Maternity capital is the amount of money that is due to families after the birth of a child. You can use it for targeted spending specified in the legislation. As of 2017, this amount is equal to 453 thousand 26 rubles. Not all Russian families who have given birth to a child use maternity capital. According to statistics provided by the Pension Fund, 48% of families apply for benefits. 2% use maternity capital only partially. 48% of families do not use maternity capital at all. We will tell you how you can use maternity capital within the framework of the legislation of the Russian Federation in this article.

The laws of the Russian Federation indicate that the owners will be able to use the issued certificates after the end of the program (end of 2018). But there are factors that make it clear that the program may be suspended or completely closed earlier. The main one is the economic situation in the country. Statements of deputies and officials also suggest a similar idea.

It is already known that the indexation of maternity capital will not be carried out. This decision was made in 2016. Namely, thanks to indexation, the amount of the benefit has grown from the initial 250 thousand (2007) to the current 453. Taking this into account, families with a certificate for maternity capital can be advised to spend money as early as possible.

The main normative legal act that regulates the accrual and use of maternity capital is the Federal Law “On Additional Measures of State Support for Families with Children”. Its main theses are as follows:

• financial charges are sent to families in full or in part;
• a request for receiving money from maternity capital is carried out in an application form;
• payments are carried out exclusively in non-cash form;
• you can use the money in full when the child reaches the age of three. Exceptional cases - purchase of housing on credit, including mortgages.

For what purposes can you spend maternity capital in 2017

The list of targeted spending of maternity capital has recently changed and now consists of 4 items. Families are allowed to choose from this list as one option or several.

1. Improving living conditions. This includes both the renovation of old housing and the purchase of a new one, including a loan. Housing means a house, apartment, room or share in a building.
2. Education. You can spend money on educating any child in the family if he has not reached the age of 25. A child can study in an educational institution in Russia of any level: kindergarten, school or university, additional sections.
3. Mom's pension. The money can be credited to the mother's retirement account and will be available when the woman reaches the appropriate age. This way of spending maternity capital is the least popular.
4. Caring for disabled children up to three years old, as well as their social adaptation. This item appeared recently - last year. You can spend money on medical events, as well as various technical means.

Until 2016, it was possible to use a certain amount of maternity capital for any purpose without providing reporting. This amount was 25 thousand rubles. This was the only way to spend maternity capital money for any family needs. Applications for a lump sum payment were accepted until November 30th.

Buying a home with maternity capital

The "housing issue" is relevant for the overwhelming majority of families in the Russian Federation. 90% of all cases of using maternity capital accounted for the improvement of housing conditions.

The law allows you to buy an apartment for this money both on a loan and in accordance with any contract of sale. Buying a home is one of the easiest ways to spend your maternity capital.

Buying a home takes place in several standard stages:

1. The object to be purchased and its seller are determined. The exact cost is negotiated;
2. A purchase and sale agreement is signed that does not contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation. A deferred payment is established;
3. An application is submitted to the Pension Fund for the transfer of money in favor of the seller;
4. If the price of the purchased object is higher than the maternity capital resource, the buyer compensates the difference from his personal financial resources;
5. The money is transferred to the seller's account 2 months after the application is submitted.

This procedure is carried out when buying both an apartment and a house. When preparing to buy a home using maternity capital, you need to take into account some of the requirements specified in the legislation:

• the acquired living space cannot be outside the Russian Federation;
• purchased housing is registered as the property of all family members. The shares may not be equal. Their sizes are set by agreement.
• non-cash payment is obligatory. Any actions related to cashing out the amount are illegal.

Acquisition of a share using maternity capital

At the expense of maternity capital, you can buy part of a house or apartment. This is permitted by law. This option for spending capital is optimal for low-income families. You can buy a share from both relatives and strangers. At the same time, the transaction procedure is no different.

With the help of maternity capital, you can purchase a separate room. It will not work to buy a part of a room or a share in a one-room apartment. It is recommended to make sure that the accounts of the roommates in the purchased room are divided.

As for the hostels, the situation is twofold:

• you can buy a room in a hostel if this hostel is registered as a residential building according to the documents;
• it is impossible to buy a share in it if the hostel belongs to the category of specialized premises.

Building a house for maternity capital

The law allows you to use maternity capital to build a house. But for this you need to take into account some conditions:

• the house being created must be capital, and also completely suitable for living;
• the land plot must have the status "for residential development".

Important: the land plot must be pre-purchased and registered. It is prohibited to use maternity capital to acquire it. Construction work can be carried out both by third parties and by family members themselves. The procedure for crediting money is different.

If the work is performed by a third-party organization, the agreement concluded with it must be brought to the Pension Fund. The money is transferred to the company's account within one to two months. If a family decides to build a house on their own, half of the required amount is credited to its account first. After six months, it is necessary to provide documentation that confirms the fact of construction work. After that, the family gets the rest of the money.

