Value Added Tax, or VAT, is a tax applied to the sale of most goods and services by our government. The most common rate of VAT is 20% which is called the standard rate. Vendors charge this tax on the goods and services they sell, and they pay VAT when they purchase goods and services. 

Your business must register for VAT if over the past 12 months your taxable supplies have exceeded the VAT registration threshold of £85,000. It’s calculated on a rolling 12-month period, not just in the current tax year. So stay frosty, if the total of your turnover over the last year looks like it will exceed £85,000, you’ll need to register for VAT immediately.

Yes, you can voluntarily register for VAT with HMRC at any time. The big advantage of registering for VAT voluntarily is that you can claim the VAT you paid while making the initial investment in your business, such as buying computers and what not. 

In most cases, VAT returns must be submitted to HMRC once every three months. Quick maths here, but that means that you will submit four VAT returns every year.

You need a VAT receipt to claim VAT. This receipt will have the name of the vendor, their address, as well as their VAT number. HMRC need this information in order to process your VAT claim.

Yes, but the revenue threshold for deregistering is £83,000. That means that even if your revenue stays between £83,000 and £85,000, you will still need to charge your customers VAT. The deregistration threshold is £2,000 below the registration threshold in order to avoid business having to constantly register and deregister.