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Separate VAT returns or a VAT group?
A general guide, not advice, based on HMRC VAT Notice 700/2.
Separate registrations or a VAT group
| Separate registrations | VAT group | |
|---|---|---|
| VAT numbers | One per business | One for the group |
| VAT returns | One per business, each period | One for the whole group, filed by the representative member |
| Sales between your businesses | VAT charged as normal | Normally disregarded |
| Liability | Each business for its own VAT | Every member jointly and severally liable for the group's VAT |
| Who can use it | Any business | Companies established in the UK under common control, and in some cases individuals and partnerships that control them |
When a VAT group helps
- Your businesses charge each other a lot, and some cannot reclaim all the VAT, for example because one is partially exempt.
- You want one VAT return instead of several each quarter.
When separate registrations are better
- You do not want every company liable for the others' VAT debts.
- Your businesses rarely trade with each other.
- One business is partially exempt, and grouping would restrict VAT recovery for the others.
- The businesses are not under common control, or not established in the UK.
Keeping several businesses organised under MTD
- Separate records for each VAT number, such as one spreadsheet or one tab set per business, never mixed.
- A clear naming system for each business's CSV files and periods.
- Each business connected to HMRC in your MTD software, with its own periods and due dates.
- One place to see every deadline, so no business's return is missed.
Swift VAT Pro lets you file for up to 20 businesses for £20 a month, or up to 100 for £50, from one login, with each business's periods and due dates read from HMRC. See managing VAT for several businesses in one place.
Every business from one login, from £20 a month
Up to 20 businesses for £20 a month or 100 for £50, each with its own periods and due dates from HMRC.
- Connect to HMRC on HMRC's own page with your Government Gateway sign-in. We never see that password.
- See your VAT periods, due dates, amounts owed and payments, read from HMRC.
- Upload your nine box totals as a CSV. Box 3 and Box 5 are worked out and every box is checked.
- Submit and keep HMRC's receipt. Reminder emails arrive before each due date.
No card needed · From £5 a month · Plans for up to 100 businesses · Filing through HMRC's MTD service since 2019
Final thoughts
Separate registrations keep each business's VAT and liability apart. A VAT group means one return and no VAT between members, at the cost of shared liability. Whichever you choose, keep each VAT number's records separate and every deadline in one view.
Disclaimer: This guide gives general information, not advice for your business. VAT grouping has wider effects. Speak to an accountant before applying.
Frequently asked questions
Checked against HMRC VAT Notice 700/2 (group registration), VAT Notice 700/22 and VAT Notice 706. November 2026.
Does each business need its own VAT return?
Who can form a VAT group?
What are the downsides of a VAT group?
Are sales between group members subject to VAT?
How do I manage VAT for several businesses under MTD?
Every business from one login, from £20 a month.
Swift VAT Pro files your return to HMRC from the spreadsheet you already keep. From £5 a month.
No card needed · 2,900+ VAT returns filed since 2019