What are “gray” and “black” salaries? What is a white salary: pros and cons compared to a salary in an envelope Working with a gray salary

For job seekers it is an important criterion when choosing a workplace, and for employers it is the most expendable part of the enterprise budget. In addition to the 13% personal income tax withheld from the employee, the employer makes significant payments to extra-budgetary funds.

Almost every third manager in the country uses various “optimization” schemes to reduce the tax burden. Most often, these schemes are illegal.

The desire to optimize costs “paints” employee salaries white or gray. In the first case, we are talking about an absolutely official amount of remuneration in accordance with current legislation. They call them black non-existent salaries, issued only in person, not providing social guarantees. Gray wages serve as an average option between legal payments and money in an envelope.

What is a gray salary?

The “mouse” color is attributed to such payments that consist of two parts. The first, the smallest, is carried out on all documents, most often indicated in the employment contract, all deductions go from it, the second, the most significant, is issued in cash in hand.

This form of payment is popular among small and medium-sized businesses. According to statistics provided by tax authorities, the most risky sectors remain the trade, construction and manufacturing industries.

Advantages and disadvantages of use

Pros and cons of gray wages exist for both parties to the employment contract. The advantage of such payments for employees is their size. Usually, tacit consent to the practice of double standards pays off with a round sum of money received in an envelope. Employers manage to save on tax payments and others. However, the use of such mechanisms, despite their prevalence and durability, is associated with constant risks.

The disadvantages of receiving gray wages for employees go beyond several points:

In case of labor disputes, conflict situations, or financial difficulties, the entrepreneur can significantly reduce the amount of incentives.
Upon dismissal, leave, including maternity leave, sick leave, settlement money is issued in accordance with official earnings.
When applying for a loan, only the white part of the salary will be indicated in the documents.
There are minimal contributions to the pension fund.

For managers and entrepreneurs, salary fraud is fraught with inspections, if violations are discovered, fines and even criminal liability. Moreover, punishment under Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is also provided for accomplices (chief accountant, personnel officers maintaining accounting documentation) who contribute to tax evasion.

“Large amount” of violations - this is a debt amount of more than half a million, not paid within three years - is punishable by a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles, arrest for up to six months, or imprisonment for up to 24 months. "Extra large size" implies tax debt of more than 2.5 million rubles over a three-year period and is punishable by more serious penalties and up to 6 years in prison.

It should be borne in mind that the financial liability of an employee who causes damage to property is limited to the official salary. (Article 241 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) The tax authorities apply fines and penalties prescribed in articles 122,123,75 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

How to prove the employer's guilt?

It is almost impossible to do this, since the fault lies with both parties to the employment contract. However, if a controversial situation arises, tax officials advise employees:

obtain the support of witnesses;
compare the size of your official salary with the average in this profession in the region;
provide video, audio recordings or photos recording violations;
present financial statements of “gray” regular payments.

A labor inspector talks about the employer's responsibility in case of gray wages.

Where to complain?

Let us immediately make a reservation that anonymous complaints are taken into account, but do not lead to the desired result. Those who decide to defend their case to victory must indicate personal data when contacting the tax service, labor inspectorate and prosecutor's office.

Complaints (preferably from the entire team) about violations of labor rights are submitted to the labor inspectorate. The application to the prosecutor's office is accepted at the location of the enterprise. We advise you to attach copies of “letters of happiness” and complain about low contributions to the pension fund.

Upon application, the tax inspectorate will check the accounting department; in case of violations, materials can be transferred to the investigative committee, and cases are often brought to court. Tax authorities often show interest in those companies where wages are lower than the industry average.

The government’s desire to “whitewash” the financial activities of businesses has not yet yielded results for several reasons. Firstly, it is not easy to prove the fact of double-entry bookkeeping; secondly, the employee, by agreeing to the conditions presented to him, himself approves such a financial policy, becoming an accomplice in an illegal process. A vicious circle is formed.

Workers strive to get a quick profit or do not have the opportunity to find a “white” enterprise, where all incomes are stable and official, allow them to live with dignity now, and ensure a secure old age, which is just around the corner for any worker. For an employer, such savings as the “Sword of Damocles”, despite external prosperity, constantly threaten with inspections and legal proceedings.

Where to complain when receiving a gray salary and how to prove the employer’s guilt? This and much more is discussed in the video. Enjoy watching!

