Taxes and VAT

Invoices and bills carry tax lines. The platform computes tax from configurable rules and feeds periodic tax reports.

Tax codes

Each tax rate is a tax code with:

• Code (e.g. VAT20, GST5, ZERO, OOS).
• Name (Standard VAT 20%, Zero-rated export).
• Rate (%).
• Jurisdiction (country / region).
• Type (input / output).
• Applicable services (freight, customs, warehousing, handling).

Configured in /app/admin/tax-codes. FINANCE_ADMIN role.

Choosing the code

Tax on a line item is picked by:

1. Explicit override on the line (operator set it).
2. Service rule — e.g. international freight = zero-rated; domestic freight = standard rate.
3. Party rule — B2B EU reverse charge, export outside EU = zero, etc.
4. Default for the currency / country.

The platform shows the chosen code on each line so operators can audit. Mis-classification is the #1 tax error; making the code visible and editable per line catches it.

Common scenarios

• International air freight — zero-rated in most jurisdictions.
• Domestic trucking — standard VAT / GST.
• Warehousing — standard VAT / GST.
• Customs brokerage fees — standard.
• Duties / taxes pass-through — not your VAT; recorded as a disbursement, not invoice subject.
• B2B EU — reverse charge (VAT on the customer's side).

Tax on invoices

Invoice shows tax per line and rolls up a tax summary (per code). Customer can clearly see the basis of every tax charged.

Tax on bills (AP)

Vendor invoices carry input tax; auto-captured into the reclaim pool.

Tax reports

• VAT / GST return — net output tax − input tax, per jurisdiction, for a period. Export for filing.
• SAF-T / e-invoicing — in jurisdictions that require it (Portugal, Poland, Hungary, KSA e-invoice, India GSTN), the platform generates required files / API calls.

Reverse charge

EU B2B reverse charge is auto-handled: line shows 0% VAT with the required legend (e.g. "Reverse charge — Article 196 VAT Directive 2006/112/EC"). Customer's VAT is registered; supplier's is 0.

Jurisdictions

Platform ships tax logic for: EU countries, UK, US states (Avalara integration recommended), CA, AU, NZ, IN, SG, AE, SA, MY, JP. Others configurable.