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Small ZUS 2021 - what changes await us?

From 2019, entrepreneurs have the right to take advantage of the tax relief, known as "small business activity". In 2020, however, the conditions changed. Will we also expect changes in 2021? Will they be more favorable? The article describes in detail how to settle small ZUS 2021.

Small ZUS in 2019 and in January 2020

The initial assumptions of the tax relief were clear - income contributions could be paid by people whose income did not exceed 30 times the minimum wage in the previous year.

Pursuant to Art. 18c paragraph. 11 of the Act on the social insurance system, entrepreneurs could not come to the small ZUS:

conducting business activity in the previous year for less than 60 days;
benefiting from preference in paying contributions;
performing work for the former employer;
benefiting from taxation in the form of a tax card and at the same time exempt from VAT pursuant to art. 113 paragraph. 1 and 9 of the Value Added Tax Act.

Small ZUS, the so-called contributions from income, in force from January 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020.

Watch the video: Small ZUS plus - who can benefit?

Small ZUS plus in 2021 only for some entrepreneurs

From February 1, 2020, in order to take advantage of the small ZUS, the entrepreneur could not achieve income higher than PLN 120 thousand in the previous calendar year. zloty. In 2021, this condition remains unchanged. The income from economic activity in the previous calendar year 2020 may not exceed the amount of PLN 120,000. The aforementioned additional conditions entitling to the payment of income contributions remain unchanged. As indicated in art. 18c paragraph. 9, the annual income limit should be reduced in proportion to the number of days of business in the previous year. The result should be rounded off to the nearest penny.

Example 1.

In 2020, Mr. Roman achieved an income of PLN 85,154.54. From March 1 to June 7, his activities were suspended (99 days). Proportional income will be determined as follows:

120 thousand PLN / 365 days x 266 days (365 calendar days - 99 days of suspension) = PLN 87,452.05.

Mr. Roman will be able to pay for a small ZUS 2021, because the income is below the specified limit.

* approximate value of social contributions in force in 2021

Read more about small ZUS:
Small ZUS - when does the preferential ZUS period end?
Small ZUS plus, i.e. contributions from income
Small ZUS as another convenience for entrepreneurs

Small ZUS 2021 - how to apply to it?

In the case of a small ZUS, it is very important to report to it on time and with the appropriate insurance title code. Application to the small ZUS plus should be made by the end of January in the case of obtaining the right to small ZUS from January 1, 2021. You should register with the code 05 90 or 05 92, if the entrepreneur was entitled to a disability pension.

Importantly, entrepreneurs employed additionally on a full-time basis should report to the small Social Insurance Institution, if they anticipate the end of the employment contract within a year and want to take advantage of this relief. If they do not do it by the end of January, then they will have to wait until the next year to be eligible for income contributions.

Example 2.

Mr. Michał is employed on the basis of an employment contract with a salary higher than the minimum wage. The contract is concluded until January 12, 2021. After this period, Mr. Michał intends to conduct only business activity. Currently, he is reported with the code 05 10, but after the end of the employment relationship he would like to take advantage of the small ZUS.

In such a situation, he should draw up the following declaration declarations:

ZUS ZWUA declaration with the code 05 10 xx, reason code for de-registration 600, date of de-registration on January 1, 2021;
ZUS ZZA declaration with the code 05 90 xx, filing date 1 January 2021;
ZUS ZWUA declaration with the code 05 90 xx, reason code 600 de-registration, date of de-registration on January 13, 2021;
ZUS ZUA declaration with the code 05 90 xx, filing date 13 January 2021.

During the year, only people who have completed the 2-year preference period or have suspended their activity can apply to the small ZUS plus. These documents must then be submitted within 7 days from:

on the first day of resuming business activity after the suspension;
the first day in which the conditions for using small ZUS are met (eg the period of "preferential contributions" during the year has ended, but after January in the calendar year in which you want to use the "small ZUS plus").

Example 3.

In the case of Mrs. Jolanta, the end of preferences is March 2021. She pays social contributions, which is why she wants to start using the small ZUS plus from April. To do this, he must submit:

deregistration from insurance (ZUS ZWUA form) with the insurance title code 05 70, reason code for deregistration 600, date of deregistration on April 1, 2021;
application for social insurance (ZUS ZUA form) with the insurance title code starting from 05 90, application date on April 1, 2021.

If the entrepreneur used the small ZUS in 2020, then if he wants to take advantage of the small ZUS plus relief in 2021, he does not have to make any re-registration - the insurance title code remains the same: 05 90 or 05 92. However, it will be necessary to recalculate the basis of assessment contributions and transfer to ZUS DRA part. II or RCA part. II together with the settlement declaration for January.

Period of using a small ZUS

As for the period of using small ZUS, it is still limited to 36 months during 60 months of running a business. This means that after 3 years of using the tax relief, the entrepreneur will be obliged to pay flat-rate contributions for the next 2 years. However, after the expiry of these 2 years, they will be able to benefit from the discount again.

Example 4.

Mr. Michał (from example 2) will be able to use the small ZUS for 36 months counted from the date of reporting to the code 05 90. This means that he may pay income contributions until December 31, 2023, provided he meets the relevant conditions. The right to re-join the tax relief will be granted again from January 1, 2026.

