What is a VAT return: VAT Return Mechanics
The VAT Return Mechanics carries 7 published figures read from 3 sources' own pages, from 1 to 20 percent, read 17 October 2026.
Taxyearvo sells its own paid plan in this category (our pricing). It is not counted here: every figure in this index is another provider's own published price, read from its own page.
3 of the 9 named sources read in full publish a figure; 6 publish none, read 17 October 2026.
By tax
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| taxvat-standard-rate | 20% | 20 to 20% | 2 |
| taxvat-reduced-rate | 5% | 5 to 5% | 1 |
| taxflat-rate-first-year-discount | 1% | 1 to 1% | 1 |
| taxlimited-cost-goods-test | 2% | 2 to 2% | 1 |
| taxflat-rate-limited-cost-business | 16.5% | 16.5 to 16.5% | 1 |
| taxflat-rate-photography | 11% | 11 to 11% | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per source: the figure the source's own page publishes, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMRC VAT guide (VAT Notice 700) | 20% | vat-standard-rate | 2026-10-16 |
| HMRC VAT Notice 700/12: how to fill in and submit your VAT Return | 20% | vat-standard-rate | 2026-10-17 |
| GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay | 16.5% | flat-rate-limited-cost-business | 2026-10-17 |
| GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay | 11% | flat-rate-photography | 2026-10-17 |
| HMRC VAT guide (VAT Notice 700) | 5% | vat-reduced-rate | 2026-10-16 |
| GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay | 2% | limited-cost-goods-test | 2026-10-17 |
| GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay | 1% | flat-rate-first-year-discount | 2026-10-17 |
The sentence each figure was read from (7)
- HMRC VAT guide (VAT Notice 700), read 2026-10-16:
This is how it’s worked out: rate of tax divided by (100 + rate of tax). So, with VAT at 20% the VAT fraction is: 20⁄120 (twenty one hundred and twentieths), which is the same as one-sixth.
- HMRC VAT Notice 700/12: how to fill in and submit your VAT Return, read 2026-10-17:
If the rate of VAT is 20%, the VAT fraction is one-sixth of this value.
- GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay, read 2026-10-17:
This means you pay a higher rate of 16.5%.
- GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay, read 2026-10-17:
You’re a photographer, so the VAT flat rate for your business is 11%.
- HMRC VAT guide (VAT Notice 700), read 2026-10-16:
Rate of tax VAT fraction 5% 1⁄21 (one twenty-first)
- GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay, read 2026-10-17:
You’re classed as a ‘limited cost business’ if your goods cost less than either: 2% of your turnover
- GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay, read 2026-10-17:
You may pay a different rate if you only spend a small amount on goods. You get a 1% discount if you’re in your first year as a VAT-registered business.
Read in full, publishes no figure
6 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- GOV.UK VAT Returns overview, read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- GOV.UK VAT Returns: fill in your return, read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- GOV.UK VAT Annual Accounting Scheme, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- GOV.UK VAT Cash Accounting Scheme, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- HMRC VAT domestic reverse charge for building and construction services, read 2026-10-03: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- GOV.UK sign in to HMRC online services (the VAT account), read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
3 of the 9 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 6 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 1 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in % (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 7 figures, never sentences; 31 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per VAT return box: what HMRC's notice says goes in it, which schemes change it (flat rate, cash accounting, annual accounting, the construction reverse charge) and the worked example the guide renders; the nine boxes as a single machine-readable table nobody else publishes, with the notice's revision date and what changed
31 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (10)
- HMRC VAT Notice 700/12: how to fill in and submit your VAT Return(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- HMRC VAT guide (VAT Notice 700)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK VAT Returns overview(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK VAT Returns: fill in your return(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK VAT Annual Accounting Scheme(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK VAT Cash Accounting Scheme(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- HMRC VAT domestic reverse charge for building and construction services(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK sign in to HMRC online services (the VAT account)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- gov.uk(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
Cite or embed this figure
The VAT Return Mechanics carries 7 published figures read from 3 sources' own pages, from 1 to 20 percent, read 17 October 2026.
3 of the 9 named sources read in full publish a figure; 6 publish none, read 17 October 2026.
VAT Return Mechanics, tax vat-standard-rate: median 20 percent across 2 sources, read 17 October 2026.
VAT Return Mechanics, tax vat-reduced-rate: median 5 percent across 1 source, read 17 October 2026.
VAT Return Mechanics, tax flat-rate-first-year-discount: median 1 percent across 1 source, read 17 October 2026.
VAT Return Mechanics, tax limited-cost-goods-test: median 2 percent across 1 source, read 17 October 2026.
VAT Return Mechanics, tax flat-rate-limited-cost-business: median 16.50 percent across 1 source, read 17 October 2026.
VAT Return Mechanics, tax flat-rate-photography: median 11 percent across 1 source, read 17 October 2026.
Cite as: "Taxyearvo VAT Return Mechanics", updated 2026-10-18, https://taxyearvo.com/datasets/vat-return-mechanics/.
Download the CSV (7 rows, computed 2026-10-18)