VAT threshold calculator (UK)

How the rolling 12 month VAT threshold works

• The test: at the end of every calendar month, add up your taxable turnover for that month and the 11 before it. If the total is over £90,000, you must register.
• Not the tax year: the test has nothing to do with 6 April or your accounting year. A strong Christmas can push the November to October window over the line in the middle of your year.
• The deadline: you must notify HMRC within 30 days of the end of the month you went over. Registration takes effect from the first day of the second month after. Go over in March, registered from 1 May.
• The forward look: there is a second test. If you expect taxable turnover to pass £90,000 in the next 30 days alone, you must register immediately.
• Missing it is expensive: register late and HMRC treats you as registered from the date you should have been. You owe the VAT on everything sold since, whether or not you charged it, plus possible penalties.

Rates last checked: 15 July 2026. Registration threshold £90,000, deregistration threshold £88,000 for 2026/27.

What counts as taxable turnover?

All sales that would carry VAT if you were registered: standard rated, reduced rated and zero rated sales all count. Zero rated sales count even though the VAT on them is 0%. What does not count: VAT exempt sales (some financial, education and health services), sales outside the scope of UK VAT, and one off sales of capital assets. It is turnover, not profit, so expenses never come off the number.

What is the VAT threshold for a sole trader?

The same £90,000 as everyone else. The threshold applies per person or per legal entity, not per business activity. A sole trader running a cafe and a market stall adds both together, because it is the same person trading. Splitting one business into pieces to stay under the threshold is called disaggregation and HMRC can direct the parts to be treated as one.

What should I do as I get close to the threshold?

First, start monitoring monthly rather than at year end, which is what the download is for. Second, decide your pricing response before you register: adding 20% to prices, absorbing some of it in margin, or a mix. Third, look at the flat rate scheme and whether your input VAT is high enough to make standard VAT accounting better. Some businesses near the line deliberately slow sales or close for a period, but do the maths first because turning away £10,000 of work to avoid VAT admin is usually a bad trade.

What is the VAT registration threshold for 2026?

£90,000 of taxable turnover in any rolling 12 month period. It rose from £85,000 to £90,000 on 1 April 2024 and has stayed there since.

Is the VAT threshold based on the tax year?

No. It is a rolling 12 month test checked at the end of every calendar month. Any 12 consecutive months can trigger registration, so a business can go over in the middle of a tax year.

What happens if I go over the VAT threshold?

You must tell HMRC within 30 days of the end of the month you went over. You are registered from the first day of the second month after that. From then on you charge VAT on taxable sales and can reclaim VAT on purchases.

Can I deregister if my turnover falls?

Yes. If you can show HMRC your taxable turnover in the next 12 months will be below the £88,000 deregistration threshold, you can ask to cancel your registration.

Does zero rated turnover count towards the threshold?

Yes. Zero rated sales are still taxable supplies at a 0% rate, so they count. Only exempt and outside the scope sales are excluded.

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