Sole proprietor individual legal entity. Legal status of an individual entrepreneur. An individual entrepreneur is a natural or legal person

IP is entity or physical? Answer unambiguously the question “Is an individual entrepreneur a legal entity or an individual?” difficult - at least for the understanding of a simple man in the street. If the answer to this question is unknown to you, but you need to deal with it, the article will help you.

Who is an individual entrepreneur, and why is it important to choose the right form of doing business

An individual entrepreneur is a person who, wishing to engage in entrepreneurial activities, has registered with the tax office as individual entrepreneur and received the right to do so.

Understanding whether an individual or legal entity is an individual entrepreneur, it is necessary to understand the differences between individuals and legal entities.

A legal entity is an independent company that has the right to acquire rights and obligations on its own behalf. For example, when buying a product, it does not become the property of the founders of the legal entity, but the property of the company, i.e. the organization independently acquires the rights to property on its own behalf. Speaking of obligations, we can give a simple example - the obligation to pay taxes. Taxes should be paid by the organization, not its founders. Sole Proprietor Income Tax is paid by the Sole Proprietor.

We emphasize: the organization acquires rights and obligations not on behalf of the persons who established (organized) this legal entity. person, namely from his own.

Don't know your rights?

An individual, in turn, has personal rights and obligations, bears independent responsibility - receives ownership of the assets he acquires, bears personal responsibility for paying taxes, etc.

Let's explain in simple words why it is necessary to distinguish the organizational and legal form. The fact is that a lot depends on the right choice - the procedure for registering as a legal entity or individual entrepreneur, the procedure for paying taxes, the ability to engage in one or another activity (for example, individual entrepreneurs cannot sell strong alcohol, but LLCs can), the procedure for submitting reports and accounting, and much more. Accordingly, when choosing a legal form, you proceed from the tasks of the future business and answer the question - is it possible with one form or another of doing business to succeed in the chosen direction entrepreneurial activity.

Is an individual entrepreneur a legal entity

Is an individual entrepreneur a legal entity? The answer is unequivocal - no.

When considering this situation, it is necessary to pay attention to similar signs of IP and legal entities. persons:

• bookkeeping duty, personnel office work(if there are employees), paying taxes related to doing business;
• Availability compulsory registration in tax, the ability to have a seal;
• increased (in comparison with a natural person) responsibility for administrative offenses.

However, there are even more differences:

• An individual entrepreneur, unlike the founders of a legal entity, is liable for debts with all his property.
• one individual entrepreneur cannot be registered by 2 or more persons, but one organization can.
• An individual entrepreneur does not submit as many reports as an LLC, it maintains simplified accounting.
• Individual entrepreneurs have the right to choose a patent taxation regime, while LLC does not.

What do sole proprietors have in common with individuals

For ease of understanding, it can be argued: an individual entrepreneur is an individual who is registered with the tax office and can legally conduct business.

• like an individual, an individual entrepreneur pays taxes, but he has more of them, because. he also pays income tax.
• just like an individual, an individual entrepreneur is liable for debts with all acquired property, including a personal car, an apartment, a summer house, etc.
• An individual entrepreneur can file for bankruptcy just like an individual.
• An individual entrepreneur, like an individual, can be a citizen of Russia, a foreigner and a stateless person.
• An individual entrepreneur, like an individual, can defend his interests in court, but business-related issues are considered not by courts of general jurisdiction, but by arbitration courts.

conclusions

So, we figured out the question of whether an individual entrepreneur is a legal entity or an individual. By virtue of the law, an individual entrepreneur is an individual, however, endowed with a special status and the opportunity to carry out entrepreneurial activities. There are many pros and cons of doing business. You can read about them in our article: "What is more profitable and easier to open an individual entrepreneur or LLC". Some types of business can not be run by an individual entrepreneur in principle, and this is a significant limitation. However, if the business is small, then IP is an excellent alternative to legal entities.

Legal status individual entrepreneur raises many questions. First of all, it is not clear to many that an individual or legal entity is an individual entrepreneur from the point of view of legislation.
We will tell in the article what the tax authorities think about this and how individual entrepreneurship is characterized by law.

○ Concept Individual Entrepreneur.

From the point of view of legislation, an individual entrepreneur is not a legal entity. This follows from the definition.

Art. 11 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation:
Individual entrepreneurs - individuals registered in the prescribed manner and carrying out entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity, heads of peasant (farmer) households. Individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity, but not registered as individual entrepreneurs in violation of the requirements of civillegislation Russian Federation, in the performance of the duties assigned to them by this Code, are not entitled to refer to the fact that they are not individual entrepreneurs.

