Submit sends the nine boxes of your VAT return to HMRC. You keep your records in your own spreadsheet, work out the boxes there, and enter the figures here. HMRC sends back a receipt with a Form Bundle Number.
What you need before you start
- Your VAT registration number.
- The figures for the nine boxes of the period, worked out in your spreadsheet.
- A Government Gateway user ID and password, to give Submit permission to send your returns to HMRC.
- A Google or Microsoft account to sign in to Submit.
The steps
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Ask HMRC
Type the VAT registration number. Then the stretch of time to look at.
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The periods on file
HMRC answers with every period it holds. An open period is still waiting for a return.
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Start the return
Start a return for that open period.
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Box 1, VAT on sales
Box 1 is the VAT due on your sales.
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Box 2, usually zero
Box 2 is VAT on EU acquisitions, usually zero now.
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Box 3 adds it up
Box 3 adds boxes 1 and 2 for you.
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Box 4, VAT reclaimed
Box 4 is VAT you can reclaim on purchases.
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Box 5, the net total
Box 5 works out what you owe overall.
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Box 6, total sales
Box 6 is your total sales, without VAT.
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Box 7, total purchases
Box 7 is your total purchases, without VAT.
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Boxes 8 and 9, EU trade
Boxes 8 and 9 cover EU trade, usually zero now.
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Confirm the declaration
Tick the declaration to confirm the return is accurate.
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Authorise again
Submitting needs a wider grant, so HMRC asks once more. Sign in to HMRC and say yes again.
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Submitted
HMRC confirms the return is filed. The receipt is your record that it went through.
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Read back what you filed
Back to the activities, to read the return you filed.
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Open View VAT Return
Open the return you have just sent.
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Choose the period
Then the period you filed.
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Ask HMRC for the record
Ask HMRC for the return on file.
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HMRC sends the record
HMRC sends back the return as it holds it.
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Your record, as submitted
This is your record: the totals and the declaration, as submitted.
Watch the video: How to submit a VAT return under MTD.
Price
The Resident VAT bundle covers this filing and costs £9.99 a year or £0.99 a month.
The day pass is free and gives you 3 submissions to try it first.
When it is due
Every VAT-registered business sends its returns to HMRC through Making Tax Digital software.
Businesses need to have signed up to Making Tax Digital for their first VAT return starting on or after 1 April 2022.
See every date on the MTD calendar.
Ready to file
Other filings
- How to file micro-entity accounts at Companies House
- How to file small company accounts at Companies House
- How to file dormant company accounts at Companies House
- How to file a confirmation statement (CS01)
- MTD VAT bridging software compared by price
Each filing and the channels that offer it are in the availability table.