UK VAT Calculators — Add, Remove, Flat Rate & Reverse Charge

VAT (Value Added Tax) is the UK's third-largest tax after Income Tax and National Insurance, and the one most business owners and consumers encounter daily. The standard rate is 20%, covering most goods and services. A reduced rate of 5% applies to a defined list of items — domestic gas and electricity, children's car seats, mobility aids and certain energy-saving home improvements. Zero-rated (0%) supplies include most food, books, newspapers, children's clothing and public transport; these are taxable but at nil rate, meaning zero-rated businesses can still reclaim input VAT on their costs. VAT-exempt supplies — insurance, postage, education, most healthcare — are different again: exempt businesses cannot reclaim input VAT at all. Our VAT calculators cover three distinct scenarios. The core VAT calculator adds or removes VAT from any figure — useful for invoicing, checking receipts, or converting a gross price back to net for expense claims. The VAT Flat Rate Scheme calculator estimates what a small business owes HMRC under the simplified FRS, where you charge customers standard VAT but pay HMRC a single sector-specific percentage (from 4% up to 16.5% for "limited cost traders") instead of reconciling input and output VAT line by line. The VAT Reverse Charge calculator covers the construction industry's domestic reverse charge, introduced in March 2021 to combat missing-trader fraud — under it, VAT-registered subcontractors invoice certain customers net of VAT, with the customer self-accounting for the tax instead. The VAT registration threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover in any rolling 12-month period (raised from £85,000 in April 2024). Cross that threshold — even briefly — and you must register within 30 days or face backdated VAT demands plus penalties. Voluntary registration below the threshold is common among businesses that sell mainly to other VAT-registered companies, since they can then reclaim VAT on their own costs without the disadvantage of adding 20% to prices for VAT-registered customers who reclaim it anyway. Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT has applied to every VAT-registered business regardless of turnover since April 2022, requiring digital record-keeping and MTD-compatible filing software. Most businesses file quarterly, with payment due one month and seven days after the period ends. The Flat Rate Scheme, Cash Accounting Scheme and Annual Accounting Scheme offer simplified alternatives to standard quarterly VAT accounting for smaller businesses, each with its own eligibility thresholds and trade-offs. VAT rates and the registration threshold apply UK-wide with no regional variation between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, though Northern Ireland has additional rules for goods trade with the EU under the Windsor Framework. Pair these calculators with the Corporation Tax, Self-Employed Tax and Sole Trader Take-Home tools in the Tax & Finance category for a complete small-business tax picture.