In accordance with this text of the legislation, an individual entrepreneur is a natural person who conducts commercial activities. This is quite clear. However, the legal status of an individual entrepreneur implies a certain similarity with the status of a legal entity. Let's look further at the similarities and differences between these concepts.

○ Signs of individuals and legal entities.

An individual is a person who has rights and obligations within the legal regulation states. An individual has certain characteristics:

• Identification is carried out by full name.
• There is no need for additional registration, except for obtaining a birth certificate and a civil passport.
• The right to carry out economic transactions with other persons and organizations.

A legal entity is an organization registered in the register and having separate property, which is responsible for its obligations.

Art. 48 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation:

1. A legal entity is an organization that has separate property and is liable for its obligations, can acquire and exercise civil rights on its own behalf and bear civic obligations, be a plaintiff and defendant in court.
2. A legal entity must be registered in a unified state register legal entities in one of the organizational and legal forms.
3. Legal entities, on the property of which their founders have real rights, include state and municipal unitary enterprises as well as institutions.

Legal entities have the following characteristics:

• The presence of registration in a single register.
• Certain property owned.
• Separate name and registered address.
• The presence of a structured team with managers and subordinates.
• The right to obtain licenses for certain activities that are not available in other forms.
• Mandatory presence of a seal and a bank account.

A legal entity is responsible for conducting activities with its property. This sign is identical to the responsibility of an individual and an individual entrepreneur.

○ Comparison of an individual entrepreneur and a simple individual.

In fact, an individual and an individual entrepreneur have many common features. However, conducting certain types of entrepreneurial activity without registration is not allowed. We will tell you what are the similarities and differences between an individual entrepreneur and an individual.

✔ General signs.

Common facts include the following:

1. Legally, individual entrepreneurs and individuals are equal.
2. This is a specific person with a full name and identification number.
3. The place of permanent registration is the same.
4. An individual entrepreneur can act as a citizen when concluding transactions.
5. Individuals and sole proprietors have the right to conduct business transactions to conclude transactions Required documents and take legal action.
6. In the event of a debt, individuals and individual entrepreneurs are liable with the property they own.

From the point of view of legislation, an individual entrepreneur is the status of an individual. However, there is still a difference between these concepts.

✔ Features.

The difference between an individual entrepreneur and an individual lies in the system of income taxation and the permissible field of activity. For example, an individual with the status of an individual entrepreneur cannot be an employee and at the same time conduct entrepreneurial activities. A person, being an individual entrepreneur, can be an employee, but as an individual.

An individual who does not have the status of an individual entrepreneur is not available for many types of commercial activities. So, for example, he cannot open a pavilion and sell any goods there or engage in the provision of household services population.

○ Comparison of individual entrepreneur and legal entity.

Quite often you can find the identification of the status of an individual entrepreneur and a legal entity. This is not entirely correct from the point of view of legislation, but nevertheless, there are certainly similarities between these statuses. Let's take a look at the similarities and differences.

✔ Commonality in activity.

The commonality of activity lies in the following factors:

• The purpose of the establishment is to conduct business and make a profit.
• The need for a procedure state registration.
• Availability of taxation systems - simplified tax system, UTII, etc.
• The possibility of employment of employees in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
• May have a bank account (not required for individual entrepreneurs).
• In court, there can be a plaintiff and a defendant.

This is where the similarity ends. Consider the difference between individual entrepreneurs and legal entities.

✔ distinctive characteristics.

The main differences are as follows:

• An individual entrepreneur is a specific person, a legal entity is an organization.
• Registration of a person as an individual entrepreneur is carried out at the place permanent residence, and the legal entity is registered at the legal address.
• An individual entrepreneur operates independently, a legal entity is a team of people (however, both of them can be employers).
• The property of the organization and its founders is separated from each other, the individual entrepreneur, in turn, is liable with all his property, as an individual.
• IP does not have its own name.
• A legal entity is required to have a seal and a bank account, for individual entrepreneurs, both are advisory in nature.
• The activity of a legal entity is impossible without the availability of statutory documents.

Organizations have the right to conduct commercial activities in any area that does not contradict the law. Entrepreneurs are subject to certain restrictions.

IP - is it a legal entity or an individual? What is known about the status of an individual entrepreneur? The Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 23, paragraph 1) allows a citizen to conduct entrepreneurial activities without forming a legal entity. Upon passing state registration, an individual becomes the owner of the business, but not a legal entity.

