Your business leases its vehicles but for a variety of reasons you want to terminate the lease early and buy the cars from the leasing company. But how much VAT can you recover? Partner, Alister Biggar explains.

Sub-letting trading premises, should we charge VAT? Q. The landlord of our trading premises charges VAT on our monthly rent, and we claim input tax. We are planning to sub-let one of the floors to another business but are not sure if we should also charge VAT? If we don’t, does this mean we will...

You have set up a new company but need to find premises before trading can begin. But can you take a salary from the business in the meantime?  Naomi Swan advises below. As you’re probably aware, in most circumstances dividends are the most tax and NI-efficient way to take income from a company. The trouble...

When someone buys a business, they have the option of retaining the VAT number. But what are the pros and cons of doing so? Kenny Logan from our Edinburgh Office looks at the implications. If someone buys the trade and assets of a VAT-registered business, it can be treated as ‘transfer of a going concern’...

John sold a machine which he had used in his business before he was VAT registered. He was told that he should have charged VAT on the sale and that he must now account for it out of the proceeds. Is this true? Partner Kevin Ferguson discusses in this article. When a VAT registered business...

Partner Andrew Wayness provides the answers in this month’s Q&A. Is a charity’s loss-making event exempt from VAT? Q. We are a charity that is registered for VAT. We recently held a fundraising event, treating the income as being exempt from VAT, but the event made a loss. Should we treat the income as standard-rated...

You are considering leasing instead of purchasing cars for your business. This will improve cash flow and, according to the salesperson, allow you to reclaim VAT that you would not otherwise be entitled to. Is this correct?  Naomi Swan explains the rules. Generally, VAT paid on the purchase of cars for use in your business...

Although the Chancellor announced an increase to the VAT registration limit in the Spring Budget 2024, it was fairly modest. As a service business if your turnover exceeds the new limit, can you legitimately avoid having to register?  Associate Jayne Rogerson discusses the implications. Until 1 April 2024, the VAT registration turnover threshold had been...

Your business sells vouchers to customers that can be redeemed against goods or services that you sell in the future. But how should you account for VAT on these vouchers?  Naomi Swan provides the answer. What is a voucher? Many vouchers issued by your business will be electronic rather than in paper format. This is...

You have recently switched to electronic invoicing. However, some customers are insisting on paper invoices. Must you comply with these requests?  Elaine Wight answers this question below. While the design and layout of your business invoices is up to you, there are government regulations that require you to include certain information about your business and...