Is My Accountant Correct About This?

[Satoshi]

I'm self employed in the UK and a British national.
However, none of my clients are based in the UK. I recently breached the 85k annual income threshold, but my accountant said that I don't need to register for VAT as all of my clients are overseas.
Furthermore, a majority of my income is from YouTube (Google), and this also means I don't need to worry about VAT. The rest of my income comes from sponsorships for brands that are not UK based?

[bluedonkey]

Have you given your accountant all the facts? If you have and you are still unsure if he/she is correct, then you need to find an accountant whose advice you trust.

Also, look at this:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ed-for-vat
section 3.11

Also look up "reverse charge", "place of supply for services" in the context of VAT.

You mention income. In fact, it is sales, not income, that is relevant for VAT.

Get your accountant's advice in writing/email.

[Satoshi]

Thanks a lot.. I think I am in the clear as it states on the UKgov website;
2.1 The place of supply
For VAT purposes, the place of supply of a service is the place where that service is treated as being supplied. This is the place where it’s liable to VAT (if any).

If the supply is in the UK it is subject to UK VAT. If the supply is in an EU member state or another country it is said to be ‘outside the scope’ of UK VAT.

[Lootman]

Thanks a lot.. I think I am in the clear as it states on the UKgov website;
2.1 The place of supply
For VAT purposes, the place of supply of a service is the place where that service is treated as being supplied. This is the place where it’s liable to VAT (if any).

If the supply is in the UK it is subject to UK VAT. If the supply is in an EU member state or another country it is said to be ‘outside the scope’ of UK VAT.

With the caveat that I know nothing about VAT, is it possible that you do not have an obligation for UK VAT but you may have an obligation for VAT in the other EU country?

It just seems unlikely to me that the EU would pass a law that ensures that no country gets any tax from cross-border business.

[Satoshi]

Also taken from the UKgov website:

Which country’s VAT rules to use when charging VAT on services.
If you’re in the UK and the place of supply of your service is in the UK, you charge and account for VAT according to UK VAT rules.

If you’re in the UK and the place of supply of your service is in an EU country, you do not pay UK VAT.

[joey]

I bill a US company for my work. No VAT applies of course. I happen to be VAT registered because in previous times I’ve billed companies within the U.K. Each quarter I get a rebate on the VAT from Sunak for the regular expenses I incur for services from other U.K. companies.

[Satoshi]

I bill a US company for my work. No VAT applies of course. I happen to be VAT registered because in previous times I’ve billed companies within the U.K. Each quarter I get a rebate on the VAT from Sunak for the regular expenses I incur for services from other U.K. companies.

Thanks for this.
Do I need to register though, even though my services are supplied overseas, do I still need to register and claim the VAT as 0%? My accountant thinks I don't need to. I do trust his advice, but this situation regarding digital services and furthermore YouTube, is quite 'new' and not too common.

[joey]

Do I need to register though, even though my services are supplied overseas, do I still need to register and claim the VAT as 0%? My accountant thinks I don't need to. I do trust his advice, but this situation regarding digital services and furthermore YouTube, is quite 'new' and not too common.

That I don't know unfortunately.