Can AI check your VAT return? From hours to minutes

Every quarter the same ritual. The VAT return is ready in Exact Online, but is it correct? So you check the categories, run through samples and hope there is no entry without a VAT code among them.

That check can be done differently. With an AI connector on your administration you set your control questions in plain English and get an answer within minutes, with the entries included. In this article you will read what such a VAT check involves, how you carry it out step by step and where the line lies: what you leave to AI and what you keep doing yourself.

What exactly do you check before the return?

A good VAT check revolves around a few fixed questions. Does the turnover in your return match the turnover in your general ledger? Are there sales entries without a VAT code, or with a code that does not belong to that turnover? Are your EU supplies neatly in the right category, and is reverse-charge VAT actually booked as reversed?

The same applies on the purchasing side. You only claim input tax on invoices that qualify for it. One supplier who suddenly charges 21% where you normally see 9% is worth a quick look.

Done manually this means: running reports, exporting to Excel, filtering, comparing. Exactly the work an AI assistant with direct access to your figures is strong at.

How the VAT check with AI works

Through Exact AI Connect you connect your own AI assistant, for example Claude or ChatGPT, directly to Exact Online. The connector uses MCP (Model Context Protocol), the open standard that connects AI assistants to software. How that works technically you can read in our explanation of the connector; for the VAT check what matters most is that the AI reads your real figures and invents nothing.

The check itself is a conversation. You ask for the VAT totals per code of the past quarter and place them next to your draft return. You have the AI search for sales invoices without a VAT code. You request the EU supplies with customer and amount, so you can verify the category for EU supplies. If something stands out, you ask further: which entries are behind it, and which relation do they belong to?

As far as we are concerned such a check belongs in every quarter, even if your return is almost always correct. Precisely because it now takes minutes instead of an afternoon, there is no longer any reason to skip samples.

The deadline for the return over the third quarter is 31 October 2026. That date falls on a Saturday and the Tax Authorities look at the received date of your payment, so arrange it well before then. Plan your check a week earlier and you also have room to book corrections calmly.

What AI does, and what you keep doing

The AI does not file your return and does not take over your responsibility.

What the AI check gives you:

• Reconciliation between general ledger and return categories, without Excel work
• Entries without a VAT code or with a deviating code, surfaced straight away
• EU supplies and reverse-charge VAT clearly brought together
• Comparison with the previous quarter, so outliers stand out

Points of attention:

• You file the return itself in Exact Online or through your filing software; AI Connect is the check beforehand
• Annual corrections such as private use of a car remain the responsibility of you or your bookkeeper
• An AI flags discrepancies; whether something is actually wrong is for you to judge
• If you have doubts about a VAT position, your adviser is the right place to turn

If you find an error during the check, timing is your friend. Before filing, you simply correct the entry and run the check again. If you only discover it after filing, you sort it out with a supplementary return. That is no disaster either, but a correction beforehand is always calmer than a repair afterwards.

How much time does it really save?

That depends on how thoroughly you check now. If you export reports every quarter and compare them in Excel, you can easily spend a few hours on that. Asking the same questions to a connected AI assistant takes minutes, and you can keep asking until you trust it. The biggest gain may not even be in the time, but in the threshold: a check that costs no effort is one you no longer skip.

Frequently asked questions

Can AI file my VAT return?

No. The AI checks your figures and flags discrepancies, but you file it yourself in Exact Online or through your filing software. That keeps the responsibility where it belongs.

Is it safe to give AI access to my bookkeeping?

Yes, provided you set it up properly. Exact AI Connect is ISO 27001 certified and independently pentested. With Essentials we store no financial data: every question goes straight to your accounting package. With Analytics the larger analyses run on a secure copy of your administration within the EU, which we delete as soon as you stop. You decide yourself whether the AI may only read or also write. Read more in our article on handling bookkeeping data and AI safely.

Does this work with my Exact Online subscription?

Yes. The VAT check uses standard reports from Exact Online. For analyses across large datasets, such as multi-year comparisons, you use the trial period or the analytics variant of AI Connect.

Do I need to be able to program for this?

No. You connect your AI assistant once and then ask your questions in plain English.

Example prompts to start with

Copy these questions into your connected AI assistant and adjust them to your own situation:

Give me the total of the sales entries for the third quarter per VAT code.

Which sales invoices from this quarter have no VAT code?

Show the EU supplies (ICP) of this quarter with customer and amount.

Compare the VAT totals per code of this quarter with the previous quarter and name the biggest differences.

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