You are reading a single comment by @hugo7 and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
-
I'm always very clear but often people quote ex vat
Don't mean to have a go, but why?
Have you ever done a residential job where the home owner asks you to invoice their VAT registered company?
hugo7-
It's just what businesses which normally sell to other businesses do isn't it? If most customers don't need to pay vat most places do that.
-
To be clear, I'm a photographer. If an actor asks for headshots, I don't say 'that's £300, then invoice them £360 including VAT. I tell them straight up how much it will actually cost them.
I've never been asked to invoice a company that I definitely wasn't actually doing the work for.
Fox
cjr
I'm not a builder but I'm a sole trader and work mainly with businesses. The threshold that you HAVE to register is £85K but you can do it before. I registered when my turnover was way lower as I could charge the same to companies, but claim back loads more of my expenses. It's really simple now with online accounting software etc, albeit with a basic understanding of the tax system and IT.
Problem comes when you work for consumers who can't claim back the VAT and assume it's all Vat inclusive, I'm always very clear but often people quote ex vat and the client doesn't realise and is hit with a bill that is 20% more.
It has already been mentioned, but the only way that I'm aware of that you can 'make' money is to be VAT registered, claim all the expenses back, but do cash in hand jobs that you neither declare income tax or VAT. It doesn't help that people don't realise the difference between the two, especially as basic rate tax and VAT are both '20%' - I have tried to explain the difference to many intelligent friends, but I'm not sure it's fully got through.