How Much VAT Do I Need to Charge?

Most of us pay VAT daily, whether it’s for a specific service or purchasing our favourite savoury snacks. It stands for ‘value-added-tax’ and is a consumption tax charged on a product during each point of a sale where value has been added.

As a business, registering for VAT is mandatory if your taxable turnover in the last 12 consecutive months reaches the VAT threshold (currently £90,000). You can volunteer to register before you reach this threshold though, if you feel it would benefit your business.

Once registered, you’ll need to charge VAT on the taxable sales you make, using the correct rates of VAT. We’ll look at what each of the rates are, so you know how much you need to charge.

Who needs to charge VAT?

Anyone who’s VAT registered and makes VAT taxable sales. Whether your turnover is above the VAT threshold or you’ve volunteered to register, there are set rates you must add to the price of your goods and services once your business is signed up for VAT.

It’s important to note you cannot charge VAT or claim back the VAT you pay to other businesses if you’re not VAT-registered.

What are the different rates of VAT?

The UK uses different VAT rates depending on what product or service is being supplied; the standard rate, reduced rate, or zero rate. Your products and services can also be exempt from VAT completely, which is different to being zero rated.

Being a VAT-registered seller means it’s your responsibility to charge the correct VAT rate on the things you sell (known as making a supply). We’ll give you an overview of the different UK VAT rates below, but it’s also worth taking a look at the government’s online guidance.

Standard rate

The standard rate is currently 20% and applies to most goods and services. For example, if a customer buys a product worth £100, they’ll pay you £120 once the standard VAT rate is added. Your business will keep £100, and remit £20 to HMRC.

This is where it’s worth mentioning what VAT means for your pricing. For example, another option here is to keep the sale price the same, so your customer still pays £100 and you pay the VAT to HMRC out of your profit margin.

Reduced rate

The reduced rate is 5%, and usually applies to home energy, children’s car seats, and sanitary products. If a customer bought sanitary products worth £7 including VAT, £6.65 would go to your business, and 35p would go towards HMRC.

Zero rate

The zero rate is literally charged at 0%. This is for things like children’s clothes, medical equipment, medication, and most foods. Even though the VAT on these is charged at zero, they still need to be added to your VAT return – so always ensure you keep a record of these too!

VAT exempt

VAT exempt items and services do not have any VAT added to them. For example, if you go to the Post Office to buy stamps, they’re completely exempt. Because they’re exempt, you don’t need to include them in your VAT returns like you do with zero-rate items and services.

Out of scope

These items are considered completely outside of the UK VAT system, like wages or MOT tests.

What should I include on my VAT invoices?

It’s important to be clear about the VAT charged on invoices, as well as the items or services you’ve provided. Invoices should include:

Itemising your VAT invoices and receipts will be extra helpful for your own records when you fill out your VAT returns, and for any businesses who want to reclaim VAT they’ve paid to you.

We’re going to be really subtle now, and casually mention Pandle is accounting software with invoice and VAT tools built in, rather than working out what to show on your invoices manually.

Who doesn’t need to register for VAT?

If your business’s taxable turnover is less than £90,000 you don’t need to register for VAT. You may be able to apply for a VAT exemption (or partial exemption) if you do earn over the threshold but mainly sell zero-rated goods.

Learn more about using Pandle to make business accounting easier. Create an account today and decide what to do with all the extra time you get back.