VAT Retail Schemes

If you are one of the many Wirral based retail businesses that sell items to the general public you will know that it can be difficult and time-consuming to record the VAT on every individual sale in your accounts, especially if you sell high quantities of relatively inexpensive items.

Recognising this, HMRC have recognised this fact and have set up several retail schemes that can simplify your VAT accounting and the entries on your VAT returns.

Under a retail scheme, instead of having to record the VAT in each sale in your accounting records, you can work out the value of your daily gross takings, identify their proportions at each VAT rate (standard, reduced or zero) and multiply each proportion by the appropriate VAT percentage. It may be that your till can do some of this for you. Although the standard retail scheme is appropriate for most kinds of retail business, special arrangements are in place for chemists, florists and caterers.

To find out more about any VAT schemes or for general advice about VAT please contact us in our Wirral office.