How to register for VAT

You can usually register for VAT online. You can start charging VAT on your sales and reclaiming VAT on items you bought from your ‘effective date of registration’. What you need to register for VAT The information you’ll need to register for VAT depends on the type of your business. Register a limited company You’ll need: your company registration number your business’s bank account details your Unique Taxpayer Reference ( UTR ) details of your annual turnover You will also need information about: your Self Assessment your Corporation Tax Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Register as an individual or as a partnership You’ll need: your National Insurance number an identity document, like a passport or driving licence your bank account details your Unique Taxpayer Reference ( UTR ), if you have one details of your annual turnover You will also need information about: your Self Assessment return payslips P60 Register for VAT online Start now You need a Government Gateway user ID and password to register for VAT . If you do not already have a user ID you can create one when you sign in for the first time. You do not have to complete your registration in one go. You can save your entry and go back to it later if you need to. You’ll need to fill in extra forms during your online registration, depending on your type of business. When you cannot register online You must register by post using VAT1 if: you want to apply for a ‘ registration exception ’ because your taxable turnover has gone over the threshold temporarily you’re joining the Agricultural Flat Rate Scheme you’re a limited liability partnership registering as a representative member of a VAT group you’re registering the divisions or business units of a body corporate under separate VAT registration numbers you’re applying to register an overseas partnership you’re a local authority, parish or district council Using an agent You can appoint an accountant (or agent) to submit your VAT Returns and deal with HMRC on your behalf. If you’re using an agent, you can still sign up for a VAT online account when you receive your VAT registration number. After you register After you’ve registered for VAT you’ll get: a 9-digit VAT registration number which you must include on all invoices you raise information about how to set up your business tax account (if you do not have one already) - you’ll need this to access the VAT online service information about when to submit your first VAT return and payment confirmation of your registration date (known as your ‘effective date of registration’ ) You’ll get this information by post. Sign up for a VAT online account When you have received your VAT information by post, you need to sign up for a VAT online account . Sign into Government Gateway. Select ‘Add a tax, duty or scheme now’. Select ‘VAT and VAT Services’. Choose from the list of services. If you’ve already registered for VAT and you’re waiting to hear back, check when you can expect a reply . Accounting for VAT while you wait for your VAT registration number You cannot include VAT on your invoices until you get your VAT registration number but you can increase your prices to account for the VAT you’ll need to pay to HMRC . Example On 1 May, you arrange a £100,000 contract to provide services to a new customer. You register for VAT because you know you’ll go over the threshold in the next 30 days. Your effective date of registration is 1 May. This means you’ll need to pay VAT to HMRC on any invoices you raise from that date. To account for the VAT you’ll need to pay, tell your customer that you’ll be adding 20% to the original contract amount of £100,000 and then raise an invoice for £120,000. After you get your VAT registration number, reissue the invoice showing the full amount including the £20,000 VAT. Your customer does not need to make any extra payment but can now reclaim the additional £20,000 from HMRC on their next VAT return.

Changing your details

You must keep your VAT registration details up to date. Some changes mean you have to cancel your VAT registration or transfer your VAT registration . Tell HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) within 30 days of any changes to the: name, trading name or main address of your business accountant or agent who deals with your VAT members of a partnership, or the name or home address of any of the partners You might need to pay a penalty if you do not tell HMRC about changes within 30 days. Changing your bank details You must tell HMRC at least 14 days in advance if you’re changing your bank details. If you pay your VAT by Direct Debit, you’ll need to tell your bank as well. Do not do this in the 5 banking days before or after your VAT return is due - it could mean you get charged twice. If you use the Annual Accounting Scheme , you must write to the Annual Accounting Registration Unit to change your Direct Debit details. Include your registration number. How to tell HMRC You can change your details: online - through your VAT online account by post - using form VAT484 You must send form VAT2 to the VAT Registration Service to report any changes to a partnership. If you take over someone else’s VAT responsibilities You must tell HMRC within 21 days if you take over the VAT responsibilities of someone who has died or is ill and unable to manage their own affairs. Use form VAT484 and post it to the address on the form. Include the details of the date of death or the date the illness started. If you join a VAT group If you’re joining a VAT group, the group must complete a VAT50-51 form . You’ll need to use the group’s VAT registration number once you’ve joined it. The VAT group should tell HMRC about the new member . If you change your business structure You need to tell HMRC through the VAT registration service . You can transfer your VAT registration if you want to keep the same VAT registration number.

