# 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 · https://taxyearvo.com/datasets/vat-return-mechanics/ · computed 2026-10-18

**Range of the published figures:** 1 to 20 % (range 1 to 20 %; 7 sources with a figure; 3 of 9 sources read publish one).

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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| tax vat-standard-rate | 20 % | 20 to 20 % | 2 |
| tax vat-reduced-rate | 5 % | 5 to 5 % | 1 |
| tax flat-rate-first-year-discount | 1 % | 1 to 1 % | 1 |
| tax limited-cost-goods-test | 2 % | 2 to 2 % | 1 |
| tax flat-rate-limited-cost-business | 16.5 % | 16.5 to 16.5 % | 1 |
| tax flat-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.

| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| [HMRC VAT guide (VAT Notice 700)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-guide-notice-700) | 20 % | vat-standard-rate | 2026-10-16 |
| [HMRC VAT Notice 700/12: how to fill in and submit your VAT Return](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-fill-in-and-submit-your-vat-return-vat-notice-70012) | 20 % | vat-standard-rate | 2026-10-17 |
| [GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay](https://www.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](https://www.gov.uk/vat-flat-rate-scheme/how-much-you-pay) | 11 % | flat-rate-photography | 2026-10-17 |
| [HMRC VAT guide (VAT Notice 700)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-guide-notice-700) | 5 % | vat-reduced-rate | 2026-10-16 |
| [GOV.UK VAT Flat Rate Scheme: how much you pay](https://www.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](https://www.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)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-guide-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](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-fill-in-and-submit-your-vat-return-vat-notice-70012), 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](https://www.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](https://www.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)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-guide-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](https://www.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](https://www.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

- [GOV.UK VAT Returns overview](https://www.gov.uk/vat-returns), read 2026-09-12: every candidate on the page was refused
- [GOV.UK VAT Returns: fill in your return](https://www.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](https://www.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](https://www.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](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/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)](https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services), 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

## Sources

- [HMRC VAT Notice 700/12: how to fill in and submit your VAT Return](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-fill-in-and-submit-your-vat-return-vat-notice-70012) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [HMRC VAT guide (VAT Notice 700)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-guide-notice-700) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [GOV.UK VAT Returns overview](https://www.gov.uk/vat-returns) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [GOV.UK VAT Returns: fill in your return](https://www.gov.uk/vat-returns/fill-in-your-return) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [GOV.UK VAT Annual Accounting Scheme](https://www.gov.uk/vat-annual-accounting-scheme) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [GOV.UK VAT Cash Accounting Scheme](https://www.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](https://www.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](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/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)](https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/topic/business-tax/vat) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)

## Cite or embed

- 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/.

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