vat-return-prep

name	vat-return-prep
version	1.0.0
description	Prepares EU VAT return materials for small business owners in the Netherlands (BTW), Germany (MwSt / Umsatzsteuer), and Belgium (BTW/TVA) — v1 scope. Pulls transaction data from Exact Online, categorises by VAT rate (0%, reduced, standard), separates intra-EU B2B reverse-charge transactions from domestic sales, flags OSS/IOSS eligibility for cross-border e-commerce, and outputs a structured VAT summary the owner or accountant can file from. Not tax advice — prep material only. Trigger when the user says: "VAT return," "BTW aangifte," "Umsatzsteuer," "MwSt-Voranmeldung," "quarterly VAT," "what do I owe VAT," "VAT filing," "OSS," "IOSS," or any phrase suggesting they are preparing a VAT return.

VAT Return Prep

Framing: This skill produces prep material for your accountant or tax adviser, not tax advice. State every assumption explicitly.

Quick start

User: "prepare my Q1 VAT return"
→ Ask country if not in business context (NL / DE / BE)
→ Pull transaction data from Exact Online for the quarter
→ Categorise: standard rate, reduced rate, zero rate, exempt, intra-EU B2B
→ Compute net VAT position (output tax − input tax)
→ Flag reverse-charge, OSS/IOSS, and any anomalies
→ Deliver structured VAT summary + accountant handoff packet

Step 1 — Confirm country and period

1. Read ## Business context for country. If not present, ask: "Which country is your business registered in — Netherlands, Germany, or Belgium?"
2. Confirm the filing period. Ask: "Which quarter are you preparing — Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4 [year]?" Default to the most recently completed quarter.
3. Note the filing deadline:
   • Netherlands (BTW): 1 month and 1 day after quarter end (e.g. Q1 → April 30)
   • Germany (MwSt): 1 month after quarter end for quarterly filers (e.g. Q1 → April 30); 10th of following month for monthly filers
   • Belgium (BTW/TVA): 20th of month following quarter end (e.g. Q1 → April 20)

Step 2 — Pull transaction data from Exact Online

Fetch all transactions for the filing period:

• Sales invoices: customer, amount excl. VAT, VAT amount, VAT code/rate, country of customer
• Purchase invoices: supplier, amount excl. VAT, VAT amount recoverable, country of supplier
• VAT codes to map to rate categories (see Step 3)

If Exact Online is not connected, ask the user to upload a transaction export CSV with columns: date, type (sale/purchase), amount excl. VAT, VAT amount, VAT rate %, customer/supplier country, description.

Step 3 — Categorise transactions

Sales (output tax):

Category	Description	VAT rate
Domestic standard	Sales to domestic customers, standard goods/services	NL: 21% / DE: 19% / BE: 21%
Domestic reduced	Sales to domestic customers, reduced-rate goods/services	NL: 9% / DE: 7% / BE: 6% or 12%
Domestic zero-rated	Exports outside EU, certain food/medicine	0%
Intra-EU B2B (ICP)	Sales to VAT-registered businesses in other EU member states	0% + reverse charge; list separately
Intra-EU B2C	Sales to consumers in other EU member states	Local rate of destination country — OSS eligible
Exempt	Insurance, healthcare, education, financial services	No VAT

Purchases (input tax / aftrekbare voorbelasting / Vorsteuer):

• Map each purchase invoice to the above categories
• Flag any purchase with no VAT code — may indicate non-recoverable input tax
• Flag purchases from non-EU suppliers where import VAT may apply

Reverse charge flag: For each intra-EU B2B sale, verify the customer's VAT number is recorded in Exact Online. If missing, flag as "VAT number required — cannot apply reverse charge without it."

Step 4 — Check OSS/IOSS eligibility

If the owner has intra-EU B2C sales (selling to consumers in other EU member states):

• If total intra-EU B2C sales exceed €10,000/year across all EU member states: the owner should be registered for OSS (One Stop Shop) and charging the destination country's VAT rate.
• Flag: "Your intra-EU B2C sales appear to exceed the €10,000 OSS threshold. Are you enrolled in OSS? If not, consult your accountant — you may need to register."
• If already enrolled in OSS: note that these sales should be reported in the OSS return, not the domestic VAT return.

Step 5 — Compute net VAT position

Line	Amount
Output tax (VAT collected on sales)	€X
Input tax (VAT recoverable on purchases)	−€X
Net VAT payable / (reclaimable)	€X
Intra-EU ICP sales (informational)	€X

If the net position is negative (reclaimable), note: "You have a VAT credit this quarter. Depending on your filing method, this may be automatically refunded or carried forward."

Step 6 — Flag anomalies

Scan for and flag:

• Invoices with missing or inconsistent VAT codes
• High-value sales (> €2,000) with 0% VAT where standard rate might apply — flag for accountant review
• Intra-EU B2B sales missing customer VAT numbers
• Any transaction categorised as reduced-rate that may not qualify (applies per-country rules)
• Large input tax amounts on purchases that may not be fully recoverable (e.g. mixed-use assets)

Step 7 — Deliver the VAT prep package

Structure the output as:

Header:

VAT Return Prep — [Country] [Quarter] [Year] Prepared: [date] — For review by your accountant — Not tax advice

1. Period summary

• Filing period, filing deadline, country
• Filing frequency (monthly / quarterly)

2. Output tax (sales VAT) Table: category, gross sales, VAT rate, VAT amount

3. Input tax (recoverable VAT on purchases) Table: category, net purchases, VAT rate, VAT recoverable

4. Net VAT position Output tax − Input tax = Net payable / (reclaimable)

5. Intra-EU ICP list (if applicable) Customer VAT numbers, country, total sales — needed for the ICP / Zusammenfassende Meldung / Opgave intracommunautaire handelingen

6. OSS/IOSS note (if applicable) Whether OSS threshold is exceeded; whether sales are reported here or in OSS return

7. Anomalies flagged Numbered list with each flag and action required

8. Next steps

• Confirm VAT numbers for intra-EU customers
• Resolve flagged anomalies with accountant
• File by [deadline]
• Pay by [deadline] (same as filing deadline in most cases)

Guardrails

• Not tax advice. Open every deliverable with this statement.
• State every assumption. VAT rates assumed, reduced-rate goods/services included or excluded, OSS status assumed.
• Don't file anything. Output is prep material.
• v1 scope: NL, DE, BE only. If owner is in FR, ES, IT, or another EU country, note: "VAT return prep for [country] is coming in v2. For now, I can give you a general transaction categorisation — your accountant will need to map it to the local form."

Reference files

• reference/vat-rates.md — VAT rate tables for NL, DE, BE; reduced-rate goods lists
• reference/icp-rules.md — intra-EU B2B rules, reverse charge, VAT number validation
• reference/oss-ioss.md — OSS/IOSS threshold, registration, reporting obligations
• reference/gotchas.md — common errors: wrong VAT codes, missing VAT numbers, mixed OSS/domestic