Andrew Needham looks at the effects of the increases in the VAT registration and deregistration thresholds.
In the Chancellor's recent budget, he announced an increase in the VAT registration threshold on 1 April 2024 from £85,000 per annum to £90,000 per annum. The deregistration threshold has also increased from £83,000 per annum to £88,000 per annum. These thresholds have remained frozen since 1 April 2017 and are among the highest worldwide with an average of £44,000 in the EU, therefore keeping many small businesses out of the ‘VAT club’.
With this increase in the threshold, some businesses will now to able to deregister from VAT; but is this necessarily a good idea, and can there be some circumstances when registering for VAT voluntarily might be a good idea?
Why register early?
If the sales of a business
