Form VAT1 – Fill, Sign and Download | VAT Registration
ZenDocs is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
ZenDocs is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
Form VAT1 is HMRC's application to register a business for VAT. Most businesses now register online through the Government Gateway rather than filling in a paper VAT1, but the paper form still exists for specific situations the online service doesn't handle, such as a limited liability partnership registering as the representative member of a VAT group, or a corporate body registering separate divisions under different VAT numbers.
Registration is mandatory once your taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, not a fixed tax year. There's also a forward-looking test: if you expect to exceed £90,000 in the next 30 days alone, you must register immediately rather than waiting for the 12-month figure to catch up. Businesses can also register voluntarily below the threshold, which lets them reclaim VAT on purchases.
If your turnover only crosses £90,000 temporarily, for example because of a one-off large contract, you can apply for an exception from registration rather than registering permanently. This means calling HMRC's VAT helpline to request a paper VAT1 alongside Form VAT5EXC, and providing evidence that your turnover will fall back below the £88,000 deregistration threshold within the next 12 months. HMRC decides case by case and isn't obliged to grant it.
Once registered, you'll receive a VAT registration certificate with your effective date of registration and a 9-digit VAT number, which you then need to show on invoices. You must charge VAT on taxable sales from your effective date, even if your certificate arrives later, and file VAT returns digitally under Making Tax Digital rules. Registering late means accounting for VAT you should have charged from the date you should have registered, without being able to go back and bill customers for it retrospectively.
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