VAT returns
VAT Return due? See exactly where every box comes from.
Your VAT Return has nine boxes. standing.tax fills each one from your sales, bills and bank records, and you can open any box to see exactly which entries make up its figure.
You can prepare everything now; sending to HMRC and Companies House opens soon.
What a VAT Return is
A VAT-registered business usually sends HMRC a VAT Return every 3 months.(source 1) It is due even when there is no VAT to pay or reclaim.(source 2) The deadline is usually one calendar month and 7 days after the end of the period, and that is also when the payment must reach HMRC.(source 3)
What standing.tax does
- The nine boxes of your VAT Return worked out from your records, for you to check in plain words.
- Tap a figure on the return to see the invoices and bank lines that make it up.
- Before a return can be sent, a second, separate calculation of the nine boxes has to agree with the first.
- Raise invoices and credit notes. If your company is registered for VAT, download them as PDF VAT invoices.
- Import a statement downloaded from your bank as a CSV file, or a PayPal export, and say what each line was for.
- Each filing sent from here is kept with what was sent and what came back.
- A period you've filed is locked, so its figures can't be quietly changed afterwards.
Making Tax Digital for VAT
Every VAT-registered business has had to keep digital records and file through Making Tax Digital software since April 2022.(source 4) The return has to be sent using software compatible with Making Tax Digital.(source 5)
Late or wrong returns
Each late return earns a penalty point, and reaching the threshold brings a £200 penalty.(source 6) An inaccurate return can bring a penalty of up to 100% of the tax understated or over-claimed.(source 7)
Opening a box shows you the entries in it, so a mistake such as an invoice entered twice, or a bill in the wrong quarter, is there to see.
Not registered for VAT?
- If your company isn't registered for VAT, Home shows its sales over the last 12 months, from your own records, against the registration threshold.
Whether your company should register, or which VAT scheme suits it, is a judgement about your business: that's one for an accountant.
Questions people ask
Do I need to send a return if nothing happened this quarter?
It is due even when there is no VAT to pay or reclaim.(source 2)
Where do the figures come from?
From the sales invoices you raise in standing.tax, the bills and receipts you upload and approve, and the bank statements you import. Nothing is typed into a box directly.
Where these rules come from
Each numbered sentence above is our plain-English version of GOV.UK’s own words, which are below with a link to the page they come from.
- 1.
“You usually need to send a VAT Return to HMRC every 3 months.”
GOV.UK: Sending a VAT Return - 2.
“If you're registered for VAT, you must submit a VAT Return even if you have no VAT to pay or reclaim.”
GOV.UK: Sending a VAT Return - 3.
“The deadline for submitting your return online is usually one calendar month and 7 days after the end of an accounting period. This is also the deadline for paying HMRC.”
GOV.UK: Sending a VAT Return - 4.
“Since April 2022, all VAT-registered businesses have been required to keep digital records and file returns through MTD-compatible software.”
GOV.UK: Technical note: Modernising the tax system through Making Tax Digital - 5.
“You must submit your VAT Return using accounting software that's compatible with Making Tax Digital.”
GOV.UK: Sending a VAT Return - 6.
“For each VAT Return you send late, you'll get a penalty point. This includes nil returns (where you have nothing to declare). Once you reach your penalty point threshold, you'll get a £200 penalty.”
GOV.UK: Sending a VAT Return - 7.
“HMRC can charge you a penalty of up to 100% of any tax under-stated or over-claimed if you send an inaccurate return.”
GOV.UK: Sending a VAT Return
