I am trying to reconcile the VAT per the year end VAT Return to the balance in the Trial Balance I am really struggling can anyone help

I'll help you reconcile your VAT transactions in QuickBooks Online, @lucy32.

When reconciling your VAT return, the transactions in your printed VAT Return Transactions report should be matched to the summary of debit and credit balances in your Trial Balance report or any Vatable reports in QuickBooks. 

If you're unable to match your transactions, here are the possible reasons why:  

• The report may have been generated with a different date range to the VAT period.
• Some of your transactions may have been entered using a VAT code that was not set to appear on the VAT Return. You can see these transactions on the VAT Return transactions - Codes Not Included in the VAT Return report. This is printed with the VAT Return.
• The VAT Return reports include transactions dated before the start of the VAT period covered by the VAT Return but were entered after the previous VAT Return was generated. These transactions will not be included in the Vatable Transactions reports.

To match your transactions, let's make sure that the date range in the Trial Balance report is matched to your VAT report period. 

Here's how:

1. Go to Reports and open the Trial Balance report.
2. Filter the period by clicking the Report period drop-down list. You can also select Custom to customise the report date.  
3. Once done, click Run report and compare it to your real-life VAT return transactions report.

In addition, you can customise this report to show the specific data that you needed. 

I'd also recommend double-checking the VAT Return transactions report and make sure that the VAT code you're using is similar to the one's you've entered in QuickBooks. This might help you find the discrepancy.

If you are unable to match the difference in totals based on these criteria, I'd recommend checking the individual transactions manually until you locate the difference.

You can also reach out to your accountant for further guidance in reconciling your VAT transactions. This way, they can help you find any discrepancies in your reports.

Please know that our doors are always open to help you with any QuickBooks-related concerns. Take care and enjoy the day!