If you’re thinking about how to become vat registered or get registered for vat online, then today I’ll explain the whole procedure to you; bear with me.

As your business grows, you may reach the point where you need to register for VAT with HMRC once you meet the threshold. You’ll get a VAT number and will need to make VAT returns.  

When your business prospers or grows, you might reach a specific point where you’ll require to get yourself registered for VAT with HMRC when you meet a threshold. After that, you’ll be provided with a VAT number and can make VAT returns.

Let me explain it further without wasting more time.

You can or should register yourself if you meet the following requirements:

• Your total turnover is over £85,000 within the last 12 months
• Your next 30 days or month’s turnover will be over £85,000

So back to the main question how to get yourself registered for VAT?

 The step is straightforward and clear to the point; all you’ve to do is to go to the website and register for VAT online.

Then you’ve to create a VAT online account (Also known as a Government Gateway account). You’ll require this to submit your VAT return at HMRC. 

VAT registered means a specific small business, person or contractor is subject to charge and pay VAT on goods, products, or services they sell or acquire.

MTD stands for Making Tax Digital, and if you or your business is VAT registered, then you’re subjected to follow the rules for ‘Making Tax Digital for VAT.’ It means you’ve to:

• Keep the digital records of all of your invoices
• Use compatible software to submit your business’s VAT return

Before you start your MTD registration, you’ll require the following:

• A working business email address
• Government Gateway user ID and password, if you don’t have a user ID, you can create it easily when you use this service.
• VAT registration number and latest VAT return

There can be a few other requirements needed. You can see it officially here.

There are a few ways to check if a company is registered; all you’ve to do is call the HMRC VAT helpline. HMRC has its complete database of VAT-registered businesses, and you don’t need to look it anywhere.

If you are unsure or have doubts about any VAT number, you can call their helpline on 0300 200 3700 directly.

Also, suppose you’re too busy to call and inquire about the business validity. In that case, you can go to European Union’s VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) website and check the validity of VAT numbers and UK VAT numbers. When you enter the country code and registration number in the required fields, it will show whether the supplier’s VAT number is valid or not.

In other countries, you can simply Google the helpline number or website to obtain the contact information for vat registration.

The following below table will show you the UK standard VAT rates since 1973. 

From	To	Standard rate
1 April 1973	July 1974	10.0%
July 1974	17 June 1979	8.0%*
18 June 1979	18 March 1991	15.0%
19 March 1991	30 November 2008	17.5%
1 December 2008	31 December 2009	15.0%
1 January 2010	3 January 2011	17.5%
4 January 2011	Present	20.0%

If your final annual revenue or turnover is over £85,000 within the last 12 months, then you’re eligible to register yourself for VAT.

This condition applies to all commercial businesses, whether you’re a sole trader, limited partnership, limited liability company, or any other corporation.

If you fail to register for VAT with HMRC within the mentioned timeline, you’ll face a few penalties. There will be a fine you’ve to pay it’s based on how much VAT you currently owe from the point of registration, and that’ll be added to your penalty, so being late can be expensive for you.

The minimum amount for penalty is £50 in the UK and other EU countries, but it can be different in a different scenario, mainly depending upon how you are late.

Time period of late VAT registration	Penalties can be applied
Nine months or under	5% of what you owe, on top of what you’d have been paid
Between 9 and 18 months late	10% of what you owe, on top of what you’d have been paid
Above 18 months	15% of what you owe, on top of what you’d have been paid

As a good and responsible citizen, if your business’s turnover is above £85,000, you can register yourself as a VAT payer if it suits your business, primarily if you sell your goods, products, or services to other VAT-registered companies.

To set up as a sole trader, you need to tell HMRC that you pay tax through Self Assessment. You’ll need to file a tax return every year.

To do this as a sole trader, you’ll require to inform HMRC that you pay the tax through Self Assessment, and then you’ll need to file a tax annually.

Here is the form for Self Assessment. You can register yourself here easily. 

Yes, a limited company needs to be vat registered and is subjected to pay VAT if they meet the following conditions:

• The total turnover of the limited company exceeds the threshold mentioned by HMRC in the past 12 months
• Or the total turnover expected to exceed in the upcoming or forthcoming 30 days.

The VAT threshold changes from time to time, which you can confirm by visiting HMRC official website. The current standard rate is 20% in most EU countries. Some goods, products, and services are zero-taxed (tax exempted), and you don’t have to pay anything in terms of VAT for those in EU countries.

It is easy to register for VAT, and it usually takes 30 days to get registered with VAT though it can take longer to get yourself registered and get vat registration certificate in some cases.

Yes, you can get a few benefits if you or your business gets VAT registered. 

But before diving into the benefits of getting yourself VAT registered, there are a few things to consider, and I want to clarify them. So it will be easy to understand every aspect of this VAT process.

As you know or might not know, VAT is a particular TAX calculated on behalf of HMRC. It never belongs or is related to you. A VAT-registered business adds value-added tax to their sales invoices and can reclaim any VAT included in or on the items they’ve purchased. 

If somehow you are not VAT registered, you still must pay VAT on buying goods, products, or services, but they cannot be reclaimed. In the end, those businesses who suffer in paying the actual and real tax are non-VAT registered individuals and companies at the bottom of the surface or chain.

Now let’s discuss the benefits of getting yourself registered as VAT:

• VAT makes your business as large business as people know that only those businesses are VAT-registered whose turnover is over £85,000.
• Suppose you’re selling your products, goods, or services to a VAT-registered business or businesses. In that case, they can easily reclaim the VAT from HMRC, which makes your selling price more competitive, and you can also recover this VAT in your costs.
• VAT keeps your records up to date, which is a good sign and makes your information better for running and managing your business.
• Your accountant can tell which items that you bought before the date of VAT registration are easily VAT claimed.
• If you’re in a situation for VAT reclaim, you can be in a better position.

As a charity, if your 12-month annual turnover is above or more than £85,000, then you are eligible to get registered and pay VAT. 

However, you can choose to register for VAT, for example, if you want to reclaim VAT on certain supplies. Also, if you register, you must pay VAT returns every three months.

There are five different VAT schemes you can choose from:

• RETAIL & VAT MARGIN
• FLAT RATE SCHEME
• REGULAR METHOD
• ANNUAL SCHEME
• CASH SCHEME

To know about these and learn more about them, you can visit our vat schemes page.

If you’re not VAT registered, you can’t charge VAT on the products, goods, or services you’re giving or providing.

However, a VAT-registered sole trader or business must charge VAT on all of the products, goods, or services they’re selling so they can easily reclaim the VAT they paid to other VAT-registered companies.

Also, you can get a severe penalty if you pay VAT on the invoice of goods, products, or services you’re selling while you’re not registered for VAT: paragraph 2, Schedule 41, Finance Act 2008. You can get a penalty of 100% of the VAT mentioned on the invoice. A few other penalties were also discussed in the above paragraphs.

Yes, you can reinstate for VAT if your agreement is intact, and then your original VAT registration can be reactivated.

While somehow, if you do not have an agreement to reinstate, you must re-register yourself or your business subject to the standard rules.