Cancel your registration

You must cancel your registration if you’re no longer eligible to be VAT registered . For example: you stop trading or making VAT taxable supplies you join a VAT group You must cancel within 30 days if you stop being eligible or you might be charged a penalty. If your taxable turnover falls below £88,000 you can ask HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) to cancel your registration, unless all of the following are true: you and your business are based outside the UK you supply any goods or services to the UK (or expect to in the next 30 days) If you have an EORI number HMRC will automatically cancel your Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number at the same time as they cancel your VAT registration. Find out what to do if you still need an EORI number, and to keep using authorisations or licences . When you do not need to cancel You do not need to cancel your VAT registration if: you’re changing the legal status or selling a business and you want to keep the same VAT registration number (you should transfer your registration ) a single company in a VAT group is closing down (you must complete a VAT50-51 form to change your VAT group) you’re joining a VAT group (you must complete a VAT50-51 form ) you’re creating a new VAT group (you must register for VAT and complete a VAT50-51 form ) Cancel online You can cancel your VAT registration online if: you’ve stopped trading and you’re not part of a VAT group your taxable turnover is below £88,000 you’ve stopped making VAT taxable goods or services you’re applying for an exemption if most or all of what you sell is VAT zero-rated To cancel your VAT registration online, you’ll need your Government Gateway user ID and password. Start now When you cannot cancel online You must cancel by post if: your legal status has changed and you want a new VAT registration number you’ve sold your business and the owner is not keeping the VAT registration number your VAT group is closing (‘disbanding’) - you’ll also need to complete a VAT50-51 form and send both forms together to HMRC your business stopped trading after liquidation Cancel your registration by post using form VAT7 . You’ll need to fill in the form fully before you can print it. You cannot save a partly completed form. Print and send your completed VAT7 form with any other completed forms to HMRC . The address to send it to is in the form. What happens next It usually takes 3 weeks for HMRC to confirm your cancellation and the official cancellation date. This is either the date when the reason for your cancellation took effect (for example, when you stopped trading), or the date you asked to cancel. HMRC will send confirmation to your VAT online account or through the post if you do not apply online. You must stop charging VAT from the cancellation date. You’ll need to keep all VAT records for 6 years. HMRC will automatically re-register you if they realise you should not have cancelled. You’ll have to account for any VAT you should have paid in the meantime. VAT after you cancel You’ll have to submit a final VAT Return for the period up to and including the cancellation date. You must account for any stock and other assets you have on this date if both of the following apply: you reclaimed or could have reclaimed VAT when you bought the assets the total VAT due on these assets is over £1,000 You must submit your final return within one month of the cancellation date, unless you are on the Cash Accounting Scheme . If you’re on the Cash Accounting Scheme, submit your final return within 2 months of the cancellation date. Do not wait until you’ve received all your invoices before submitting your final return. When you get them you’ll still be able to reclaim VAT .

Transfer your registration

You can transfer a VAT registration number if there’s a change of business ownership or legal status. For example, if: you take over a company and want to keep using its VAT registration number your business changes from a partnership to a sole trader This means the business will keep the same VAT registration number. Apply for a transfer Changing the legal status of your business To transfer your VAT registration number when the legal status of your business changes (also known as a ‘change of legal entity’): print, fill in and post form VAT68 to HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) register for VAT You can check the progress of your application . Buying a business To transfer the VAT registration number: you and your seller must complete form VAT68 - print, fill in and post the form to HMRC register for VAT HMRC will treat the form VAT68 as the seller’s cancellation and transfer to you. They do not need to fill in form VAT7. You can check the progress of your application . What happens next If you’re selling your business: cancel your accountant’s access to your VAT online account - for example if you authorised them to deal with your VAT cancel any direct debits on your VAT online account You must also give your records to the buyer if you’re passing on your VAT number. If you’re buying a business: contact HMRC within 21 days of the transfer application if you want to keep the seller’s accountant replace any self-billing arrangements with new ones set up new direct debits on your VAT online account If you prefer to get a new VAT number If you want to get a new VAT number rather than keeping the existing one, you need to cancel the existing VAT registration and register for VAT again.

Registering for VAT in EU countries

What you need to do depends on whether you’re selling goods or services and where you’re selling from. If you sell goods from Northern Ireland to the EU If the total value of goods you’ve sold to customers in the EU is more than £8,818 (the ‘distance selling threshold’), you must pay VAT in the countries the goods are sent to. Register for VAT either: through the VAT One Stop Shop (OSS) union scheme in each country where you’re supplying goods Check how to report and pay VAT on distance sales of goods from Northern Ireland to the EU . If you sell goods from the UK to the EU You do not normally need to charge VAT on goods you sell to any customers outside the UK. You only need to be registered for VAT with HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ). You can charge VAT at zero rate for these sales. Find out more about charging VAT on goods you export . If you supply services from the UK to the EU If you supply services from the UK to customers in the EU , you can register for the non-union VAT OSS . Find out more about the non-union VAT OSS on the European Commission website. Find out what to do if you supply digital services to customers in the EU .

