Tax Services

For domestic purposes, you need to register if your revenue exceeds:

• €35,000 for taxable persons making mail-order or distance sales into the State.
• €41,000 for persons making acquisitions from other European Union Member States.
• €75,000 for persons supplying goods.
• €75,000 for persons supplying both goods and services where 90% or more of the turnover is from the supplies of goods.

If you’re trading in a country where your company is not established, you need to register as soon as you hold stock within an EU country for onward sale to customers. Holding your stock within a country triggers a taxable supply and therefore, a VAT registration.

The other reason you may need a registration is because you have exceeded a distance selling threshold. If you exceed a distance selling threshold within a calendar year, you have to register in that country and begin charging the local VAT rate on sales.

If you are unsure whether you have crossed a distance selling threshold, get in touch.

An Irish VAT registered company normally has obligation to submit VAT returns every two months. The due date for the filing of the VAT return together with the associated payment for any VAT due is the 23^rd day of the month following the relevant VAT period, e.g. the May/ June 2020 VAT return is due by 23 July 2020.

The following is a list of penalties for VAT

• failure to register as an accountable person — €4,000
• failure to charge the VAT and pay VAT over to Revenue — €4,000
• failure to keep proper books and records — €4,000
• failure to comply with invoicing requirements — €4,000
• failure to furnish a quarterly statement of intra-Community supplies (VIES return) to the Revenue Commissioners — €4,000
• assisting in making incorrect returns, invoices, credit notes — €4,000
• issue of a VAT invoice by a non-registered person — €4,000
• unauthorised charge of a flat-rate addition — €4,000
• willfully obstructing or delaying an officer authorised by the Revenue Commissioners in exercising his or her powers — €4,000
• preventing or obstructing a person authorised by the Revenue Commissioners to inspect property for the purposes of valuing the property for VAT purposes — €4,000
• where the failures or acts referred to above are carried out by a body of persons, the secretary of the body is liable for the payment of a separate penalty — €4,000
• supplying taxable goods and services in contravention of the requirement of security for the protection of the Revenue (Section 109 bond) in respect of each such supply — €4,000.

It really depends on your bookkeeping system.

At First Accounts, we have perfected this using Xero cloud accounting software.

You will need to record allowable VAT on purchases (reimbursable VAT) and VAT on sales (collected VAT).

You will also need to track sales of services and goods to the EU (and keep a record of your customer’s EU  VAT number).

All VAT-registered persons are required to file a Return of Trading Details (RTD) following the end of their accounting period (which is usually aligned to the financial year). The RTD is a statistical return summarising actual sales and purchase figures, the VAT on which was included in the less detailed periodic VAT returns during the accounting period. The return gathers the information through four key questions:

1. Have you made supplies of goods or services?
2. Did you acquire any goods or services from the European Union, including Northern Ireland?
3. Did you purchase goods or services for resale?
4. Did you purchase goods or services that are not for resale but where VAT paid on them can be claimed as an input credit?

The fields on the return are completed using the net sales or purchase figures at the various VAT rates applicable to the relevant transactions. For example, the net total sales of goods and services supplied for question 1 would be broken down into the various VAT rate categories (9%, 13.5%, 23%, etc.) and included in the return based on the total for each rate.

A VIES (VAT information exchange system) is a return outlining details of overseas supplies made by VAT-registered businesses. All Irish VAT-registered businesses providing services to customers in other EU member states must submit VIES returns where the customer is a business customer (such supplies are referred to as ‘business-to-business’ (‘B2B’) supplies).

VAT Mini One Stop Shop (VAT MOSS) is a way of paying VAT on supplies of certain digital services if either: you are an Irish business who makes supplies to consumers in EU member states, your business is based outside the Republic of Ireland and EU and you make supplies to the Republic of Ireland or EU consumers.

For instance, if you sell digital goods/services to Italy, you will need to collect VAT at the Italian standard rate and report this to Revenue. Revenue will then pass this VAT on to the Italian Revenue services.