Income Tax: see errors in the pre-filled declaration – 04/20/2023 – Market

The 2023 Income Tax pre-filled statement broke a record this year, was praised on social media for the ease it brought, but should not be seen by taxpayers as a certainty that all data is correct.

Accountants heard by Sheet reported bugs that were seen during that first month of using the feature. Among them are discrepancies in values ​​in investments, medical expenses and lawsuits, lack of information on retirement, pension and health plans, and duplicate data.

Although the information is sent by banks, companies, government and service providers, the Revenue warns that the taxpayer is responsible for his declaration. Therefore, the agency reinforces that the data filled in automatically must be revised.

“The person who is forced to declare needs to separate income reports, receipts, invoices, brokerage notes and have all the documents in hand to calmly check and check if everything is right”, says accountant Dilma Rodrigues, partner at Attend Accounting.

The recommendation is that the taxpayer make the change following the data in the documents. If possible, he should inform the person who sent the information to the Revenue about the discrepancy.

Accountant Edilson Conrado Ferreira Junior, vice-president of the CRC-RJ (Regional Accounting Council of Rio de Janeiro), explains that the situation could lead the taxpayer to the fine mesh if the change is not made. “There will be data crossing and the Revenue may withhold the declaration, calling both parties for verification”, he explains.

This year, more than 3.2 million opted for using the pre-filled declaration, which is equivalent to 22% of the 14.9 million declarations sent until the afternoon of Wednesday (19). To access the resource, you must have a silver or gold account on Gov.br.

The income tax return must be submitted by 11:59 pm on May 31st. If the person who is obliged to settle the accounts does not meet the deadline, he will pay a fine. The minimum amount is R$ 165.74 and can reach 20% of the tax due in the year.

Some problems found in the pre-populated declaration:

Medical expenses

The amount informed by the doctors or the companies responsible for the care is not the same as that shown on the receipt or invoice passed on to the client. As the expense can be deducted in the calculation of the tax in the complete model, the taxpayer can stop at the fine mesh if he declares a value higher than what was sent by the service provider.

The recommendation is to change the value declared in Payments Made, following what was informed on the receipt or invoice. If possible, advise the doctor or hospital to change the DMED (Declaration of Medical and Health Services).

Another problem noted by taxpayers and accountants is the lack of data from health plans. In this case, it is necessary to open a new form in Payments made, select code 26 (Health plans in Brazil), inform if the expense belongs to the holder, the dependent or the beneficiary, fill in the operator’s name and CPF or CNPJ, describe the reason for the expense and declare the amount paid and the non-deductible portion, if part of the amount was refunded.

Ferreira Junior explains that the lack of data occurred mainly with smaller health plans. “The most organized ones are coming right away. Those operators that do not have a good governance system are not sending the data to the Revenue”, he says.

Retirement and pension

Accountants heard by Sheet reported the absence of INSS (National Social Security Institute) data on retirement and pension payments. The problem was noted in cases of taxpayers who receive less than R$ 28,559.70, the minimum amount of taxable income required for the declaration to be mandatory.

“It is the mistake that most caught my attention, as it is a benefit offered by the government and should be communicated in the pre-filled statement. If the person trusts the pre-filled statement, he will fall into the fine mesh”, says Dilma Rodrigues.

The INSS informs that it sent the data of retirees and pensioners to the Revenue and forwarded the income report, which can also be consulted through the Meu INSS application.

What to do if the pension or retirement is not included in the pre-filled form:

• Enter Declaration Forms and select Taxable Income Received from Legal Entities. Click New

• Fill in the data sent in the INSS income report with name and CNPJ, income received from a legal entity, official social security contribution, withholding tax, 13th salary and IRRF on the 13th salary. Review the data and click OK

• Then go to Exempt and Non-Taxable Income, and click on New

• If it is retirement or pension for those aged 65 or over, select line 10 under type of income. If the benefit was due to serious illness or accident, select line 11

• Then, identify whether it belongs to the holder or the dependent, fill in the name and CNPJ of the INSS, indicate the amount and the 13th salary. Review the data and click OK

President of the Union of Accountants of São Paulo, Claudinei Toron says that there have been taxpayers whose data were not even in the e-CAC (Virtual Service Center of the Federal Revenue Service). “I noticed that this happened with those who earn less than R$ 29,000, as they would not be required to declare due to the amount. But the person may have other incomes that make them exceed the limit and have to declare”, she comments.

