Freedom Isn’t Free UK Personal Finance
Self-Employed
Do I Need to Register for VAT? The GBP 90k Threshold
You must register for VAT if your VAT-taxable turnover went over GBP 90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, or if you expect to pass GBP 90,000 in the next 30 days alone. The threshold is a registration trigger, not a tax-free band: once registered you charge VAT on all your taxable sales.
VAT registration: the key facts
| Threshold or test | What it means |
|---|---|
| Registration threshold | GBP 90,000 of VAT-taxable turnover. Cross it and you must register |
| Deregistration threshold | GBP 88,000. You can cancel your registration if turnover falls below this |
| Rolling 12-month test (backward) | You must register if turnover went over GBP 90,000 in any 12-month period, checked every month, not the tax year or calendar year |
| Next-30-days test (forward) | You must register if you expect turnover to pass GBP 90,000 in the next 30 days on its own, for example from one large order |
| Is the first GBP 90,000 VAT free? | No. The threshold decides whether you register, not whether tax is due. Once registered you charge VAT on all taxable sales, not just the part over GBP 90,000 |
| Deadline to register (backward test) | Within 30 days of the end of the month you went over the threshold |
| Deadline to register (forward test) | By the end of the 30-day period you expect to go over |
| Temporary exceeding | You can apply for a registration "exception" if you can show turnover will stay below GBP 88,000 over the next 12 months |
| Voluntary registration | You can register below GBP 90,000, which lets you reclaim VAT on purchases |
| How to register | Online through your HMRC account, or by post using form VAT1 |