Is the individual entrepreneur an individual or a legal entity?

As was Pyotr Sergeevich Bochkin, he remained. No JSC, LLC, CJSC and other companies did not arise, but IP Petr Sergeevich Bochkin appeared. And just a couple of lines later (Article 23, paragraph 3), the same Civil Code of the Russian Federation practically equates a citizen to a legal entity in terms of the rules binding on commercial organizations.

True, there is a clause "unless otherwise follows from laws or other legal acts." It is in this reservation that the meaning of the question under consideration is contained. If specifically for individual entrepreneurs, legislators came up with and adopted a certain law, then a difference from “firms” immediately appeared. And, I must say, they have already come up with a lot! But first things first.

Sole proprietor - individual having the right to conduct business activities, and at the same time responsible in accordance with its laws. It cannot be equated with a legal entity, for which the norms and rules are their own. Sometimes these norms may coincide, but you still need to be guided. regulations, in which the link "for individual entrepreneurs" is clearly established.

To begin with, let's figure out how our new Petr Sergeyevich differs from his former self? He was an individual - and he remained. Only before he could not sell goods in his store, offer taxi services, shoemaker, renovate apartments and do much more on commercial basis. It would be .

The Civil Code gave a clear definition of entrepreneurship: it is an independent activity carried out at one's own risk, aimed at systematic profit.

▼ Try our bank rate calculator: ▼

Move the "sliders", expand and select " Additional terms”, so that the Calculator selects the best offer for opening a current account for you. Leave a request and the bank manager will call you back: he will advise on the tariff and reserve a current account.

Two points are important: consistency and profit. How to an individual, it is not forbidden for a person to install air conditioners for everyone at least every day, but for free. Or once a year, "help a neighbor" for some reward. Then there will be no complaints from the regulatory authorities. But if you install air conditioners and take “money” (or other remuneration) for this, then registration as an entrepreneur is required in order to register with tax service and insurance funds, keep records, pay taxes and contributions, etc.

Now let's talk about the rights and obligations of an individual in comparison with the rights and obligations of an LLC: what do they have in common, what are the differences, in what.

What is the difference between an individual and a legal entity?

Similarity of natural and legal persons:

1. Obliged to pay taxes and insurance premiums.
2. Maintain records and report to relevant authorities.
3. An individual entrepreneur, like an LLC, has the right to hire employees. He arranges employees according to Labor Code, pays wages, complies with the rules of labor discipline.
4. An individual as an individual entrepreneur has the right to open. Organizations must open a bank account.
5. An individual entrepreneur can have a seal with the necessary attributes, just like a society.
6. Penalties are provided for violations for both organizational and legal forms. For the same offense, an individual entrepreneur will be fined less than an LLC, but you still have to pay.

Differences between an individual and a legal entity:

1. LLC is a legal entity that is independent from the moment of its registration. The founders may not interfere further in the firms, the company then acts only in accordance with the instructions of the director. In case of problems of the LLC, the founders are liable only in the amount of their share in authorized capital(sometimes they are held accountable, but rarely). Otherwise, the company is responsible for its obligations only with its own assets (money for current account, property, etc.).

An individual entrepreneur is responsible to creditors, the state and other interested structures with all his property. And what is used for business, and what is his personal property, in no way connected with the business. Of course, the only housing will not be taken away to pay off debts, but he risks not only shop windows and carts for buyers, but his own car for trips to the country.

2. Society with limited liability is registered. A rented office, owned premises, personal living space ... IP is registered only at the place of residence. You can conduct activities anywhere, but registration is only in the IFTS that corresponds to the registration. incomparably simpler: no need, authorized capital, legal address. , passport, and in three days there will be more for one businessman.

3. For individuals, the law also provides for a special tax regime - a patent. A legal entity cannot, the PSN is not applicable to it. The patent facilitated accounting and reporting.

4. An individual entrepreneur, even if he works alone, without employees, is obliged to pay. These contributions are fixed. Companies pay contributions only for employees. But there is a consolation: in some tax regimes, it is possible to reduce the tax due to the paid insurance premiums. The main thing is to approach the issue carefully and responsibly.

5. For an individual, while a legal entity can do almost everything. For example, you can’t produce alcohol and sell it (), while the LLC quietly acquires a license and works.

