VAT return review

What does this tool do?

You upload the sales record and the purchases record for the tax period (Excel, CSV or PDF), and the tool calculates the return box amounts from your invoices: standard-rated sales, sales to citizens, zero-rated sales, exports and exempt sales, then standard-rated purchases, imports with VAT paid at customs, imports subject to the reverse charge mechanism, zero-rated and exempt purchases, and the net VAT due. It reads both files in your browser, so they are not uploaded to any server.

How are the boxes calculated?

The amounts in the return are exclusive of VAT, and the return calculates the VAT for each box as 15% of its amount. The tool does the same, then compares the calculated VAT with the VAT stated in your file. An example from ZATCA's simplified guide: sales for the period of 30,000 SAR before VAT, so their VAT is 30,000 × 15% = 4,500 SAR, and 30,000 is entered in the standard-rated sales box.

A line with VAT on it is treated as standard-rated. A line without VAT cannot be identified from its amount alone as zero-rated, an export or exempt, so if your file has a “VAT type” column the tool reads it; otherwise you choose its classification once, and you can change any individual line.

What does it flag?

The common errors that the simplified VAT filing guide warns about, together with their row numbers in your file:

• Duplicate invoices in sales, or in purchases from the same supplier with the same invoice number.
• VAT that does not equal 15% of the amount, including an amount entered inclusive of VAT.
• Dates outside the period: sales outside it, and purchases after its end that are deducted in their own period.
• Purchases without a supplier VAT number, or with a number that does not consist of 15 digits.
• Purchases that may not relate to the business, such as fuel, car maintenance, catering and hospitality, for review.
• Exempt sales that require proportional deduction of VAT on shared purchases.
• Missing numbers in the sequence of sales invoices.

Example: a duplicate purchase invoice

Purchase invoice no. INV-5521 for 6,900 SAR with VAT of 1,035 SAR was entered twice. The tool shows both invoices with their rows, and the effect of the duplication, 6,900 × 15% = 1,035 SAR, which would have been deducted without entitlement. If you enter your return figures in the comparison boxes, this same difference appears in the net VAT.

Frequently asked questions

Content last reviewed: 2026-11-03