Is it time for your business to be VAT registered? If the turnover (not profit) for your business is over £83,000 in a 12-month period in the UK, it’s a requirement for your business to be registered with HMRC.
Many entrepreneurs and small businesses struggle with the decision of whether to get VAT registered early on, or wait until they hit the VAT threshold before they deal with registration. But should you register if you are under the threshold? What would that mean for your business?
These are just a few of the questions that come up for entrepreneurs when it comes to VAT registration. The answers depend very much on your particular business, as well as personal preference.
Voluntary VAT registration
It is possible to register for VAT even if your taxable turnover is under the £83,000 threshold. The main motivations for doing so are:
- If your customers are mostly VAT-registered. They can then claim the VAT in their tax return so it will be of no real consequence.
- Because you will be able to reclaim the difference between the VAT you charge and the VAT charged by suppliers and on expenses if it is higher.
- To create a certain impression. Due to the threshold, some businesses may choose to register voluntarily in order to appear more established to potential customers.
You might choose not to register voluntarily if you’re under the threshold and:
- Your customers are mostly not VAT registered.
- To avoid charging more for your product/service through the addition of VAT.
- To avoid needing to file a VAT report (although, with accounting software like Debitoor, this once tedious task is no longer a paperwork nightmare).
VAT in Debitoor
With Debitoor, you can turn VAT ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ depending on whether your business is VAT registered.
When you log in to your account, click on ‘Settings’ in the upper right corner and select ‘Settings’ from the dropdown menu.
You can then scroll down, past your company details. The next section is your ‘Tax and Registration’ section. Here, you will be able to turn on or off the application of VAT on your income and expenses.
You will also be able to enter your company registration number, as well as your VAT Number.
If your business is not yet VAT registered, you can turn these to ‘OFF’, and when you register, you can enter all the necessary information, turn on the VAT, and the amounts will automatically be applied to your invoices and expenses.
When you enter your Company Registration Number and VAT Number in the fields provided, you can then choose to include them in the footer of your invoices to customers, in order to provide this information clearly.
Read more about the regulations on GOV.UK’s site dedicated to VAT registration.
