Welcome to VAT

The sight of a Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) inspector will unnerve even the most hardened entrepreneurs, but not when they are advised by Andrew Stephenson, head of our specialist VAT team, who is a former HMRC official.

Andrew leads a specialist team that works with businesses of all sectors and sizes on VAT risk management, planning, returns and investigations.

Many companies struggle to get to grips with the complexities of the VAT regime. Innocent mistakes are often seen as intentional and HMRC leaves no stone unturned when an inspector calls.

However, Pierce’s VAT experts can save you time, money and sleepless nights through a raft of services including:  

  • VAT health check - We can set your mind at ease, or alert you to the action you need to take to avoid problems arising – including exposure to a penalty
  • Planning - We can work with you in maximising your input tax recovery while legitimately minimising your output tax liability
  • Returns - We assist businesses in preparing and submitting their returns. In addition, we advise on the timing of invoicing and the best method of completing the return itself
  • Partial exemption - If you are ‘partially exempt’ we can advise you how to legally maximise your input tax recovery
  • Property - Property is one of the most complex areas of VAT, full of pitfalls that may deny you the right to reclaim input tax, or lead you to overpay VAT. Our specialist advisers can help you avoid both
  • Investigations - Our experts are widely experienced in dealing with both indirect and direct tax investigations, and can deal with these on your behalf
  • Time to Pay scheme - We have helped defer over £6 million worth of tax and VAT on behalf of our clients through the government’s Time to Pay scheme and can help if you are having cash flow difficulties.