Why does the VAT return say «Payment has been registered» when I haven't done anything?
Have you submitted a VAT return and found that the payment step is already marked as done, even though nobody on the accounting team has registered a payment? That is not an error. The Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) does not collect or pay out very small amounts, and Catacloud follows this rule automatically.
How it works
Once you have sent the VAT return to Altinn, Catacloud fetches the payment information from the Tax Administration. What happens next depends on the amount:
Amount to pay / to be refunded | What the system does | What you need to do |
Below NOK 100 (but not exactly NOK 0) | Automatically posts the amount between the VAT settlement account and the rounding difference account, and sets the payment step to «Payment has been registered» | Nothing – the settlement is already complete |
Exactly NOK 0 | Posts nothing. The Payment step stays without a check mark | Nothing – there is nothing to pay |
NOK 100 or more | Waits in the Payment step | Click Register payment and fill in Payment date, Total amount and Payment method. If you choose a bank account with a bank integration as the payment method, the payment is sent to the bank, and the step is completed automatically once the payment has gone through. |
You can see the status under Accounting → VAT return, in the Payment step for the period in question.
Why does Catacloud do this?
The Tax Administration does not collect or pay out VAT settlements below a certain limit – in practice, such a small amount will never arrive as a bank payment. If Catacloud instead left the VAT return waiting for a payment that never comes, it would stay «open» in the accounts indefinitely. That is why the system posts the amount as a rounding difference and marks the settlement as done.
The rules are described in the Tax Administration's tax payment handbook (Skattebetalingshåndboken), chapter 10 on due dates (in Norwegian): skatteetaten.no – chapter 10, due dates.
What about exactly NOK 0?
If the amount is exactly NOK 0, there is nothing to pay and nothing to post. The payment step still stays without a check mark, and it is currently not possible to register a payment of NOK 0. This does not affect the accounts, and you don't need to do anything.
When should you contact us?
Get in touch in the chat if:
The amount that was posted automatically looks wrong.
The VAT return says «Payment has been registered», but you are unsure whether that matches what was sent to or from the Tax Administration.
Include the client, period and amount so we don't have to ask again. Questions about whether an amount should be posted to a different account are an accounting judgement and should go to your accountant.