The UK VAT registration threshold for online sellers

Last checked 2 October 2026

You must register for VAT when your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 — but “turnover” is measured over a rolling 12 months, not your tax year, and that catches growing eBay and online sellers out.

The two tests

Looking back: your total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000. Check this every month — it is a rolling window, not the tax year.
Looking forward: you expect your taxable turnover to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days alone.

Taxable turnover is everything you sell that is not VAT-exempt or out of scope — including zero-rated and reduced-rate goods. For a reseller that is your sales, not your profit.

Deadlines

If you go over the threshold looking back, you must register within 30 days of the end of the month in which you went over. Your registration then takes effect from the first day of the second month after you went over. Register late and HMRC can charge you the VAT you should have charged, plus a penalty.

Registering below the threshold

You can register voluntarily with a lower turnover. That can make sense if most of your costs carry VAT you could reclaim — but you then have to charge VAT on your sales, which raises prices for consumers who cannot reclaim it.

Sellers based outside the UK

A business established outside the UK that supplies goods or services in the UK has no threshold: it must register regardless of turnover.

Marketplaces and imported goods

On some sales the marketplace accounts for the VAT instead of you — for example eBay on imported consignments of £135 or less (see the £135 VAT rule). How those sales count towards your own turnover depends on where the goods are and where your business is established, so ask an accountant to look at your mix of sales.

Keeping an eye on it

Zixo Agent tracks your position against the UK VAT registration threshold as your sales come in, alongside VAT per sale and true profit. It is a running view, not a filing tool, and not tax advice. See profit and VAT tracking.

Source: GOV.UK — “Register for VAT” (gov.uk/register-for-vat). Checked 2026-10-02. General information, not tax advice.