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Home / VAT Accountant

VAT and sales tax accountants

Find a VAT accountant or sales tax specialist

VAT in the UK and Europe, and sales tax in the USA, can catch growing businesses out: registering late, charging the wrong rate or missing a return all bring penalties. A specialist accountant keeps you compliant and can often find savings.

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UK VAT: when you must register

You must register for VAT if your taxable turnover goes over the VAT threshold of £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, or you expect it to in the next 30 days. You can also register voluntarily below the threshold, which can make sense if most of your customers are VAT-registered businesses. The standard rate is 20%, with reduced and zero rates for some goods and services.

All VAT-registered businesses must follow Making Tax Digital for VAT, keeping digital records and filing returns through compatible software.

What a VAT accountant does

  • Monitors your turnover and registers you at the right time
  • Chooses the best scheme, such as the Flat Rate, Cash Accounting or Annual Accounting scheme
  • Prepares and files VAT returns under Making Tax Digital
  • Advises on the correct rate for your products or services
  • Handles VAT on imports, exports and selling to EU customers
  • Deals with HMRC VAT inspections and disputes

US sales tax and nexus

The USA has no national VAT. Instead, most states and many local areas charge sales tax, each with its own rates and rules. Since the 2018 Wayfair decision, states can require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax once they pass an economic nexus threshold, often based on sales revenue or number of transactions in that state. E-commerce sellers can end up with obligations in many states.

A sales tax accountant can work out where you have nexus, register you, set up collection in your store or marketplace and file returns, or help you clean up past exposure through voluntary disclosure.

How much does a VAT accountant cost?

VAT returns are usually a fixed fee per quarter, often bundled with bookkeeping. Advice on registration, schemes, cross-border rules or HMRC disputes is often a separate fixed or hourly fee. Multi-state US sales tax compliance is typically priced by the number of states and filings.

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Common questions

The VAT registration threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover in a rolling 12-month period. You must also register if you expect to go over it in the next 30 days alone.
It can help if your customers are mainly VAT-registered businesses, because you can reclaim VAT on costs and they can reclaim the VAT you charge. It is usually less attractive if you sell mainly to consumers, because your prices effectively go up.
It is a simplified scheme for smaller businesses where you pay a fixed percentage of your VAT-inclusive turnover, depending on your sector, instead of working out VAT on each sale and purchase. It does not suit every business, so check the numbers first.
Possibly. If your sales into a state pass its economic nexus threshold, or you have a physical presence there, you usually need to register and collect sales tax there. Thresholds and rules vary by state.
HMRC can charge the VAT you should have charged from the date you should have been registered, plus penalties. A VAT accountant can help you put it right and limit the cost.

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