VAT Changes December 2008 - Change to 15% Rate

On Monday, November 24th the goverment announced a change in the standard rate of vat from 17.5% down to 15% to be effective from December 1st until December 31st 2009.

IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT ALL DATAFILE USER SYSTEMS ARE UPDATED FOR THEIR VAT RATES.

The simple guide is:

1. Change your standard vat rate from 17.5% to 15% in the Manager first thing on Monday, or when you are ready to start invoicing in December.

2. Set up a new tax entry e.g. H (for higher rate) at 17.5% to cater for late purchase invoices and any sales credits you may have to do for supplies prior to December 2008.

3. Check that your invoice documents say VAT at the standard rate or use the VAT table, rather than having 17.5% written in the document.

4. If you have retail prices for your stock / products then please read the documents below.

There is no need to update your Datafile programs. Changes in the VAT rate are catered for by the standard programs.

Datafile systems are very flexible and there are various invoicing packages available. More detailed notes, including those issued by HMRC are provided below in PDF format.

VAT_A_Datafile_Checklist.pdf

VAT_Updating_Your_VAT_Table.pdf

VAT_POP_Invoices_and_SOP_Credits.pdf

VAT_Stock_Prices_Inclusive_of_VAT.pdf

VAT_Order_Processing_VAT_Values.pdf

HMRC_A_summary_guide_for_businesses.pdf

HMRC_ A_technical_guide_for_businesses.pdf