VAT return not reconciling to NL

I am preparing for MTG, by running out the Vat return, but I cannot reconcile it to the Purchase and Sales tax account for the period.

It worked in the first quarter that I tried (12/18 - 2/19). However, in the second quarter (3/19 - 5/19), the Vat return included transactions from the previous quarter. I have set the Vat start date as 1/12/18. It does not seem to have taken all transactions from the previous quarter, and when I run the NL accounts for the full 6 month period, the NL figures are significantly higher than the Vat return.

How do I ensure that the Vat return only includes the current quarter transactions?

Are you on cash accounting? The nominal ledgers are on accruals basis but if you’re on cash accounting then the VAT return is based on payment dates rather than invoice dates.

Hi Ian

I only enter sales invoices when I receive the payment, so i assume the balance in the NL accounts should agree with the amounts on the Vat report.

Having said that, I do have have 3 accruals in the quarter, so If I deduct these, the NL should agree with the vat report.

So for the quarter to 31/5/19 the figures look like this:

Sales Tax Control account 19,676
Less accruals 7,183
Balance 12,493

Vat due on sales 21,513

Purchase tax Control account 11,876
Less accruals 1,474
Balance 10,402

Vat due on purchases 20,722

The breakdown that is available on the Vat report includes all transactions in the prior quarter.

I am confused

Regards
Martin

QuickFile will include in a VAT return any sale or purchase (or sales/purchase payment if you’re on cash accounting) which is

  • dated on or after your vat start date, and
  • dated on or before the last day of the period you’re filing, and
  • not already covered by a previous VAT return that has been saved in QuickFile.

This is deliberate, as it means that any purchases or sales within a particular quarter that come to light after you submitted that quarter’s return can be entered with their correct dates and will be automatically accounted for in the next available return. But it also means that you must save the first quarter’s return in QuickFile before you can generate the second one.

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