VAT 201 return filing software for the UAE
The VAT 201 is nine boxes and most of them are arithmetic. The two that are not — the recoverable input VAT after apportionment, and the adjustments for bad debts and capital assets — are where the errors and the penalties live, and no system can derive them from documents alone.
| Box | Description | Amount | VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Standard rated supplies (by emirate) | 1,061,000.00 | 53,050.00 |
| 3 | Reverse charge supplies | 84,000.00 | 4,200.00 |
| 4 | Zero rated supplies | 116,400.00 | 0.00 |
| 5 | Exempt supplies | 38,000.00 | — |
| 9 | Recoverable input VAT | 624,800.00 | 31,240.00 |
What the return module does
Every box traced to documents
Each figure opens into the invoices and bills behind it, so a number that looks wrong can be interrogated rather than argued about.
Box 1 split by emirate
From the place of supply on each invoice, not from your registration address — which is the most common source of a wrong box 1.
Reverse charge in both places
Output and input posted together, so imported goods and services net correctly rather than inflating one side.
Zero-rated and exempt separated
Different boxes and different input-recovery consequences, kept apart rather than merged into "no VAT".
A worksheet for the rest
Bad-debt relief, the capital assets scheme and exempt apportionment entered deliberately, because they cannot be derived from documents.
A readiness check first
Missing TRNs, unclassified supplies and expenses with no valid tax invoice listed before you file.
VAT return questions
Does tBiz file the VAT 201 with the FTA?
No. It computes every box from your books, checks them and gives you the figures to file on the FTA portal with your own credentials. Software that files on your behalf is holding your portal login, which is a separate decision worth making deliberately.
Why does box 1 need to be split by emirate?
Because the return asks for it, and the split is by the place of supply rather than where you are registered. A Sharjah company delivering into Dubai reports that supply against Dubai, and getting this wrong is one of the most common corrections the FTA raises.
How is bad-debt relief handled?
Through the worksheet, entered deliberately against the invoices it relates to. It depends on conditions — how long the debt has been outstanding and what you have done about it — that no system can infer from a document, so it is a decision you record rather than a figure we invent.
What if I make exempt as well as taxable supplies?
Input VAT has to be apportioned, and the method and the calculation go in the worksheet. tBiz gives you the taxable and exempt totals to apportion against and records what you decided, which is what you will need if the calculation is ever questioned.
Related
Run a quarter before you file
Start free, enter a quarter of invoices and bills, and see the VAT 201 working build itself box by box.