GST, VAT and Sales Tax Essentials
Indirect tax mechanics, returns and common mistakes.
Taught by Manisha Bhattarai · ACCA, Finance Manager
What you'll learn
- Explain how output tax, input tax and the net amount payable work in a VAT or GST system
- Decide when a business must or should register and choose between standard and simplified schemes
- Issue compliant tax invoices and apply standard, reduced, zero-rated and exempt treatments correctly
- Prepare and file a periodic return including adjustments, credit notes and bad debt relief
- Handle exports, imports, the reverse charge and digital services sold across borders
- Configure tax codes in accounting software and reconcile the tax control account to the filed return
About this course
Every business that sells goods or services has to deal with indirect tax, whether it is called VAT in the UK and Europe, GST in Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore and Canada, or sales tax in the United States. This beginner course is for business owners, bookkeepers, ecommerce sellers and junior accountants who need to register at the right time, charge the right rate, issue valid tax invoices, claim input tax correctly and file returns without penalties. You will learn how output and input tax work, what registration thresholds look like, how to handle exempt and zero-rated supplies, how cross-border sales, imports and the reverse charge operate, how US sales tax nexus differs from VAT, and how to set up tax codes in Xero, QuickBooks or Zoho Books and reconcile the tax control account. No prior tax knowledge is needed. Rates and thresholds change, so always confirm current figures with your tax authority.
Course content
7 lessons- 1How Indirect Tax Works: Output Minus InputThe credit mechanism behind VAT and GST, who really bears the tax, and the journals for a simple period.Preview
- 2Registration, Thresholds and SchemesWhen registration is compulsory, when voluntary registration pays off, and the simplified schemes for small businesses.
- 3Tax Invoices, Rates, Zero-Rated and Exempt SuppliesWhat a valid tax invoice must contain, how to apply each rate and why exempt is not the same as zero-rated.
- 4Preparing and Filing the ReturnCompile the period return from the ledger, handle credit notes, adjustments and bad debts, and pay on time.
- 5Cross-Border Basics: Exports, Imports and the Reverse ChargePlace of supply, zero-rated exports, import tax at the border, the reverse charge and digital services rules.
- 6US Sales Tax: Nexus, Exemptions and MarketplacesHow US sales tax differs from VAT, economic nexus since Wayfair, exemption certificates and marketplace rules.
- 7Software Setup, Reconciliation and Common MistakesConfigure tax codes correctly, reconcile the control account to the filed return and avoid the errors auditors find.