By Henry Williams on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Whether or not you need to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) as a sole trader depends entirely on your taxable turnover. Basically, if at the end of any month your taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or you expect it to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days, you need to register for VAT. You must do so within 30 days of the end of the month you went over.
You can also voluntarily register for VAT even if your turnover is under the threshold. Some sole traders choose to do this so that they can claim back the VAT on goods and services purchased for their business or to avoid financial penalties from accidentally going over the threshold.
Below, we explain how to register for VAT as a sole trader, how much you need to pay, VAT rates, charging VAT to customers, and MTD for VAT.
Registering for VAT as a sole trader
You can register for VAT online with HMRC. Once approved, you should receive a unique VAT number relevant only to your business within a few weeks.
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