Unfortunately, it is no secret that domestic entrepreneurs strive to keep a significant portion of their income “in the shadows.” To save on payroll and taxes, many employers “hide” part of their employees’ salaries from official registration. Naturally, this is illegal, but the current trend towards the spread of this phenomenon requires its analysis.

Find out why some employers prefer this form of payment of labor remuneration and what it can entail. What are the advantages of a clear conscience for an employer and a white salary for an employee, read in this article.

What determines the “color” of wages?

The phrases “white”, “black” and “gray” salaries are not official; these are established designations for the form of payment to hired personnel of the money they earn.

White salary- an amount corresponding to the salary or tariff rate, paid according to the official payroll and fully subject to income tax and contributions to social funds.
Black salary– money paid without a concluded employment contract (synonymous with “amount in an envelope”).
Gray salary- remuneration officially paid to an employed employee in a minimum or reduced amount, and most of the funds fall into the hands of outside cash accounting.

Reasons for the “change in color” of wages

It is logical that employers decide to pay money to employees “besides the cash register” not because of a good life. There may be many reasons that may prompt them to pay gray salaries:

quite a large percentage for payments to social funds;
stagnation in the modern domestic economy;
high level of inflation;
dependence of production on rising prices for raw materials, materials, services, etc.;
additional government fees for small and medium-sized businesses.

For an employee, the reason to agree to a gray salary may be the opportunity to pay 13% on a smaller amount, receiving significantly more in hand than with white salaries.

REFERENCE! Today in Russia, gray salaries have become very common and tend to increase. According to research results, some white earnings have decreased by almost one and a half times, while about 30% of employers use various variations of “gray” schemes.

When does the tax office become interested?

State supervisory authorities have launched a broad campaign to combat wage shadowing. The company will attract their interest if:

the declared salary of employees of a particular qualification is stated to be significantly lower than the average level for a given region or for a similar industry;
According to documents, employees in management positions receive less money than ordinary employees;
according to data from certificates for 2-NDFL, an employee who changed his place of work began to receive a salary lower than the old one (logic dictates that a person will not change his place to a less profitable one);
an employee of an organization, in order to obtain a loan, indicated in bank documents a different salary level than what is listed in the tax reports for his organization;
a signal was received about the payment of a gray or black salary (an employee’s complaint, appeal, or even an anonymous call or letter).

What threatens an exposed company?

An organization that practices “gray” schemes for “optimizing” wages must be prepared for the fact that this fact will be revealed as a result of an audit by the tax authorities. If an employer does not pay personal income tax on funds issued to employees and does not deduct contributions to social funds on their basis, he is subject to administrative and criminal liability:

Art. 122 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for a fine in the amount of a fifth of the unpaid amount for underestimating the tax base or incorrectly calculating the amount of tax payable. The fine will be assessed even if the situation of arrears or non-payment of tax was caused by the employer’s inaction.
The same act, committed intentionally, if it can be proven, entails a double fine.
In addition to fines and penalties, you will have to pay all unaccrued amounts in full.
The heads of organizations may be summoned to a special commission on wages, where they will have to answer to representatives of the tax service and municipal officials and, as a result, increase the official salary, or they may face an on-site audit, where additional violations may be revealed, in addition to wage fraud.
According to Art. 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, if an organization does not provide or does not provide tax returns or other required documents related to wages on time, or if these documents contain deliberately false information, it may be assessed a fine of 100 thousand to 300 thousand rubles. And the person guilty of such a violation may be fined the amount of annual income (from 1 to 3 years), deprived of the right to certain activities or positions, or sentenced to forced labor for up to 2 years, and a six-month arrest or imprisonment (up to 2 years) is also possible.
If problems with tax returns arose due to the preliminary conspiracy of a group of persons or the size of the violation is particularly large, the amount of fines will increase (maximum up to 500 thousand rubles), and the terms of punishment will be lengthened (forced labor for up to 5 years, restrictions on activities for up to 3 years, imprisonment for up to 6 years).

Possible consequences for personnel

It may seem that the blame for gray wages lies entirely with the employer and only one party is responsible before the law. However, this is not true. An employee who has received income on which taxes required by law have not been paid must declare it independently and pay the required amounts to the budget. The deadline for this is until April 30 of the following year, and for payment - until July 15.

