Many companies fail to reclaim their foreign VAT – either because they forget it because they do not know that it is an option or because it is too demanding.
Reclaiming your foreign VAT does not have to be a complicated process. Read more here as we look at a handful of frequently asked questions about foreign VAT refund and tell you about your options of reclaiming your foreign VAT.
What is foreign VAT refund?
Danish VAT-registered companies can reclaim the VAT they have paid abroad in connection with business travels. Unfortunately, many fail to do this, and they therefore throw away the opportunity of getting a significant amount of money back from the tax authorities.
VAT refund for expenses abroad includes VAT for travel and subsistence expenses – but also food, catering and hotel expenses, as well as transportation costs for taxi, plane tickets and car rental. Therefore, there are favorable conditions for VAT refund if your company has sent employees on a business trip abroad.
How do I get VAT refund for my expenses?
There are different ways to apply for a foreign VAT refund. There is the difficult process many businesses try to avoid – and then they are the user-friendly and easy ways.
The difficult way to reclaim your foreign VAT is to send an electronic request via the business self-service (TastSelv Erhverv) at the tax administration office. However, this method is circumstantial because you must both have your name, address, branch code, application period, bank details and a number of other information ready.
Additionally, you need to be aware of the fact that countries outside the EU such as Norway and Switzerland make additional requirements for copy of purchase documents when exceeding certain limits and you might risk that the country for which you seek reimbursement ask for additional documentation.
How do I avoid difficulties with foreign VAT refund?
At Acubiz we would like to make the reclaiming process easier for our customers. Therefore, we have, in cooperation with Cash Back, developed a simple and automatic VAT refund service. The service is an add-on to our digital travel billing system, Acubiz EMS, which automates the expense management process, invoice management and foreign VAT refund. With these services your company will save time, money and avoid the inconvenience of manually entering expenses into SKAT’s self-service function.
How do I get Acubiz EMS?
If your company is interested in hearing more about Acubiz’s automatic foreign VAT refund, you are always welcome to contact us for a non-mandatory chat.
