Some clarification on VAT charged on advertising & amazon in general
Hi, I’d like to first establish that i’m selling on amazon with a uk based business and I’m voluntarily vat registered and do not currently meet the threshold of 85,000 pounds a year, I’m Just looking for conformation to my understanding of VAT related to amazon, start of January i entered my VAT information on amazon, though i was vat registered since i started selling i did not know that for amazon to stop charging me VAT i needed to do this, once i did so i reclaimed the vat i had paid on amazon fees since i started selling through amazon except for advertising which i understand is due to them billing advertising from within the uk rather than outside the uk as it is with other fees on amazon. now i’d like to backtrack a bit now to VAT itself, from what i understand a voluntary registrar like me would not be legally obligated to pay vat until or unless i hit the 85,000 pound threshold, furthermore the VAT i’ve paid on advertising should also be reclaimable from what i understand from reading other forums in relation to this. am i correct in thinking all this and if so how do i go about reclaiming the VAT on advertising would it be through directly contacting hmrc? and how would i go about submitting a return if that is even needed of me.
17 replies
Seller_ejwc84JNL5Uk6
You should be paying VAT from the start as you are registered. You should be submitting returns every quarter even if there is nothing to pay.
The £85,000 refers to when you have to legally register not when you start paying. As you registered voluntarily you should be submitting paperwork and paying VAT
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
As said above - you still need to submit quarterly returns, even if nothing to pay.
Just wondering why you registered voluntarily ?
Sounds like you need to read carefully all the requirements and responsibilites - and a good accountant.
Seller_77IcbQKVGdZo0
Yes you reclaim the VAT through HMRC on your next return which you have to submit quarterly even if you don’t have any tax to pay.
As you are under the threshold you can until April submit your return through the HMRC website. You need to sign up for a government gateway account if you don’t already have one.
From April onwards all VAT registered businesses must submit through an electronic method. Google MTD - Making Tax Digital for more information.
I would also advise if you don’t know how to submit your VAT return then you need an accountant to advise you.
IMHO there is no need to VAT registered if you are under the limit unless there is a specific reason for doing this. Such a reason would be selling zero rated products as you can claim VAT back on your expenses and get a VAT refund. For most businesses selling standard rate items it is not normally advisable to be VAT registered under the limit.
Seller_lgPjggUejPE8G
thanks for the replies guys, i’ll look at getting an accountant to advise me, i had a few more queries that i’d love to gain understanding on with your help
i’ve been reading some other forums about reverse charge in particular and what i can understand from that is that amazon does not report the VAT on fees once someone puts his VAT information on amazon but i have to account for this on my return as a reverse charge, is that correct?, if so the product tax that they do report in payments is that my output VAT?