VAT7 is the HMRC form for cancelling your VAT registration by post. Most businesses can cancel online instead, but you must use the VAT7 if your legal status has changed and you want a new VAT number, you've sold your business and the buyer isn't keeping the number, or your VAT group is disbanding. If you stop being eligible, you must cancel within 30 days.
Everything below comes from the GOV.UK Register for VAT guide, its cancel and transfer sections, as of October 2026.
When you must cancel
You have to cancel your registration if you're no longer eligible to be VAT registered, for example because you stop trading or making VAT taxable supplies, or because you join a VAT group. GOV.UK says to cancel within 30 days of no longer being eligible, or you might be charged a penalty.
When you can choose to cancel
If your taxable turnover falls below £88,000, you can ask HMRC to cancel your registration, as of October 2026. There's one exception: you can't if you and your business are based outside the UK and you supply goods or services to the UK, or expect to in the next 30 days. Being able to deregister isn't the same as needing to, so check the numbers first; the guide to the UK VAT threshold covers how turnover is counted.
Online or VAT7
| Your situation | How to cancel |
|---|---|
| Stopped trading and not in a VAT group | Online |
| Taxable turnover below £88,000 | Online |
| Stopped making VAT taxable goods or services | Online |
| Legal status changed and you want a new VAT number | VAT7 by post |
| Sold the business and the new owner isn't keeping the number | VAT7 by post |
| VAT group closing | VAT7 plus a VAT50-51, sent together |
Changes you report instead of cancelling
Plenty of changes don't need a VAT7 at all, just an update. GOV.UK says to tell HMRC within 30 days of changes to your business name, trading name or main address, the accountant or agent who deals with your VAT, or the members of a partnership or any partner's name or home address. You might pay a penalty if you don't. Your contact details, repayment bank details, return dates (unless you have a non-standard tax period) and partnership members can be updated in your VAT online account; if you can't use it, contact HMRC. If you're moving from standard accounting to the Flat Rate Scheme, that's a change of scheme, not a cancellation.
When you don't cancel at all
- You're changing legal status or selling the business and want to keep the same VAT number: transfer the registration instead.
- A single company in a VAT group is closing: complete a VAT50-51 amend form.
- You're joining a VAT group: complete a VAT50-51 amend form.
This is the trap with business sales. If the buyer wants to keep your VAT number, you both complete form VAT68, and HMRC treats that VAT68 as your cancellation and transfer. You don't fill in a VAT7 as well.
Filling in the VAT7
- Fill in the form fully on screen before you print it. You can't save a partly completed form, so gather your details first.
- Print it and post it, with any other completed forms, to HMRC at the address on the form.
- For a group closing, send the VAT50-51 in the same envelope.
What happens next
HMRC will contact you to confirm the cancellation, usually within 40 working days, though it can take longer in busy periods. If you applied by post, the confirmation comes by post. It includes your official cancellation date, which is either when the reason took effect, such as the day you stopped trading, or the date you asked to cancel.
From that date you stop charging VAT. HMRC will automatically re-register you if it decides you shouldn't have cancelled, and you'd then have to account for any VAT you should have paid in the meantime.
Your final VAT Return
You'll submit a final VAT Return for the period up to and including the cancellation date. If you reclaimed, or could have reclaimed, VAT on stock and other assets you still have on that date, and the VAT due on them is over £1,000, you must account for it on that return. Don't hold the final return back waiting for late invoices: GOV.UK says you can still reclaim the VAT on them when they arrive. Keep all VAT records for 6 years.
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If you're buying or selling a business
- Sellers: cancel your accountant's access to your VAT online account and any direct debits, and give your records to the buyer if you're passing on the VAT number.
- Buyers keeping the number: contact HMRC within 21 days of the transfer application if you want to keep the seller's accountant, replace self-billing arrangements and set up new direct debits.
- Buyers who'd rather start fresh: cancel the existing registration and register for VAT again to get a new number.
If you have an EORI number, HMRC cancels it automatically at the same time as your VAT registration, so check whether you still need one before you apply.
The verdict
Use the online service if you've simply stopped trading or dropped below the threshold. Use the VAT7 only for the three postal cases, and skip it entirely if a VAT68 transfer is happening. Whichever route you take, the two dates that matter are the 30-day deadline to cancel and the final return covering everything up to the cancellation date.
Frequently asked questions
What is a VAT7 form?
It's the HMRC form used to cancel a VAT registration by post.
When must VAT7 be used instead of cancelling online?
When your legal status has changed and you want a new VAT number, when you've sold the business and the owner isn't keeping the number, or when your VAT group is closing.
How long is there to cancel a VAT registration?
GOV.UK says to cancel within 30 days if you stop being eligible, or you might be charged a penalty.
How long does HMRC take to process a VAT7?
HMRC usually confirms within 40 working days, though it may take longer during busy periods.
Do I need a VAT7 if I sell my business and the buyer keeps the VAT number?
No. You and the buyer complete form VAT68, which HMRC treats as your cancellation and transfer.
