Brexit FAQ

The UK has left the EU and is currently in the transition period that will end on 31 December 2020. When the new UK-EU relationship starts on 1 January 2021, this may affect some of the bank feeds you have connected in QuickBooks and QuickBooks Self-Employed.

Will bank connectivity for UK banks be affected?

The framework used by some financial institutions to provide bank feeds were implemented under EU regulations. Some UK financial institutions will need to move to a different framework to provide the bank feeds after 1 January 2021.

As part of this, some QuickBooks and QBSE customers may need to reconnect their bank accounts. We will communicate the list of which UK banks are affected during November.

We don’t anticipate any loss of connectivity for any UK banks, but will update this page if any bank feeds will not be available after 1 January 2021.

How about Allied Irish Bank (UK)?

Allied Irish Bank (UK) is a subsidiary of Allied Irish Bank and serves as the legal entity for the UK banking division. We don't anticipate any loss of connectivity.

When will I know if I need to take any action because of Brexit?

There will be changes in how QuickBooks integrates with your financial institution and retrieves your banking information. We are working hard to minimise any impact to the way you use QuickBooks to keep your bank account connected.

It is possible that we will ask you to take action in the following months to ensure data from your bank keeps flowing to QuickBooks. We will be sending further communications as soon as possible to let you know of any changes which will happen before the 31st of December, and any actions you will need to take.

What will it mean for VAT?

There will be VAT code changes from 1 January 2021. UK VAT registered businesses may need to consider reviewing Import VAT (also known as PVA Import or Postponed VAT accounting), which must be reflected in the VAT return.

Simply put, if your business receives imported goods from outside of the UK and is registered for VAT in the UK, you may be required to review the Import VAT on your VAT return. However, there will be no changes to the treatment of VAT or how you account for the movement of goods between Northern Ireland and the EU.

Where do I find the new import VAT codes?

You can find the PVA Import VAT codes in the VAT rate settings in QuickBooks.

1. Go to Taxes and select Edit Settings.
2. Select Edit VAT rates, and on the smaller gear icon select Show Inactive.
3. Switch it on using the toggle.

Why can't I see these codes when creating a transaction?

These new VAT codes will only appear if the transaction is dated on or after 1 January 2021 and have been made active in the VAT rate settings.

How will these codes show on my VAT return?

If these VAT codes are selected in your QuickBooks, you will see them post to the following boxes on your VAT return:

Box 1 - Includes the VAT due in this period on imports accounted for through postponed VAT accounting.

Box 4 - Includes the VAT reclaimed in this period on imports accounted for through postponed VAT accounting.

Box 7 - Includes the total value of all imports of goods included on your online monthly statement, excluding any VAT.

Please note: The PVA 0% code is currently only posting to Box 1 and 7, but should be posting to Box 4 as well. This is an issue that we are working very hard to fix, and we will remove this note once the issue has been resolved. Please be assured that your VAT return (VAT 100 report) will be correct, it is only Box 4 that will show incorrectly on the VAT detail report.

Companies created before 10 December 2020 aren't able to save transactions when using PVA 20% code. We are working to resolve this issue and will update this notice when it's resolved. In the meantime please use another RC code.

Decommissioning of XML VAT submissions

From 8 April 2021, HMRC will no longer be able to accept XML VAT submissions from third party softwares. If you're still filing through XML, you will need to find an alternative method of submission from April 2021.

You can either sign up to Making Tax Digital, or you can submit using the HMRC service available in your Business Tax Accountant in the meantime until you're mandated to join MTD in April 2022.

Read our dedicated common VAT codes article for more information.