[Practical Guide] Learn in one article the policies related to VAT input tax deduction for passenger transport services

Where a taxpayer purchases domestic passenger transport services, can the input tax be deducted? Can the input tax be deducted for obtained long-distance passenger transport tear-off tickets? Today let us take you to learn about itPolicies related to VAT input tax deduction for passenger transport services, come and learn~

Question 1: Can VAT general taxpayers deduct input tax for domestic passenger transport services purchased?

Answer:Yes. Since April 1, 2019, for VAT general taxpayers purchasing domestic passenger transport services, the input tax amount is allowed to be deducted from the output tax amount.

According to Article 6 of the Announcement of the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the General Administration of Customs on Policies Concerning Deepening the VAT Reform (Ministry of Finance, State Taxation Administration, General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 39 of 2019), where a taxpayer obtains a special VAT invoice, the input VAT shall be the tax amount stated on the invoice. Where a taxpayer has not obtained a special VAT invoice, the input VAT shall be determined temporarily according to the following provisions:

1. For a VAT electronic ordinary invoice obtained, the tax amount indicated on the invoice;

2. For obtaining an air transport electronic ticket itinerary showing passenger identity information, the input tax amount is calculated according to the following formula: air passenger transport input tax = (fare + fuel surcharge) ÷ (1+9%) × 9%;

3. For railway tickets obtained that state passenger identity information, the input VAT is calculated according to the following formula: Railway passenger transport input VAT = face amount ÷ (1+9%) × 9%;

4. For other passenger tickets such as road and waterway tickets bearing passenger identity information, the input tax amount shall be calculated according to the following formula: Input tax on other passenger transport such as road and waterway = face amount ÷ (1+3%) × 3%.

▪ Knowledge extension

Where a taxpayer purchases domestic passenger transport services and obtains a value-added tax electronic ordinary invoice or documents such as aviation and railway tickets indicating passenger identity information, the deductible input tax calculated in accordance with regulations shall be filled in column 8b "Other" of the Value-Added Tax Return Attached Schedule (II) at the time of filing.

▪ Case analysis

A taxpayer purchased domestic passenger transport services in April 2019. It obtained 1 air transport electronic ticket itinerary receipt stating passenger identity information, with a stated fare of 2,700 yuan, civil aviation development fund of 50 yuan, and fuel surcharge of 120 yuan. How should this taxpayer fill out the VAT tax return?

Parsing:According to policy provisions, where a taxpayer purchases domestic passenger transport services and has not obtained a special VAT invoice, the input tax shall be calculated separately according to the type of voucher obtained. Where an air transport electronic ticket itinerary with passenger identity information is obtained, the input tax shall be calculated according to the following formula: air passenger transport input tax = (fare + fuel surcharge) ÷ (1+9%) × 9%. Note that the civil aviation development fund is not used as the base for calculating input tax. Therefore, when the taxpayer files the tax return for the tax period to which April 2019 belongs, it shall enter the air passenger transport input tax of 232.84 yuan calculated according to the above formula in the "Other" "Tax Amount" column of Column 8b of the VAT Tax Return Attached Materials (II), enter 1 copy in the "Other" "Number of Copies" column of Column 8b, and enter 2,587.16 yuan in the "Amount" column. At the same time, the above content shall also be entered in Row 10 "(4) Passenger Transport Services Used for Deduction in the Current Period" of this form.

Question 2: Can VAT general taxpayers deduct input tax for international passenger transport services purchased?

Answer:No. Taxpayers providing international passenger transport services are subject to a zero VAT rate or exemption policy. Accordingly, purchasing international passenger transport services cannot be deducted as input VAT.

Question 3: If a company pays a ticket refund fee to an airline agency due to cancellation of an employee business trip and obtains a 6% VAT special invoice, can the company deduct this input tax?

Answer:According to current policy provisions, the ticket refund fee charged by an air agency company falls within the scope of taxation for modern services and shall be subject to VAT at the 6% rate. The ticket refund fee paid by the company for official business falls within the scope of deductible input tax, and the tax amount indicated on its special VAT invoice may be deducted from output tax.

