Great Britain VAT Filing and Payment Reference

Default frequency

Quarterly

Available frequencies

Monthly, quarterly, and annual. Annual can be set on a fiscal year or a calendar year basis

Who files monthly

Businesses that request it, commonly those in a regular repayment position

Who files annually

Businesses accepted onto the Annual Accounting Scheme, which has its own eligibility rules

Nil returns

Required. You file for every period even with no activity

Who sets the frequency

HMRC assigns it at registration. You select a preference when you submit through Kintsugi

Filing method

Electronically through HMRC online services under Making Tax Digital for VAT

Standard return deadline

One calendar month and seven days after the end of the period

Quarterly example

A period ending 30 June is due 7 August

Monthly example

A period ending 31 May is due 7 July

Payment deadline

The same date as the return, and the money must have cleared into HMRC's account by then

Annual accounting, period of 4 to 12 months

Two months after the end of the accounting period

Annual accounting, period under 4 months

One month after the end of the accounting period

Weekend and bank holiday treatment

The payment must clear on the last working day before the deadline if the deadline falls on a weekend or bank holiday

First return period

Runs from your effective registration date, and can be longer or shorter than a standard period

Output VAT

The VAT on your sales for the period

Self-assessed VAT

VAT you account for yourself rather than paying to a supplier, such as on cross-border purchases treated as reverse charge. It is added to what you owe

Input VAT recovered

The VAT on your purchases that you can claim back, combined into one line for the period rather than broken out per purchase. It is subtracted from what you owe. To see the figure for an individual purchase, open it under Transactions, Purchases

Credits Utilized

Credits applied to this filing, including Input VAT Credits carried forward from earlier periods

Total Liability

What you owe for the period after all of the rows above

Currency

GBP

Who remits

You. Kintsugi prepares and files the return, and the payment to HMRC stays with you

Payment methods

Direct debit, faster payments, bank transfer, or debit or corporate credit card through HMRC's payment service

Reference required

Your nine-digit VAT registration number

Direct debit timing

HMRC collects three working days after the return deadline where a direct debit is set up

Input VAT

The amount shown on your Kintsugi filing is already net of the recoverable input VAT on your uploaded purchases for that period

Postponed import VAT

Accounted for and recovered on the same return, so a fully recoverable import has no cash effect on the amount you pay

Repayments

HMRC pays repayments to the bank account on your VAT record, normally within 30 days. Kintsugi does not put you into a repayment position, because a filing amount never drops below zero and any surplus input VAT is carried forward as an Input VAT Credit instead

Late payment

HMRC charges late-payment penalties and interest. Kintsugi does not calculate these

Digital records required

Yes. Making Tax Digital for VAT requires digital record keeping and a digital submission path

Record retention

Six years

VAT invoice retention

Six years, including copies of invoices you issue

What Kintsugi retains

Your transaction data, calculated VAT, and the returns filed through Kintsugi

What you retain

Your own invoices, contracts, and supporting records, including your purchase invoices and your monthly postponed import VAT statements