Where Do I Find My VAT Reference Number?

By Elizabeth Hughes

17 July 2024

VAT

Registering for VAT

3 mins

Table of contents

Your unique VAT number is shown on the registration certificate which HMRC issue when your business becomes VAT registered. You can also view it by signing into your online tax account (or asking your accountant).

What does my VAT reference number look like?

If you have a UK VAT number it will be 9 digits long. Businesses based in England, Scotland and Wales will have a VAT ID with the prefix ‘GB’, and in Northern Ireland with ‘XI’. They’re different because of the special VAT relationship between Northern Ireland and the EU.

What do I need to become VAT registered?

You can register your business for VAT online, by post, or ask an agent to do it for you. Most businesses apply for their VAT reference online, although you can download and post paper forms too.

You’ll need to tell HMRC about your business, sharing details such as your annual turnover, and what the business does. Providing these details will help you make sure you register for VAT correctly, and use the right VAT accounting scheme.

What is my VAT effective date?

The ‘VAT effective date’ is the date of your VAT registration. It’s possible for businesses to reclaim VAT which was paid (known as input tax) before this date, up to a maximum of:

4 years for goods (as long as you still own them in the business)
6 months for services

Reclaiming and paying VAT after registration

After the registration date, you should charge VAT on the sale of any taxable goods or services (this is known as output tax) that you sell. It works like this:

Input tax is higher than your output tax: This means you paid more VAT on purchases than was paid to you by your customers in the same period of time. You can reclaim the difference between these two amounts from HMRC (so you’ll get a lovely refund).
Output tax is higher than your input tax: More VAT has been paid to you by customers than you’ve paid on purchases. You’ll have to pay the difference to HMRC.

How do I tell HMRC about VAT I owe or want to reclaim?

Once you register for VAT, you’ll need to start submitting VAT returns to tell HMRC about the VAT charged and paid by your business. They’ll use this information to work out what you owe (or what they owe you).

This feels like a good time to casually mention that our free bookkeeping software is integrated with HMRC so users can send MTD compliant VAT returns directly from Pandle.

Do I need my VAT number after registering?

Your VAT number should be included on any documentation you send out, such as invoices. You can check if someone else’s VAT number is genuine, by either:

Calling HMRC’s VAT helpline on 0300 200 3700
Checking online, though newly registered VAT numbers don’t always appear straight away.

Learn more about using Pandle to make business accounting easier. Create an account today and decide what to do with all the extra time you get back.

Elizabeth Hughes

A content writer specialising in business, finance, software, and beyond. I'm a wordsmith with a penchant for puns and making complex subjects accessible.