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Temu settlement report columns and which VAT box they go in
The Temu settlement report has 17 columns. Seller Spring Settled reads most of them and uses them to build the figures for the UK VAT return: product, shipping and incentive tax go to Box 1, net sales go to Box 6, and Temu's fees, advertising and return labels go to Boxes 4 and 7.
This guide goes through each column in the order it appears in the report. The treatment follows HMRC guidance as documented for Settled. Confirm your own position with your accountant before you file.
The columns and their VAT boxes
All example figures on this page are made up and rounded. They are not taken from a real report.
| Column | What it contains | Where Settled puts it |
|---|---|---|
| Date/time | When the transaction was recorded. | Sets the period covered. No box. |
| Transaction type | The kind of line, for example an order payment, a refund, advertising or a transfer. | Decides how the line is treated. Transfers out to your bank are kept out of the VAT figures. |
| Order ID | Temu's reference for the order. | Shown in the working paper so you can trace a line. No box. |
| Quantity | Number of items on the line. | Not used in the VAT calculation. |
| Retail price | The price of the goods, before discounts. | Net sales, Box 6. |
| Platform discount | A discount funded by Temu. | Combined with retail price to give net sales, Box 6. |
| Seller discount | A discount funded by you. | Combined with retail price to give net sales, Box 6. |
| Service fee (tax incl.) | Temu's fee to you, including VAT. | Settled takes the VAT out. The net amount goes to Box 7 and the VAT to Box 4. |
| Platform incentive | Money Temu pays you as an incentive. | Treated as a payment for promotional services you supply to Temu. The net amount goes to Box 6. |
| Subtotal | A running subtotal on the line. | Not used by Settled. |
| Shipping | Delivery charged on the order. | Net delivery, added to Box 6. |
| Platform incentive - Shipping | The incentive that relates to shipping. | Combined with shipping, Box 6. |
| Product Tax | VAT on the goods. | Box 1. |
| Platform incentive Tax | VAT on the platform incentive. | Box 1. |
| Shipping Tax | VAT on the shipping charge. | Box 1. |
| Others | A catch-all for charges that do not fit elsewhere, such as advertising, return shipping labels and policy charges. | Depends on the line. Advertising and return labels are treated as standard-rated purchases from Temu: VAT to Box 4, net to Box 7. Policy charges are outside the scope of VAT and stay out of Boxes 4 and 7. |
| Total | The amount the report says the line comes to. | Used only as a check that Settled's figures tie back to the report. No box. |
How the nine boxes are built
- Box 1 is VAT due on sales. It adds product tax, shipping tax and platform incentive tax.
- Box 2 is shown as zero, because it covers acquisitions of goods from EU member states into Northern Ireland.
- Box 3 is Box 1 plus Box 2.
- Box 4 is VAT reclaimed on purchases. It takes the VAT inside Temu's service fees, advertising and return shipping labels.
- Box 5 is Box 3 minus Box 4, the net VAT to pay or reclaim.
- Box 6 is the total value of sales excluding VAT. It adds net goods sales, net shipping and the net platform incentive.
- Box 7 is the total value of purchases excluding VAT, taken from the net amounts of the same fees, advertising and labels.
- Boxes 8 and 9 are shown as zero. They cover despatches to and acquisitions from EU member states in Northern Ireland.
A worked example
Take one small month with made-up round figures. Goods sold for £50.00 before discounts, with a £5.00 seller discount. Delivery charged was £4.00. Product tax was £9.00 and shipping tax was £0.80. Temu's service fee was £6.00 including VAT, and advertising came to £12.00 including VAT.
| Box | Working | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | £9.00 + £0.80 | £9.80 |
| 3 | Box 1 plus Box 2 (zero) | £9.80 |
| 4 | £1.00 in the fee + £2.00 in advertising | £3.00 |
| 5 | £9.80 - £3.00 | £6.80 to pay |
| 6 | £50.00 - £5.00 + £4.00 | £49.00 |
| 7 | £5.00 net fee + £10.00 net advertising | £15.00 |
The fee and advertising VAT are worked out at 20 per cent, so £6.00 gross is £5.00 net plus £1.00 VAT, and £12.00 gross is £10.00 net plus £2.00 VAT.
What Settled checks
Settled checks that the journal ties back to the report's own total column. It also checks that the VAT on standard-rated product and shipping lines is close to 20 per cent of the net, and it allows for small rounding differences, because Temu rounds each item's share of an order separately. It flags any line with tax at an unexpected rate, and any charge or transaction type it does not recognise, so you can check them.
What to keep in mind
- Settled prepares a working paper. It does not file your return.
- The report is only part of your VAT records. Your accountant will also want purchases from other suppliers.
- Settled is built for the standard VAT accounting method.
Try Settled
Settled is coming soon and runs in your browser, so your reports stay on your computer. Read about the Settled tool, see pricing, or use the free file check at /check for your Temu listings.