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VAT Returns
VAT returns, filed on time and fully understood
VAT registration advice, scheme selection and MTD-compliant VAT returns for small businesses. No last-minute surprises. Call 01208 622402.
VAT is the tax most likely to produce an unwelcome surprise. Not because it’s difficult, exactly — but because the money never really felt like yours in the first place, and then suddenly HMRC wants it.
We keep your VAT under control all year round, so you can see what’s building up and plan for it rather than discovering it a fortnight before the deadline.
Do you need to register?
You must register for VAT once your taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period. Rolling is the key word — it isn’t your accounting year, and it doesn’t reset in April. At the end of each month you look back over the previous twelve.
Cross it, and you have 30 days from the end of that month to tell HMRC. Miss that and you’ll owe VAT backdated on sales you’ve already made, at prices you set without it. That’s the expensive version.
You can also register voluntarily below the threshold. That’s often worth doing if you sell mainly to other VAT-registered businesses, or if you’re buying significant stock or equipment and want to reclaim the VAT on it.
Choosing the right scheme
Not everyone should be on standard VAT accounting.
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Cash Accounting — you pay VAT when your customer pays you, not when you raise the invoice. A genuine lifesaver if you’re regularly waiting 60 days to get paid.
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Flat Rate Scheme — a simplified percentage of turnover. Simpler, though the limited cost trader rules mean it’s less generous than it once was.
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Annual Accounting — one return a year with instalments through it.
We’ll run the numbers on your actual figures and tell you which comes out best. It’s the kind of decision that quietly costs businesses thousands when nobody checks.
Making Tax Digital for VAT
Every VAT-registered business must keep digital records and file returns through compatible software. We handle the software, the filing and the deadlines — and make sure your records meet the digital linking rules, which is where DIY setups usually fall down.
What you get
Returns prepared and filed on time. A clear note of what’s due and when. A heads-up if a payment is going to be bigger than usual. And someone to ring when a customer queries a VAT invoice or a supplier sends something baffling.