How deductible VAT is split onto separate payroll lines

When a single expense becomes two Flex HRM rows: one net and one for VAT.

Most expenses become one row in the payroll export, but some become two: a net row and a separate row for the deductible VAT (avdragsgill moms). This only happens when a category or benefit is set up to report VAT on its own payroll code, and it lets you book the VAT to a different account from the net cost. This article explains exactly when the split happens, how the two amounts are worked out, and when a row is left off.

When an expense splits

A single expense is split into two rows only when all of these are true:

• It is a reported expense (an expense report with a receipt), not a Benefit Store purchase.
• It is not a benefit in kind (BIK). BIK expenses, like healthcare or taxable wellness over the threshold, are never split.
• The category or benefit has a Löneart avdragsgill moms payroll code set in Benefit Settings.
• The expense has a VAT rate above zero.

If any one of these is not met, the expense stays as a single row.

What each row carries

When an expense splits, the covered amount (what the allowance pays) is divided into two parts:

• The net row carries the amount excluding VAT, booked to Löneart netto.
• The VAT row carries the deductible VAT, booked to Löneart avdragsgill moms.

Both rows use the same employee number (Anstnr); only the payroll code (Löneartsnr) and the amount (Belopp) differ.

How the amounts are calculated

The starting point is the covered amount: the VAT-inclusive sum the benefit allowance actually pays for the expense. The split divides that figure:

• Net amount = covered amount divided by (1 + VAT rate). For 25% VAT that is the covered amount divided by 1.25.
• VAT amount = covered amount minus the net amount.

The two always add back up to the covered amount, so nothing is gained or lost in the split.

When only part of the cost is covered

The split always works from the covered amount, never the full receipt. If the allowance only covers part of the cost (for example a receipt larger than the remaining balance), the net and VAT rows are worked out from the covered portion alone. Anything the employee paid beyond what the allowance covers is not on the payroll file at all, so it is not split either.

When a row is left off

A row is only written if it carries a real amount:

• If either the net amount or the VAT amount rounds to zero, that row is omitted.
• If the net payroll code is blank, the expense produces no rows.
• Benefit in kind (BIK) expenses and Benefit Store purchases never split, even if a VAT payroll code is configured for them.

Troubleshooting

• I expected two rows but only see one. Check the four conditions above. The most common reasons are a VAT rate of 0% on the expense, a BIK category, or no code in the Löneart avdragsgill moms field.
• The two amounts look off by a cent. Each row is rounded to two decimals on its own, so the net and VAT rows always sum back to the covered amount within a cent.
• A purchase did not split. Benefit Store purchases are never split. Only reported expenses with a receipt can produce a VAT row.