Temporarily over VAT

I have temporarily gone over the VAT threshold due to a huge spike in sales during a release of a video game. I turned over 90k in 3 weeks but have since stopped selling and will not now sell until November 2025 (release of the next game). How can I ask HMRC for an exemption as I will not get close to the threshold again or shall I register and deregister? There will be no sales to report if I register so will this be a waste of HMRC and my time? Thank you

There are two tests for VAT registrations, a 12 month "backwards look" test and a 30 day "forward look test". The backwards look test is familiar to most people, you look back on a rolling 12 month basis (so November 2024 to November 2023) and if turnover is over £90k then you are required to register for VAT. The forward look test is less known, but it looks at whether you turned over or planned to turnover more than £90k in the month ahead (the next 30 days), it may be that you knew at the end of September that you would launch a new software and expected sales over £90k in October alone. With the forward look test there is no exception from registration and this may be where you may have a problem. With the backward look test, whether it is a waste of everyone times or not, the law states once you breach the threshold, you must register for VAT (compulsory registration), if you want to request exception from registration because you've only gone over the threshold by a bit, you still have to go through the motions of registering for VAT else if you did not do this then it might look to HMRC that you knew you went over but ignored your legal requirement to register or ask exception and that isn't a good look. If you've gone over the £90k threshold (either because of the backward or forward tests or both), you still have to register for VAT but during the (online) registration process there is a box to tick that says you want to request exception from registration, your application is then processed by HMRC as a normal VAT registration and at HMRC's discretion, they may or may not grant you exception from registration. If HMRC do not grant you exception, then you are VAT registered and you file Nil VAT returns for each quarter until you start making sales again in November 2025. When you file your annual personal tax/corporate tax returns, HMRC will know you've gone over the VAT threshold as they'll see your income levels, HMRC can easily identify traders who have gone over the threshold and not registered for VAT. Forward look test. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-registration-manual/vatreg18200 Backward look test. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-registration-manual/vatreg18100