Quick answer: Spotted an error on a filed VAT return? Method 1 — adjust your next return — covers net errors of £10,000 or less, or errors between £10,000 and £50,000 that are less than 1% of your Box 6 sales. Method 2 — notify HMRC directly — is for anything bigger, anything deliberate, or […]
Read more →Quick answer: There is no VAT refund for tourists in Great Britain. The VAT Retail Export Scheme — which let overseas visitors reclaim VAT on goods taken home in their luggage — was withdrawn with effect from 1 January 2021 and has not been replaced. Prices on Oxford Street and at Heathrow already include 20% […]
Read more →Quick answer: A VAT refund is not a separate claim — it is the negative figure on your VAT return. If Box 3 (VAT you charged) is less than Box 4 (VAT you paid), the Box 5 difference is yours back. HMRC processes most repayments automatically and pays them within 30 days of receiving your […]
Read more →Quick answer: Input VAT is the VAT you pay on business purchases (stock, equipment, services from other VAT-registered businesses). Output VAT is the VAT you charge your own customers when you sell. On each VAT return, you pay HMRC the output VAT you collected minus the input VAT you paid — so output VAT is […]
Read more →A lender asks for "proof of VAT registration" with your loan application. A new supplier wants your VAT details on file before opening your trade account. You registered six months ago, printed nothing at the time, and can't remember whether you ever received the actual certificate. This guide covers what the VAT registration certificate (HMRC […]
Read more →A new client asks for your VAT number before they'll pay your first invoice. A supplier sends you an invoice quoting a number that starts with "XI" instead of "GB". An online form asks for your "VAT ID" and you're not sure whether that's the same thing. Three moments of confusion, one cause: nobody explains […]
Read more →Imagine you've just received an invoice for £12,000 plus £2,400 VAT from a new supplier. You're VAT registered, so that £2,400 is input VAT you plan to reclaim on your next return. But there's a catch: you can only reclaim VAT charged by a properly VAT-registered business. If the supplier's VAT number is fake, mistyped, […]
Read more →Your VAT return is due, the payment deadline arrives, and the money simply isn't there. It happens to real businesses — a late-paying customer, a quiet quarter, a bill you underestimated. What matters now is what you do in the next 15 days, because HMRC's response follows a strict timetable, and the single cheapest move […]
Read more →If your business owes HMRC a lot of VAT each year, you don't get to wait until the quarterly deadline to pay it. Businesses with an annual VAT liability of £2.3 million or more must pay "payments on account" — advance instalments towards their VAT bill, spread through the year. Miss the threshold and it's […]
Read more →A VAT Direct Debit is the simplest way to pay your VAT bill: you authorise HMRC once, and your bill is collected automatically from your business bank account after every return. But the timing rules catch people out — set it up too late and your first payment won't be taken, and a Direct Debit […]
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