An added tax paid to the United Kingdom Revenue and Customs office is known as value-added tax (VAT). The VAT must be paid by your business if it makes more than £70,000 ($111,323.16 as of October 2010) in UK sales that aren’t VAT-exempt in a year. To register with HMRC, the company must make more than £70,000 in sales in a year. Online VAT registration is now available as a service on HMRC’s website.
1.
Create an HMRC account on the website. After clicking the “Register (New Users)” button, click on “Register” on the next screen.
2.
Decide what type of account you want to create. Choosing “Organization” as an option from the options list will allow you to create an account for your company.
3.
Use your HMRC account for the services you’d like to subscribe to. Make sure you select the option “VAT Registration”; do not select “VAT (Submit Return or Change Details)”, since this option requires that you already have a VAT number.
4.
Complete the HMRC online account creation process by following the prompts on the screen. The following information is required: your name, email address, and password. To log in, please enter your HMRC username and password.
5.
Your HMRC services are listed on the account page for your HMRC account. The online registration form can be accessed by clicking “Access Service” beside the “VAT Registration” entry. Click “Continue” after you have indicated your acceptance of the site’s terms and conditions.
6.
Complete the VAT registration form by following the on-screen instructions. There are five sections on this form, each asking for information about you or your company.
You should expect to spend about 30 minutes filling out the form. When you are finished, review your information before sending it to HMRC.
7.
Print the acknowledgment page after you have received an acknowledgment that your VAT registration has been submitted. In your acknowledgment, you will find a list of all materials required for HMRC to process your registration.
8.
Your acknowledgment page provides an address where you can send any forms or statements needed to HMRC. In order to use your VAT number on VAT returns, you will receive a letter once your registration is complete.
Also, read What is the VAT Flat Rate Scheme?
