Redoing or Deleting a VAT Return

Learn when VAT Returns can be deleted or re-done.

Written By Grainne Reidy (Super Administrator)

Updated at February 13th, 2025

Permissions

Only users with the Admin User Role can delete or redo a VAT Return.

The VAT Return must:

  • Be from an open period. This allows for the inclusion of recently added or edited transactions in an existing return. 
  • Use the Invoice-based method.

See:

Submitting Entity VAT Returns (UK & Ireland) 

Setting Up System Users 

 
 

Redoing a Returned VAT Return

Impacted Journals

If the VAT Return is both saved and returned, Journals for VAT will be posted to the:

  • Sales VAT Control account
  • Purchase VAT Control account 
  • VAT Control account

To view the journals created from a returned VAT Return and subsequent reversed journals, go to GL > GL Explorer.

Redoing the VAT Return

  1. Go to the GL VAT Return Listing.
  2. Click Redo against the relevant VAT Return. 
  3. In the pop-up, confirm that you want to redo the Return by clicking OK
  4. This will reverse the already posted journals and set the status of the Return to In Progress. In the VAT Return Listing, the VAT Return with its original linked transactions will be available for editing again. Any valid transactions created since the original Return was submitted will now show in the open return and be available for selection.
 
 

Deleting a Saved Return

You can delete saved VAT Returns if they are not returned. Deleting removes the Return entirely and permanently.

  1. Go to the GL > VAT Return Listing.
  2. If the VAT Return has a status of In Progress rather than Returned, you can click Delete.
  3. In the pop-up, confirm your deletion by clicking OK. This unlinks all transactions associated with that return so they can be included in a new return. 
 
 

Deleting a Returned HMRC Return

It is not possible to redo or delete a Return that was successfully submitted to the HMRC via the Making Tax Digital (MTD) link, and for which AIQ captured a HMRC Vat Return reference number.

However, if the Return was returned in AIQ but not to HMRC (so no reference number was created), it is possible to delete the return - but only in those circumstances. This could happen due to an invalid connection link or failure of the MTD API. In this situation, re-configure the connection to HMRC and re-submit the return.