Investments

In 2021, Revenue changed the way of declaring investments, increasing divisions with the aim of being more specific. Investment funds need to be declared separately for each fund purchased. Previously, they could be grouped together.

Another point is that the CNPJ to be declared in Assets and Rights must be that of the fund, and not that of the bank or brokerage where the purchase was made. As for Income Subject to Exclusive/Definitive Taxation, the CNPJ to be informed may be that of the bank or the fund, depending on the investment made. The recommendation is that the taxpayer follow what is in the income report.

“Those who didn’t make these changes to the previous statements will encounter problems this time. I’ve had cases of clients who had more than R$500,000 in investment funds that were not included in the pre-filled statement. I had to do it manually and follow the report from the bank or brokerage”, explains Toron.

There were also cases of investments such as savings, CDB and shares having a balance different from that reported in the earnings report. Dilma Rodrigues reinforces the need for the taxpayer to review the data. “We noticed that the bank information is missing from the pre-filled statement, but that it is coming correctly on the income statement. Therefore, put what is in it on the statement.”

Investments need to be declared in Assets and Rights and also in Exempt and Non-Taxable Income (cases of savings, LCI, LCA, CRI, CRA, Debentures and shares with sales below BRL 40,000 in the year) or in Income Subject to Taxation Exclusive/Definitive (cases of CDB, RDB, investment funds, Direct Treasury and shares with sales of more than R$ 40,000 in the year).

Purchase and sale of property

Another item that deserves care is the purchase and sale of property. The president of the Accountants Union of São Paulo says that there may be flaws in the value. “The pre-population is taking the registration value, not the acquisition cost value. If the person bought a financed property, the value of 12/31/2022 must have the sum of what he paid in the year, either entry , financing installments and taxes. And not the amount stated in the deed”, explains Toron.

The divergent information of the value can lead the taxpayer to the fine mesh, since he needs to justify the amount spent on the property. In the case of a financed purchase, the declared value increases as the installments are paid. “Each year, it is necessary to update this value. Therefore, putting the registration value is wrong”, says Marco Antonio Vasquez, partner at VRL Advogados.

In this case, the taxpayer must change the amount contained in the pre-filled declaration considering what he spent in the calendar year, which is 2022.

Judicial actions

If the taxpayer won a lawsuit in 2022, he needs to declare it to the Income Tax and check that the information provided is correct. Ferreira Junior reports on cases of clients who had the value declared incorrectly by those who lost the action. “The pre-filled came with a value different from the real one. It may have been an error on the part of the person who sent the information, in this case the company that lost the process.”

According to the accountant, the taxpayer must follow what appears in the statement of the judicial calculation, which is usually in the process. “The calculation is made by the expert and included in the process. Whoever declares must follow this calculation and, if possible, question the source about the difference in value.”

The labor lawsuit is declared in Income Received Accumulated. It is necessary to inform whether the form of taxation is annual adjustment or exclusive at source, fill in the name and CPF or CNPJ of the paying source, taxable income, 65-year-old exempt portion (if any), amount related to interest, official social security contribution and tax withheld at source.

duplicate data

Another point of complaint from taxpayers in reports on social networks is the presence of duplicate data on investments, expenses paid to doctors and goods and rights. It is necessary to leave only one sheet for each item, excluding the duplicated item.

“The pre-filled declaration gives you a good overview of what you have to declare, but you need to check all the data and see if everything is correct before sending it. After all, it’s the taxpayer’s responsibility”, says Dilma Rodrigues.

NEWS FROM THE 2023 INCOME TAX PRE-COMPLIED:

1. Access authorization for third parties to complete the declaration

2. Information on real estate acquired and registered with a notary, declared in the DOI (Declaration of Real Estate Operations)

3. Donations made in the calendar year declared by institutions in DBF (Declaration of Tax Benefits)

4. Inclusion of crypto assets declared by exchanges, in compliance with normative instruction 1,888, of 2019

5. Update of balance on 12/31/2022 of bank and investment accounts, provided that CNPJ, bank, account, branch and balance on 12/31/2021 are correctly informed

6. Inclusion of new bank account or investment fund, or not reported in the 2022 statement

7. Restitution earnings received in the calendar year