1st Jan - VAT Changes - automate WHMCS to update invoices

[TheHostingHeroes]

Hi

 

For those wanting to change VAT for invoices from Jan 1st, run the following in phpMyAdmin (thanks to WHMCS support for these):

 

UPDATE tblinvoices SET tax=subtotal*0.175,taxrate=17.5 WHERE taxrate=15 AND duedate>='2010-01-01' AND status='Unpaid';

UPDATE tblinvoices SET total=subtotal+tax WHERE duedate>='2010-01-01' AND status='Unpaid';

Personally I am going to run it a few times before to update those invoices already generated and then get paid early by the users.

[aXeR]

Whats the deal with VAT, are we supposed to charge 17.5% on invoices *created* on or after the 1st of Jan or any invoices *due* on or after the 1st of Jan or does it not matter which?

[Stephen]

You can get a definitive answer from HMRC themselves:

 

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/forms-rates/rates/rate-changes.htm#2

[Vooservers]

Whats the deal with VAT, are we supposed to charge 17.5% on invoices *created* on or after the 1st of Jan or any invoices *due* on or after the 1st of Jan or does it not matter which?

 

I spoke to our accountant about this and she said if the invoice is generated before the 1st you can still charge 15% VAT even though the service is actually being provided across January. However HMRC being HMRC you can also choose to charge 17.5% if you wish but you don't have to do it across the board and you can pick and choose with certain limitations as to who you want to charge what VAT rate. It may not have explained it quite correctly so it is best to check with your accountant or HMRC.

 

Edit: If you do speak to HMRC make sure you get a reference number!

Edited December 21, 2009 by Vooservers

[thehost5968]

if the invoice is generated before the 1st you can still charge 15% VAT even though the service is actually being provided across January.

This is wrong as the VAT is due on a Recurring payment when the payment is due as that is the tax point.

 

New sales have 17.5% as of the 01/01/2010.

 

And all new and Recurring sales before 01/01/2010 can have 15% or 17.5% added but you must pay the VAT man which one you apply.

[DF-Duncan]

You really should be doing exactly what you did 12 months ago to keep everything consistent.

[thehost5968]

Continuous supplies of services

 

If you provide a continuous supply of services, such as leasing of photocopiers, you should account for the VAT due whenever you issue a VAT invoice or receive payment, whichever is the earlier. You must charge 17.5 per cent on invoices you issue and payments you receive on or after 1 January 2010. You may, if you wish, charge 15 per cent on the services you’ve provided in the period up to 31 December 2009 and 17.5 per cent on the remainder. If you choose to do this you will have to be able to demonstrate that the apportionment is fair.

 

This covers most of us as we are only leasing web/server space

[UH-Simon]

We run our whmcs as tax inclusive so need to correct all the invoices due Jan 1st onwards to be 17.5%, not sure if that alters the command to be used (being tax inclusive) as we do NOT want our inc VAT prices to change, just the amount of VAT and ex. VAT price shown on invoices due Jan 1st onwards to change.

[aXeR]

Is there a quick way to replace existing 'Level 1' tax rules?

[Matt]

Yes, you can run this query to update all your EU tax rules to the new 17.5% in one go:

 

UPDATE tbltax SET taxrate=17.5 WHERE taxrate=15;

 

Matt

[UH-Matt]

Really everyone needs to be using this code if you have your system generating invoices in advance, because towards the end of december your whmcs is likely to have generated invoices for service in JANUARY which is using 15% tax rather than 17.5% tax, assuming all you did was change the tax rate on 31st december to the correct rate?

 

We have our pricing set to including VAT pricing, so the code cyberhostpro has kindly provided will not suit us, as it uses the subtotal to work out new tax amount, we need to use our "total" field and work backwards.

 

I am working on this now to correct the 14 days of invoices our system will have done incorrectly (we do invoices 14 days in advance, so those created 17th dec to 31st dec will have been created with 15% tax, even though service is supplied in January, and will need correcting.

[aXeR]

Hi Matt,

 

My understanding is that you do not need to re-invoice people that you sent invoices too prior to 1st Jan but were due after, you can still charge them 15% VAT but will need to make a note of who has paid what otherwise you will end up paying 17.5% to HMRC regardless!

[thebyp]

This is an excellent thread, I was going to do this manually!