Selling or moving goods between Northern Ireland and the EU

You need a VAT registration number starting with XI to trade under the Northern Ireland Protocol. You are eligible to operate under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol if any of the following apply: your goods are located in Northern Ireland at the time of sale you receive goods in Northern Ireland from VAT -registered EU businesses for business purposes you sell or move goods from Northern Ireland to an EU country Check if you’re already identified as trading under the Northern Ireland Protocol. Telling HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) will help them to identify you as trading under the Northern Ireland Protocol. This will mean that: you can use VAT simplifications when you trade with the EU your suppliers can charge goods that they send to you from the EU at zero rate your trade with the EU can still be listed as ‘acquisitions and dispatches’ on your VAT return Tell HMRC you’re eligible Use this service to tell HMRC you’re eligible . You’ll need: the Government Gateway user ID and password you used when you registered for VAT your VAT registration number the name of your business After you tell HMRC You’ll get an email from HMRC to confirm that you’ve been recorded as operating under the Northern Ireland Protocol. After you get the email, you’ll need to start using the XI prefix before your usual VAT registration number - for example, XI 123456789 instead of GB 123456789. Using your XI VAT registration number You must use your XI VAT registration number on all documentation when communicating with EU customers or suppliers (for example, on invoices). If you’re selling goods from Northern Ireland to VAT -registered customers in the EU, complete an EC Sales List . If you do not tell HMRC or use an XI VAT registration number, it could mean that you pay or charge the wrong VAT on goods. If you’ve stopped selling or moving goods in Northern Ireland Use this service to tell HMRC you’ve stopped selling or moving goods in Northern Ireland . You must complete any obligations you have for the following schemes before you revoke your Northern Ireland trader status: VAT One Stop Shop (OSS) union scheme returns EC sales lists EU VAT refunds You will not be able to complete any obligations for these schemes once you’ve told HMRC you wish to revoke your status.

Register for VAT

When to register for VAT

You must register if either:

your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 (the  VAT  threshold)
you expect your taxable turnover to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

You must also register (regardless of taxable turnover) if all of the following are true:

you’re based outside the UK
your business is based outside the UK
you supply any goods or services to the UK (or expect to in the next 30 days)

If you’re not sure if this applies to you, read the guidance on non-established taxable persons (NETPs) - basic information.

You can choose to register for VAT if your turnover is less than £90,000 (‘voluntary registration’).

You must pay HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) any VAT you owe from the date they register you.

You do not have to register if you only sell VAT exempt or ‘out of scope’ goods and services.

Calculate your turnover

Taxable turnover is the total value of everything you sell that is not VAT exempt or ‘out of scope’ goods and services.

It also includes:

zero-rated goods
reduced-rated goods
standard-rated goods
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’
goods and services which are subject to the ‘domestic reverse charge’
building work over £100,000  your business did for itself

If you exceeded the threshold in the last 12 months

You must register if your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000.

You have to register within 30 days of the end of the month when you went over the threshold. Your effective date of registration is the first day of the second month after you go over the threshold.

Example

On 15 July your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months is £100,000. That’s the first time it has gone over the VAT threshold. You must register by 30 August. Your effective date of registration is 1 September.

If you’re going to exceed the threshold in the next 30 days

You must register if you realise that your annual total taxable turnover is going to go over the £90,000 threshold in the next 30 days.

You have to register by the end of that 30-day period. Your effective date of registration is the date you realised, not the date your turnover went over the threshold.

Example

On 1 May, you arrange a £100,000 contract to provide services. You’ll be paid at the end of May. You must submit your VAT registration application by 30 May. Your effective date of registration will be 1 May.

If you’re based in Northern Ireland and sell goods or services that are VAT exempt

You’ll need to register if you only sell VAT exempt or ‘out of scope’ goods and services but you buy goods for more than £90,000 in any 12 month period from  EU VAT-registered suppliers to use in your business.

If you take over a VAT-registered business

You must register for VAT if the combined taxable turnover of the new business and your existing business is over the threshold.

Late registration

If you register late, you must pay VAT on any sales you’ve made since the date you should have registered.

You might need to pay a penalty, depending on how much you owe and how late your registration is.

If you go over the threshold temporarily

You can apply for a registration ‘exception’ if your taxable turnover goes over the threshold temporarily.

Contact HMRC to request the VAT1 registration form. You’ll need to provide evidence showing why you believe your taxable turnover will not go over the deregistration threshold of £88,000 in the next 12 months.

HMRC will consider your exception and write to confirm if you get one. If not, they’ll register you for VAT.

Exemption from registration

If most of your taxable goods or services have a VAT rate of 0% (zero-rated supplies) you might not need to register for VAT. You’ll need to ask HMRC for permission - this is called an exemption from registration.

If you’re a non-established taxable person, all of your taxable goods or services must be zero-rated in order to be eligible for exemption from registration.

Apply for an exemption from registration either:

online using the register for VAT online service
by post - contact HMRC to request the VAT1 registration form

If you dispose of assets and have claimed a repayment of VAT on them, you will need to fill in form VAT1C and the VAT1 registration form.

What happens next

HMRC will write to you to let you know whether your exemption application has been approved. If your application is rejected, HMRC will register you for VAT.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Register for VAT

When to register for VAT

Calculate your turnover

If you exceeded the threshold in the last 12 months

Example

If you’re going to exceed the threshold in the next 30 days

Example

If you’re based in Northern Ireland and sell goods or services that are VAT exempt

If you take over a VAT-registered business

Late registration

If you go over the threshold temporarily

Exemption from registration

What happens next

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Register for VAT

When to register for VAT

Calculate your turnover

If you exceeded the threshold in the last 12 months

Example

If you’re going to exceed the threshold in the next 30 days

Example

If you’re based in Northern Ireland and sell goods or services that are VAT exempt

If you take over a VAT-registered business

Late registration

If you go over the threshold temporarily

Exemption from registration

What happens next

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