Hi,
I have just run the calculation for April’s VAT return and it seemed higher than i expected.
I downloaded the report and it shows 12 invoices from March and 1 from February in the Aprils cash accounting vat report.
Does this sound right to anyone? I know that those payments SHOULD be missing from their respective reports ( I will check ) but no idea why it would be in the wrong reports…any help appreciated.
Thanks in advance
It may very well be correct. When were the invoices paid? If they were paid outside the VAT period you’re querying, when were the payments entered into the system?
Hi,
A colleague in my office (not part of my business) just asked me about a similar issue - she generated a VAT report and was given figures running back to when the account was opened, not just for the date range selected. FYI she has correctly setup the account and start date etc. in VAT settings.
Slightly confused, I ran a report on my own account, selecting a small date range from yesterday to today, and I too am given figures way beyond the date range. Its as if the date range input is being ignored.
Are we missing something?
Thanks for any pointers.
Si
In normal circumstances if I run a VAT return for a particular quarter it will include any invoices dated before that quarter back to the start date that have not been grabbed by a previous return, is this what you’re seeing when you set a date range smaller than a whole quarter as well?
There are a few things to note here:
If you download the backing calculations it will show the invoice date, not the payment date. If you go to that invoice and view the attached payments that payment should reside in the VAT reporting period (assuming you’re on cash accounting).
If this is your first VAT return it will automatically bring forward all transactions into the first return from the VAT start date. If this is undesirable then changing the start date to match the first VAT return period start date will eliminate these transactions.
New transactions added into a VAT period that has already been filed will automatically pull forward into the next VAT return you file. This is to prevent anything getting missed. Again moving the start date forward will prevent this behaviour.
In most cases we look at it’s one of the above 3 situations.
Thanks for your reply, and thanks to Ian for his input too. All points noted.
My colleague’s issue has been simply rectified - it transpires that upon completing her first return, she did not hit the ‘submit’ button, so the previous quarter’s return was not locked down!
This is indeed my first return. I’m using Flat Rate Cash Accounting.
I arranged my VAT start date with HMRC to be 20th March and entered the same start date in the QF VAT settings. However, I notice that the VAT Period states ‘month commencing’ and, as I have selected ‘March, June, etc.’, presume this is why invoices raised before the start date are appearing in my return.
I have one invoice that was raised on 3rd March, before the start date, but paid on 10th April, after the start date. Off-topic perhaps, but am I liable for the VAT on that invoice although it was not charged, or should I make an adjustment in my return?
Thanks again
Possibly. Your VAT period “Month Commencing” should be aligned with the ones HMRC tells you (this is available through your online account with them).
So if you have quarters ending:
March, June, September, December
You should select the following on QuickFile:
January, April, July, October