VAT return prior to MTD

Thank you for contacting us, darkred1,

You'll want to enter 01/04/2020 as the effective date on the VAT settings to pull up the return. Doing so will help you record a historical payment. 

Let me show you how:

1. Go to the Taxes menu and click VAT. 
2. At the upper-right, click Edit VAT and then Edit settings. 
3. Change the Effective date for new scheme to the date you filed the return. 
4. Click Save. 
5. Under the Filed returns section, the reports will then show up.
6. Click Record payment. 
7. Once done, click Save. 

The VAT exceptions and reports page will tell you more about this and what to do if you need to change the amount.

Stay in touch if there's anything else you need. I'm always right here to help.

Thank you and stay safe!

Sorry, but this doesn't seem to work. Absolutely nothing changes. No previous reports. When I return to the edit settings page the effective date has reverted to 31/03/2019 regardless of what date I enter here.

Just to clarify, the first quickbook VAT report was filed for the quarter commencing 01/04/19. I need to record VAT payments for the periods from 01/10/18 to 31/03/19

Hello, darkred1.

Thanks for getting back to us.

You'll have to create an expense transaction if the VAT returns are not yet recorded in QuickBooks Online (QBO). However, if these are already entered in QBO, you can mark it as filed so you'll have the option to record VAT payments. Let me walk you through the steps.

1. Go to Taxes, then select VAT.
2. Select Prepare return to view your open return.
3. Confirm the dates and figures are correct. When you are ready to submit your VAT return to HMRC, select File online with HMRC.
4. Select Submit a VAT Return/Set up a VAT Direct Debit Instruction, then select Submit a return. Copy the amounts from your QuickBooks Online return to the HMRC webpage.
5. Once you're done, go back to QuickBooks Online and select Mark as Filed.

Once you mark your VAT period as filed, QuickBooks Online creates a journal moving the amount of VAT due from the VAT Control account to the VAT Suspense. Then, to protect the information from being change, you can close your books to protect your past transactions.  Please check this article for reference. Close Your Books To Lock Past Transactions.

Let me know if you need anything else. I'd be glad to help.

Hello Community Users, we just wanted to pop in and add a comment to this thread.

In the case you have already filed a return in QuickBooks and have then added transactions for prior to that return date in QuickBooks, which have caused exceptions in the current return, which you are not wishing to claim for as they have already been claimed, and so you wish to go back to add in previous return information and then mark those previously returns as filed.

In this case you could unfile the return in QuickBooks, disconnect MTD and then go to VAT settings and change the start date. Then you can mark as filed the returns in the older period and then reconnect MTD refile the current return.

However, if you do not wish to do that or the date is not in the past year then the best option if the exceptions should not be there would be to adjust the boxes on the Vat return which has the exceptions that should not be there before filing. 

If you have not claimed for the older transactions, then you would not need to adjust them as they would be valid.

Any questions let us know.