VAT Returns · South East
VAT returns in Merston
If your Merston business has just crossed the £90,000 threshold, or has been VAT-registered for years and never had the scheme reviewed, this is the service. We register you if needed, choose the right scheme, and run the quarterly returns online for a published fee. No office, no hourly billing, serving South East entirely remotely.
from £35/mo · fixed, per month
Next deadlines
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- Tax year ends: last day for pension, ISA and dividend timing decisions
Who this is for
VAT Returns for Merston
VAT-registered sole traders, partnerships and limited companies in Merston: trades and construction firms dealing with the domestic reverse charge, retailers and cafes with mixed-rate sales, online sellers with marketplace VAT, consultants on the flat rate scheme, and businesses that have just passed the £90,000 registration threshold and need to register and file for the first time.
What is included
Everything inside the fixed fee
- Quarterly VAT return prepared from your bookkeeping and reviewed for coding errors before submission
- Submission through Making Tax Digital-compatible software with HMRC's receipt forwarded to you
- Scheme review: standard, flat rate, cash accounting or annual accounting, whichever saves you most
- Partial exemption, reverse charge, EU and import VAT handled where they arise
- Payment reminder with the exact amount, reference and date before each 7th-of-the-month deadline
- HMRC VAT correspondence about the returns we filed handled at no extra charge
How it works
VAT Returns from Merston, step by step
Tell us your situation
A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.
Fixed fee in writing
You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.
Send records, review the draft
Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.
We file, you get the receipts
Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.
Why IGI
What you get in Merston
The price for vat returns is published on this page and is what a client in Merston pays. We confirm it in writing first, and the invoice matches the quote.
Deadline-first: the dates that matter for vat returns are shown at the top of this page, diarised for every Merston client and chased before they arrive.
Online only, UK based. There is no office in Merston to pay for, which is why the fee is the same here as anywhere in England; the work is done by people in the UK who answer the same day.
Continuity matters in vat returns: the person who prepared last year's work for your Merston business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.
The output for Merston clients is never just a form. It is the form, a one-page summary of what it says, and a note of the decisions it points to for vat returns.
Approval before filing is a rule, not a courtesy. For vat returns in Merston, every submission to HMRC or Companies House follows your written go-ahead.
Local facts
About Merston
Merston is in South East, England. Income tax in England follows the UK rates: 20% basic to £50,270, 40% higher to £125,140 and 45% additional, with the personal allowance of £12,570 tapered away above £100,000. National Insurance, VAT and Corporation Tax are UK-wide, and Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property purchases.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Drayton, Chichester | 0.8 mi | NW |
| Leythorne | 1.0 mi | W |
| Colworth | 1 mi | E |
| Runcton | 1 mi | SW |
| Elbridge, Chichester | 1 mi | SE |
| Oving, Chichester | 1 mi | N |
| Elbridge, Arun | 1 mi | SE |
| North Mundham | 1 mi | W |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Confirmation statements and identity verification
The confirmation statement is the annual check that the public register is right: officers, registered office, SIC codes, shareholders and the PSC register. It carries a £50 fee and no financial penalty for lateness, but failure to file leads to compulsory strike-off. The identity verification regime introduced in November 2025 has added a further check to every statement.
CIS deductions
The Construction Industry Scheme affects both sides of a construction payment. Contractors must verify subcontractors, deduct the right amount, issue statements and file monthly, with penalties from £100 for each late return. Subcontractors suffer deductions on turnover and recover the excess at the year end. Limited company subcontractors offset deductions against PAYE monthly instead.
Late filing penalties
Lateness is expensive in a way that compounds. For individuals, £100 immediately, then daily penalties, then percentage-based ones at six and twelve months, with interest running on unpaid tax throughout. For companies, Companies House penalties scale with delay and double on repeat, and HMRC adds its own for a late CT600. Filing on time is the cheapest tax planning there is.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, extends to those over £30,000 in April 2027 and is planned for £20,000 in April 2028. It requires digital records in compatible software and four quarterly updates to HMRC each year, with a final declaration replacing the traditional return. Payment dates are unchanged.
The Self Assessment calendar
Four dates govern Self Assessment: 5 October to register, 31 October for paper returns, 31 January to file online and pay, and 31 July for the second payment on account. Missing the January date triggers an automatic £100 penalty before any tax is even considered, so we treat it as the fixed point around which the rest of the year is planned.
Payments on account
Payments on account catch out most people in their second year of self-employment. HMRC assumes next year's tax will match this year's and collects half in January and half in July, in advance, on top of the balancing payment. If profits are dropping you can apply to reduce them, but reducing them too far attracts interest. We calculate the right figure rather than guessing.
Salary versus dividends
The salary-and-dividend split is the central planning decision for an owner-managed company. Salary costs employer National Insurance above £5,000 but is deductible; dividends are not deductible but attract lower personal rates and no National Insurance. The optimum changes each April with the thresholds and depends on the director's other income, so it should be set deliberately every year.
Questions
VAT Returns questions from Merston
What does the £35 a month fee cover?
Quarterly VAT returns prepared from your own bookkeeping records, reviewed by us for coding errors, submitted through MTD-compatible software and confirmed back to you with HMRC's receipt and the payment details. If we also do your bookkeeping, the combined bundle is £119 a month.
When do I have to register for VAT?
When your taxable turnover in any rolling 12 months exceeds £90,000, or you expect it to exceed £90,000 in the next 30 days alone. You must register within 30 days of the end of the month you crossed the threshold. Voluntary registration below the threshold is possible and sometimes beneficial; we advise either way.
Can you handle a VAT registration from scratch?
Yes. Registration with HMRC is £49, or £79 with scheme advice, and £119 including your first return. We need your business details, turnover figures and bank account. HMRC usually issues the VAT number within two to four weeks, and we tell you how to invoice in the meantime.
Do I need Making Tax Digital software for VAT?
Yes. All VAT-registered businesses must keep digital records and submit returns through MTD-compatible software; HMRC's old online form is closed. If you have no software, our bookkeeping service provides it, or the MTD VAT setup package at £129 gets you compliant with your first return filed.
Can I deregister if my turnover falls?
If your taxable turnover will be under £88,000 in the next 12 months you can apply to deregister. You may owe VAT on stock and assets held at the date of deregistration if their value is over £1,000 in VAT terms. We check the numbers and handle the application if it makes sense.
What if I have made an error on a previous return?
Errors under £10,000, or under 1% of turnover up to £50,000, can be corrected on the next return. Larger errors need a separate disclosure to HMRC on form VAT652. We quantify the error, advise on the right route and prepare the correction, with the fee agreed before we start.
Do you have an office in Merston?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Merston and every other UK postcode remotely, with records sent by WhatsApp or email and everything filed electronically. The absence of local premises is why the fee for vat returns is the same in Merston as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Is vat returns in Merston really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Merston pays and what a client in any other part of England pays. It is confirmed in writing before work starts and the invoice matches the quote. Where a higher package applies because your situation is more complex, we say so at the quote stage, never afterwards.
One message from Merston, one fixed price
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.