VAT | Pat van Aalst Accounting Consultant in Bicester

Start strong with expert financial advice

Claim back VAT on your purchases

The biggest advantage of becoming Value Added Tax (VAT) registered is that you can claim back VAT paid on purchases of goods or services. Excitingly, this includes the VAT you paid when purchasing goods when you were setting up your business.

Usually, businesses spend a lot of money on equipment and services when starting out or when they are expanding, meaning you could save yourself a handsome amount of cash.

Saving you time, hassle, and headaches

As you might expect, there is a fair bit of paperwork involved. The VAT registration process, VAT calculations, filing VAT returns and claiming the VAT you have paid all involve a lot of work.

Given that VAT returns must be filed every three months, it can quickly suck up much of your precious time. So let us take this burden off your shoulders so you can get back to doing what you enjoy most.

Supporting sole traders with their finances

"I would definitely recommend Pat's services to any other small business. He's a great accountant, a nice guy, and he knows exactly what he's talking about"

⁠— Jim Peskett, Xendurance Europe

Frequently asked questions

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.

Experience accounting without the headache

Book a call with us today for a refreshing approach to financial management. No suits, no jargon, just practical accounting solutions that make a difference.

Experience accounting without the headache

Streamline your VAT management by booking a call with us today. We offer clear, effective VAT solutions without the suits or complicated language, just straightforward support that works for you.