Ceasing In Business and VAT

You have not mentioned the value of the stock and equipment you intend to keep, but if the VAT on their market value exceeds £1,000, then you will need to account for all of this to HMRC. So if the relevant assets are all standard rated, you don't have to account for VAT if their total value including VAT is £7,666 or less. If the total is below £1,000, then you will not have to pay over any VAT.

It will be sensible to keep a list of the stock and its value, together with an estimate of the value of the equipment, in case this is queried by HMRC at some stage. Ideally you should obtain a written valuation from a second hand supplier of the equipment, but if this is difficult to achieve, you could check advertisements for the sale of similar second hand goods to estimate their current market value.

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.