European Expenses

Hi bcbjork, thanks for posting on the Community

Sorry that your post wasn't picked up at an earlier point by our team. 

We've put together a guide with the common VAT codes in QuickBooks and the scenarios in which they apply. 

If you need any further guidance choosing which code to use, please consult with your accountant or tax professional. If you don't already have an accountant, you can find a QuickBooks certified accountant near you on our online directory.

Hi @bcbjork 

Technically, No VAT is correct for these - these expenses are outside the scope of UK VAT so should not be recorded on the VAT Return.

https://www.gov.uk/charge-reclaim-record-vat/when-not-to-charge-vat#:~:text=goods%20or%20services%20you%20buy%20and%20use%20outside%20of%20the%20UK

However, for reconciling purposes, I prefer to have all expenses on the VAT Return.  It makes life so much easier when checking sales/expense reports against VAT Returns to have all reports counting the same things.  For that reason I would use Z=0% or Exempt (both have the same effect on the VAT100).  HMRC is not going to be too concerned as long as you aren't trying to reclaim overseas VAT from them.

EU VAT Codes should not be used by GB businesses (a minor technical thing called Brexit that you may have heard of).  They may still be used by NI based businesses for certain transactions.

Unfortunately, Intuit/QBO refuses to update their Common VAT Code page to keep users away from these codes.

Hope this helps.