Find UK Accountant

I'm an accountant Get listed
Find an accountant Get a free quote

VAT – will your business benefit from the Flat Rate Scheme?

Created at
13th-Jun-2016
Author
Pros Assist

Articles By This Author

Other Articles

As an SME, whether you are self employed or a limited company, if your turnover becomes

above £82,000 (£81,000 2015) then you are obliged to register for VAT. You are therefore

obliged to charge VAT on your sales, at the going rate, currently 20%, and claim VAT on

your expenses accordingly.

At the end of the month, quarter or year you must prepare a VAT return and pay the net VAT

due to H M Revenue & Customs. The net VAT due is the VAT on your expenses off-set

against the VAT on your sales.

If your turnover is below £150,000 during the year, you could opt to use the Flat Rate

Scheme.

A very important benefit of using this scheme is that you do not have to keep the records of

your sales or your expenses, as the VAT you pay is a percentage (the rate applicable to your

type of business) on the total gross turnover. However, please do not throw away your

records as you will need to keep them as per the regulations for Self Assessment and/or

Corporation Tax.

You will, however have to keep charging and showing the standard rate of VAT and the

standard VAT amount separately on your sales invoices as per normal.

Another benefit for those that have registered and are opting to use the scheme within their

first year of VAT registration is that you benefit from a reduction from your specific rate by

1%. The rate is then changed back to the normal rate specific to your business after the first

year of your VAT registration date.

The scheme is not ideal for those businesses who sell Zero Rated or Exempt goods or

services.

Below are a reserved number of examples of businesses and their corresponding rates if opted

for the flat rate scheme:

Restaurants and takeaways 12.5%

IT consultants 14.5%

Computer repairing 10.5%

Estate agents and property management 12%

Media production 13%

Building and construction services 9.5%

Hairdressing and beauticians 13%

Hotels 10.5%

Security services 12%

Dry cleaning services 12%

Legal services 14.5%

Vehicle repairs 8.5%

Generally, if you can’t relate your business activities to any of the items on the list provided

by H M Revenue & Customs, a rate of 12% is considered a sufficient rate to use.

Please see the H M Revenue & Customs website for up to date rates.

Find UK Accountant

Accountant listings

Tax calculators

Accounting software