VAT return periods and accounting year end dates

The quarterly VAT periods for VAT returns do not always tie in with accounting year end dates. For instance, a VAT return may run for three months November – December – January, whereas the accounting year end is 31 December. Whilst this is not a “big issue” with regard to the accounts and workings, in preparation for the Making Tax Digital changes in the pipeline, we are looking to make the periods coincide – so in the above example, we would be asking for the VAT period to end on 31 December instead of 31 January. This does mean there will be one VAT return soon which will not be for a full 3-month period. We will of course check with you first to ensure you have no objections to this change of VAT period.