What is VAT Returns?
A VAT return is made up of the total VAT charged by a business and the total VAT paid by the business to suppliers. The My Business website explains the difference between the two amounts is either paid by the business if its incoming payments outnumber outgoing payments or claimed as a refund when outgoing VAT is higher than incoming.
Who has to File a Return?
A If you are a registered dealer, you must file a VAT return. If your return shows that tax is due, you must also pay the tax. This is part of your self-assessment return.
If you're just starting out, we can help you decide whether you need to be VAT registered from the outset or not. And we will continue to monitor your situation, so that should it become obligatory for you to register for VAT, we can deal with all of the paperwork for you. In contrast, we will also monitor your position for when we think you are able to and would benefit from deregistering.
Whether a new or existing business, we will also look at the VAT schemes you are eligible for and establish whether you would be better off adopting one or a mixture of them. Some VAT schemes can lead to tax savings and a reduction in bookkeeping responsibilities.
As with other areas of tax, we can act as your Agent for VAT purposes and therefore correspond with HMRC or your behalf. Paper VAT returns are pretty scarce now but our software also allows us to file your VAT returns online.
Needless to say, late VAT registration, errors, late VAT returns and late VAT payments can all lead to penalties and possibly interest being charged. So allowing your TaxAssist Accountant to take care of your VAT affairs, not only gives you peace of mind, but it should also avoid you wasting your hard-earned cash on penalties and interest.