This increasingly complex area of tax can be costly if issues are not resolved promptly, or VAT saving opportunities are missed.
As a VAT Accountant we can advise on VAT registration and complete the process for you. Areas where you may need help include:
- Voluntary registration
- Selecting the right VAT scheme
- Advice on how to deal with cross border transactions (more common than you might think as Google and PayPal for instance involve cross border transactions)
- Dealing with partial exemption issues
- Specialist schemes, for instance the Tour Operators Margin Scheme
- Distance selling
- Dealing with VAT mistakes
- VAT reconciliations
- Making Tax Digital
We can also carry out a free initial review of your VAT position to establish whether there have been any underpayments or over payments and we advise on matters specific to your businesses.
Many small businesses use the flat rate scheme. HMRC describe this scheme as being designed to simplify your records of sales and purchases yet their guidance on the scheme runs to over 13,500 words! The introduction of a 16.5% flat rate for “low cost traders” has added to the complexity. This has caused many businesses to abandon the scheme in favour of standard VAT accounting and some, who had registered voluntarily, have de-registered for VAT. The 16.5% rate has hit service businesses in particular as their main costs tend to be labour and they don’t buy “goods” (as defined by HMRC).
Making Tax Digital (“MTD”)
VAT is the Government’s first target in the drive to Making Tax Digital (“MTD”). From April 2019 businesses with revenue above the VAT threshold will have to keep their records digitally and will not be able to submit their returns by completing them on HMRC online services. They must be submitted using MTD functional compatible software. At Elver Consultancy we have a range of MTD solutions. MTD applies to the first VAT return period that starts on or after 1 April. With a few exceptions (e.g. remoteness of location) only businesses with taxable turnover that has never exceeded the VAT registration threshold will be exempt from MTD.
If you would like to arrange an initial free consultation to review your VAT affairs, or any other tax issue, please contact us.
International VAT
If your business has to deal with International VAT compliance then we can work in partnership with VATGlobal. They can help with registration, filings and compliance in all 28 European Union member states along with 22 other jurisdictions around the world. By working in partnership with VATGlobal we can ensure that your international VAT compliance and accounting is correctly accounted for in your UK accounts without the need for you to act as a go-between.
VATGlobal services include:
- Dedicated account manager with a minimum of 3-4 years of international VAT
- Fiscal representation
- Registrations
- Tax Reporting
- Secure cloud based portal for communication, file sharing and reporting