Backdating VAT registration - do I have to add VAT to old invoices?

[JohnAW]

I am looking at registering for VAT and I understand that I can reclaim VAT on some recent purchases. If I do that do I also have to add VAT to invoices that were issued over the same period?

Can my VAT registration backdate to a time before the company was trading but when the company was purchasing equipment?

 

[Scalloway]

If I do that do I also have to add VAT to invoices that were issued over the same period?

Yes you do. Or you can just absorb the VAT payable yourself if you think your customers will not pay the additional sum.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

@JohnAW its worth reading this if you've not already done so.

 

[JohnAW]

The company made some purchases before it started to make sales. Can the VAT registration go back to the earliest purchase within the allowable period, or can it only go back to the date of the first sale? Is there some grace period perhaps?

 

[lesvatadvice]

You can back-date a VAT registration for up to 4 years. It depends on how much input tax you wish to claim. But you can claim some input tax (on goods up to 4 years; on services up to 6 months) pre-registration anyway, so you may not need to go too far back.
You should find an optimum date that maximises input tax recovery.

 

[DontAsk]

The company made some purchases before it started to make sales. Can the VAT registration go back to the earliest purchase within the allowable period, or can it only go back to the date of the first sale? Is there some grace period perhaps?

It's not clear to me if yre you talking capital equipment, services or supplies that are sold on?

For the latter backdate input tax for those supplies that are still in stock at time of registration.