Jay Cooke

HMRC are unlikely to give you any such confirmation, VAT is a self-assessed tax and the contractor should obtain their own advice. Sounds very much like the contractor doesn't understand the VAT rules around the empty house rules and is trying to simplify his life by asking you to obtain something that HMRC do not get involved with. If the contractor is so uncomfortable around these very basic rules of VAT, then it does question if they are a professional business which takes its tax compliance seriously. Similar thread here https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/vat/d0451e9c-52d6-ee11-a81c-0022481aac05 "For the supplier to charge you 5% VAT on the restoration work then they only need to be satisfied that the house has been unoccupied for 2 years or more."

If HMRC have rejected two previous VAT registration applications, that is their error (if you are saying that the registration has been triggered by reverse charge purchase of services from overseas). If you forget the past and only register from say January 2025, then you only need to account for reverse charge from that date (January 2025), but suspect the issue will be when you file your first VAT return, that will be reviewed by HMRC and it will be at that point, when an Officer is physically checking the return, they will discover that your VAT registration date of January 2025 is not correct and that your correct VAT registration date was say January 2020 and so HMRC will then backdate the registration to 2020 and that will then capture all of the reverse charge VAT you failed to pay from 2020. That you had tried to register for VAT previously but been denied would help in terms of mitigation of penalties but your registration date is not fixed by any time limit, if you were meant to register for VAT in 2020 or 1995, then HMRC can backdate to that date and capture any reverse charge within that period. If the applications for VAT registration were rejected by HMRC twice, did you at any time seek to appeal HMRC's decision, because that would be the correct course of action, by appealing the rejection you'd have been able to explain in detail why you need to register for VAT. If you just submitted an application and accepted HMRC's rejection (twice), even though you knew HMRC to be wrong, then that isn't a good look, if you know what I mean. The reverse charge for overseas services rule is sort of an anti-avoidance rule, a business that cannot reclaim input tax might be persuaded to buy all of its services (webhosting, accountancy, legal, consultancy, etc) from overseas and thus avoid VAT, whereas if purchasing from a UK supplier, VAT would be incurred and therefore "sticks" with you, by buying from overseas (even if not on purpose but just because of how your business works and maybe has overseas subsidiaries with inter-company services, etc) then you gain an unfair advantage over other business like you who buy from UK suppliers and who incur VAT/increased cost of doing business as a result.

Your proposed transaction (Germany to Poland), presumably you also mean a UK entity will take the order from Polish customer and then UK entity places order with Germany supplier and asks German supplier t ship to Poland. In that scenario, the UK entity is making a supply in Germany and needs to register for VAT in Germany, the German supplier, if they are doing things correctly, will charge the UK company German VAT on the supply they (the German supplier) makes to the UK entity, In the alternative, the UK entity acquires the goods in Poland and would need to register for VAT in Poland and charge Polish VAT to the Polish customer. Prior to Brexit there was a simplification called "triangulation", https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-single-market/vatsm5235 but as UK no longer in the EU then you cannot use triangulation (except if the UK company is based in Northern Ireland as NI has a special relationship with the EU under the Windsor Agreement)

You reclaim the GBP VAT shown on the invoice on your UK VAT return as any other purchase invoice. As long as the invoice has a GBP equivalent showing the VAT, it does not matter what currency the invoice is in. Link below to HMRC guidance, the guidance is to be read by someone who is raising a foreign currency invoice. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/foreign-currency-transactions-vat-and-tour-operators

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-fundraising-events-exemptions/fundraising-events-exemption-for-charities-and-other-qualifying-bodies Section 3 deals with event fundraising, but don't jump to that, read all of the document as it all has to be read in context. I think it is risky to base your charities financial compliance on hearsay/what another charity is doing. There is the risk the other charity are doing it wrong or the way they fundraise or are structured* is different to the way you fundraise/your own structure. *Structured as in the other charity might have a trading subsidiary, the board of Trustees may not be renumerated, etc. Are you comparing apples with pears. If you were never making taxable sales (or made what you thought were taxable sales but in fact they were not), then HMRC can cancel your VAT registration, you'll need to repay any input tax reclaimed and any VAT charged to customers will likely be left as it is, it'll be too complex to refund them potentially. Link here about when a VAT registration was made in error https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-registration-manual/vatreg31100 The first hurdle will be ensuring your events are indeed exempt - the above link will explain the rules - and then once established that is the case, writing to HMRC to set out the situation and explaining the error of VAT registration and then HMRC will reply with their view and what to do if they accept your deregistration request or else why HMRC cannot accept your deregistration. If you've an Accountant who prepares your year-end and Charities Commission filings, then might be worth asking them for assistance.

