VAT Flat Rate Scheme Calculator
Under HMRC's Flat Rate Scheme (FRS), you pay a fixed percentage of your gross turnover as VAT instead of accounting for VAT on every transaction. Select your business type to find your rate.
Enter the total amount you invoiced including the 20% VAT you charged
All Flat Rate Scheme Categories
| Business Type | Flat Rate % |
|---|---|
| Accountancy or book-keeping | 14.5% |
| Advertising | 11% |
| Agricultural services | 11% |
| Any other activity not listed elsewhere | 12% |
| Architect, civil and structural engineer or surveyor | 14.5% |
| Boarding or care of animals | 12% |
| Business services that are not listed elsewhere | 12% |
| Catering services including restaurants and takeaways | 12.5% |
| Computer and IT consultancy or data processing | 14.5% |
| Computer repair services | 10.5% |
| Debt collecting or factoring | 12% |
| Dentistry | 8.5% |
| Designing | 14.5% |
| Entertainment or journalism | 12.5% |
| Estate agency or property management services | 12% |
| Farming or agriculture that is not listed elsewhere | 6.5% |
| Film, radio, television or video production | 13% |
| Financial services | 13.5% |
| Forestry or fishing | 10.5% |
| General building or construction services (not covered below) | 9.5% |
| Hairdressing or other beauty treatment services | 13% |
| Hiring or renting goods | 9.5% |
| Hotel or accommodation | 10.5% |
| Investigation or security | 12% |
| Labour-only building or construction services | 14.5% |
| Laundry or dry-cleaning services | 12% |
| Lawyer or legal services | 14.5% |
| Library, archive, museum or other cultural activity | 9.5% |
| Management consultancy | 14% |
| Manufacturing fabricated metal products | 10.5% |
| Manufacturing that is not listed elsewhere | 9.5% |
| Manufacturing yarn, textiles or clothing | 9% |
| Membership organisation | 8% |
| Mining or quarrying | 10% |
| Packaging | 9% |
| Photography | 11% |
| Post offices | 5% |
| Printing | 8.5% |
| Publishing | 11% |
| Pubs | 6.5% |
| Real estate activity not listed elsewhere | 14% |
| Repairing personal or household goods | 10% |
| Repairing vehicles | 8.5% |
| Retailing food, confectionery, tobacco, newspapers or children's clothing | 4% |
| Retailing pharmaceuticals, medical goods, cosmetics or toiletries | 8% |
| Retailing that is not listed elsewhere | 7.5% |
| Retailing vehicles or fuel | 6.5% |
| Secretarial services | 13% |
| Social work | 11% |
| Sport or recreation | 8.5% |
| Travel agency | 10.5% |
| Veterinary medicine | 11% |
| Wholesaling agricultural products | 8% |
| Wholesaling food | 7.5% |
| Wholesaling that is not listed elsewhere | 8.5% |
Click a row to select that category in the calculator above.
How the Flat Rate Scheme Works
The Basic Principle
You charge customers VAT at the standard rate (usually 20%) on your invoices, but you pay HMRC a lower flat rate percentage of your gross turnover. The difference is yours to keep.
For example, an accountant charges 20% VAT but only pays HMRC 14.5% — keeping the 5.5% difference.
Who Can Join?
- ✅ VAT-registered businesses
- ✅ Taxable turnover expected to be no more than £150,000 (excluding VAT) in the next 12 months
- ❌ Businesses with 0% rated supplies in previous year
- ❌ Businesses that have left the FRS in the last 12 months
First Year Discount
In your first year of VAT registration, you get a 1% discount on your flat rate — so an accountant would pay 13.5% instead of 14.5%.
Limited Cost Trader
If your costs on goods are less than 2% of turnover (or less than £1,000 per year), HMRC classes you as a "limited cost trader" and you pay 16.5% regardless of your sector.
This calculator is for guidance only. Always verify your flat rate with HMRC or a qualified accountant. Read the full Flat Rate Scheme guide →