6. What is really good about an individual entrepreneur is that he can freely dispose of all the money received from the business! When , it is enough to indicate “income of an individual entrepreneur” in the purpose of the payment. At the same time, no bank will refuse this transaction. But it is not so easy for the director of a legal entity to withdraw money: either for the expenses of the company (documented), or for salaries, or for dividends. Accounting is very strict, and the bank does not always satisfy the requests of the manager.

7. Individuals do not submit financial statements, and the terrible word "balance" is unknown to them. At the same time, tax reporting, rules cash discipline and reporting for employees is general, whether you are a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur.

8. If the idea to “sell the business” arises, then it is enough for the LLC to change one founder for another. You cannot sell individual entrepreneurship, you have to.

9. An individual entrepreneur may have two different bank accounts: an account of an individual and a current account. According to the first, transactions related to personal needs are carried out, and according to the second, only transactions related to entrepreneurial activity. For an LLC, such a situation is impossible in principle.

If easier and without a large number letters - here is a short but informative video:

Now you know, what is the difference between an individual and a legal entity, and that an individual entrepreneur is an individual authorized to conduct business. We also wrote a separate article. If you still have questions, ask them in the comments - we do not delay with an answer!

Any citizen has the right to engage in commercial activities without creating a legal entity, subject to the official registration of such a business. At the same time, individuals often have a question: Is an individual entrepreneur a legal entity or an individual? It is sometimes difficult to understand the topic, especially since the same Civil Code equalizes the requirements applicable to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs (paragraph 3 of article 23).

Is the IP an individual or a legal entity?

If to speak plain language, IP is an individual who is vested with the right to conduct legal activities, subject to registration of such a status. When creating an entrepreneurship, a citizen continues to be called by his own name, but gets the opportunity to open a business. For example, there was a man Petrov Vasily Ivanovich, he registered as an entrepreneur and Petrov Vasily Ivanovich became an individual entrepreneur. From now on, he can legal grounds engage in entrepreneurship.

It would seem that there is nothing difficult in understanding an individual entrepreneur - is it an individual or a legal entity. Meanwhile, upon closer examination, confusion often arises, the basis for which is the reservation in paragraph 3 of Art. 23 GK. Literally, the text reads as follows: "unless otherwise follows from the law, other legal acts or the essence of the legal relationship." This means that an individual entrepreneur is controlled at the legislative level in the same way as a legal entity, if there is no special law that separately regulates the requirements for an entrepreneur.

From the foregoing, we can draw the main conclusion - any citizen, including foreign nationals, has the right to engage in commercial activities after official registration in the Unified Register. In the process of work, an individual entrepreneur is obliged to follow the regulatory requirements developed for entrepreneurs, and in the absence of such, the legislative provisions common to individual entrepreneurs and legal entities. Further, in order to clearly understand whether an individual entrepreneur is a legal entity and in what situations, we will look at the similarities and differences between an individual entrepreneur and a legal entity.

Differences between sole proprietorship and legal entity

Like an organization, an entrepreneur is required to register under Law No. 129-FZ of 08.08.01 in order to open a business, the list of directions of which is much narrower for individual entrepreneurs than for legal entities. For obligations arising as a result of economic activity, the entrepreneur bears full property liability (Article 24 of the Civil Code), except for those objects to which it is prohibited to apply a penalty according to the norms of the Code of Civil Procedure. This is the main difference between an individual entrepreneur and an enterprise: a legal entity is liable for obligations only in the amount of the authorized capital.

Another difference is that when you create a company, you must contribute to the charter. This is not required when starting a business. In addition, an individual entrepreneur can work without a current account, and the registration procedure is simplified and reduced to 3 working days - there is no need to develop constituent documentation, a passport, an application and a receipt for paying the fee are enough. However, these are all minor nuances, meanwhile, there is another significant advantage of entrepreneurship, it is the difference between an individual entrepreneur and a legal entity. It is about the management of income. To use the funds, the entrepreneur does not need to pay additional taxes and confirm the intended use. And the founder of the organization must withdraw money as receiving dividends with the mandatory payment of personal income tax on the amount.

Similarities between Sole Proprietorship and Legal Entity

When carrying out commercial activities, an entrepreneur, on a par with a legal entity, can hire personnel according to employment contracts and/or engage individuals from outside on the basis of civil law contracts. From the date of registration of a citizen as an individual entrepreneur, he has many obligations - to submit reports and pay taxes "for himself" and employees; for accounting, but to a lesser extent than for enterprises; choosing the optimal taxation system; on registration of personnel changes, etc.

