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VAT administration

⏱ 4 min readUpdated on

For an ordinary taxable person, VAT is neither income nor an expense: it passes through. Fiplan still follows it month by month, because it weighs on cash between the moment it is collected or paid and the moment it is declared.

What it is for

The VAT Administration tab shows three cards — VAT payable (total), VAT recoverable (total) and the balance — then an annual view and a monthly view. VAT returns (déclarations TVA / btw-aangiften) are monthly or quarterly, depending on the file's VAT settings (quarterly by default).

A file under the small business exemption scheme (franchise / vrijstellingsregeling), exempt (exempté / vrijgesteld) or not a taxable person (non assujetti / niet btw-plichtig) has no return: the tab says so, and the VAT paid on purchases becomes an expense or is added to the cost of the asset.

Steps

  1. Open Results, VAT Administration tab.
  2. Read the three cards, totalled over the financial years displayed.
  3. In the Annual view, read for each financial year the VAT on sales, the VAT on purchases, and the balance.
  4. In the Monthly view, follow the balance of each return.
The VAT Administration tab of Boulangerie Dupont: the cards, and the quarterly balance for 2027.
The VAT Administration tab of Boulangerie Dupont: the cards, and the quarterly balance for 2027.

Worked example · Boulangerie Dupont SRL

The bakery files a return every quarter. In 2027:

ReturnVAT chargedVAT recoverableBalance
1st quarter3,240.007,756.80-4,516.80
2nd quarter3,240.001,036.802,203.20
3rd quarter3,240.001,036.802,203.20
4th quarter3,240.001,036.802,203.20
202712,960.0010,867.202,092.80

In the first quarter, the VAT on the van (€6,720.00) exceeds the VAT on sales: the return shows a credit, which Fiplan has refunded in June 2027. The following quarters are payable: the balance for the second (€2,203.20) goes out in July 2027.

Pitfalls

The card labels. “VAT payable (total)” adds up the VAT charged on sales, before deduction; the net balance is the third card.
A small credit stays on account. Below a threshold set in the engine, a VAT credit is not refunded: it is carried forward to the next return.
Non-deductible VAT does not appear here. It is added to the expense or to the cost of the asset, as soon as the line is entered.

What it changes · 2027

① Income statementNo effect€0.00For an ordinary taxable person, VAT does not affect the result.
② CashVAT in the 2027 cash flow+€2,203.20Collected, paid, refunded and paid over; the 4th quarter is only paid in January 2028.
③ Balance sheetThe 4th-quarter VAT, payable€2,203.20In account 451000, at 31 December 2027.

Source

VAT Code (Code de la TVA / Btw-wetboek): the deduction of VAT paid (Article 45); the pro rata of a mixed taxable person (assujetti mixte / gemengde belastingplichtige) (Article 46); the small business exemption scheme (Article 56bis); the exemption (Article 44). Federal Public Service Finance (SPF Finances / FOD Financiën), “Nouvelle chaîne TVA” (the new VAT chain): a credit is refunded two months after a monthly return, three after a quarterly one.

Fiplan conventions (journal-engine.ts, restitution-tva.ts): the balance due is paid in the month following the period; the refund is always requested; a small credit is carried forward.