| 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
- Read
## Business context for country. If not present, ask: "Which country is your business registered in — Netherlands, Germany, or Belgium?"
- Confirm the filing period. Ask: "Which quarter are you preparing — Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4 [year]?" Default to the most recently completed quarter.
- 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
