The VAT tax point or time of supply is the date the VAT on the goods you supply and services you provide to your customers become collectable on behalf of and payable to HMRC. Your time of supply for each VAT transaction can vary depending on the situations.
| Situation | Tax point |
|---|---|
| Where you have issued a VAT invoice | Date of Invoice |
| Where a VAT invoice is issued after 15 days of the date of supply | Date of supply took place |
| Where no invoice is issued or needed. | Date of supply |
| Payment or invoice issued in advance of supply | Date of Payment or invoice (whichever is earlier) |
| Where payment received in advance and no VAT invoice issued yet. | Date of Payment |
Your VAT return
Determining your tax point correctly allows you to record your VAT transactions correctly in your VAT return.
For example, if you are a kitchen supplier and installer, you usually issue invoices to your customers after installation is complete. For VAT return purposes, the date of supply is your tax point, not your invoice date.
VAT cash accounting scheme
If your business has joined the VAT cash accounting scheme, your tax point is always the date you received payments from your customers. If you are not using this scheme, generally you follow the situations guideline above to decide your tax point.
Other tax point rules
Further read about tax point rules, click here.
Companies House filings
Additionally, if your VAT registered business is a limited company, you must also deliver your company accounts and confirmation statement to Companies House promptly.
If you require any help with your VAT returns, feel free to contact our accountants, they will be more than happy to assist you.
