Billing EU from the UK Thread poster: Nikki Graham
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Nikki Graham United Kingdom Local time: 11:42 Spanish to English
Having recently moved back to the UK from Spain, I have read forum entries on working here with great interest (thanks everyone for their past input - very helpful!), but I still have a few questions.
Which number should I put on my bills, my NI no. or my tax no.??(which I haven\'t got yet and I was told over the phone by the self-employed helpline that it wasn\'t necessary to put this on the bill, but I know what agencies in Spain can be like if there\'s no number) ... See more Having recently moved back to the UK from Spain, I have read forum entries on working here with great interest (thanks everyone for their past input - very helpful!), but I still have a few questions.
Which number should I put on my bills, my NI no. or my tax no.??(which I haven\'t got yet and I was told over the phone by the self-employed helpline that it wasn\'t necessary to put this on the bill, but I know what agencies in Spain can be like if there\'s no number)
As I will be billing in euros, when do I convert this into pounds? (day I bill, day I get paid, day I do tax return???)
Thanks very much for your help! ▲ Collapse | | |
Invoicing from the UK | Jan 25, 2003 |
I usually sign my invoice when they go to Spain. That resolves the problem of not including a fiscal number of some sort. The only number that you will get that I can think of is a National Insurance Number and I cannot see any relevance for Spain.
In theory, you should use the exchange rate of the day that you invoice. I often forget though.
I usually use the following site for the conversion: ... See more I usually sign my invoice when they go to Spain. That resolves the problem of not including a fiscal number of some sort. The only number that you will get that I can think of is a National Insurance Number and I cannot see any relevance for Spain.
In theory, you should use the exchange rate of the day that you invoice. I often forget though.
I usually use the following site for the conversion: http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Good luck!
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Parrot Spain Local time: 12:42 Spanish to English + ... OOOPS ... why didn't I take that down? | Jan 25, 2003 |
A friend in the same position had the same problem. She was told to get some number from her tax office, which the tax employees didn\'t have the faintest inkling about (it\'s a brand-new regulation). All self-employed persons in the UK working with countries in the EU are supposed to have it. Keep insisting - tell them to look under new requirements. | | |
kostan Austria Local time: 12:42 German to English + ... EU Value added tax identification number | Jan 26, 2003 |
This is a tax identification that obviates the need to charge VAT to VAT registered customers within the EU. You need to show your own ID and that of your customer on your invoice and have to confirm the correctness of the ID-number for each customer with your local tax authority. This is important when your your VAT declaration is audited by the tax authorities, who would demand VAT payment from you, if your customer\'s ID is incorrect. Cumbersome, but that\'s unfortunately how it works. ... See more This is a tax identification that obviates the need to charge VAT to VAT registered customers within the EU. You need to show your own ID and that of your customer on your invoice and have to confirm the correctness of the ID-number for each customer with your local tax authority. This is important when your your VAT declaration is audited by the tax authorities, who would demand VAT payment from you, if your customer\'s ID is incorrect. Cumbersome, but that\'s unfortunately how it works. Good luck ▲ Collapse | |
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This is what I do ... | Jan 26, 2003 |
I have a self employed tax reference number - which I believe they give you when you register as self-employed. \"Inland Revenue Tax Reference Number\". Insist they give it to you. But if they don\'t, use the NI number - the Spanish generally won\'t know the difference! As for converting I invoice in EUR and on my spreadsheet I have a coloumn for converting to pounds. These are the headings on my spreadsheet: JOB NUMBER INVOICE NUMBER DATE DEADLINE PROJECT NAMECOMPANY RATE ... See more I have a self employed tax reference number - which I believe they give you when you register as self-employed. \"Inland Revenue Tax Reference Number\". Insist they give it to you. But if they don\'t, use the NI number - the Spanish generally won\'t know the difference! As for converting I invoice in EUR and on my spreadsheet I have a coloumn for converting to pounds. These are the headings on my spreadsheet: JOB NUMBER INVOICE NUMBER DATE DEADLINE PROJECT NAMECOMPANY RATE CURRENCY Unit of Measure QUANTITY To Invoice Invoice Amount Conversion Rate GBP equivalent INVOICE PREPARED DATE Expected date paid INVOICE PAID DATE PAID HOW? PAID INTO WHICH ACCOUNT?
