Announcement from HMRC – If your business is wanting to make use of the VAT Deferral Arrangement announced last week and your businesses normally pays the VAT by direct debit, please cancel the direct debit with the bank. Ensure this is done in good time as payment instruction can be requested a few days before...

Few businesses could ever have imagined, let alone made plans for, the potential impact of a massive epidemic such as the current coronavirus crisis. As accountants, we want to provide you with some practical steps that you can take. Keep in touch Keep in touch with your accountant. The sooner that they are made aware...

Q. Within my building supplies store, we account for VAT by using a point of sale retail scheme based on our daily gross takings figures. We have quite a lot of account customers who buy goods from the shop but don’t pay until 30 or 60 days later. We include the sale in the till...

Q. I’m the only director of my company and I own all its shares. I bought a van in my name but I intend to use it in the company’s trade. Can the company reclaim the VAT included in the purchase price? A. If the van was purchased and used privately or for a different...

A local sports club held a Christmas fundraising dinner, the club is non-profit making but they are unsure about how to deal with VAT on the income. Also can the club claim any input tax on the costs of the dinner? John Craig provides the answers. The good news is that the income from the...

VAT on overseas work? Q. I am VAT registered as a window cleaner. I visit my mother in Dublin for one week every two months and do some work while I am there. Do I need to charge VAT on this work or is it not an issue because I am doing the work outside...

Your business has some unpaid purchase invoices in the 90-day+ column of its aged creditors report. Input tax has been claimed on these invoices. Why does this lead to a problem and how could you avoid it in the future? Bob Johnstone from our Galashiels office investigates. If you pay and claim VAT based on...

Mr Brown owns a warehouse that he rents out and the income that he receives is exempt from VAT. He has offered a new tenant a three month rent-free period at the beginning of a new rental agreement. Does this create any VAT problems? Our VAT expert John Craig discusses. Rent-free or not? The first...

When you buy a car, unless you use it 100% for business, you can’t reclaim any of the VAT paid on the purchase. However, more generous rules apply to the cost of motoring expenses such as accessories, repairs and so on. John Craig explains exactly what these rules are and how you can benefit from...

You are registered for VAT as a sole trader and have decided to earn extra money by renting out a bedroom in your home via Airbnb. But is this income subject to VAT and, if so, is there a way around it?  John Craig looks at this futher. It is often forgotten that there is...