How to File a VAT Return of Trading Details (RTD) in Ireland

To file a VAT Return of Trading Details in Ireland, log into the Revenue Online Service, open the RTD form alongside your final VAT 3 of the accounting year, and enter your net (VAT-exclusive) sales and purchase totals split across each VAT rate. The deadline is the 23rd of the month after your accounting period ends for ROS filers, or the 19th for the small number of businesses still permitted to file on paper.¹ The RTD is a statistical return, not a payment form. Revenue uses it to check that your annual totals reconcile with the periodic VAT 3 returns filed through the year.

Who Has to File

Every business with an active Irish VAT registration files an RTD once a year. Turnover is irrelevant. A quiet year is not a pass either: if you had no trading activity, you still submit a nil return by clicking “No Trade Details to Declare” in ROS.¹ The obligation sits in Regulation 24(1) of the Value-Added Tax Regulations 2010, read with the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010.

If your business is part of a VAT group, the nominated group remitter files a single RTD covering all members. Every member remains jointly and severally liable for compliance, so a missed filing by the remitter can be pursued against any of them.²

What Figures Go on the Form

The RTD asks for net totals of your sales (outputs) and purchases (inputs) for the full accounting year, broken down by VAT rate. Every figure is entered net of VAT. You strip the tax out first and report only the underlying amount.¹

As of January 2026, the rate categories you report against are:

23% standard rate, covering most goods and services
13.5% reduced rate, covering construction services, certain fuels, restaurant meals, and similar categories
9% second reduced rate, covering newspapers, printed periodicals, certain sports facilities, and hospitality-related supplies
4.8% livestock rate, covering live cattle, sheep, and other agricultural livestock
0% zero rate, covering exports, most food, children’s clothing, oral medicines, and related goods

The flat-rate compensation percentage for unregistered farmers is 4.5%.³

Exempt Income and Cross-Border Amounts

Income from VAT-exempt activities goes in field E3. If all your supplies are exempt and you only registered to account for intra-EU acquisitions, leave E3 blank.¹

Imports from outside the EU and intra-Community acquisitions from other member states go in separate fields. Services received from abroad where the reverse charge applies to you as the recipient get their own designated fields. Splitting these correctly is what lets Revenue reconcile your RTD against the cumulative VAT 3 totals for the year.

When It Is Due

The RTD covers your full VAT accounting year, which for most businesses runs to 31 December. The deadline depends on how you file:

ROS filers: the 23rd of the month following the end of the accounting period
Paper filers (those exempt from mandatory e-filing): 19 days after the end of the accounting period

For a December year-end filed through ROS, that means 23 January. The RTD becomes available for submission alongside your final VAT 3 of the accounting period.¹ The RTD deadline is separate from your bi-monthly, four-monthly, or semi-annual VAT 3 schedule. A missed VAT 3 and a missed RTD are two different problems with their own consequences.

Filing Through ROS Step by Step

ROS is the standard channel. Log in with your digital certificate, go to the returns filing section, select VAT as the tax type, and choose the RTD option from the dropdown. The form presents fields for each VAT rate category. Enter your pre-calculated net totals for sales and purchases in the relevant boxes.¹

Once every figure is in, ROS asks you to sign and submit by re-entering your login credentials. The system then generates an acknowledgement receipt. Download it and keep it. That receipt is your proof of filing if Revenue ever queries the submission date.

If Your Accountant Files for You

A tax agent can submit the RTD on your behalf through ROS, but they need a Tax Advisor Identification Number (TAIN) and an active agent-client link for your VAT registration. Setting up the link requires an Agent Link Notification with your name, address, tax registration number, and the specific taxes covered. ROS eRegistration is the fastest route.⁴

VAT is one of the few tax heads that allows dual agents, so two separate advisors can be authorised on the same registration. The agent must keep a signed copy of the client mandate for six years.

Fixing a Mistake After You File

Amended RTDs can be filed through ROS, subject to timing limits. You cannot amend on the same day you filed the original, and if you have already filed one amendment, you cannot amend again on the same day as that revision. Updates can take up to three days to work through Revenue’s internal systems.¹

For errors ROS will not let you fix directly, contact Revenue through MyEnquiries. Pick the VAT category and select “ROS – Query re completion of return” as the enquiry type. Give the details of the return concerned and explain what needs to change. Revenue will update the records on their side, including corrections to an incorrectly entered accounting year-end date.

Records Behind the Numbers

Every figure on the RTD must be traceable back to source documents. Revenue expects VAT-registered businesses to hold full records of all VAT-related transactions in enough detail that an inspector can verify each one. That covers invoices, credit and debit notes, receipts, bank statements, cash register tally rolls, VIES records, Intrastat returns, and stamped copies of Single Administrative Documents.⁵

Standard retention is six years, and the same clock applies to records supporting a VAT claim, a Tax Appeals Commission appeal, or any matter under Revenue inquiry. Anything shorter needs written permission from Revenue.⁶

If You Don’t File

Failing to file the RTD carries a penalty of €4,000 under Section 115 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010.⁷ It is a fixed amount, applied whether or not any VAT is owed for the period.

The knock-on effects often hurt more than the fine. Revenue can withhold your Tax Clearance Certificate while returns are outstanding.¹ Without that certificate, you can be locked out of public-sector contracts, certain grants, and licence renewals that need proof of tax compliance. Revenue also routinely holds back VAT refunds while returns are outstanding, which can freeze cash flow for businesses that regularly claim. A flagged tax record raises the likelihood of a broader audit across other tax heads.

Where a late or inaccurate RTD leads to identifying underpaid VAT on a related periodic return, interest runs at a daily rate of 0.0274% from the day after the original due date for that VAT 3. For ROS filers who miss the extended 23rd-of-the-month deadline, the interest calculation reverts to the original 19th plus one day.⁸

Common Errors to Watch For

The most frequent mistake is entering VAT-inclusive figures instead of net amounts. Every field on the RTD wants the tax stripped out. If your accounting software reports gross totals by default, back the VAT out before typing anything in.

Misclassifying the rate category is the next most common problem, especially for businesses selling across multiple rates. A restaurant might need to split revenue between 9% for certain tourism-related supplies and 23% for alcohol, and a wrong allocation throws off the reconciliation against the VAT 3 totals. When Revenue spots a mismatch, the first assumption is an error rather than fraud, but you will still be asked to explain it and probably to file an amendment.

Exempt income gets forgotten regularly. If any of your income comes from VAT-exempt activities such as insurance or financial services, it still needs to appear in the exempt field on the RTD. Leaving it out opens a gap between your reported turnover and what Revenue expects from other data sources, and that gap will draw attention.

1
Revenue Commissioners. VAT Return of Trading Details
2
Revenue Commissioners. Transitional VAT Groups
3
Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Current VAT Rates
4
Revenue Commissioners. Guidelines for Agents or Advisors Acting on Behalf of Taxpayers
5
Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. Keeping VAT Records
6
Revenue Irish Tax and Customs. How Long Do You Keep Records For?
7
Law Reform Commission. Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 – Section 115 – Penalties Generally
8
Revenue Commissioners. Guidelines for Charging Interest on Late Payment