Before you start
Check your VAT period and basis in Settings, then Business. An Irish business defaults to every two months, and the return uses either the accrual or cash basis set there.
An Irish VAT3 is due on the 23rd of the month after the period ends if you file and pay on ROS.
1. Get the period's documents in
Upload, forward or WhatsApp every receipt, bill and invoice for the period.
2. Get the bank lines in
A bank on Open Banking updates itself. For any other account, import the period's statement as a CSV or PDF.
3. Clear the review list
Deal with anything Capisso flagged: documents it wasn't sure about, and matches it suggested. The return can only be as right as the books.
4. Generate the return
Go to Accounting, then VAT Returns. In the Generate return card, the dates are already set to your current VAT period. Change them if you need another period, then click Generate. The return appears in the table as a Draft.
If your books don't balance, Capisso blocks the return instead of building it on broken books. Fix the imbalance and generate again.
You can generate the same period as often as you like while it is a draft. Each run replaces the draft with the latest figures.
5. Check the boxes
Click Boxes on the row. You'll see T1 (VAT on sales), T2 (VAT on purchases), T3 (net payable), T4 (net repayable), and the statistical boxes PA1, E1, E2, ES1 and ES2. The PDF uses the same saved figures, so the two always agree to the cent.
6. Submit on ROS, then mark it filed
Download the PDF and use it to submit your VAT3 on ROS. Capisso doesn't send it for you.
Then press File on the row. This only records the return in Capisso. It freezes the figures and closes your books up to the period's end date, so a later change can't quietly alter a period you've submitted. If your books changed since you generated the draft, Capisso asks you to regenerate first.
7. VIES and RTD
Lower on the same page, download VIES (your sales to VAT-registered customers in other EU countries) and RTD (your annual Return of Trading Details) as CSV files for ROS.
If something changes later
A filed return never changes and can't be regenerated. To correct one, use the amendment flow.
Help articles in the app
- Generating a VAT return
- Marking a VAT return as filed
- Why VAT generation was blocked (out of balance)
- Downloading VIES and RTD data
- Amending a filed VAT return
- Switching VAT basis: accrual vs cash