De-registering from vat

Accounting
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I have de-registered from vat (as from 31/12/2023) but my accounting quarter runs until the end of January 2024. I have not issued any sales invoices since de-registering but I have made a few payments for goods since then. I have not as yet clicked to remove my business from vat accounting in the company profile. What do I need to do. It would appear that I have to set a date for de-registering but it is not clear how I do this.

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The VAT return dates in QuickFile are pulled live from HMRC, so once you’ve de-registered with them and they have updated your online account with the date range for your final return, then that will show up in QuickFile automatically as your final OPEN VAT period.

If you do need to issue any more sales invoices before you’ve completed that final return then you will need to turn off the VAT registered option in QuickFile in order to generate invoices that don’t show VAT - you’d have to turn the VAT option back on temporarily in order to submit your final return, then turn it back off again.

You should check with your accountant if you need to make any adjustments on your final return, e.g. you might need to repay the VAT on assets or stock you bought while registered (and reclaimed the purchase VAT) but haven’t yet sold.

1 Like
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Thanks for the advice Ian. It hadn’t occurred to me that HMRC would have already fixed the final return date on the system. I was thinking it would be at my end that the date is set. Clearly Quickfile doesn’t know that until I file my last return. I have until the beginning of March to file my last return (which is what I would be doing normally). The adjustments for stock, etc. are already in hand.

I have made purchases since the beginning of the year for which I have paid vat. Do I record those as 0% vat (if applicable) or continue with applying vat?

Best wishes,

Martin

Martin Whitworth
9B The Camp Industrial Estate
Milton Common
Oxford
OX9 2NP

Tel. 01844 278807
Mobile: 07704 871905
martin@martinwhitworth.co.uk

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You can’t reclaim vat on purchases made after you deregistered, so unless your accountant says otherwise you should enter the vat inclusive total as the net column and set the rate to 0%.

Once you’ve turned off the VAT registered setting in QuickFile that’s effectively what it’ll do anyway, the VAT columns disappear from the purchase editor and everything is recorded as zero VAT.

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Thanks again Ian, that is pretty much what I figured would happen.

Martin

Martin Whitworth
9B The Camp Industrial Estate
Milton Common
Oxford
OX9 2NP

Tel. 01844 278807
Mobile: 07704 871905
martin@martinwhitworth.co.uk

6

Hi Martin, fyi from recent personal experience.
I de registered for vat, received a letter from HMRC confirming that i was de registered BUT as there where 2 months left in the quarter i still received penalty points for each month for not submitting a vat return even though i was no longer registered and not able to submit a return

called hmrc and agent could see i wasn’t registered and just advised me to ignore the warnings.

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Hi Roger, Thanks for the email. Probably a left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. My normal end of 1/4 is the end of Jan and I have until the beginning of March to submit. I’ll just have to see what happens. Have they caught up with you after you ignored the letters?

Best wishes,

Martin

Martin Whitworth
9B The Camp Industrial Estate
Milton Common
Oxford
OX9 2NP

Tel. 01844 278807
Mobile: 07704 871905
martin@martinwhitworth.co.uk

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