VAT return software for UK businesses

A VAT return is nine boxes, and almost every mistake in one comes from the records behind it rather than the arithmetic. Taxmo works the boxes out from what you have recorded, tells you what looks wrong before you file rather than after, and then submits the return to HMRC over the Making Tax Digital API.

Filed to HMRC, not copied into a web form

Once your HMRC account is linked, filing happens inside Taxmo. Your open obligations are read from HMRC so you are always filing the period HMRC is expecting, the boxes are populated from your own records, you declare the return final, and it goes over the API. HMRC's receipt is stored against the period in your filing history. No number is retyped anywhere, which is the whole point of Making Tax Digital.

The deadline, tracked

A standard VAT quarter is due one calendar month and seven days after the period ends. The dashboard opens on the return that is actually next, not the calendar quarter you happen to be in, and the tax calendar carries every date that applies to you.

Checks before you file, not after

The pre-filing checklist reads your own data and flags what would make the return wrong.

  • Bank transactions imported but not yet reviewed, which are not in your figures until approved
  • A VAT number missing while the profile says registered, which HMRC rejects
  • VAT amounts that do not match the rate on the entry
  • Invoices still sitting in draft, so not counted

Zero-rated, exempt, and outside the scope

These three get conflated and they behave differently. Zero-rated is taxable at 0%, so it counts towards your registration threshold and you can still reclaim input VAT. Exempt is not taxable at all and generally blocks reclaim. Outside the scope is not in the UK VAT system. Getting the distinction wrong changes both your return and whether you should have registered in the first place.

Common questions

When is my VAT return due?

For standard quarterly accounting, one calendar month and seven days after the end of the VAT period, for both the return and the payment. Annual accounting and payments on account work differently. Your own dates are in the tax calendar.

What happens if I file late?

HMRC operates a points-based penalty system for late submission, with a financial penalty once you reach a threshold of points, and separate interest and penalties for late payment. The specifics change, so check the current regime on GOV.UK rather than relying on what was true a few years ago.

Do I have to register for VAT?

Registration becomes compulsory once your rolling twelve-month taxable turnover passes the threshold, and also if you expect to pass it in the next thirty days alone. Zero-rated sales count towards it. The threshold amount is set at fiscal events, so confirm the current figure on GOV.UK.

Last updated 2026-08-10. Thresholds, rates and allowances are indexed or reset at fiscal events and are deliberately not quoted here; check GOV.UK for current amounts.