If a person did not do this and was caught, he will be held accountable under Art. 228 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, according to which individuals themselves are responsible for paying personal income tax if the duty of a tax agent has not been fulfilled. He faces a fine of 5% of the amount of unpaid tax for each overdue month (up to 30% of the full amount, not less than 1000 rubles). And if the violation was repeated or particularly large in size, liability may be criminal:

fine from 100 to 500 thousand rubles;
a fine in the amount of salary or other income for a period of 1 to 3 years;
arrest for 4-6 months;
imprisonment for up to 3 years.

Why is a white salary still preferable?

For employers, the main incentive to pay white wages is still the fear of possible liability before the law. But if workers do not agree to these schemes, the employer will have to withdraw their earnings from the shadows. What is the benefit of an official white salary for employees?

Motivation. Work paid for in cash will be more productive, since the employee will feel care and official security, which cannot be promised by payment in an envelope.
Guarantees. Payment of wages on time and in the prescribed amount is the legal obligation of the employer. For a late or incomplete “envelope”, the employee cannot demand compensation from the employer or legally influence him to restore the violated rights.
Social sphere. Many social payments, for example, maternity benefits, child care benefits, disability benefits, vacation pay, etc., are calculated based on the amount of wages officially indicated in the documents.
Lending. When receiving a loan, a person receiving a white salary will not have any problems, because his income is recorded in all funds, and with a gray salary, discrepancies are possible.
Future pension. This argument is decisive in many cases. The size of a working citizen’s future pension directly depends on contributions to the Pension Fund. If they are not made or are paid in reduced amounts, this will inevitably affect the amount of future pension provision. The person receiving a gray salary makes a choice in favor of an immediate increase in the amount received in hand, thereby depriving himself of a significant part of his future pension savings.

PLEASE NOTE! If the employer refuses to pay wages or part of them officially, despite the employee’s request, the employee has the right to contact the labor or tax inspectorate or the prosecutor’s office.

Almost everyone is familiar with the terms “gray salary” and “black salary”, but not everyone has come across it in practice. The law does not contain such terms; it only talks about official remuneration agreed with the employer. Let's figure out what this means.

The Labor Code only puts forward some requirements for employee remuneration:

the salary cannot be less than the subsistence minimum;
Salary payments occur once every half month.

« Black salary"is a salary in an envelope. Everyone has heard of this, when neither an employee nor his money is mentioned in any document: neither in the staffing table, nor in the hiring order, there is not even a contract with him. In this case, the employee is employed unofficially and is not registered in the organization.

A person takes a risk by agreeing to this, because the employer deprives him of all compensation and payments provided for by labor legislation; vacation and sick leave are not paid. An employer can fire an “unofficial” employee just like that, without paying him for days worked and severance pay.

« Gray salary“is a salary that is half official, that is, part of it is documented, and is generally listed in the organization, but either for a position with a lower salary or simply has a low salary. Here the salary is divided into two parts: one is white (official), the other is black.

Since the official part of the salary is less, therefore there are less contributions to the Pension Fund, personal income tax also becomes less. For many employees, such a salary seems tempting, because it is the contributions to personal income tax that are deducted from the official part.

For the employer, this method of remuneration is also beneficial, because, in fact, he is not obliged to pay “black” wages, but leave the official one and tell the employee that he did not cope well with his duties. Most often, such a salary is discussed at the interview, where the future employee is offered to choose either a completely “white salary”, which will be significantly lower, or a “gray” one.

All of these payment methods are most often illegal because they enable the organization to pay less taxes. But the tax service knows how to calculate such an organization; it is enough to compare the actual number of employees with the number in the staffing table. An employee with a “black salary” risks much more, because he is not even registered with the company, and therefore the employer can fire him, leaving him without any payments even for the days worked.

In this case, the employer will not suffer in any way, because none of the employees will go to court, because most often the employee is sure that it is impossible to prove anything. In most cases, it is unprofitable for an employee to work at such an enterprise, because he is deprived of all the benefits and compensation provided by the state for those officially employed.

In addition, neither maternity nor annual leave is paid. You cannot take out a loan because the bank will only consider the official part of your salary. Contributions to the Pension Fund will also be lower. Proving that you receive “black” wages is difficult, but possible. Evidence in this case may be dictaphone recordings or testimony of the employees themselves. Even simple advertisements where the employer indicates a salary much higher than what they receive for a similar position.

Tax services are actively fighting against “gray” and “black” payments, but so far have been unsuccessful, because there is a lot of competition among employees, and they are ready to accept any conditions.

What is " salary in envelope", how the "color" of income can impact employee well-being And what kind of liability is there? to the management of the organization and its employees when such payments are identified by government agencies? – I will tell you about this in this article.

