Download the annual VAT return XML and hand it to your accountant
8 min read
What the file you download from an annual VAT return's detail page really contains, what it is NOT, and who actually sends it to the Italian Revenue Agency.
What it's for
After preparing the annual VAT return (guide: Prepare the annual VAT return), that year's detail page offers a downloadable XML file with all eight computed sections (VA, VE, VF, VJ, VL, VH, VP, VR). This guide explains exactly what that file contains, how to download it, and — above all — the sharp boundary SamBooks draws on the file itself: it's reconciliation material for your accountant, not the electronic filing to submit to the Italian Revenue Agency. No SamBooks button transmits a return to an authority: that step, with this file or any other, is always the authorized intermediary's job.
If instead you're looking for a readable PDF or CSV report, with numbered lines and a balance check, without going through the XML file, that's a different tool: Download the reconciliation worksheets.
Before you start
- You need an annual VAT return that's already prepared for the year you're interested in (guide: Prepare the annual VAT return). Until you've prepared it, the year doesn't appear in the list and there's no link to download the XML from.
- Unlike preparing the return (which requires a Manager or Administrative role), downloading the XML of an already-prepared return is a read-only action: anyone with access to the company's accounting, including a Viewer, can do it.
Step by step
1. Open the year's detail page and press "Download XML"
From the Annual VAT return list, click the row for the year you want: it opens /dichiarativi/iva-annuale/{year}. Top right is the Download XML button: the file downloads directly in the browser, in a new tab. The file name always follows the pattern BOZZA_dichiarazione_iva_annuale_{year}.xml — the BOZZA_ (DRAFT_) prefix isn't a mistake or a coincidence: it's a deliberate marker — you'll find it on the annual VAT return XML, on the Certificazione Unica XML and on the reconciliation worksheets in PDF and CSV — and it makes it impossible to mistake the file for a filing-ready document even just by looking at the name.
On the same page, right below the title, there's a fixed notice that explicitly says: "The downloadable XML file is an informational reconciliation report (marked BOZZA_), not the electronic filing prepared for Entratel. Review and submission remain the responsibility of your accountant: SamBooks does not connect directly to the Italian Revenue Agency."
2. What the file contains: the eight sections as structured elements
Opening the file (with a text editor, or passing it to your accountant's software) you'll find an XML structure with:
- A header, with the preparation date, the status (always
PREDISPOSTA— see below why it never changes) and a notice written inside the file itself, not only on a screen: the same boundary explained above, this time readable even by someone who opens the file without going through SamBooks. - One element for each of the eight sections — QuadroVA, QuadroVE, QuadroVF, QuadroVJ, QuadroVL, QuadroVH, QuadroVP, QuadroVR — each with its detail rows (by rate, by period, by payment type depending on the section) and totals. The VF section, in particular, carries two separate VAT totals: the gross tax on purchases and the actually deductible share, when a line has a deductibility percentage below 100%.
These are exactly the same figures you see aggregated on the preparation page (linked guide): the XML file adds and removes nothing, it just renders them in a structured format meant to be read by software, not by a person.
3. What this file is NOT
Three things worth keeping firm, even if they sound obvious once said:
- It is not the official electronic filing validated by the Italian Revenue Agency. The namespace used in the file is a placeholder pending electronic submission (a feature not yet available in SamBooks): the file doesn't go through the Agency's official software checks. It's your accountant, with their own tools, who does that check before transmitting.
- SamBooks doesn't send it anywhere. There is no button, on any SamBooks page, that transmits this file (or any other filing) to the Italian Revenue Agency. Electronic submission channels are reserved by law to authorized intermediaries.
- The return's status, inside SamBooks, always stays "prepared". There is no "sent / accepted / rejected" cycle in this product: those statuses are planned for the future (electronic submission, not yet available), but today no action ever reaches them. If your accountant confirms they've submitted the return, that confirmation won't show up anywhere inside SamBooks.
4. Trying to download the XML of a year not yet prepared
In normal use this won't happen to you: the "Download XML" button only appears on the detail page of a year that's already in the list, i.e. already prepared — if a year isn't prepared yet, that year's detail page shows the "Return not found" page instead of a download link. The only way to hit the error is typing or bookmarking the XML address directly for a year that isn't prepared: in that case the server responds with an error explicitly saying to prepare the return for that year first. It isn't a malfunction: it's confirmation that, to download the XML, preparation has to happen first.
