The vast majority of companies are subject to the obligation to declare and pay VAT (value added tax). Here are our tips for not missing VAT payment deadlines and how to easily pay your VAT online.
When to pay your VAT? VAT payment deadlines
If you are under the simplified VAT regime, you must pay VAT once a year . As a reminder, this VAT regime is possible if:
Your turnover is between €34,400 and €247,000 for the provision of services or between €85,800 and €818,000 for commercial and accommodation activities.
The declaration and payment of VAT must take place before the second working day following May 1 .
➡️ Concretely, for 2022, you will have to complete a declaration before May 2, 2022 for the 2021 financial year.
⚠️ Please note: if your accounting year does not correspond to a calendar year (i.e. from January 1 to Decembe 31), you will have to declare VAT within 3 months following the end of your accounting year.
💡 Please note: if you are in the VAT-based franchise regime, you are exempt from VAT. You have nothing to declare and nothing to pay!
VAT payment dates under the real regime
Your turnover is greater than €247,000 for the provision of services or €818,000 for commercial and housing supply activities.
Here again, there is an exception: if your VAT payable (i.e. the VAT you must pay to the State) is less than €4,000 per year , you can request to make a quarterly declaration . In this case, you therefore declare and pay VAT every 3 months.
The deadline for each month (or quarter) depends on several criteria (legal status (EI, SAS, SARL, etc.), name of the entrepreneur, INSEE number, etc.). In principle, it runs from the 15th to the 24th of the month . The exact date appears in your professional space on the tax website.
➡️ Example: for January 2022, the deadline for submitting your VAT return was between January 17 and 24, 2022. Find the detailed 2022 tax calendar on the tax website .
How to pay your VAT? Paying VAT online
VAT payment is made online from your professional account created on the impots.gouv.fr website . A tele-service has been set up for this purpose by the tax administration and includes the corresponding Cerfa form ( 3517-S-SD ).
Payment by cash or check is no longer possible. If you do not pay your VAT online, you may be subject to penalties 💰.
Opt for EFI mode (computerized form exchange): this means that you make your declaration yourself using simplified forms;
Entrust your declaration to an EDI (electronic data interchange) partner: for example, your accountant can take care of your declaration for you.
To be able to pay, you will need to complete the tax debit authorization and send a SEPA B2B direct debit madate to your bank .
💡 Please note: if you have to pay less than €1,000 in VAT for the year, you are not required to pay these 2 installments. You will therefore pay your full VAT during the annual declaration.
For companies with a real regime, it is simpler: payment must take place every month or every quarter, without a deposit and regularization system.
The VAT collected from your customers with each applicable VAT rate depending on the good or service sold (20%, 10%, etc.);
By declaring online, there is no need to do complicated VAT calculations . The system automatically calculates the VAT due to taxes from the data entered (VAT payable = VAT collected – VAT deductible).
In the same way as for the simplified regime, payment of VAT is made online in your professional space. To get an idea of the boxes to fill out, you can consult the corresponding paper form: it is 3310-CA3-SD .
As with the simplified regime, do not forget to send the SEPA inter-company mandate (or “B2B mandate”) to your bank beforehand.