Work on your VAT201

What the VAT201 screen does

The VAT201 screen adds up the VAT you charged on your sales and takes away the VAT you paid on your purchases. What is left is what you owe SARS, or what SARS owes you back. It does the sum for you so you can see the number before you file.

Worklog does not submit the return for you. You still fill in and submit the actual VAT201 on SARS eFiling. Think of this screen as a helper that works out the figures.

Before you start

You need to be VAT registered and have your VAT number saved in Worklog. If it is missing, the screen will say you are not VAT registered and give you a link to add it.

1. Open SARS.
2. In the Business tax details block, tap Edit.
3. Type your VAT number, then choose your VAT period by tapping Monthly or Bi-monthly (the two-month cycle).
4. Tap Save details. The VAT201 screen will now group the right months together.

Read your VAT for a period

1. Open SARS and choose the VAT tab. The link at the top of the screen takes you back.
2. Use the ‹ and › arrows at the top to move to the period you want. The month, or month-pair, you are looking at shows in the middle.
3. Read the dark blue card. Output VAT (on sales) is the VAT you charged. Input VAT (on purchases) is the VAT you paid to suppliers.
4. The bottom line shows VAT payable if you owe SARS, or VAT refund due if SARS owes you. That is Output VAT minus Input VAT.

Your turnover split (VAT201 fields 1–3)

Above the amount card is a white card headed Supplies this period (excl. VAT). It splits your sales turnover, before VAT, into the three lines the VAT201 asks for:

• Standard-rated (15%) — the sales you charge 15% VAT on. Only these produce Output VAT.
• Zero-rated (0%) — sales taxed at 0%, like exports or certain basic foods. Declared, but they carry no VAT.
• Exempt — supplies that fall outside VAT altogether.
• Total turnover — the three added together.

Where the numbers come from

The screen pulls from what you have already captured in Worklog for the dates in that period.

• Output VAT adds the VAT on your invoices for the period, plus VAT on cash or bank income you logged that was not linked to an invoice, like a till sale or a card tap.
• Income that is already matched to an invoice is not counted twice.
• Input VAT is the VAT on the supplier invoices you recorded for the period.
• Credit notes reverse VAT: a customer credit note comes off your Output VAT, a supplier credit note off your Input VAT.

A worked example

1. You log a sale of R1 150 including VAT (or issue an invoice for it). Worklog books R1 000 as standard-rated turnover and R150 as output VAT.
2. You pay a supplier R230 and tick “15% VAT” on the line — or capture it from a supplier invoice that carries VAT. R30 becomes input VAT.
3. Your VAT201 for that period reads: output R150 − input R30 = R120 payable. eFiling's own total should match this to the cent.

Three rules that keep the return honest

• Records from before your VAT registration carry no VAT and stay off the return entirely — they weren't taxable supplies, and including them would misstate your turnover.
• An imported or captured expense claims nothing until you tick the claim on its line. Worklog never assumes a debit order carries VAT — over-claiming to SARS is the worse mistake.
• Imported income is treated as standard-rated unless you say otherwise — mark zero-rated sales (basic foods, exports) on the line so field 2 comes out right.

If you have raised credit notes

If you credited a customer, or a supplier credited you, during the period, the affected line on the blue card says so — Output VAT or Input VAT shows a small note that it is already net of those credit notes. The figures on the card are the netted ones, so the column adds up exactly to the VAT payable, and your turnover split above is netted the same way — the whole return moves together and stays honest.

Mark a period as filed

After you have submitted the return on SARS eFiling, you can note it in Worklog so you have a record.

1. Make sure you are on the right period.
2. Tap the ✔️ Mark VAT201 as filed button.
3. The screen then shows Marked as filed for that period, and it appears in your Filing history list at the bottom with the amount and the date it was filed.

Share the figures

The 📤 Share report button sends the period's figures — your supplies split, Output and Input VAT, any credit-note lines, and the amount payable or refundable — out through your phone's share sheet. It is an easy way to send the summary to your accountant, for example over WhatsApp.

If you are not sure

Worklog keeps your records, it does not give tax advice. If your VAT situation is complicated or you are unsure what to declare, speak to SARS or a registered tax practitioner or accountant.