Probably everyone has heard about white, gray and black wages. Many employers set the “color” of monthly income as one of the conditions for hiring, not forgetting to mention to the future employee the benefits of receiving a salary “in an envelope.”

○ Types of salaries: gray, black, white.

The main characteristic of wages, determined by its “color,” is the official registration of income, the withholding and transfer of all tax deductions and other mandatory payments calculated based on the income of an individual.

So the white salary- This is income that is fully accounted for and recorded in accounting documents. Income tax is withheld in full from income of this type, and deductions are made to the Pension Fund, Social Insurance Fund and other extra-budgetary funds. The entire amount of funds received will be reflected in the certificate in form 2-NDFL.

Holders of gray salaries, although employed in accordance with labor legislation, officially earn a very small amount, usually amounting to the minimum wage. They receive additional remuneration in an envelope, that is, unofficially.

Accordingly, a significant part of the salary does not go through the accounting documentation; accordingly, personal income tax is not withheld from its amount; the “gray” part of it is not taken into account when calculating payments to extra-budgetary funds. Of course, official information about an employee’s income includes only amounts paid officially.

There are also cases when the unofficial part of the salary is paid as insurance through friendly insurance companies.

Payment of a black salary, as a rule, does not imply official employment at all. Such an employee does not pay taxes, is not considered employed and receives income by verbal agreement with the employer.

○ Responsibility of the employer and employee, what are the consequences of such a salary?

Job seekers, as a rule, easily agree to a gray and black salary, which is understandable: it is not so easy to find a high-paying job, and you don’t really want to pay taxes on income, especially if the amounts of monthly deductions are very significant. However, this is where the advantages of such a remuneration system end.

Firstly, unofficial wages negatively affect the size of the future pension. Even if you are still far from the age of retirement, you should know that the new coefficient according to which is calculated pension, also takes into account the size of official monthly income.

Based on the size of the white salary, the social benefits, for example, on sick leave.

For clarity, I will give a clear example.

Thus, sick leave for pregnancy and childbirth is 140 days. With an official salary of 25 thousand rubles, a woman receives sick leave pay when she goes on maternity leave in the amount of just over 100 thousand rubles.

If the official income is 5 thousand per month, accordingly, payment for this period will be made in the amount of slightly more than 20 thousand rubles.

A noticeable difference, isn't it?

A citizen receiving a gray, and even more so, a black salary risks not getting a loan on favorable terms. And you will have to completely forget about such specialized and preferential loans, such as mortgages with state support.

I agree that some banks issue loans to clients without confirming official income, but it is worth noting that the interest rate on such offers is too high in order to provide for the bank’s possible risks of not repaying such a loan.

Another feature of “colored” salaries is that It will be very difficult to collect back wages from the employer. In order to go to court on such an issue and expect to collect the real amount of debt, it will be necessary to collect a lot of evidence of shady payments.

Well, and finally, oh no one has canceled liability for non-payment of taxes when receiving income. According to tax legislation, a person receiving income is required to submit a declaration to the Federal Tax Service to calculate the amount of tax and pay it independently. Liability here may be limited to a fine, but the proceedings themselves will take a lot of time and effort.

The responsibility of the employer when paying wages to its employees is informally provided for by both tax and criminal law. Of course, criminal punishment is possible in the case of concealing large amounts from taxation.

When receiving information about the payment of unofficial salaries to employees, tax authorities conduct tax audits. Such information can be received by the Federal Tax Service both from employees of such an organization, and when it is established that wages are below the minimum wage or the industry average level.

I will not delve into the procedure for conducting a tax audit, but its results may lead to the following consequences:

Accrual of unpaid personal income tax for the entire period of non-payment.
Accrual of penalties and fines.
On-site inspections by law enforcement agencies.
Bringing the manager, chief accountant and other key persons of the company to administrative or criminal liability.

○ How to prove receipt of unofficial salary?

If for some reason you decide to expose your employer and prove your real income, I can recommend this algorithm of action.

Contact the accounting department with a request to issue a certificate of the income you actually received, motivating the need for such a document, for example, by obtaining a loan. Such documentary evidence will be significant evidence of the receipt of gray income.
Find witnesses ready to confirm the amount of your real income. These witnesses may include coworkers, family members, and others.
Collect all other possible evidence of payments issued to you by your employer. These can be pay slips, copies of statements, and other documents that take into account the amounts actually paid to employees.

