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Where Taxpayers and Advisers Meet
Please explain VAT return dates
I have set my VAT return dates to monthly and it shows August as the next return due date for the dates 20th May until 30th June. I was under the impression I would need to do them monthly. Is the return for the whole of July going to be needed for August too?
Re: Please explain VAT return dates
Monthly VAT returns would normally cover a complete calendar month. You then have one month and seven calendar days (i.e. including weekends, bank holidays, etc.) in which to submit your return and get any payment to HMRC. So, for example, the deadline for the VAT return covering 1st-30th June is 7th August.
Would I be right in assuming that you've only just registered for VAT, and have an effective date of registration of 20th May? If so, HMRC is allowing you to include VAT for 20th-31st May in the VAT return covering June, rather than making you submit a separate May return just covering that last part month. Your next return will then cover 1st-31st July, and be due by 7th September.
If this is your first VAT return, remember that there may be scope to reclaim VAT incurred on certain expenditure incurred prior to your registration date. HMRC's internal manual (i e. written from their VAT inspectors' perspective) gives full details: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-input-tax/vit32000. But normally it will cover:
- goods bought within the four years pre-registration which your business still owns, and
- services bought within the six months pre-registration,
Where these were bought by and for use in your business, and would be recoverable if bought post-registration.
The only other circumstance where you might get VAT periods starting or finishing mid-month would be where the taxpayer requests "special tax periods" - for example to fit in better with the operating of their systems and processes. These were more common years ago when computer software might have weekly runs - but you don't see them so often now that most systems run in "real time ".
Would I be right in assuming that you've only just registered for VAT, and have an effective date of registration of 20th May? If so, HMRC is allowing you to include VAT for 20th-31st May in the VAT return covering June, rather than making you submit a separate May return just covering that last part month. Your next return will then cover 1st-31st July, and be due by 7th September.
If this is your first VAT return, remember that there may be scope to reclaim VAT incurred on certain expenditure incurred prior to your registration date. HMRC's internal manual (i e. written from their VAT inspectors' perspective) gives full details: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-input-tax/vit32000. But normally it will cover:
- goods bought within the four years pre-registration which your business still owns, and
- services bought within the six months pre-registration,
Where these were bought by and for use in your business, and would be recoverable if bought post-registration.
The only other circumstance where you might get VAT periods starting or finishing mid-month would be where the taxpayer requests "special tax periods" - for example to fit in better with the operating of their systems and processes. These were more common years ago when computer software might have weekly runs - but you don't see them so often now that most systems run in "real time ".
Re: Please explain VAT return dates
Sorry for the late response from me, yes I have only just registered for VAT. Thank you for your explanation I understand now. My next step is to learn how to create an XLS fike to submit as I was under the impression I needed to just upload my invoices and purchase reciepts 
Re: Please explain VAT return dates
VAT returns need to be submitted to HMRC via Making Tax Digital (MTD) If you use accounting software, this might already have the functionality for submitting VAT returns in this way. If not, you might be able to keep sufficient records in a spreadsheet, which can then be uploaded to HMRC using bridging software. But you'll need to ensure that the MTD requirements set out in HMRC's notice 700/22 are met: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-70022-making-tax-digital-for-vat/vat-notice-70022-making-tax-digital-for-vat