VAT and records
VAT return
A VAT return is the periodic declaration a VAT-registered business files with ZATCA, summarising its sales, output VAT and input VAT for a tax period. It is due by the end of the month after the period ends, and the taxpayer files it on ZATCA's own portal.
What it means
The return is where a registered business tells the Authority how much VAT it charged, how much it paid and what is left to settle for the period. The length of the period depends on size: monthly if annual taxable supplies exceed SAR 40 million, and quarterly for everyone else. Knowing your period is the first step, before any date or figure.
The deadline is the end of the month after the tax period ends. A quarterly filer whose period ends on 31 March therefore has until the end of April. Missing a date is avoidable, so put each due date in a shared calendar rather than relying on one person's memory. Decide who will check the figures and who will file the return, so neither assumes the other has done it.
Your invoicing system supplies the numbers, but it does not file for you. Fatooraz gives you VAT reports with your sales and purchase VAT totals; the taxpayer, say a cafe owner or the accountant, checks them against the records and files the return on ZATCA's portal. Reviewing the report a few days before the deadline leaves time to correct a missing purchase invoice.
In practice
- Find out whether your tax period is monthly or quarterly.
- Diary the due date: the end of the month after the period closes.
- Run the VAT report and check it against sales and purchase invoices.
- File the return yourself on ZATCA's portal; Fatooraz does not file it for you.
Questions about VAT return
How often do I file a VAT return?
Quarterly for most businesses. A taxpayer whose annual taxable supplies exceed SAR 40 million files monthly instead. In both cases the return is due by the end of the month that follows the tax period, so a quarter that closes in June is due by the end of July.
Does Fatooraz file my VAT return for me?
No. Fatooraz gives you VAT reports built from the sales and purchases recorded in the system, and you use those totals when you file. The filing itself is done by the taxpayer on ZATCA's own portal. Keep the report as a working paper, so you can show where each figure came from, and put the due date in your calendar from the start of the period.
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