SparkReceipt takes a receipt's VAT from the VAT figures printed on it, such as a VAT total or a VAT summary by rate. Many supermarket till receipts print no VAT figure at all. They only mark each row with a VAT class, for example a star before the name or a letter after the amount. On such a receipt the VAT is stored as 0.00 unless the line items carry it. You can add it yourself by setting the VAT rate on the line items.
When SparkReceipt keeps the VAT of the rows
SparkReceipt keeps the VAT worked out for each row when all of these are true:
- Line items were extracted. Every scan on the Elite plan extracts line items, and other plans get a five-scan trial. An admin, the owner or an Accountant can switch extraction off in Account settings → Document scanning. See Can SparkReceipt categorize individual line items from my receipts?
- The prices include VAT and the receipt prints no VAT breakdown.
- The rows carry different rates, such as household goods at 20% next to zero-rated food, or cakes at 13.5% next to drinks at 23% on an Irish receipt.
- The line items add up to the printed total.
A receipt whose rows all carry the same rate still stores zero VAT. A marketplace order that prints no VAT figure is a common example.
How to add the VAT yourself
Open the document and set the right VAT rate on each line item. SparkReceipt works the VAT out of each line's price, and the total stays the same.
When every line item has the same rate, or none, you can instead click the rate under the tax amount in the web app and pick one of your Tax rates. It goes on every line. See Can I split the tax rate for different tax %?, under "Editing the total".