Tom in London wrote:
Believe me, doing 3-monthly VAT returns, keeping the records, doing the paperwork, and making the payments would cost me more (in terms of time and nuisance) than not being registered for VAT.
If you don't do it, how do you know how long it would take?
I reckon I spend a total of about an hour a year on VAT returns.
You have to keep the same records anyway to claim expenses against income tax.
Tom in London wrote:
N.B. the tax authorities in the UK are very draconian about what are work-related expenses and what are not. If they catch you claiming expenses to which you are not entitled, you'll be in hot water.
Be honest then.
But they are not draconian. People get away with all kinds of stuff. I do it by the book, so I have nothing to fear anyway. You have to be really actively taking the piss for them to bother with it.
Tom in London argued that he hardly buys anything anyway
You'd be surprised. There are lots of little things that have VAT on them. I've reclaimed over £15,000 over the years. Hardly small change. And I'm not one to have the latest HW and SW either, which is where the big savings are.
But yes, Tom, if you really have total annual expenses of 26p then it isn't worthwhile.
Edit: That's £15,000 net. It could be twice as much gross.
[Edited at 2018-08-14 12:40 GMT]