[simon123]

Has registering for VAT got you any new work ?  A few I have talked to say it has 

[Neil Williams]

In the mad world of commercials you stand a better chance of getting a job against another if you are vat registered and their not, only because it's easier for their accounting procedures.

[simon123]

I have just taken the plunge , so I am hoping it gets me some quality work 

[eddie d]

i have found that it makes no difference

[Dean Aspects]

I have been asked twice if i was vat registered but it never stopped me getting the jobs i suppose it does give a level of credebility though

[Paul Coleman]

Has registering for VAT got you any new work ?  A few I have talked to say it has 

Why have you just registered for VAT when you are moving abroad soon?  Just seems an odd thing to do if you don't have to.

[simon123]

Has registering for VAT got you any new work ?  A few I have talked to say it has 

Why have you just registered for VAT when you are moving abroad soon?  Just seems an odd thing to do if you don't have to.

well my fiancee wants to live in England for a while , so I am going to give her a year of enduring the bad weather, than hopefully she will agree to move abroad ! 

[Moderator David@stives]

It will make no difference.

[simon123]

It will make no difference.

D,OH !!!

[davids3511]

It will make no difference.

Apart from handing the treasury about 17% of your earnings.

[simon123]

It will make no difference.

Apart from handing the treasury about 17% of your earnings.

I love paying lots of tax 

[davids3511]

It will make no difference.

Apart from handing the treasury about 17% of your earnings.

Business don’t pay VAT, it’s a tax for the public!

That's true if you are going to put all your prices up by 17.5%. If you are not, then your business will certainly pay the tax.

Your suggestion only works in a business to business environment where vat can be claimed back.

[David Slater]

No, your customers will have to!

Your customers "will have to" what?

[ronnie paton]

No, your customers will have to!

Your customers "will have to" what?

They could just cancel


Pay the VAT tax,

 

[David Slater]

No, your customers will have to!

Your customers "will have to" what?

Pay the VAT tax,

 

Presuming we're still talking about the original posters question and presuming he isnt turning over more that 60k (or whatever the current threshhold is for registering) - - - -

If your business is not VAT registered then you wont add VAT to your invoice and you customer wont pay VAT.

Simple.

[macmac]

When i employ tradesmen i always make sure they are NOT vat registered. I pay enough tax!

Tony

[David Slater]

David you can apply for VAT registration any time before the threshold, that goes without saying, course you don’t claim and you don’t charge VAT if your not registered.

But the original post is talking about being VAT registered and VAT is a tax for the man in the street only, it is not in any way a tax on business.

You can either interpret it the correct way or the wrong way it’s your choice.

 

Ewan,

You seem to be struggling with the implications to your business of going VAT registered if dont need to.

Let me try and break it down for you -

If you register for VAT all your customers will have to be charged VAT...thats both your residential and commercial customers.

So, now we've established this - lets look at the next step

What can your business reclaim now you're VAT registered?

Window cleaning is 'labour intensive' and has few overheads. So you've got some fuel, some scrim, new rubbers or poles, the odd brush.

So your 'reclaimable VAT' each quarter is going to be very low. But your 'VATable income' is going to be relatively high.

You now have two choices -

1. Absorb the VAT into your current prices (effectively reducing your price by 17.5%)

2. Put your prices up across the board by 17.5% to cover the new tax you have voluntarily agreed to pay HMRC.

If you dont have to go VAT (because your turnover is below the threshold) and your business cannot reclaim more than it pays, there is no advantage doing it.

It will end up costing YOUR BUSINESS money. and thats leaving aside the extra burden of producing a VAT return each quarter!

[simon123]

David you can apply for VAT registration any time before the threshold, that goes without saying, course you don’t claim and you don’t charge VAT if your not registered.

But the original post is talking about being VAT registered and VAT is a tax for the man in the street only, it is not in any way a tax on business.

You can either interpret it the correct way or the wrong way it’s your choice.

 

Ewan you can register before the threshold yes , and you can also opt out , if you find it is not working for you mate

[davids3511]

Unless you can reclaim as much vat as you are due to pay, there is no point in registering unless you have to. As Ewan rightly points out, it is a man on the street tax and you are basically working for HMRC to collect this tax.

However, the implications of this is that you will have to add 17.5% to every bill or absorbe the tax yourself.

So where you were cleaning Mrs. Smith for £10.00, you will either have to add 17.5% to the bill and ask her for £11.75 or you will have to swallow the tax yourself and continue to ask for £10.00. In the latter case, the £10.00 already includes the 17.5% so you will have to pay £1.49 to HMRC and be left with £8.51 where you used to have £10.00.

[simon123]

Unless you can reclaim as much vat as you are due to pay, there is no point in registering unless you have to. As Ewan rightly points out, it is a man on the street tax and you are basically working for HMRC to collect this tax.

However, the implications of this is that you will have to add 17.5% to every bill or absorbe the tax yourself.

So where you were cleaning Mrs. Smith for £10.00, you will either have to add 17.5% to the bill and ask her for £11.75 or you will have to swallow the tax yourself and continue to ask for £10.00. In the latter case, the £10.00 already includes the 17.5% so you will have to pay £1.49 to HMRC and be left with £8.51 where you used to have £10.00.

Well the trick is to put VAT on all your new customers both commercial and domestic ! If you have existing customers you could try to explain that because you are now VAT registered the prices will be increasing accordingly !