenses incurred shall be included in the taxable income of the marketing personnel, and personal income tax shall be levied in accordance with the law, and shall be withheld and paid by the enterprises and units that provide the above expenses. Among them, such rewards enjoyed by enterprise employees shall be Combined with the wages and salaries of the current period, personal income tax is levied according to the "wage and salary income" item.

Travel expenses are an extremely common item that is involved in every enterprise and the tax treatment is relatively cumbersome. It is also a common problem in my tax audit cases. For example: business travelers use various types of bills such as vehicle tolls and bus invoices to record travel expenses, and take advantage of the special nature of the work to obtain them through illegal means. Reimbursement vouchers.

Therefore, as problems with travel expense reimbursement have been repeatedly found in tax audits, this content will inevitably become the focus of tax audits and inspections. At this stage, attention should be paid to the content, personnel, and bills. Authenticity.