How do I stop Box 3 and/or Box 5 being shown in error despite being calculated correctly in my spreadsheet.

It is likely the problem you are facing is due to a rounding error. HMRC always round values down to the nearest penny while Excel will either round up or round down depending on the decimal value. For example:

If you have a value of 1234.567 in Excel and the cell is set to a Number and 2 decimal places, the value would be rounded up to 1234.57. Whereas, HMRC would expect the value to be rounded down to 1234.56.

To resolve this issue so you can submit your VAT return, perform one of the following actions:

  • Round down the box 3 and/or box 5 value in your Excel spreadsheet.
  • Leave the box 3 and/or box 5 Sheet Name and Cell values blank in the Submit VAT Return window. This causes Easy MTD to calculate the values in the way expected by HMRC.

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