Question 4: Can input tax be deducted for passenger transport expenses paid by taxpayers for non-employees (such as customers, invited lecture experts, and other personnel with business cooperation relationships)?

Answer:According to the Announcement of the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the General Administration of Customs on Policies Concerning Deepening the VAT Reform (Ministry of Finance, State Taxation Administration, General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 39 of 2019), where a general VAT taxpayer purchases domestic passenger transport services, the input VAT is allowed to be deducted from output VAT. This refers to domestic passenger transport expenses incurred by employees who have established a lawful employment relationship with the entity, whose input VAT is allowed to be deducted. If a taxpayer pays passenger transport expenses for non-employees, they cannot be included in the deduction scope. Note that the above deductible input VAT must be used for production and operation needs; if it belongs to collective welfare or personal consumption, the input VAT shall not be deducted from output VAT.

Question 5: Can long-distance passenger transport tear-off tickets obtained by a unit be used to deduct input tax?

Answer:According to the Announcement of the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration, and the General Administration of Customs on Policies Concerning Deepening the VAT Reform (Ministry of Finance, State Taxation Administration, General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 39 of 2019), where a general taxpayer purchases domestic passenger transport services, in addition to obtaining special VAT invoices and VAT electronic ordinary invoices, input VAT may be deducted based on air transport electronic itinerary receipts, railway tickets, and other tickets for highways, waterways, etc. that state the passenger's identity information; other tickets that do not state the passenger's identity information (handwritten ones are invalid) are temporarily not allowed as tax deduction vouchers. Therefore, taxpayers cannot deduct input VAT based on tear-off long-distance passenger transport tickets.

Question 6: A company plans to purchase 20 round-trip travel tickets to reward its outstanding employee team. Can the input tax corresponding to the ticket purchase expenditure be deducted from output tax?

Answer:According to Article 27(1) of the Measures for the Implementation of the Pilot Program for Replacing Business Tax with Value-Added Tax (issued by Cai Shui [2016] No. 36), input tax on goods, processing and repair services, services, intangible assets, and real estate purchased by a taxpayer for collective welfare or personal consumption items shall not be deducted from output tax. The 20 airline tickets used by the company to reward employees belong to collective welfare items, and the corresponding input tax shall not be deducted from output tax.

Kailing Technology·Lingshuitong:Automatically generate deduction statistics table for passenger transport invoices

In the employee reimbursement process, for different categories of transportation vouchers such as train tickets, air transport electronic ticket itinerary receipts, and road and water passenger tickets, the system uses OCR image recognition technology to collect full invoice information, and automatically calculates the deductible tax amount in accordance with the State Taxation Administration's VAT input tax deduction policy. It realizes full automation from document scanning, data verification, tax rate matching to tax amount calculation, not only compressing the processing time of a single document to within 3 seconds, but also automatically generating deduction ledgers that comply with business-finance-tax standards through real-time connection with the enterprise tax management system.

This intelligent processing mechanism allows finance staff to reduce invoice verification workload by about 80% each month, while ensuring 100% policy compliance and calculation accuracy of deduction data, effectively preventing tax risks caused by manual calculation errors.

As a comprehensive business-finance-tax digitalization solution service provider, Kailing Technology provides business-finance-tax management digital transformation products and operational services for various government agencies, institutions, and large, medium, and small enterprises. The product line includes:

Solutions for sales contract management system, procurement contract management system, fully digitalized Leqi interface project, automatic output VAT invoicing system, invoice issuance for individuals system, employee expense control and reimbursement system, input VAT invoice management system, supply chain collaborative reconciliation system, imaging OCR recognition system, automatic financial bookkeeping system, electronic accounting archives system and other businesses, comprehensively advancing the digitalization process across various fields.

If you have any business-finance-tax digital transformation needs, welcome to contact us. Beijing Kailing Technology will serve you wholeheartedly.