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

The gateway you are using is for your business and you can only have one VAT number attached to your gateway. You'll need to contact the VAT IT Helpdesk (link below) and ask them to remove/unlink your old VAT number and that will then allow you to add your new VAT number. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/vat-online-services-helpdesk

So when the VAT registered business buys something like stock/materials or a new van, are you saying that the non-registered company will not use the van and not use any of the stock that is owned by the VAT registered business? How are you going to keep stock and materials separate because you do not want to be buying some goods for a domestic job but then accidently reclaim the VAT on those materials knowing that those materials will never be used for a VATable job. For example, you're going to need two accounts at the builders merchants or Costco or wherever you buy stuff because you'll need purchase invoices clearly addressed to the correct company. You can't expect to buy stock from a supplier under one trade account and then use that stock in two entirely different companies (the companies are not you, see them as two entirely separate persons, so why would A buy and pay for goods and then just give them to B and then B would make a non VATable sale but A reclaims the VAT on the purchases it gave away to B?) The right to reclaim VAT is on the basis you are VAT registered and making taxable/VATable supply, where you have two businesses doing the exact same thing but split between a registered and non-registered entity, there are significant risks in you reclaiming too much input tax. For example, if both companies are operating out of the same premises (which is more than likely going to be the case), how are you going to apportion the VAT being reclaimed in the VAT registered company?. Let's take the electricity bill as an example, how much electricity has been used by the VAT registered business for which it is entitled to reclaim a proportion of the input tax on the electricity bill and how much has been used by the non-registered business meaning you cannot reclaim all the VAT in the VAT registered business. What about a new van? You'll want to reclaim the VAT in your VAT registered company but then how do you evidence and convince HMRC that the van is never used by the non-registered business? If the van is used by the non-registered business then it has been used for a non-VATable purposes and so the VAT registered business now has to apportion the input tax originally reclaimed on the van or you'd have to "rent" the van to the other company at market rate and charge VAT. There is also the real risk that once you start increasing your domestic customer base and income increases, the combined turnover of both business will exceed the VAT registration and then HMRC can apply dis-aggregation rules. https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-single-entity-and-disaggregation-manual/vatdsag05150 Your plans to split the business is not without risk, HMRC will not appreciate you trying to have your cake and eat (reclaim VAT on all your costs but not charge VAT on some of your sales via the 2nd company), it may be possible to separate the two companies in such a way that they are entirely arms length but it is complicated and also not without risk, you will need to be careful about reclaiming input tax (ie, you can't buy 15 UPVC window frames and put into stock and reclaim the VAT and then use 10 of those frames for a domestic job or if you do, you have to pay back to HMRC 10/15ths of the VAT you reclaimed on your VAT return). It sounds like keeping everything separate and keeping track of everything might be more effort than you think and the risk remains you reclaiming too much input tax, so you'd need to apportion what you reclaim and do it in such a way that you can explain and convince HMRC if you ever have a VAT inspection. If you are intent on splitting your trade then perhaps seek some advice from your Accountant, HMRC do not give advice, they can only refer you to the legislation and guidance and what you are asking hovers around the topic of dis-aggregation, and also basic VAT rules on reclaiming VAT directly related to making taxable sales - link here on input tax rules https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-input-tax

Details held at Companies House can only be amened by contacting Companies House. Companies House is where you would search for details of a company, Companies House is not the same as HMRC although both Companies House and HMRC are government departments, they operate under the "gov.uk" website branding. Link here to the SR01 form required for amending corporate details https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-remove-your-home-address-from-the-public-register-sr01/how-to-complete-the-form-sr01 There are some scenarios where you cannot remove your personal name or address, useful information in link below https://companieshouse.blog.gov.uk/2021/08/25/your-personal-details-on-the-companies-house-register/

Sports education is only an exempt supply, when the supply is made by a not for profit entity. A not for profit entity in the UK is usually a "Limited by Guarantee" structure which does not distribute it's profit to the shareholders but instead invests any profit back into the business, this no distribution requirement must be written into the Articles of Association (Articles of Association are part of the formation of a company under UK law and these Articles set out how the company will operate in terms of disputes with shareholders, what happens when the company is closed/wound up, etc). There is likely an equivalent of "Articles of Association " in Swedish law, which I think you call "bolagsordning", but here is the link to HMRC's guide on sports exemption https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sport-supplies-that-are-vat-exempt-notice-70145 and look at section 2.2 and 4 which detail when the sport exemption applies. If you believe you are eligible for sporting exemption then you will need to liaise/convince/inform the payment platform.