Late VAT Registration

You have to register for VAT if your sales in any twelve month period exceed the VAT registration threshold- currently £73,000. Please note the reference to any twelve month period; not necessarily your business’ year end.

So your first task is to work out the date when your turnover went over the threshold. Using this date, register for VAT with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as soon as possible- which you can do online at www.hmrc.gov.uk or using form VAT1 which is available on the same website.

HMRC will then send you details of your VAT registration. But in the meantime, you should calculate the VAT due on your sales from the date you established above- even though you weren’t VAT registered at the time. However, you will be able to reclaim VAT on some of your business expenses. The net of these figures will need to be paid over to HMRC.

Please note, HMRC may also charge you a penalty for notifying them late.

Dealing with a backdated VAT registration can be difficult and there are particular rules about the VAT you can recover on your expenses. So if you would like some assistance with this, please feel free to contact your local TaxAssist Accountant.

Date published 5 Dec 2012

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.