In a word, both legal entities and entrepreneurs must fulfill their obligations as employers, parties to contractual transactions and as participants in the system of tax relations with the state. But when it comes to responsibility, there are more differences than similarities. In addition to the already mentioned property liability, IP court cases are considered in arbitration, and the amount of penalties, as a rule, for entrepreneurs is “an order of magnitude” lower than for enterprises. In general, there are much more differences between entrepreneurship in the form of an individual entrepreneur and in the form of an organization than similarities. What to choose?

What is more profitable to register for a business - an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity

We have already found out the answer to the question: Is an entrepreneur an individual or a legal entity? The answer cannot be unambiguous, but according to its characteristics, an individual entrepreneur is more likely an individual. What status is most beneficial for starting a business? To do right choice many factors need to be weighed. First of all, specify the list of OKVED that you plan to implement. Next, consider whether you are ready to share powers with other founders and whether the requirement for full property liability for obligations is acceptable to you (Article 24 of the Civil Code).

Do not forget about the need to pay personal income tax on dividends when opening a company, as well as the obligation to register a current account. Is there a clear picture? If not, make a table with a list of shortcomings of the individual entrepreneur and legal entity, and then evaluate each feature point by point. In conclusion, I would like to note that only individual entrepreneurs are allowed to work on a patent, that is, PSN. For some types of activities, this tax regime helps to significantly save on the payment of fiscal payments without any reporting.

Is the IP an individual or a legal entity?

The status of an entrepreneur often raises a question, an individual entrepreneur is an individual or a legal entity, including entrepreneurs themselves who are going to “sell an individual entrepreneur” or “buy an individual entrepreneur” and take other actions that can only be done if the business is run by a legal entity. face.

Registration as an entrepreneur

That is, registration as an entrepreneur means for a citizen not only the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity, but also the presence of many duties that a non-entrepreneur citizen does not have. However, if a citizen decides to conduct entrepreneurial activity, then it is necessary either to establish a legal entity, usually an LLC, or to register as an entrepreneur himself.

The status of an individual entrepreneur in comparison with an LLC is attractive in that:

• it is easier and cheaper to register as an individual entrepreneur and terminate the activity;
• there are a number of advantages in terms of taxation;
• no need to keep accounting;
• business income is the income of an individual;
• penalties for administrative violations are often lower.

But the status of an individual entrepreneur has one significant disadvantage in comparison with an LLC. A citizen is liable with all his property (Article 24 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). And since the answer to the question, whether an individual entrepreneur is an individual or a legal entity, is unambiguous, then a citizen is also responsible for entrepreneurial activity with all his property.

This means that even after the completion of business activities, claims can be made against an individual, including by tax authorities.

All these points must be considered by an individual before he decides to register.

Advantages of IP status for taxation and income generation

What is the interest of registering as an individual entrepreneur? From the point of view of taxation, there is a definite plus - only entrepreneurs can apply the patent taxation system, which is characterized by the fact that only with a patent it is not necessary to submit reports and calculate the tax on their own. This will be indicated in the patent - the amount of tax and the due date. But the main thing is that you can find out the amount of tax in advance by calculating it on the website of the Federal Tax Service https://patent.nalog.ru/info/, and often the tax on a patent is lower than on a different taxation system.

Another significant difference when considering whether an individual entrepreneur is a legal entity is the right to dispose of business income. In OOO cash are the income of a legal entity, the founder can receive them only in the form of dividends, which can be distributed when making a profit. In addition, income tax must be withheld from dividends.

An entrepreneur, unlike a legal entity, does not have to report on the distribution of income received. All income from entrepreneurial activity is his personal income, which he has the right to transfer from the current account to his personal account and spend at his own discretion. Of course, it is necessary to pay tax on the income received according to the chosen taxation system. But, for example, if an individual entrepreneur applies a patent and fulfills all the requirements established by Art. 346.43 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, then he knows the amount of tax in advance and can immediately pay it. All income that will go to the account of the individual entrepreneur will be at his disposal and no additional actions will be required to formalize and distribute it.

Disadvantages of IP status

In addition to the mentioned liability with all property, registration as an individual entrepreneur entails the need to pay insurance premiums. Due to the fact that the individual entrepreneur pays for himself, low income, loss or lack of activity does not exempt from paying contributions in a fixed amount, which is at least 27,990 rubles in 2017.

In addition, it is impossible to buy or sell an IP business. If we talk about whether an entrepreneur is an individual or a legal entity, then unlike an LLC, where you can sell a 100% share in the company and the business will be transferred to another person, you can only sell the property of an individual entrepreneur, precisely because the entrepreneur himself is an individual .