VAT Registration - No Physical UK Address

Hi, I previously registered a UK Limited Company while living in the UK, but I have since moved abroad and no longer have a physical UK address. I’m now approaching the VAT threshold, but the VAT application requires a UK address. I don’t have a UK establishment, nor do I import or export any goods. My business is entirely online, selling and maintaining digital services and software. Does this mean I qualify as a Non-Established Taxable Person (NETP), and can I use my overseas address on the application? Thank you for your guidance!

If you no longer have a physical address in the UK (and since you personally are not UK resident) , then you must be a Non-established Taxable Person (NETP). You do not need a UK address to register for VAT, but you must select "NETP" during the registration process and you then use your overseas address (business premises or home). The VAT certificate will be issued under the generic address that HMRC uses for all NETP registrations, "Ruby House, Aberdeen, Scotland", so if you do use a home address it will not be public. Also, you do not state what you sell, but if you are an NETP and as a Director you are not UK resident, then the VAT registration threshold is NIL, not £90,000 so you probably should get some advice and if needs be, backdate your registration to the first sale made. The £90,000 threshold only applies to UK resident companies with a UK resident Director/owner. A lot of business owners believe that a UK Ltd somehow makes them a UK established business, that is not the case for VAT purposes.

Hi Winrris,
Please see the criteria for a NETP:
9. Non-established taxable persons — basic information.
If you are supplying digital services to consumers in the UK from overseas then there will be a requirement to register for VAT straight away as a NETP and you would use your overseas address on the application.
Thank you.