Sage 50 Accounts For Dummies, 3rd UK Edition

Chapter 17

Running Your VAT Return

In This Chapter

• Checking, adjusting, and sending your VAT return
• Clearing down your accounts
• Switching VAT schemes
• Accounting for scale charges
• Tracking for Intrastat

Value-added tax, or VAT, can induce a state of panic when a tax inspection suddenly looms. You can avoid this hysteria by keeping proper accounting records with a system such as Sage and running your VAT returns in a systematic, methodical manner.

Running a VAT return takes mere seconds as a result of the integrated nature of the Sage software.

In this chapter, I take you through the two different VAT schemes that you can operate with Sage, and show you how to switch VAT schemes if you need to. I also cover fuel scale charges and Intrastat reports.

The VAT return involves working through three stages and ticking tasks off as you go along. You can process your whole VAT return from the VAT Return window in Sage, where you can check, reconcile, and perform the journal transfers all in one area.

Understanding some VAT Basics

You need to worry about VAT only if your business is VAT registered. After you register, you can reclaim VAT on certain purchases, but you also have to charge and pay VAT on your sales.

Your company can voluntarily register for VAT – and doing so is usually worth the extra hassle if you can reclaim VAT on a significant proportion of your purchases. VAT registration ...