VAT returns & Making Tax Digital —
fully compliant, every quarter.

You must register for VAT when your taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, or if you expect to exceed that threshold within the next 30 days. You can also register voluntarily below the threshold — which can be beneficial if you sell to VAT-registered businesses or want to reclaim input tax.

MTD for VAT requires all VAT-registered businesses to keep digital records and submit their VAT returns using HMRC-compatible software. It has been mandatory since April 2022 for all VAT-registered businesses regardless of turnover. We submit all returns via Xero, which is fully MTD-compliant.

The Flat Rate Scheme (FRS) lets you pay a fixed percentage of your gross turnover to HMRC rather than calculating the difference between output and input VAT. It simplifies administration and can be more profitable for businesses with low input VAT. However, it is not suitable for everyone — particularly businesses with high VAT-able purchases. We advise on which scheme is most advantageous for your business.

Under Cash Accounting, you account for VAT based on when you receive and make payments rather than when invoices are raised. This benefits businesses with slow-paying clients because you do not pay VAT to HMRC until you have been paid yourself. It is available to businesses with turnover below £1.35 million.

Yes — as a VAT-registered business you can reclaim input tax on goods and services purchased for business use. There are restrictions: you cannot reclaim VAT on business entertainment, personal expenses, or cars (unless used exclusively for business). We review your purchases to identify all recoverable input tax and ensure your returns are optimised.

If your taxable turnover falls below £88,000 in a 12-month period (or you expect it to), you can apply to deregister. Deregistration may simplify your administration but it means you can no longer reclaim input VAT, which could increase your costs if you have significant purchases. We advise on whether deregistration is right for your situation.