Self-employed and NIN contributions and VAT recovery ?

[cudo]

Hi, I have been self - employed for the past 5 months but I have not done any trade so far. I am in process of opening small online shop but it is not quite ready yet. Now, my questions are. I am getting NIN contributions slips every now and then , do I need to pay them even though I have not traded yet ? I am not VAT registered and if I buy something (computer) woudl I be able to recover VAT paid on that device ? Before I became self-emplyed I warked for couple of months and I got my P45 for that period and now I am self-emplyed what tax return form do I need to fill in to recover my tax ?

Regards
Matt

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

You can apply for an exemption for NI use this form:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/cf10.pdf

If you are getting payments slips I would suggest you get this sorted out very quickly.

If you are not vat registered you cannot recover vat

[CassioAcc]

If you do register for VAT you will be able to claim back any goods purchased in the last 3 years so although you cannot recover now, you may be able to do in the future.

[cudo]

Thank you for your input. Can I register myself for VAT , what are the requirements ?

[CassioAcc]

You can register before you reach the 67K limit, but you should consider if it will have any impact on your sales ( as you will need to add VAT to your price). If your customers are VAT registered then it will not affect them.

You also need to consider the additional admin. There are different schemes that may suit (i.e Annual and Flat rate)

All the info is here.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/vat-registering.htm

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

Think very carefully about registering - do not just do it to claim the vat back:rolleyes:

[cudo]

thank you very much for all the info :D