HMRC 'You may need to register for VAT' letter
Hi everyone
I'm a long-standing sole-trader working in the UK.
For 2023/24 my total turnover was over £90,000.
I received a letter from HMRC stating that my total turnover for the period was 'over the VAT registration threshold' and that I need to register for VAT. That's true of my total turnover, but almost all my sales (design services) were to a non UK company. As I understand it, this doesn't count towards the threshold.
At no point has my VAT taxable turnover exceeded £90,000 within a given 12-month period.
The letter doesn't say what to do in this situation, but is instead mildly threatening – explaining that I need to pay any VAT owed (none) and a penalty, and that if I don't register when I need to (which as far as I can tell, I don't) I'll incur further penalty charges.
Having done a bit of research, I've spent the morning trying to register as 'VAT exempt' but in order to do that it seems you must first register for VAT, which I don't want to do and don't need to do. The process isn't as simple as it could be.
All I want to do is contact HMRC and tell them that my taxable turnover has not exceeded the threshold, but I don't want to waste a morning on the phone.
Can I just ignore this, as it doesn't apply to me?
Thanks for any help.