You must register for VAT with HMRC if your business VAT taxable turnover is more than £85,000 (registration threshold). VAT taxable turnover is the total value of everything you sell that isn’t exempt from VAT.
You must register if it goes over the registration threshold in a rolling 12 month period, this isn’t a fixed period like the tax year or the calendar year, it could be any period, eg the start of June to the end of May.
The current threshold is £85,000. It usually goes up on 1 April each year. There are different thresholds for buying and selling from other EU countries.
To check if you’ve gone over the threshold in any 12 month period
Add together the total value of your UK sales that aren’t VAT exempt, include:
- Goods you hired or loaned to customers
- Business goods used for personal reasons
- Goods you bartered, part-exchanged or gave as gifts
- Services you received from businesses in other countries that you had to reverse charge
- Building work over £100,000 your business did for itself.
If you have gone over the threshold you must register for VAT – though HMRC may allow you “exception form registration” if your turnover goes above the threshold temporarily.
You must register immediately if you expect the value of everything you sell in the UK with isn’t VAT exempt in the 30 days alone to be over £85,000.
You should check your rolling turnover regularly if you’re close to going over the threshold.
Further full information and links please visit https://www.gov.uk/vat-registration/calculate-turnover
If we are engaged to do your bookkeeping we are able to provide you with the figures to determine if you are near or above the threshold and then assist with the registration process.
Once VAT registered it is essential you record and report your sales and purchases in a way that HMRC approves. We can do this for you. We use government approved Sage software and returns and reports are laid out in the required format, figures are submitted online to HMRC once you have approved the VAT return.
WE DO NOT CHARGE YOU A PREMIUM FOR SUBMITTING VAT RETURNS.