5. Reading the sections' values: XML or Sam, not yet the page
The detail page's Sections tab, today, only shows the eight labels (VA, VE, VF, VJ, VL, VH, VP, VR) with no numbers inside: it's a known interface limitation, not a sign the data is missing. The data exists — it's the very same data inside the XML you just downloaded — this page just doesn't render it as a table yet. To read it without opening the XML file, the easiest route is asking Sam directly, for example "what are the VE section's values for the 2025 VAT return?": Sam reads the same return and answers with the figures, row by row.
6. XML or reconciliation worksheet: which one for which purpose
These are two different products, with two different purposes:
- The XML is built for your accountant's software: it contains all eight sections in structured format, exactly as computed, with no formatting meant to be read at a glance.
- The reconciliation worksheet (PDF or CSV) is built to be read: numbered lines, a statutory reference for each line, and a dedicated section that checks whether the annual balance matches the year's periodic settlements. It's the right document if you want to check the figures yourself before handing them over, or if your accountant prefers a readable report to an XML file.
Dedicated guide: Download the reconciliation worksheets to hand to your accountant.
Ask Sam
Sam doesn't produce a downloadable file on your behalf — the download stays a web page action — but it can read and report back to you in chat exactly the same data you'd find in the XML: a specific section's values, the balance, the number of documents aggregated into a row. It's the fastest way to check a figure without opening the file.
If something goes wrong
- I downloaded the XML, have I already sent it to the Italian Revenue Agency? No. It needs to be handed to your accountant or authorized intermediary, who checks it and transmits it through their own electronic channel. SamBooks never connects directly to an authority.
- The page's Sections tab is empty. It's a known interface limitation: the values exist, they're in the XML you download, or Sam gives them to you in chat.
- I can't find the "Download XML" button for a year. That year isn't prepared yet: you need to press "Prepare" from the list first.
- I pressed "Download XML" but no file arrives. If the year isn't prepared yet, that's expected: prepare it first. If the year is already in the list and the file still doesn't arrive, don't keep retrying: the same figures are available straight away from the PDF or CSV reconciliation worksheet, or by asking Sam in chat — and it's worth reporting to support.
- My accountant says the XML file isn't what they expected. That's correct: it isn't the official electronic filing. It's a reconciliation file with the same data, meant to be checked and then transmitted using the professional's own tools, not uploaded directly to a portal.
Frequently asked questions
How do I download the annual VAT return file? From the year's detail page (after preparing it), the "Download XML" button at the top right.
Does SamBooks send the VAT return to the Italian Revenue Agency? No. No SamBooks button transmits returns to authorities: submission is always handled by your accountant or an authorized intermediary.
Can I send the VAT return myself from SamBooks? No, electronic submission isn't a feature available in SamBooks: you can only download the file to hand over to whoever handles that.
What file do I give my accountant for the annual VAT return? The XML downloaded from the return's detail page, or the reconciliation worksheet in PDF/CSV if they prefer a readable format.
Is the VAT return's XML file already valid for Entratel? No: it isn't the official electronic filing validated by the Italian Revenue Agency. It's reconciliation material your accountant checks and converts before submission.
I downloaded the XML but got an error, why? The most common cause is a year that isn't prepared yet: prepare the return for that year from the list first. If the year is already prepared and the file still doesn't arrive, use the PDF or CSV reconciliation worksheet — it carries the same figures — and report the problem to support.
Where do I see the completed VE and VF sections? By opening the downloaded XML file, or by asking Sam for a specific section's values.
Does the return show as sent anywhere? No: in SamBooks the status always stays "prepared". There's no reachable "sent/accepted/rejected" status cycle in this product.
What's the difference between the XML and the PDF worksheet? The XML is a file structured for the accountant's software; the worksheet is a readable report, with numbered lines and a balance check, meant to be read at a glance.
Can my accountant use this file directly? It contains the correct data, but it isn't the official electronic filing: the accountant checks and converts it with their own tools before submission.