Input VAT - Non registered ltd company

[Med]

Hi,

I have an LTD Company that provides management consulting services and it is not a vat registered. So far, I had 1 client and I did not charge any VAT. I purchased a PC for my professional use on which I paid VAT. I understand that I need to register for VAT to be able to claim it back. Here are 3 precise questions I have and I thank you for your help:
1. If I register for VAT, should I charge VAT for my next clients? (suppose that revenues remain under the threshold of 85 000£ for this tax year)
2. Should pay back any VAT to HMRC on the previous revenue (on which I did not charge any VAT)?
3. If I don't need to charge VAT for the future invoices (output VAT), can I only claim the expense on my professional expense (input VAT)?

Thanks a lot for your help.
Best,
MED

[tomg35]

1 - If you register for VAT then yes you must charge VAT on your invoices (You can only charge VAT on products and services that attract a positive rate of VAT).
2 - Paying VAT on previous invoices will depend on your circumstances. If you are registering AND are under the VAT threshold then as far as I know you do not need to account for VAT on previous invoices. However if you are registering for VAT because you have reached the VAT registration threshold, then things are different and you may have to account for prior invoices (presuming that the sale attracts a positive rate of VAT).
3 - Once you are registered for VAT then yes you can claim the VAT back on eligible purchases irrespective of whether you have or not charges VAT.

All of this information is available to you on the Gov.uk website

[les35]

If your clients are mainly businesses able to recover VAT, then it is worth registering. This then allows you to recover VAT on your costs. And you can use a suitable VAT scheme to defer VAT (Cash Accounting, for example).