Construction can be carried out even before receiving a certificate for maternity capital. In this case, it is necessary to keep all receipts and other payment documents for materials, as well as for payment for services. After obtaining the right to maternity capital, this documentation must be presented to the Pension Fund. All funds spent will be reimbursed.

At the expense of maternity capital, you can also conduct cooperative and shared construction.

Repayment of a mortgage from maternity capital

The legislation allows the use of the provided capital for the following purposes:

• making an initial payment for housing;
• loan repayment according to the agreement;
• payment of credit interest.

At the same time, loans for the purchase of housing are allowed to be taken only from banks. You cannot use the services of microfinance organizations. The only exception is if the contract with such a company was concluded earlier. Large banks most often have special programs and offers for those who wish to use maternity capital to purchase housing.

This way of spending money from maternity capital has one big advantage. To use the available amount, you do not need to wait until the child reaches the age of 3 years. Having received the certificate, you can go to the bank on the same day. The amount of 453 thousand rubles, as a rule, is enough to make an initial payment for an average apartment.

Education of children at the expense of maternity capital

When answering the question of how maternity capital can be used, you should know that maternity capital can be spent on teaching any of the children. To use maternity capital in this area, the following conditions must be taken into account:

• the program according to which the paid education of the child will be carried out must have state accreditation;
• the educational institution must be located on the territory of the Russian Federation;
• a child entering training must be no more than 25 years old.

An educational institution needs to wait one to two months for the money to be transferred from the Pension Fund. You must first make sure that this establishment is ready for such an expectation.

The list of educational services that can be paid for with maternity capital also includes art schools, language courses, and sports sections.

Payment for kindergarten from maternity capital

It is allowed to use the services of both public and private kindergartens. Conditions:

• the kindergarten must be licensed to carry out the relevant activity;
• the kindergarten must be located on the territory of the Russian Federation;
• the presence of the concluded contract is obligatory;
• payment is made only for child care and maintenance services. This includes nutrition, proper hygiene, socialization and education. Sections, circles and other educational services cannot be paid for.

Accrual of pension from maternity capital

The amount in full or in part can be transferred to the mother's retirement account. In this case, you can use the services of both a state fund and a non-state one. It is important to secure your capital in retirement, because the time of caring for children is often not included in the length of service.

After completing the application, a woman may change her mind. In this case, the money in full can be used in other areas. Having received a certificate for maternity capital, a mother may not apply to determine the amount to a retirement account. You can do this just before retirement.

You can get money in three ways:

• as a one-time charge;
• as perpetual payments payable for life;
• as urgent pension accruals (term - not less than ten years).

In the event of the death of a woman, the right to maternity capital passes either to the father or to the children.

This direction is used extremely rarely - less than 1% of all cases. People believe that this amount will be significantly depreciated upon retirement.

What capital cannot be spent on

As you already understood, the money of the maternity capital can only be used within the framework of the regulation determined by the legislation, we will consider what the maternity capital cannot be spent on and for what reasons.

Buying a car

Of course, a car would make life much easier for a young family. In addition, a domestic car could be purchased for maternity capital without using additional investments. However, you cannot buy a car for this money. Why:

• the car can be immediately sold, thus cashing out money from the maternity capital, which is prohibited;
• the car may be damaged in an accident or may be stolen;
• cars are relatively short-lived, especially when it comes to the domestic auto industry.

Buying a summer house or land

Maternity capital can be used to improve housing conditions, but the dacha does not fall under this rule. There are two main reasons:

• having bought a land plot, the average family will not be able to build a house on this land in the near future;
• the dacha is a place for recreation and seasonal stay, and not for permanent residence.

You cannot buy land separately - a capital house must be located on it. And even in this case, you cannot buy a plot with the help of a certificate - only a residential building is paid for.

How does a dacha differ from a residential building:

• the house is located on land designated for residential development. The dacha is located on a plot intended for garden construction;
• the residential building is equipped with reinforced walls and a reinforced foundation. The dacha has a lightweight design;
• the house has all the necessary communications: electricity, water, heating. These requirements do not apply to summer cottages;
• the principle of registration in state registers is different.

House or apartment renovation

Renovations are not considered housing improvements. They can increase comfort, but they do not solve the main issue - the lack of living space of the required size. Thus, it is impossible to pay for repairs from maternity capital funds.

However, this money can be used for housing reconstruction. During it, the layout of an apartment or house changes, the living area increases or changes. Rooms can be connected into one or vice versa - one room can be divided into several. Balconies, attics, etc. are also added. Repair work does not provide for this.

Consumer loan

You cannot use capital to pay off simple loans (not mortgages). It is possible to prove the use of the money taken for the purchase of housing, but this must be done in court. The process, as a rule, takes a lot of time and effort, therefore it is better to comply with the conditions specified in the laws.

It is forbidden to buy household appliances with the help of maternity capital. It is also prohibited to pay a loan issued for real estate renovation.