If you're transferring your VAT compliance to hellotax partway through a financial year, we may need copies of your previously submitted VAT returns before we can begin managing your filings.

This is particularly important in Germany, Italy, and Spain, where annual VAT reporting requirements mean that information from earlier filing periods may be needed to prepare accurate annual returns.

This article explains why we request previous VAT returns, which documents you may need to provide, and how this helps ensure a smooth transition to hellotax.

Why Does hellotax Need My Previous VAT Returns?

When you join hellotax during an ongoing financial year, your previous VAT returns may have been prepared and submitted by another tax agent, accountant, or service provider.

In countries with annual VAT reporting obligations, the annual return may need to include information covering the entire reporting year, including periods before hellotax took over your VAT compliance.

To ensure that your annual VAT return is prepared accurately, we need to understand what has already been reported to the tax authorities.

Collecting these documents helps us:

• Establish the VAT amounts previously declared during the year.
• Identify the filing periods already completed.
• Ensure that information from earlier periods is available for annual reporting.
• Reduce the risk of missing information, inconsistencies, or delays when preparing your annual VAT return.

Which Countries Does This Apply To?

The requirement is particularly relevant when transferring VAT compliance to hellotax mid-year in the following countries:

Important: Annual reporting obligations and exemptions vary by country and taxpayer. hellotax will confirm which documents are required for your specific VAT compliance setup.

What Documents Do I Need to Provide?

If you are joining hellotax partway through the reporting year, please provide:

1. Copies of previously submitted VAT returns for the current reporting year, covering all filing periods before hellotax takes over.
2. Submission confirmations or acknowledgements, where available, showing that the returns were filed with the relevant tax authorities.
3. Details of any corrections or amendments submitted for those periods, where applicable.

If your previous accountant or VAT service provider handled these filings, you may need to request copies directly from them.

When Should I Submit These Documents?

We recommend providing your previous VAT returns during the onboarding process, together with your other requested VAT registration and compliance documents.

Our team may request these documents during your welcome call or subsequent document collection.

Providing them early helps avoid delays when preparing your annual VAT filings.

What Happens If I Cannot Obtain My Previous Returns?

If you do not have access to your previously submitted VAT returns, please inform your hellotax contact as soon as possible.

Our team can review the situation and advise what information is needed to proceed.

Missing historical filing information may affect our ability to prepare annual VAT returns accurately or meet the relevant filing deadlines.

Does hellotax Review or Correct My Previous VAT Returns?

Previous VAT returns are collected primarily to support the preparation of your ongoing and annual VAT filings.

Providing these documents does not automatically mean that hellotax will audit, verify, or correct returns submitted by your previous service provider.

If errors or discrepancies are identified, additional review or amendment services may be required, depending on the circumstances and your service agreement.

How Can hellotax Help?

Our team will guide you through the onboarding process and confirm which previous VAT returns and supporting documents are required.

By collecting this information at the beginning of your service, we can help ensure continuity in your VAT compliance and support the accurate preparation of your annual VAT reporting obligations.

If you have questions about your previous filings or the documents required, please contact your hellotax Account Manager or our Support Team.