Normally s/he should account for VAT on sales on an invoice issued basis ie when the invoice is ISSUED rather than when it is PAID. quote]
This is not entirely correct as the solicitor may be entitled to account for the VAT on a moneys received basis anyway if he/she is under the cut-off point for that basis. Extract from Revenue guide on Solicitors and VAT :-
10 Accounting for Tax
10.1 The normal basis of accounting is the invoice or sales basis. A VAT-registered solicitor using this basis of accounting is liable to pay VAT by reference to services supplied. VAT is not chargeable on services which are completed before the date of registration no matter when the relevant invoice is issued. Services which are not completed before the date of registration will not be chargeable to VAT to the extent that they are paid for (that is, that the solicitor’s office account has been credited) before that date.
11 Moneys Received Basis of Accounting
11.1 An alternative basis is the moneys received basis. This alternative basis is available to solicitors whose annual turnover does not exceed and is not likely to exceed €635,000. To avail him/herself of themoneys received basis of accounting a solicitor needs to indicate this specifically on form TR1 when applying for VAT registration.
However regardless on the basis on which the solicitor is accounting for VAT, the previous poster is correct in that you cannot claim VAT unless you have a VAT INVOICE. The invoice does not have to be paid for you to reclaim the VAT but it must be a valid VAT invoice.