I use the conversion rate that is currently valid from http://www.oanda.com/converter/classic and when I receive the money I change this if necessary depending on how much I actually get. If you\'re not earning enough to register for VAT (around GBP50,000 p.a.) and your tax return income and expenses look reasonable it\'s very unlikely that the Inland Revenue are going to come calling but you need to keep all your documents anyway just in case. ▲ Collapse | | |
Tax Reference Number | Jan 26, 2003 |
After reading all the interesting information given, I did a quick search and came up with the following web site which tells you what to do when you are self-employed: http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/startingup/register.htm
Presumably you will be given this Tax Reference Number at the end of the process automatically.
I am wondering why my Tax ... See more After reading all the interesting information given, I did a quick search and came up with the following web site which tells you what to do when you are self-employed: http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/startingup/register.htm
Presumably you will be given this Tax Reference Number at the end of the process automatically.
I am wondering why my Tax office nor my accountant told me about all of this. I think I\'d better check. ▲ Collapse | | |
Are you VAT registered? | Jan 26, 2003 |
Quote: On 2003-01-25 22:49, Amara wrote: Having recently moved back to the UK from Spain, I have read forum entries on working here with great interest (thanks everyone for their past input - very helpful!), but I still have a few questions.
Which number should I put on my bills, my NI no. or my tax no.??(which I haven\'t got yet and I was told over the phone by the self-employed helpline that it wasn\'t necess ... See more Quote: On 2003-01-25 22:49, Amara wrote: Having recently moved back to the UK from Spain, I have read forum entries on working here with great interest (thanks everyone for their past input - very helpful!), but I still have a few questions.
Which number should I put on my bills, my NI no. or my tax no.??(which I haven\'t got yet and I was told over the phone by the self-employed helpline that it wasn\'t necessary to put this on the bill, but I know what agencies in Spain can be like if there\'s no number)
As I will be billing in euros, when do I convert this into pounds? (day I bill, day I get paid, day I do tax return???)
Thanks very much for your help!
Hello Nikki, Nikki here.
The Spanish authorities may suppose you have an EU VAT reg\'n n°. You UK tax office told you that you don\'t have one - yet. It might simply be that you are not registered for vAT yet. You might not even have to! (You either chose to be VAT-registered or when your turnover exceeds a certain ceiling, you have no choice but to register). Each member state has its own limit, the UK compulsory registration limit being 2 and a half time the French limit for example. Perhaps that is what it\'s all about?
Nikki ▲ Collapse | | |
Parrot Spain Local time: 12:42 Spanish to English + ... Precisely, you don't need to be VAT registered | Jan 26, 2003 |
But there\'s a new identification number that you have to have in order to bill the EU. | |
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Nikki Graham United Kingdom Local time: 11:42 Spanish to English TOPIC STARTER No intention of being VAT registered | Jan 27, 2003 |
As I\'m not going to earn 50,000+ pounds -if only - but working part-time because I\'m looking after a baby, it\'ll be a bit difficult I won\'t be registering for VAT. I\'ll get a tax number in about 6-8 weeks, which I was told was just for doing the tax returns and not necessary for bills, so is this number you\'re talking about Cecilia or somthing else? Is it a VAT no.?
Thanks for all input, but I\'m a bit confused | | |
Annira Silver (X) Local time: 13:42 Finnish to English Use your passport number | Mar 22, 2003 |
Hi,
I encountered the same problem recently, when I did a job for a Spanish agency for the first time. They must have an ID number on invoices. As we don\'t \'do\' ID in the UK, I used my passport number - that did the trick. In the UK, a self-employed person doesn\'t need to quote any reference number (such as the National Insurance no.) on invoices, unless he/she is registered for VAT. If you form a limited company, however, you must quote your company registrat... See more Hi,
I encountered the same problem recently, when I did a job for a Spanish agency for the first time. They must have an ID number on invoices. As we don\'t \'do\' ID in the UK, I used my passport number - that did the trick. In the UK, a self-employed person doesn\'t need to quote any reference number (such as the National Insurance no.) on invoices, unless he/she is registered for VAT. If you form a limited company, however, you must quote your company registration number.
Rgds
Annira ▲ Collapse | | |
Arben Seva United Kingdom Local time: 11:42 Member (2003) English to Albanian + ... Registration Certificate Number | Oct 25, 2005 |
One of my clients in Europe, except the tax number asked also for a registration certificate number. Does anyone knows where can I get number? Thanks, Arben | | |