VAT overview

What the VAT overview calculates

Before Billance shows an amount payable, you set up VAT for the active company profile: VAT status (standard taxation or the small business rule under § 19 UStG), the accounting method (accrual, or cash accounting where the tax office has permitted it), the date from which the rule applies, how input tax deduction is handled, the reporting period and — where it is in force — the permanent filing extension. These settings are stored per profile and synchronised across your devices.

The accounting method decides when a transaction counts. Accrual accounting assigns output VAT to the time of supply; prepayments received earlier are assigned to the day they were paid. With cash accounting set up, the recorded incoming payments are decisive instead.

The page shows output VAT, deductible input tax and the calculated difference; a negative result appears as a calculated surplus. Detail cards break down the standard rates and keep reverse charge, intra-community transactions and imports separate. For small businesses Billance calculates neither regular output VAT nor an input tax deduction — special tax cases can still trigger reporting obligations.

Setting VAT up

1. 1

   Choose status and method

   Standard taxation or the small business rule, accrual or cash accounting — and the date from which the chosen rule applies.

2. 2

   Define input tax deduction

   Either by the share stored on the receipt or without an input tax deduction. The share per receipt comes from the category and the receipt data.

3. 3

   Set the reporting period

   Monthly, quarterly or exempt; the permanent filing extension is only enabled when it is actually in force.

4. 4

   Evaluate the period

   Billance adds up output VAT and input tax for the selected period and shows the calculated amount payable.

5. 5

   Work through the hints

   Missing tax breakdowns, foreign-currency receipts and other anomalies are named so you can correct them at the source.

What the overview does

• Output VAT and input tax

  Both sides sit side by side, plus the calculated difference — a negative result as a calculated surplus.

• Accrual and cash accounting

  The chosen method decides whether the time of supply or the incoming payment counts; prepayments are assigned to the day they were paid.

• Small business rule

  Under § 19 UStG Billance calculates no regular output VAT and no input tax deduction but still reports special tax cases.

• Special cases kept apart

  Reverse charge, intra-community transactions and imports are broken out into their own detail cards instead of being mixed into the standard rates.

• Valid-from date

  Rules apply from a date. Periods before the stored start are flagged as a hint rather than quietly miscalculated.

• Data quality hints

  Missing tax breakdowns, a restricted input tax deduction and VAT shown despite small business status are all named.

• Foreign currency handled cleanly

  A German VAT liability is shown in euros only; foreign-currency receipts are never added nominally and are excluded without a documented statutory conversion.

• Per profile and synchronised

  The settings belong to the company profile and are synchronised across your devices.

On desktop and in the app

The overview exists on both platforms and works from the same data.

Free or Premium

The page is a supporting calculation from the data captured in Billance — not a VAT return and not tax advice.

Frequently asked questions about the VAT overview

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