The Quarterly VAT Return Checklist for Maltese Businesses

For Article 10 businesses in Malta, the VAT return comes around every quarter, and it is only stressful when your records are not ready. With a simple routine, filing becomes a short job. Here is a clear checklist for getting your Maltese VAT return right and on time.

When is your VAT return due?

Standard (Article 10) registrations file quarterly. The return and payment are due by the 15th of the second month after the VAT period ends, with an extra 7 days when you file and pay online through the Malta Tax and Customs Authority portal. So for a quarter ending 31 March, you are looking at mid-May. Missing the deadline risks a penalty and interest on unpaid VAT, so diarise every quarter.

Output VAT vs input VAT

A VAT return is essentially one subtraction. You add up the output VAT you charged customers on sales, subtract the input VAT you paid on business purchases, and pay the difference to the authority, or reclaim it if your inputs exceeded your outputs. Getting this right depends entirely on having complete, correctly-rated records for the quarter.

Your quarter-end checklist

• All sales invoices for the period issued and recorded, with VAT shown per rate;
• All credit notes issued and linked to their invoices;
• All purchase invoices with valid VAT collected for input claims;
• Correct VAT rate applied to each line (18/12/7/5/0%);
• Cross-border sales treated correctly and ready for the recapitulative statement;
• Totals for output VAT, input VAT and the net figure reconciled;
• Return submitted and payment made by the deadline.

Remember the recapitulative statement

If you supplied goods or reverse-charge services to VAT-registered businesses elsewhere in the EU, you also file a recapitulative statement (EC Sales List). See our guide to invoicing EU clients for how those sales should be invoiced in the first place.

Common errors that trigger queries

• Gaps or duplicates in invoice numbering;
• One blended VAT total instead of VAT per rate;
• Claiming input VAT without a valid VAT invoice;
• Forgetting credit notes, so output VAT is overstated;
• Treating an EU B2B sale as a domestic one.

Registered under Article 11?

If you are an Article 11 small undertaking you do not file quarterly returns; you submit a simpler annual declaration and do not charge or reclaim VAT. Our Article 10 vs 11 guide explains the difference.

Make filing a non-event

The work of a VAT return is really the record-keeping during the quarter; the filing itself is easy if those records are clean. invoices.mt keeps every invoice and credit note correctly rated and numbered as you go, and lets you pull a clear summary of output VAT by rate for any period, so you or your accountant can complete the return in minutes instead of digging through spreadsheets. Start free.