VAT Returns

Once your business is VAT-registered, a VAT return is normally due every three months, showing the VAT charged on your sales minus the VAT you can reclaim. You must register when your VAT-taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period — and it pays to see the threshold coming rather than discover you crossed it months ago.

SCEPTRE can prepare your VAT return from your own records, or take care of the bookkeeping and the VAT return together. We act as your agent for VAT purposes, corresponding with HMRC on your behalf.

Making Tax Digital for VAT

All VAT-registered businesses must keep digital records and file returns through MTD-compatible software — HMRC’s old online form is long gone. Our software files your returns digitally with HMRC, fully MTD-compliant. If your current record-keeping is not digital, we will move you across.

Getting the details right

Late registration, errors, late returns and late payments all lead to penalties and interest — HMRC’s points-based penalty system means repeated small slips add up. There are also choices worth reviewing: the flat rate scheme, cash accounting, and annual accounting can each simplify VAT or improve cash flow for the right business. We will advise which, if any, suits yours.

Frequently asked questions

When do I have to register for VAT? When your VAT-taxable turnover for the last 12 months passes £90,000, or you expect it to in the next 30 days. You can also register voluntarily below the threshold — sometimes worthwhile if your customers are VAT-registered businesses.

When are VAT returns due? Usually one calendar month and seven days after the end of each quarter — payment included.

Can you sort out a VAT problem that already exists? Yes — late registrations, corrections to past returns, and HMRC correspondence are all things we handle.

Approaching the threshold, or tangled in VAT already? Contact SCEPTRE for a free consultation, or call 07886 901535.