Fill the HMRC VAT Return (VAT100) Online — Free, No Sign-Up

A VAT Return is a quarterly (or sometimes monthly or annual) report that VAT-registered businesses send to HMRC summarising their Value Added Tax for the period. It shows total sales and purchases, the VAT charged on sales (output tax), the VAT reclaimed on purchases (input tax), and the net VAT owed to or repayable by HMRC. The paper form is called the VAT100; most businesses now submit it digitally via Making Tax Digital (MTD VAT) software.

You must register for VAT with HMRC if your VAT-taxable turnover goes over the registration threshold of £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period (this threshold rose from £85,000 on 1 April 2024) or if you expect it to exceed that figure in the next 30 days alone. You can also register voluntarily below the threshold — typically to reclaim input tax on purchases. Once registered, you must charge VAT on taxable supplies, file VAT Returns and follow MTD-compliant record-keeping rules.

Yes. Since April 2022, all VAT-registered businesses — regardless of turnover — must follow Making Tax Digital for VAT. That means keeping digital VAT records and submitting each VAT Return through MTD-compliant software (either full bookkeeping software or bridging software that connects a spreadsheet to HMRC). The figures themselves are still the same nine boxes as the legacy VAT100 paper form — output VAT, input VAT, EU acquisitions, total sales and purchases excluding VAT, etc. — but the channel is now an HMRC API, not the old gov.uk online form (withdrawn for nearly all businesses in November 2022). HMRC only accepts paper VAT100 returns in narrow exempt cases such as digital exclusion or insolvency, and you must apply for the exemption first.

Most UK businesses file quarterly VAT Returns. When you register, HMRC assigns you to a stagger group — Stagger 1 (quarters ending March, June, September, December), Stagger 2 (April, July, October, January) or Stagger 3 (May, August, November, February). The return and payment are due one calendar month plus seven days after the end of the period. Some businesses opt into the Annual Accounting Scheme (one return per year with monthly or quarterly instalments) or, less commonly, monthly returns if they're usually in repayment.

Three common simplification schemes change the figures you put in the boxes. The Flat Rate Scheme (FRS) lets eligible small businesses with turnover up to £150,000 pay a fixed percentage of gross turnover instead of tracking input and output VAT line by line. Cash Accounting lets businesses with turnover up to £1.35 million account for VAT when invoices are paid rather than when issued — useful for cash flow. The Annual Accounting Scheme reduces filing to one return per year with payments on account. Each scheme has its own eligibility rules and exit thresholds in VAT Notice 700.

Under the reverse charge, the customer accounts for the VAT instead of the supplier. The most common UK case is the domestic reverse charge for construction services (CIS), in force since 1 March 2021: a VAT-registered subcontractor invoices a VAT-registered contractor without adding VAT, and the contractor self-accounts for the VAT in Box 1 (and reclaims it in Box 4 if entitled). Reverse charge also applies to certain services from overseas suppliers and to some specified goods such as mobile phones and computer chips above a value threshold. Reverse-charge invoices must carry a clear notice that the customer accounts for the VAT.

Zero-rated supplies are taxable at 0% — examples include most food, children's clothing, books and exports. Because they are still taxable, you can reclaim the input VAT on related purchases. Exempt supplies are outside the VAT system altogether — examples include most insurance, finance, education and some healthcare. You don't charge VAT, but you also can't reclaim input VAT on purchases used to make those exempt supplies. The distinction matters when you calculate Boxes 6 and 7 of the VAT Return and any partial exemption recovery.

Since 1 January 2023, HMRC uses a points-based late submission system. Each VAT Return filed late earns one penalty point. Once you reach the threshold for your filing frequency — 2 points for annual filers, 4 points for quarterly filers, 5 points for monthly filers — HMRC charges a £200 penalty, plus a further £200 for each subsequent late return until you bring filing up to date and serve a clean compliance period. Late payment is handled separately: no penalty if paid within 15 days, 2% of the outstanding amount at 16-30 days late, then 4% per annum daily once 31+ days late, plus interest at the Bank of England base rate plus 2.5%.

VAT-registered businesses must keep digital records under MTD VAT for at least 6 years (10 years if using the VAT One Stop Shop). Required records include: a VAT account showing the figures used to fill each box, copies of all VAT invoices issued and received, import and export documentation, records of goods taken for personal use, and the digital links between your bookkeeping software and the figures submitted to HMRC. The full list is set out in VAT Notice 700/21 ('Keeping VAT records') and VAT Notice 700/22 ('Making Tax Digital for VAT').

No — and we want to be honest about that. HMRC only accepts VAT Returns through MTD-compliant software linked to your VAT online account, so PDF Edit cannot submit the return for you. What PDF Edit does well is let you fill the VAT100 layout in your browser for paper records, draft calculations, agent review or learning the nine boxes — your figures stay on your device and nothing is uploaded. For the actual filing to HMRC, use any MTD-compatible bookkeeping or bridging software listed on gov.uk.