VAT registration when supplying services to UK (B2B)

I am a self employed freelancer residing in Sweden (VAT registered in Sweden) supplying services (such as translations) over the internet to a business that is established and VAT registered in the UK. As far as I understand, the reverse charge mechanism applies to the services I provide to the company. Is there any obligation to register for VAT in the UK? Thank you.

Place of supply of services rules did not change post brexit. Your customer is a UK business , therefore place of your supply is where the customer is, customer accounts for VAT under reverse charge in the UK, you (in Sweden) make an outside the scope of VAT supply on your Swedish return (no VAT to declare in Sweden and with no requirement to register for VAT in the UK.

Hi Corinna Lenz,
Please refer to section 5 of this guidance.
You do not need to account for the VAT your customer in the UK will account for it under the reverse charge mechanism:
5. Reverse charge
Thank you. 
 

Hi, Thanks for your reply and for confirming that reverse charge applies. Could you please also confirm that since reverse charge applies, I do NOT need to register for VAT in the UK? Thanks!

Hi Corinna Lenz,
You should refer to the following link but you will only be required to register for UK VAT if your taxable supplies in the UK exceed the registration threshold.
Who should register for VAT (VAT Notice 700/1)
Thank you. 
 

Hi, Apologies for reopening this thread, but the information for VAT on services provided from outside the UK is not clear-cut. VAT Notice 700/1 does not state that taxable supplies must exceed the registration threshold in order to register for VAT in the UK. Paragraph 2.3 states that if you’re an NETP , and you make ANY taxable supplies in the UK, regardless of their value and including supplies of digital services you must register for VAT. But if you register for VAT in the UK, don't you need to charge VAT to your customer also? This treatment contradicts the purpose of the reverse charge mechanism. I am a freelancer based in EU, I have an offer to provide services to a UK-based company (outside the scope of VAT for my country/below the UK VAT threshold) and I want to understand UK VAT regulations before deciding whether to accept the offer or not. Can someone confirm, without adding a link to the reverse charge mechanism or the VAT 700/1 notice, that you do /or don't need to register for VAT in the UK and why? Thank you in advance

Hi,
If you are a freelance photographer in the EU and you provide your services to business customers in the UK then you will not and can not register for VAT in the UK as  VAT will be dealt with by the business customer under the reverse charge mechnism.
You will only need to register in the UK for B to B supplies where the supply does not come under the general Rule of services eg for supplying an admission to an event in the UK.
The guidance says that if you make any supply in the UK then you will need to register for VAT as an NETP.
You only need to register for VAT in the UK as an NETP where you  make supplies in the UK and the service isn't accountable by the customer under the reverse charge procedure.
Thank you.

Hi, I am also a freelance supplier of services to UK, delivering services to a company without VAT registration. Does this have any impact on the reverse charge mechnism? Kind regards, Ivo

Hi,

If you are an overseas business and you are supplying general rule services to a non VAT registered business in the UK, then the reverse charge will still apply and the UK business customer will add the supply to their UK turnover. You can see the guidance at section 5.7 here:

Reverse charge

Thank you.

Can I check I'm understanding correctly. When an EU freelancer provides a service to a business in the UK the freelancer doesn't need register for VAT as the reverse charge applies, and that's the case even if the UK business isn't registered for VAT. Just seeking clarity on when an NETP is required to register for VAT

Hi, We are a business registered in Czechia. We offer digital paid content worldwide. At the moment we have some UK customers (individuals) but now we now have one B2B customer (Uk VAT registered). Do we have to register for VAT? I think yes, but all the info seems contradictory. Technically we offer educational content as well

Hi KP1
The reverse charge still applies to the UK business customer even if the business customer is not registered for VAT. If the reverse charge applies then there is no requirement for you to register for VAT in the UK. You can see the guidance here:
Reverse charge
Thank you.

Hi M Ford,
If you have business customers in the UK who you provide digital services to then the VAT would be accounted for by the UK business customer and there would be no requirement to register for UK VAT.
If you provide digital services to UK consumers then you would be making UK taxable supplies and so you would have to register for VAT straight away. You can see the guidance here:
Reverse charge
The place of supply of digital services
Non-established taxable persons — basic information
Thank you.