VAT, from the line to the return, in formulas
VAT does not affect the result of a standard VAT taxpayer (assujetti ordinaire / gewone btw-plichtige): it passes through. But it does affect cash, at the pace of the VAT returns (déclarations TVA / btw-aangiften): Fiplan counts it line by line, then declares and settles it quarter by quarter.
Notation
- the amount excl. VAT of a line, in a given month
- the VAT rate of the line
- the VAT of the line that month
- the non-deductible share of the line (as a fraction)
- the deduction pro rata of the file (1 for a standard VAT taxpayer)
- the deductible VAT of the line
- the VAT collected and the deductible VAT for return period
- the balance of the return (: payable; : credit)
The VAT on each line
The VAT return
The VAT on a sale is due in the month of the invoice, even if the customer pays later. The offset is an entry with no cash effect: only the balance reaches the bank. Fiplan assumes that the refund of a credit is requested; a credit below the refund threshold stays in account 411000 and is set against the next return. A movement that would fall after the end of the plan stays on the balance sheet.
Numerical application · Boulangerie Dupont, first quarter of 2027
Quarterly filer (déclarant trimestriel / kwartaalaangever), standard VAT taxpayer (, ). Each month: sales of €18,000.00 excl. VAT and purchases of €5,760.00 excl. VAT, at 6%; in March, the van, €32,000.00 excl. VAT at 21%.
The credit is refunded in June 2027. In the second quarter, with no investment, the return shows an amount due again: the VAT collected (€3,240.00) exceeds the deductible VAT (€1,036.80), and the balance of €2,203.20 is paid in July 2027.
The journal entry
| Side | Account | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debit | 451000 | VAT payable | 3,240.00 |
| Credit | 411000 | VAT recoverable | 3,240.00 |
| Side | Account | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debit | 550000 | Credit institutions — Current accounts | 4,516.80 |
| Credit | 411000 | VAT recoverable | 4,516.80 |
| Side | Account | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debit | 451000 | VAT payable | 2,203.20 |
| Credit | 550000 | Credit institutions — Current accounts | 2,203.20 |
Each month, the VAT on sales is credited to 451000 and the VAT on purchases debited to 411000, together with their collection or payment; it is the offset and the balance of each return that clear these accounts.
Try it yourself
Change the first quarter: formulas (1) to (5) are recalculated
First quarter of 2027, quarterly filer, standard VAT taxpayer. The block gives three lines to the engine (generateJournalEntries) and reads the return entries it produces.
Source
VAT Code (Code de la TVA / Btw-wetboek): the right of deduction (art. 45) and the general pro rata (art. 46). FPS Finance (SPF Finances / FOD Financiën), “Déclaration périodique TVA” (periodic VAT return) and “Nouvelle chaîne TVA” (new VAT chain): the deadline for refunding a credit — at the end of the second month after the period for a monthly filer, the third for a quarterly filer.
Fiplan conventions, declared in the code: payment of the balance due in the month after the period; the refund assumed to be requested (a forecast cannot know whether the formal conditions are met); VAT rounded to the cent for each month of each line.