Which input VAT can I claim?
February 12, 2022 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Lina Sauer
Dear tax advisor,
My name is Alexander Schottmann and I operate a small business in the online commerce sector. In the past few months, I have made some investments for which I have paid value-added tax. Now I am wondering which input tax I can claim and how best to take this into account in my VAT return.
Among my investments are the purchase of new office furniture, the renewal of my IT equipment, and the hiring of a designer for the creation of my website. I have paid a considerable amount of VAT for these expenses and want to ensure that I can deduct these costs from my taxes.
I am concerned that I may have overlooked or incorrectly recorded input tax amounts, which could result in a higher tax burden. Therefore, I would be very grateful if you could help me determine the input tax amounts correctly and accurately report them in my VAT return.
Can you please explain to me exactly which input tax I can claim and how I should best prove this? Are there specific deadlines or regulations that I need to follow? And what options are available to ensure that I do not overlook any input tax amounts?
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Kind regards,
Alexander Schottmann
Dear Mr. Schottmann,
Thank you for your inquiry and trust in my expertise as a tax advisor for value added tax. I am happy to explain to you in detail how you can claim input tax on your investments and what you should pay attention to.
First of all, it is important to understand what input tax actually means. The value added tax that you pay on your purchases and investments is called input tax. You can deduct this input tax from the value added tax that you collect from your customers, thereby reducing your tax burden.
In your case, where you have purchased new office furniture, IT equipment, and web design services, you can claim the input tax on these expenses as input tax. However, this is only possible if the purchases and services are used for your business and if the invoices are correctly issued.
To claim the input tax, you must be able to provide the relevant invoices. These invoices must contain all necessary information, such as your name and address, that of the supplier, the date of issue, the quantity and type of goods or services supplied, as well as the net amount and the corresponding value added tax.
It is important that you correctly report the input tax amounts in your value added tax return. You can claim the total amount of value added tax shown on your invoices as input tax. You then enter this amount in the return and subtract it from the value added tax you have received from your customers.
There are no specific deadlines for claiming input tax, but you should make sure to report the input tax in the reporting period in which you received the invoices. Otherwise, there may be additional payments and possibly late payment penalties.
To ensure that you do not overlook any input tax amounts, I recommend carefully checking all invoices and regularly verifying that you have accounted for all input tax amounts. It may also be helpful to keep a list of all investments and expenses made to keep track.
I hope this information is helpful and answers your questions. If you need further assistance or specific examples for calculating input tax, I am happy to help.
Best regards,
Lina Sauer
