---
title: "Master Data"
source_url: https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data
language: en
last_updated: 2026-10-09
---
# Master Data in Lucanet VAT

## Overview

In the **Master data** functional area in Lucanet VAT (Value Added Tax), you store all VAT-relevant data of the companies that send their declarations to the tax office via VAT. You also maintain the master data for VAT group members whose declaration the representative VAT group member transmits.

Which master data you need depends on how VAT creates the declarations of a company – via an **import** or **manually** – and which declarations the company submits: the **preliminary VAT return**, the **European Sales List**, or **both**.

You usually collect the master data at the start of the project and enter it in the first period in VAT. If the company structure changes later, you adjust the master data for the specific period. VAT does not automatically take over the master data from the master data modules of your ERP systems.

For an overview of all steps of the reporting process, see the [All Steps at a Glance](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/all-steps-at-a-glance.md) page. The [User Interface and General Functions in VAT](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/user-interface-general-functions.md) page describes the functions that are available in all workspaces.

> **Warning:** Most workspaces in the **Master data** functional area refer to the period and the company that you have chosen in the breadcrumb navigation. For the **Tax codes**, **Mapping of tax codes**, and **Reconciliation accounts** workspaces, you also choose the company code.

## Navigation to the 'Master Data' Functional Area in VAT

The **Master data** functional area can be found under **VAT | Master data** and is displayed as follows, for example:

![Shows the 'Periods' workspace in the 'Master data' functional area in VAT with the 'Search' field, the 'Add' button, the three-dot icon, and the columns 'Name', 'Ultimo', 'Form version', 'Kind of period', 'Productive period', and 'Archived', for example with the period 'DE_2022_12_VA' and the kind of period 'VAT - Preliminary return'.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-edit-periods/_images/en/periods-overview.png)
'Periods' workspace in the 'Master data' functional area

## Workspaces in the 'Master Data' Functional Area in VAT

The **Master data** functional area in VAT contains the following workspaces:

| Workspace | Description |
|---------|---------|
| [Home](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/home.md) | Specifies the reporting country, the period, and the company that all other workspaces refer to. Which options VAT displays depends on your permissions. |
| [Periods](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-edit-periods.md) | Manages the periods on which all master data and transaction data in VAT are based. Create a period before you create VAT declarations for this time frame. |
| [Companies](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-edit-a-company.md) | Manages the companies that take part in the VAT declaration, including the VAT group member type, the reporting period, and all reporting-relevant data. |
| [Due dates VAT Return](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-configure-due-dates-vat-return.md) | Specifies the submission deadlines of the VAT declarations per company. You maintain the due dates manually or let VAT calculate the due dates. |
| [Company codes](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-edit-company-codes.md) | Assigns the company codes from the ERP system to a company. Tax codes, mappings, and reconciliation accounts require a company code. |
| [Tax code form](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-configure-tax-code-form.md) | Manages the forms of tax codes. VAT identifies each form by a three-character abbreviation and assigns the form to input tax or output tax. |
| [Tax codes](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-configure-tax-codes.md) | Maps the tax codes from the ERP system, for example with tax code form, tax rate, and currency. |
| [Mapping of tax codes](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-edit-tax-code-mapping.md) | Assigns each tax code to a field position of the declaration form. Based on the mapping, VAT transfers the imported values to the fields of the declaration. |
| [Reconciliations](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-edit-reconciliations.md) | Specifies which reconciliations VAT performs for a period and a company and how the reconciliations are configured. You perform only configured reconciliations in the [Reconciliations](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/value-added-tax/performing-reconciliations.md) workspace in the **Value Added Tax** functional area. |
| [Reconciliation accounts](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-edit-reconciliation-accounts.md) | Assigns the general ledger accounts from the ERP system to the account types that the account-based reconciliations require. Via the account type, you control which reconciliations an account is included in. |
| [VAT-Audits](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/vat/master-data/create-and-edit-vat-audit-checks.md) | Configures the document checks that VAT-Audit applies to the imported document data. VAT-Audit only executes activated checks. |