If your taxable turnover is more than £82,000 in the UK, you must register for VAT with the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). However, there are a number of reasons that can make you cancel your registration.
The reasons can be:
- You stopped making VAT taxable supplies
- You joined a VAT group
- Your legal status changes
- You sold your business
If your taxable turnover falls below the de-registration threshold of £80,000, you should ask HMRC to cancel your registration.
If all of these reasons apply to you, you are no longer required to be VAT registered and must cancel your registration.
You can cancel your VAT registration through your VAT online account or by post. You need to use form VAT7 when cancelling your registration by post. Besides, if you make any errors while cancelling your registration, make sure to inform the HMRC.
For cancelling the registration, you should do it within 30 days of the reason. If you don’t do so within the given timeline, you will be charged a penalty.
If HMRC is convinced that your VAT registration should be cancelled, they will usually take 3 weeks to confirm your de-registration. They will either send you a formal notice of cancellation ( form VAT 35) or a formal notice of exemption from registration (form VAT 8) to confirm the cancellation of your date of registration. You must keep these records and other VAT records for 6 years.
On the other hand, if HMRC is not satisfied to cancel your registration, you will have no choice but continue charging for VAT.
After cancelling, you should submit a final VAT return for the period, including the de-registration date. And, you must not charge VAT on goods or services you sell, or use VAT invoices from there on.
If you want more information on cancelling your VAT registration, get in touch with Harley Street Accountants at 020 7060 9556 now.
