UK sole trader, selling outside UK. Do I need to register for VAT?

Hi all, I was wondering if someone would be able to help me to clarify one or two things with regards to VAT. I'm a sole trader (freelance journalist) whose turnover recently exceeded £85,000 per year. However, the majority of my income comes from B2B sales to non-UK publications. My work for UK-based companies produces a turnover that is well below the threshold. However, I'm still unclear whether I'm required to register for VAT or not. My overall business turnover exceeds the £85,000. But my turnover from UK companies is just a fraction of this, around £30,000. Does anyone have any guidance on this?

I am an online marketplace and from what I have researched and what my accountant told me, you need to pay VAT in the country you are selling to if it goes above the threshold. So if you sold to a business in Germany and these sales were above 10,000 euros you need to register for VAT in Germany and pay there. Since Brexit, it hasn't been easy to get a clear answer and I am still not sure 100%. I would also talk with your accountant.

You need to monitor the thresholds in the countries where you have the B2B customers because for B2B services rendered, your place of supply is wherever the customer is based. For B2C customers, this would not apply as the place of supply would be where the supplier is based. Once you exceed the threshold, you need to register for VAT and start collecting from your customers.  If you are supplying to multiple EU member states, and exceed the threshold in more than one state, you may want to consider applying for the non-union OSS scheme (non-union because you are presumably a non-EU business). This allows you to submit one VAT return for all your activities across multiple states, minimising your admin burden. You still have to report sales that are outside the of scope of UK VAT in box 6 of your UK return. ps. I am not a qualified tax advisor, but work in the tax department for a UK high street retailer who sells products all across Europe.

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Hi standardhomework,

You would need to register for VAT if your UK taxable turnover is over £85000.

If you make supplies of this nature to business overseas then this turnover would be outside the scope of UK VAT. You can see the guidance here:

The place of supply rules for services

Thank you.