VAT - Can I backdate after registering ltd company?

mrkat

I went over the VAT threshold during a busy period of growth/sales from Oct-Dec with a sole trader business. In January, my old accountant advised me to register the business as a limited company and then put the past 3 months of the sole trader sales/VAT on the company which would bring down the amount I would be fined for going over the threshold.

The new accountants I've been speaking to have said I can't do this. One is advising that I should register for VAT as a sole trader retrospectively to pay the VAT before the company was formed in January and then deregister.

Can anyone offer any advice? It's hard to know what to do, especially when I've been let down by my old accountant who hasn't done anything on my accounts for 4 months!

bris

No of course not, the Ltd co is it's own independent body, it didn't exist 3 months ago so how can it register VAT? You could end up in the VAT mans sights for fraud if your not careful.