In order to submit a VAT Return using Quickbooks you will need to follow this step by step guide:
Quickbooks Up To Date
Make sure Quickbooks is up to date - to do this you need to make sure that:
Your bank is reconciled (i.e. there are no lines in the banking/for review screen & the bank balance figure matches the in Quickbooks figure)
The outstanding supplier figure is correct. To view this, go to expenses/suppliers and view the open balance figures.
The outstanding customer figure is correct. To view this go to sales/customers and view the open balance figures.
VAT Return Submission
Go to Taxes/VAT and then under the open return section click on 'submit return'. Make sure that the start and end dates are correct. We would then suggest clicking on the 'Box 1 - VAT due on sales and other outputs' and the 'Box 4 - VAT reclaimed on purchases' figures and review the transactions.
In the Box 1 figure:
Check the transaction type column and look into any transaction that isn't an invoice.
Is the Box 1 output tax figure equal to 20% of the outputs value in Box 6? If not, then is the difference due to zero-rated and/or exempt sales and, if significant, is the VAT liability correct for these sales?
In the Box 4 figure:
It's a good idea to make sure that the large transactions are 100% correct. Is a proper tax invoice held to support these claims?
If you are unsure of which VAT code to use for any sales invoices or expense receipts, there is a helpful beginners guide here: VAT rates.
It comes back to the old saying: “if something seems too good to be true, then it usually is”. Once you are happy, click 'Submit VAT Return to HMRC'. You will then need to enter your government gateway user ID and password and click 'Yes, I want to submit'.
Quickbooks will then connect to HMRC to submit your return and after a few seconds, the on screen text will change to 'pending with HMRC'. Click 'close' and then check back (Taxes/VAT) in a short while to see if the VAT return has been 'accepted'. If the VAT return does not show as 'accepted' within 24 hours, contact us.
Pay VAT to HMRC
Your VAT is due to HMRC one month and seven days after the VAT Return end date. For example, a VAT Return dated 31st December would be due on the 7th February. To pay you can use the following link:-
www.tax.service.gov.uk/pay-online/vat
You will need to enter your VAT registration number and the period end date. For example, a VAT return for the period from 1st October 2000 - 31st December 2000 will have a period end date of 12 2000.
Reconcile VAT Payment
Once the VAT payment shows on the banking tab, click on Taxes/VAT. There should be an option to 'Record Payment' on the right hand side of the VAT return filed. You will need to click on this and enter the payment details (bank account paid from, payment date and payment amount) and click Save - this will mark the VAT return as 'Paid' and now all you need to do is match this to the transaction on the banking tab.