How to request a VAT refund

What is it for?

When the deductible VAT of a period is greater than the VAT charged, the return shows a Credit to be recovered (field 94). As a rule, the credit is carried forward to the next period (field 96 = 94 − 95). A refund can only be requested under the conditions of art. 22 of the VAT Code (CIVA): in general, when the credit persists 12 months after the period in which the excess began and is above €250; before that, only in the exceptions of paragraph 6 (for example, cessation of activity or a credit above €3,000). fiscaldoo does not validate these conditions: it accepts any request up to the amount in field 94. Confirm them with the certified accountant before you request. To request, you type in field 95 the amount of all or part of the credit. fiscaldoo stores the request, shows the documents that support it and warns of problems before the return is validated.

Pending validation by a certified accountant: refund conditions and deadlines (CIVA art. 22, paragraphs 5 to 7: 12 months, €250, exceptions, guarantee above €30,000) and whether the monthly or quarterly scheme changes them; when it is better to request the refund instead of carrying the excess forward.

When to use it?

• The period closed with a Credit to be recovered, the company wants to receive the VAT instead of carrying it forward and meets the conditions of art. 22 of the CIVA (see “What is it for?”).
• You want to check that the period's documents support the request, before you submit the return.

If VAT is payable, there is no refund: see VAT settlement and the periodic return.

Where to find it?

Accounting › Declare › VAT › What is there to do with the VAT?, in the Supporting lists group, VAT return records. Open the return for the period (for example 2026 / 11). The Edit field 95 button is in the header; Refund requested (field 95) and Refund support list are in the Quadro 06 — manual fields block.

Pending validation by a certified accountant: how the fields cited match the official form of the periodic VAT return, where the fields of the refund request appear.

Before you start

• Fiscal officer profile (or Fiscal administration) to edit field 95. The Accountant sees the return but the edit is refused: “Only the Fiscal Administration and the Fiscal Officer can edit the manual fields of a VAT return.”
• The return for the period is Computed (or in Draft): once Validated it can no longer be edited, and the correction is a replacement return.
• The period has a Credit to be recovered. In the example, November 2026 has €181.70 in field 94: the deductible VAT is €220.80 and the tax in favour of the State (field 92) is €39.10, that is, €27.60 charged plus €11.50 from the credit note adjustment in the corrections article (field 41). Without that note, field 94 would be €193.20. If you requested the refund before that note, open Edit field 95 again and adjust the amount: the screen does not correct it on its own (field 95 can stay above field 94 until you edit it).

Pending validation by a certified accountant: how the fields cited match the official form of the periodic VAT return, in the prerequisites of the refund request.

How to use it

1. Open the return for the period and click Calculate if the amounts are out of date. In the Quadro 06 — fields tab, confirm that field 94 has the credit (€181.70) and that field 95 is zero.

2. Click Edit field 95. The window shows the Declaration, the Value when opened (€0.00), the New amount and the Reason.

3. In New amount, type the amount you request (181,70) and, in Reason, the reason (Pedido de reembolso do crédito de novembro). The reason is mandatory. Click Save.

   The amount 181,70 and the November period only serve to show the screen: since the credit is below €250 and only a few months old, a real request like this depends on one of the exceptions of art. 22, paragraph 6.

4. Reopen the return if the field list does not refresh: field 95 shows €181.70 and field 96 (Excess carried to the next period) becomes “—”. If you request only €100.00, field 96 keeps €81.70.

5. Click Refund support list to see the purchase documents that make up the period's deductible VAT. In the example there is one: FTF/2026/00046.

   The Untaxed column shows €1,000.00 here with a negative sign (−€1,000.00) because of a display defect: the correct amount is positive (the invoice total is €1,230.00).

6. Open the Checks tab and click Run checks. The VAT refund request line should say “The refund requested (181,70) has support: 1 document(s) with 220,80 of deductible VAT in the period (credit of the period: 181,70).”

7. Resolve the Blocking checks the screen shows, Calculate again and validate the return. To submit it, follow the periodic VAT return: fiscaldoo exports the file (Export DP IVA file) and the submission is recorded separately; nothing is sent to the AT from here.

Pending validation by a certified accountant: how the fields cited match the official form of the periodic VAT return, in the steps of the refund request.

Expected result

Field 95 holds the amount requested and field 96 the difference. The edit appears in the Manual edits list (previous value, new value, reason, who and when) and in the audit log. Requesting the refund creates no journal entry: the return only records the request. The VAT receivable is booked later, when the State pays, from the bank statement.

Pending validation by a certified accountant: how the fields cited match the official form of the periodic VAT return, in the expected result of the refund request.

Important notes

The request must be supported

The checks compare the request with the period's documents:

• request greater than the credit: blocking, and the screen itself refuses to save (see “Common problems”);
• no documents with deductible VAT and no excess from the previous period: blocking;
• documents with a supplier without a tax number (NIF), or with an invalid NIF: warning on validation, blocking on submission;
• the same supplier document repeated: warning.

The support list only sees the period's purchase documents; it does not see the excess brought from the previous period (field 61).

Pending validation by a certified accountant: how the fields cited match the official form of the periodic VAT return, in the support list of the refund request.

What validation also checks

In the example, Validate is refused for reasons that have nothing to do with the refund: “The period has 1 unposted entry(ies)…” and “The previous period (October 2026) still has VAT to settle…”. Resolve them first: post or cancel the drafts and settle the previous period.

Common problems

“The refund requested … cannot be greater than the credit to be recovered”

• Symptom: when saving €500.00: “Validation Error: The refund requested (field 95: 500,00) cannot be greater than the credit to be recovered in the period (field 94: 181,70).”
• What to do: lower the amount to that of field 94, or less.

Pending validation by a certified accountant: how the fields cited match the official form of the periodic VAT return, in this refusal of the refund request.

“Some required fields are empty”

• Symptom: without a Reason, the window does not save.
• What to do: type the reason.

“The value cannot be negative”

• Symptom: “Invalid Operation: The value cannot be negative (refund requested, field 95, or opening carry-forward, field 61). How to fix it: type zero or a positive amount.”
• What to do: use zero to withdraw the request, or a positive amount.

Pending validation by a certified accountant: how the fields cited match the official form of the periodic VAT return, in this refusal of a negative amount in the refund request.

The “Edit field 95” button does not appear

• Cause: the return is already Validated or submitted, or the profile is Accountant.
• What to do: with the return validated, use Send back to draft (Fiscal administration) before editing; if it has already been submitted, the correction is a replacement return (see VAT corrections).

Pending validation by a certified accountant: how the fields cited match the official form of the periodic VAT return, in the edit button of field 95 of the refund request.