Income tax return: information for salaried employees

Form 220, when filled out completely with the data that are in charge of the worker, will be used to support before the Dian the reasons for which the employee did not have the obligation to declare and for this reason it will be necessary to keep it for a period of 5 years.

According to what is indicated in article 1.6.13.2.15 of DUT 1625 of 2016 (after being modified with Decree 1680 of December 2020), next October 20, 2021 the deadlines for individuals and/or illiquid successions (residents or non-residents, obliged or not to keep accounting) to timely file their income tax returns (mandatory or voluntary) for the taxable year 2020 culminate.

Now, considering the case of salaried employees and other individuals who were issued a form 220 for the taxable year 2020 with the information of the earned income received during said taxable year, it is important to highlight that if the taxpayer upon receiving said form concluded that he/she was not obliged to file a tax return for the taxable year 2020 (and did not wish to do so voluntarily either), the taxpayer is obliged to do so, something that Article 6 of the Tax Statute -ET- grants as a possibility only to resident individuals who were not obliged to file a return but were subject to withholdings during the respective taxable year), the mentioned form 220 becomes the document that replaces his income tax return.

This is confirmed by the note at the end of said form, which reads as follows:

Note: this certificate replaces for all legal effects the income tax return and complementary income tax return for the worker or pensioner who signs it.

Likewise, at the end of the instructions accompanying the form, the Dian included the following message in capital letters:

KEEP THIS CERTIFICATE AS A SUBSTITUTE OR SUPPORT FOR YOUR INCOME TAX RETURN. THE DIRECTORATE OF NATIONAL TAXES AND CUSTOMS MAY REQUIRE IT.

“The said form 220 will be the main support to prove to the Dian, when required, that the person was not obliged to declare income”.

Therefore, form 220 contains several spaces to be filled in directly by the employee or pensioner. In addition, if the values filled out therein serve to prove that he/she complies with all the requirements of income, assets, consignments and others to be exempted from filing income tax returns, said form 220 will be the main support to prove to the Dian, when required, that the person was not obliged to file income tax returns.

Form 220 must be kept for 5 years

According to article 632 of the ET, if the mentioned form 220 becomes for the taxpayer the proof that he/she was not obliged to file an income tax return, in such case he/she must keep it for 5 years.

Said norm currently establishes the following:

Article 632. Duty to keep information and evidence. For purposes of control of the taxes administered by the General Directorate of National Taxes, the persons or entities, taxpayers or non-taxpayers thereof shall keep for a minimum period of five (5) years, counted as from January 1st of the year following the year of their preparation, issuance or receipt, the following documents, information and evidence, which shall be made available to the tax administration, when so required by it: 1…..

The specific information and evidence contemplated in the regulations in force that entitle or allow to credit the income, costs, deductions, discounts, exemptions and other tax benefits, active and passive credits, withholdings and other factors necessary to establish the net worth and net income of the taxpayers, and in general, to correctly establish the taxable bases and liquidate the corresponding taxes. (…)”.

The 5 years mentioned in this rule are precisely the same 5 years of term that the Dian would have to require a person obliged to file a tax return if he/she has not done so in a timely manner.

Therefore, every employee (even if he/she does not have the obligation to file an income tax return), must be concerned about asking his/her employer to deliver his/her form 220 where the income for the whole year or fraction of the fiscal year in which he/she has had an employment relationship is certified. And every employer should be concerned about issuing and delivering it even without having to wait for the employee to ask for it first.

Source: Actualícese