Gray or shadow wages are the wages that the employer gives to its employees in addition to the white, official wages, and from which taxes were not withheld. Such envelope payments allow enterprises to reduce staffing costs by saving on insurance premiums and attract valuable personnel through a “shadow” increase in salaries. Gray wages include insurance premiums, compensation, incentives, and additional earnings received in envelopes. This does not always involve a gross violation of the law; there are conditionally legal methods that allow organizations to pay part of the funds without tax deduction and not hide this from the state. However, in Russia, the scheme of such payments is widespread and often becomes a reason for tax proceedings. Today we will look at the main pros and cons of a gray salary.

Pros and cons for the employee

A gray salary has its advantages. The employee receives additional cash, which he has deservedly earned through his labor and which he can spend on himself and his family at his own discretion. If this part of the salary were transferred to white status, it would be less due to the deduction of taxes. People who pay alimony also receive a certain benefit, since when the court determines the amount of alimony, gray payments are not taken into account, which means they remain entirely at the disposal of the employee.

At the same time, shadow wages have many disadvantages:

the size of the pension and some social benefits will be determined on the basis of the white salary, gray payments are not taken into account;
it is more difficult to get a loan, and sometimes a visa to travel to another country, since the size of the white salary may seem too insignificant to a bank or foreign mission;
as a rule, vacation pay stipulated by law is calculated on the basis of the official salary, excluding gray wages, the same applies to severance pay and sick leave payments;
very often, because of this scheme, the employee and the employer develop a difficult relationship: the manager can simply deprive the person of additional income if he doesn’t like something, this can also become a certain reason for blackmailing the employee.

Is it possible to prove the fact of receipt

Although it is problematic to confirm the fact of receiving a gray salary, it is possible. Of course, the Pension Fund does not need any evidence; they still will not consider salaries in envelopes as a reason for increasing the pension. But the bank may need information about unaccounted funds if a person decides to take out a loan.

Perhaps the employer himself will go to the meeting and take the liberty to confirm that his employee received occasional or permanent salary increases. You can also ask the employer to make the gray salary official; naturally, all taxes and fees will be collected from it, which will significantly reduce it, but relations with the employer will become completely transparent and legal.

In extreme cases, the employee may try to resolve the issue through the courts.. For example, if the employer does not agree to transfer gray payments to the white salary (due to the fact that other employees will have questions about why a colleague’s salary is higher, the discrepancy between the salaries of people occupying the same position may also alert the tax authorities) and will not help with obtaining a loan. True, for the court it is advisable to collect and prepare some materials and evidence in advance:

additional, “envelope” statements: payments under the gray scheme are usually recorded in separate documents, although the court may not take them into account if the statements do not contain accounting signatures, the name of the organization, or if only copies and not originals are provided;
testimony of other colleagues who also received money under this scheme (this could also be former, dismissed employees);
video or audio recordings;
bank statements confirming “gray” transfers to the card;
advertisements in the media in which the company offers employees a salary higher than the current official payments within its limits: the courts do not perceive this as good evidence, but the advertisements may be useful for the tax service.

Employer's liability

If the fact of giving employees money without a tax deduction is revealed, the employer faces fines. Their size will depend on what the tax authorities can find out. At best, the penalty will be 20 percent of the amount not paid to the state, unless there is evidence of intentional tax violation. If the service manages to prove that a person deliberately underestimated the tax base or incorrectly calculated taxes, the fine will double and amount to 40 percent of the unpaid fee.

Moreover, the enterprise may begin to be seriously inspected to find other violations. The situation will also affect the management and accountant of the company: they may be prosecuted for tax evasion. Well, if it turns out that a whole group of people is involved in the offense, this can result not only in fines, but also in considerable prison terms.

Employee Responsibility

Although most people believe that workers receiving “gray” wages are not breaking the law in any way, and therefore no penalties can be applied to them, this is not at all true. According to the law, a person receiving funds from which tax has not been withheld is required to independently declare such income and pay 13 percent to the state. If this was not done, fines may follow in the amount of 5 percent of the unpaid amount, taking into account each “unpaid” month.

If it turns out that a person deliberately evaded payments or gave false testimony, he may be subject to criminal liability. According to Article 198 of the Criminal Code, the violator faces fine up to 300 thousand rubles or even imprisonment for up to one year. Well, if the offense is committed on an especially large scale, the fine can increase to half a million rubles, and the prison term - up to three years.