Two of the VAT special schemes can provide particular advantages for smaller businesses.
- The Flat Rate Scheme (reviewed in our June 2012 newsletter) can reduce overall VAT payable, especially for traders that are subject to the lower Flat Rate percentages.
- Cash Accounting allows you to defer payment of VAT added to your sales until the invoices are paid. This can have significant cash flow benefits for businesses with amounts owed from customers that are higher than amounts due to suppliers.
In order to register for either of these schemes, your projected business turnover for the year following registration needs to be below certain limits.
- Under the Flat Rate Scheme rules you can register as long as your projected turnover for the next twelve months does not exceed £150,000 excluding VAT.
- The equivalent turnover limit to join the Cash Accounting Scheme is £1.35m.
Once you are in the scheme you can continue to enjoy the benefits until your turnover exceeds the exit turnover limits. For both of these schemes these turnover limits are higher than the amounts required for registration.
- You will need to leave the Flat Rate Scheme when your annual turnover exceeds £230,000 excluding VAT.
- The equivalent amount to leave the Cash Accounting scheme is £1.6m.
Planning note
From a planning point of view it is therefore wise to consider registration for these schemes when a smaller business commences trading or shortly thereafter, when turnover limits will be at their lowest levels in most cases.
The Flat Rate rules allow you to stay in the scheme and exceed the turnover registration limits by £80,000 before you need to exit. For Cash Accounting purposes the equivalent figure is £250,000.