Importantly, if the entrepreneur paid contributions from income in 2019, despite the change in the conditions entitling to a small ZUS, this period will reduce the limit of 36 months in which you can benefit from the relief.

Example 5.

After the preference period ended, Ms Janina reported to the small ZUS. Registration took place from May 1, 2019. Due to the fact that Ms Janina's income is low, she intends to continue to use this tax relief in the coming years. He has this option until April 30, 2022. After this period, it will have to pay a large ZUS for at least 2 years.

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Determining the basis for the amount of contributions

Until the determination of the base for the calculation of social contributions from February 1, 2020, the income from running a business is important.

The formula for calculating the contribution base is as follows:

annual non-agricultural business income

obtained in the previous calendar year
_____________________________________________________ x 30

number of calendar days of non-agricultural conduct

business activity in the previous calendar year

The result of this action must be rounded to the nearest penny and then multiplied by the factor 0.5. The result is rounded up again to the nearest penny.

It should also be remembered that if during the year social contributions were included in costs, then the income should be increased by their value.

However, in the case of persons who in the previous calendar year applied the provisions on flat-rate income tax in the form of a tax card and did not benefit from the exemption from tax on goods and services pursuant to Art. 113 paragraph. 1 and 9 of the Value Added Tax Act, the annual business income is determined by multiplying the annual business income by a factor of 0.5. The obtained result should be rounded up to the nearest penny, if the ending is equal to or higher than 0.5 grosz, or down, if it is lower. The same rule applies to people who used the lump sum on recorded income.

Example 6.

Mr. Marian ran the company throughout the calendar year. In 2020, it achieved a revenue of 110 thousand. PLN, and its income amounted to 65 thousand. zloty. Therefore, he will want to take advantage of the small ZUS. The contribution basis will be determined as follows:

65 thousand PLN / 365 days x 30 = PLN 5342.47

PLN 5342.47 x 0.5 = PLN 2671.24

Contributions for Mr. Marian will be calculated from the amount of PLN 2,671.24.

Moreover, the contribution assessment basis may not be lower than 30% of the minimum wage applicable in a given calendar year or higher than 60% of the forecast average monthly wage announced for a given calendar year. This means that entrepreneurs whose monthly income is lower than approximately PLN 6,300 will benefit from the relief.

The amount of ZUS contributions to be paid depends on the value of the income. If, after calculating the base, it turns out that it is higher than the flat-rate basis (large ZUS), then the entrepreneur will pay contributions on the flat-rate basis.

Example 7.

Ms. Emilia meets all the conditions for taking advantage of the small ZUS:

activities carried out for 180 calendar days;
revenue PLN 52 004.92 (the proportion of revenue for 180 days of business activity is PLN 59 178.08);
income PLN 50 thousand.

Calculation of the contribution assessment base:

50 thousand PLN / 180 days x 30 = PLN 8333.33

PLN 8,333.33 x 0.5 = PLN 4,166.67

The basis significantly exceeds the flat-rate basis (large ZUS), therefore it will be reduced to it.

Payment of contributions to the Labor Fund

Contributions to the Labor Fund are paid by persons whose basis for calculating social security contributions is at least equal to the minimum remuneration for work. In 2021, the lowest national salary is PLN 2,800. Thus, when after calculating the base is lower than this amount, the entrepreneur can count on exemption from paying the FP contribution.

Small ZUS shown in the settlement declaration

In addition to reporting to ZUS with the appropriate insurance title code, the entrepreneur should also provide the establishment with information about:

the form of taxation in the previous calendar year;
annual income and income from business activity, including income and income earned during the period of application of the indicated form of taxation;
on the basis of the rate of pension contributions in a given calendar year.

Thanks to this, the Social Insurance Institution will be able to verify whether the entrepreneur is entitled to the relief and whether the value of the calculated basis for assessing contributions is correctly determined.

In 2021, the above-mentioned information will be included in the DRA declaration, part II or RCA report part II. Importantly, such a document is submitted only once a year - in the month of joining this relief. So if it is joined in January 2021, then DRA part. II or RCA part. II is submitted together with the DRA declaration for January - these documents are not submitted in the following months.

Small ZUS in the wFirma.pl system

Thanks to the wFirma.pl software, it is very easy to make all reports and settle small Social Insurance Institution (ZUS). In order to join it, it will be necessary first of all to make a re-registration by submitting a ZUS ZWUA form, and then to ZUS ZUA. Such declarations can be made through START »ZUS» ZUS APPLICATION DECLARATIONS »ADD A DECLARATION.

Then it is necessary to set the appropriate scheme of contributions in SETTINGS »TAXES» ZUS, where you should select INCOME CONTRIBUTIONS.

Then, the basis for calculating contributions should be calculated by checking the parameters taken from the system, thanks to which it will be possible to prepare appropriate DRA settlement declarations, part II or RCA part II, which should be submitted to ZUS. It is worth remembering that both application and settlement declarations can be sent to ZUS directly from wFirma.pl, more information can be found in the study: E-ZUS, i.e. sending ZUS declarations directly from wFirma.pl.

Due to the changes in the small ZUS relief, which took place in 2020, more entrepreneurs will benefit from it. Small ZUS 2021 will allow large savings for companies with low income. Payment of standard ZUS contributions often contributed to the closure of the company, because lump sum fees are a heavy burden for micro-entrepreneurs. The funds currently saved can be spent on business development.