How to estimate future sales – guidance for VAT registration

If you set up a business, you must ask for VAT registration if your sales (often referred to as "turnover") for the current accounting year will go over a minimum threshold. The threshold is €10,000 a year. As the owner of the new business, you must estimate your sales yourself.

What must be included?

You must include the following in your estimation:

• Sales of goods and services subject to VAT.
• The VAT-exemptible sales of goods and services listed in the VAT Act, such as export sales and intra-Community supply.

Do not include the following:

• Any sales of the fixed assets of your business. In other words, do not include sales of assets or property that has been used in your production or in your work. For example, if you operate an earthmoving company and you sell one of your excavators to an outside buyer, you should not include this sale in the turnover because the excavator is part of your company's fixed assets.
• Most sales not subject to VAT, such as services related to social welfare, healthcare services, and medical services.

If your business does not have a 12-month accounting period

For purposes of the estimate, you must adjust your sales value so that it reflects a 12-month period. If the period to be estimated is shorter or longer than 12 months, the actual turnover must be adjusted to correspond to a turnover for 12 months. First, multiply the turnover by 12 and divide the result by the number of full months in your accounting period.