VAT registration

When your VAT-taxable turnover in any rolling 12 months exceeds £90,000, in which case you register within 30 days of the end of the month you crossed it and are registered from the first day of the second month after; or when you expect to exceed £90,000 in the next 30 days alone, in which case you register within those 30 days and are registered from the date you formed the expectation.

Registration alone is £49. With a scheme recommendation based on your figures it is £79. With MTD software authorised and the first VAT return prepared and filed it is £119. HMRC charges nothing to register. Our fee is fixed and agreed before we start.

Sales of goods and services that are standard, reduced or zero rated, including zero-rated ones. Exempt supplies such as insurance, most financial services, education by eligible bodies and residential letting are excluded. Sales of capital assets are excluded. We check your sales mix because many businesses count the wrong things.

If your customers are mainly VAT-registered businesses, yes, usually: they reclaim the VAT you charge, and you reclaim VAT on your costs. If your customers are consumers, registration either raises your prices by 20% or cuts your margin, and waiting until you must register is usually better. We run the numbers.

Business details and structure, Unique Taxpayer Reference, bank account, turnover figures and the date you crossed or expect to cross the threshold, business activity, and for companies the incorporation details and directors. Most applications are approved within two to four weeks; some are selected for checks and take longer.

You cannot show VAT on an invoice until you have the number, but you are liable for VAT from your effective date. The usual approach is to increase prices by the VAT amount with a note that a VAT invoice will follow, then issue proper VAT invoices once the number arrives. We give you the wording.

Yes. VAT on goods still held at registration bought within the previous four years, and on services received within the previous six months, can be reclaimed on the first return if they relate to your taxable business. For many businesses this is a substantial first-return repayment and we identify it.

The standard scheme suits most businesses with meaningful VAT-bearing costs. The flat rate scheme can help low-cost service businesses but the 16.5% limited-cost-trader rate removes the advantage for many. Cash accounting helps with slow payers. Annual accounting means one return. The £79 package includes the recommendation with figures.

Register now with the correct backdated effective date. HMRC will expect VAT on sales from that date, which you may not be able to recover from customers, and may charge a failure-to-notify penalty, reduced substantially for unprompted disclosure. We calculate the exposure and handle the late registration and the disclosure.

A business with no UK establishment making taxable supplies in the UK must register from its first sale; there is no threshold. Online marketplaces account for VAT on some overseas sellers' sales, but not all. Our non-resident company formation service and this registration service work together for overseas founders.

You receive a VAT number and certificate, your effective date and your return periods. You must keep digital records and file returns through MTD-compatible software, usually quarterly. Our £119 package sets up the software and files the first return; our VAT returns service at £35 a month runs them thereafter.

Companies under common control can apply for VAT group registration, filing one return and ignoring VAT on supplies between members. It simplifies administration and can save VAT where members make exempt supplies. It is a separate application with its own conditions, quoted as a fixed fee after we review the group.