In the most orderly office, something can go haywire, documents are sent out late or the post office has logistical turmoil. Don't panic when you suddenly see an invoice with an archived date. You still have a chance to recognize it as a business expense.
In the most orderly office, something can go haywire, documents are sent out late or the post office has logistical turmoil. Don't panic when you suddenly see an invoice with an archived date. You still have a chance to recognize it as a business expense.
Have you found an invoice from several months ago, it was delivered too late by the supplier or it was overlooked when posting? You can book it and settle the tax liability according to the following rules.
Income tax - direct costs vs. indirect costs
According to Article 22(6b) of the Personal Income Tax Law, when you, as a taxpayer, settle according to the income and expense ledger, it is possible to record an invoice on or after the invoice date, but no later than the end of the tax year.
Check: → What expenses can a self-employed person can count as a business expense?
If you account for costs using the simplified method, you recognize costs when they are incurred (date of invoice), without dividing them into either direct or indirect costs.
If, on the other hand, you use the accrual method, you have the entire fiscal year to book the cost. In this case, you divide the costs according to their relationship to the income received, i.e. direct and indirect. Direct costs, such as the purchase of commercial goods or subcontracted services, should be booked in the same year in which the revenue was generated. Indirect costs, such as the cost of leasing or renting an office, you book on the date they are incurred or the date the cost invoice is issued. With the latter, if the period is longer than a fiscal year, you divide the costs proportionally between one year and the other.
Example:
Ms. Ania found a fuel invoice in early January 2022, dated September 2021. As she was just preparing the documents for December 2021 for mailing and settlement by the accounting office, she had one last opportunity to put the invoice in an envelope.
VAT - three accounting periods
According to Article 86(10) of the Value Added Tax Law, you have the right to deduct VAT in the period in which the tax liability arose for the transaction, but not earlier than the period in which the VAT invoice was received. In the case of a found or omitted invoice, you can do so in one of the next three accounting periods. If, as a VAT taxpayer, you settle monthly, you can deduct VAT for three consecutive months, if quarterly - you have the right to deduct VAT for three consecutive quarters (counting the first one in which the purchase took place).
It is worth remembering that the settlement of a given cost, depends on the date of your actual receipt of the invoice. If you do not deduct VAT in one of the aforementioned accounting periods then you will be able to make the deduction later as a JPK_V7 correction. You can make such a correction no later than within five years, counting from the beginning of the year in which the right to deduct VAT arose.
Example
Ms. Barbara is a VAT payer and settles quarterly. In May 2021, she received an invoice from a subcontractor and paid it immediately. Unfortunately, during the office move, the invoice went missing. However, it was found in September 2021. Ms. Barbara was therefore able to post the invoice in the third or fourth quarter of 2021.
Found cost invoice - how to record in the P&L?
If you keep a tax ledger, you should book the found invoice according to the date of its issuance, when the accounting period has not yet passed. If it happened after the period closed, you can book it in the next month, in the same tax year.
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