VAT Charged vs VAT Paid Calculations

What the VAT charged vs VAT paid calculation covers

A practical calculation that shows your VAT position for the period and the figures that feed into your VAT return.

• Identify VAT charged (output VAT) from sales invoices, POS or ecommerce reports.
• Identify VAT paid (input VAT) from supplier invoices, receipts and import VAT evidence.
• Check VAT rates and treatment (standard, reduced, zero-rated, exempt) where it affects totals.
• Reconcile totals back to your bookkeeping to spot missing or duplicated entries.
• Apply common adjustments where relevant (credit notes, refunds, reverse charge, fuel scale charge).
• Produce a clear summary of VAT due or VAT reclaimable, with support for the numbers.

When this service is most useful

• You are VAT registered and want confidence your return is based on complete, correctly treated transactions.
• Your sales or costs have increased and manual checking is taking too long.
• You trade through multiple channels (bank transfers, card payments, ecommerce platforms) and need consistent VAT totals.
• You have imports, overseas suppliers, or reverse charge transactions and want them treated correctly.
• You suspect an earlier return used the wrong VAT rate or missed documents.

How it works

You provide access to your bookkeeping records (or exports) plus any key VAT documents that are not already captured. Your sales and purchase VAT is reviewed, totals are calculated, and any queries are raised before finalising the figures. You receive a concise breakdown showing VAT charged, VAT paid, adjustments, and the net amount due or reclaimable.

What happens after the calculation

You can use the figures to complete the VAT return with supporting evidence and a clear audit trail. Where issues are found, you get practical next steps such as posting corrections, improving document capture, or tightening processes for the next quarter. If you want ongoing support, the same checks can be repeated each period to keep VAT predictable and compliant.