Registering a partnership for VAT with VAT2

Q: Which partnerships need a VAT2?

General partnerships list every partner. See general partnerships. Limited partnerships list only the general partners. VATREG09950 says limited partners are not part of the partnership for VAT purposes. See limited partnerships. Limited liability partnerships do not need a VAT2. VATREG09980 says LLP members are more akin to directors of a corporate body, and VATREG09600 says an LLP that shows it is incorporated may be registered as a corporate body.

For VAT, people carrying on business together in partnership are treated as one taxable person under section 45 of the VAT Act 1994, so the firm holds one registration that covers everything it does. Form VAT2 is the partnership details form: it records each partner’s name, date of birth, address, contact number, National Insurance number and signature. Changes in the partners must be notified within 30 days, and a partner who leaves stays liable for the firm’s VAT until HMRC is told.

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Why does a partnership register only once?

In England and Wales a partnership is not a legal person separate from its partners. Section 45(1) of the VAT Act 1994 nevertheless allows partners to be registered in the name of the firm. HMRC’s VAT Registration Manual at VATREG08750 explains the effect: the partners acting together are a single person for VAT, so one registration covers all of the firm’s activities, however varied. The manual cites the High Court decision in Customs and Excise v Glassborow (1974) on whether a person can hold more than one registration.

The flip side is that different combinations of people are different taxable persons. VATREG08750 gives the example that A trading alone, A and B in partnership, and A, B and C in partnership are three separate persons. A partner can therefore hold a personal registration for a sole trade alongside the firm’s registration.

Scotland is different. VATREG09050 notes that a Scottish partnership is a legal person distinct from its partners, so the same partners may have separate registrations for separate businesses, but only where each business has its own partnership agreement. See Scottish partnerships.

What is form VAT2 and what does it ask for?

On 28 September 2026 HMRC published new guidance on VAT2 titled Provide or update your partnership details for VAT. It says the form is used to:

provide partners’ details when the partnership registers
update partner details
add and remove partners
confirm that partners agree to change the partnership’s bank account

Each form has room for 8 partners; larger firms send extra forms. The form asks for the registration number if known, the business name and the reason for sending it (new registration, change in partner details or change in bank accounts). Each partner completes and signs a section giving full name, date of birth, address, contact phone number and National Insurance number or overseas tax identifier. The form is uploaded during online registration or posted to HMRC’s VAT registration applications and changes team.

The legal basis is regulation 5(1) of the VAT Regulations 1995, which requires a partnership’s notification of liability to register to include the particulars in the published partnership form. VATREG08900 notes that HMRC cannot insist on the VAT2 itself, only on the particulars it contains, and VATREG08950 says all partners must sign the VAT2 or equivalent declaration so that each acknowledges being a partner. For the registration process itself, see how to register for VAT.

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Which partnerships need a VAT2?

General partnerships list every partner. See general partnerships.
Limited partnerships list only the general partners. VATREG09950 says limited partners are not part of the partnership for VAT purposes. See limited partnerships.
Limited liability partnerships do not need a VAT2. VATREG09980 says LLP members are more akin to directors of a corporate body, and VATREG09600 says an LLP that shows it is incorporated may be registered as a corporate body.

What happens when a partner joins or leaves?

Section 45(1) contains what HMRC calls the no account clause: no account is taken of any change in the partnership when deciding who makes or receives supplies. VATREG09000 explains that without it, every technical dissolution of a firm, such as a partner retiring while the others carry on, would need a fresh registration or a VAT68 transfer. With it, the registration simply continues.

The change still has to be reported. Regulation 5(2) requires notification within 30 days of any change in the constitution of the business, and GOV.UK lists changes to the members of a partnership and partners’ names or home addresses among the changes to report within 30 days. In practice:

A new partner signs a new VAT2 or a declaration containing the same particulars (VATREG09850). There is no need for existing partners to sign again.
A departing partner’s removal can be notified by any partner, giving the date they left (VATREG09850 and VATREG35200).
A partner’s change of name, for example on marriage, is notified in writing if it does not affect the registered firm name (VATREG35200).

GOV.UK also says members of a partnership can be updated through the VAT online account, while partner detail changes such as name or address go to the VAT Registration Service on a VAT2.

Why should a departing partner make sure HMRC is told?

Section 45(2) says that until a change is notified to HMRC, a person who has left is treated as still being a partner for VAT purposes, in particular for liability for VAT on the firm’s supplies. Section 45(3) treats assessments served on the firm for periods when they were a partner as served on them too. Section 45(5) limits a partner who was in the firm for only part of a return period to a just proportion of the firm’s VAT for that period.

VATREG09000 records that the tribunal in Hussein and Asim t/a Pressing Dry Cleaners held that verbal notification was enough, and VATREG36100 tells officers receiving a phone call to record it and direct the partnership to send a VAT2. A written notice, kept on file with proof of sending, is still the safer course. For the wider position of retiring partners, see leaving a partnership.

What if the partnership becomes a sole trade or a company?

The no account clause only works while there is still a partnership. VATREG35900 says that where the firm ends and one former partner carries on alone, HMRC either treats it as a transfer of a going concern or cancels the partnership registration and registers the sole proprietor. A sole trader taking on a partner is handled the same way (VATREG35850). To keep the existing number, use form VAT68; see transferring a VAT number with VAT68. Notice 700/11, paragraph 2.3, says a VAT2 is also needed where the new legal entity is a partnership.

VAT Notice 700, paragraph 26.8, deals with the death of a partner: tell the VAT Registration Service within 30 days. If two or more partners carry on, HMRC amends its records. A single survivor who recruits a new partner, or carries on alone, must notify within 30 days of that change.

A worked example

Illustration only. Green, Patel and Owen trade as Riverside Surveyors and are registered in the firm name. Owen retires on 30 June and a new partner, Lee, joins on 1 July.

The registration and VAT number stay the same because of the no account clause.
By 30 July the firm sends a VAT2 signed by Lee, and a signed note giving Owen’s leaving date.
If nobody told HMRC, Owen would remain liable for the firm’s VAT until notification, even for supplies made after retiring.

What mistakes do partnerships make?

Registering each partner or each activity separately instead of the firm once.
Sending a VAT2 that some partners have not signed.
Assuming a partner’s exit needs nothing because the VAT number does not change.
Using a VAT2 for an LLP, or listing limited partners.
Carrying on as a sole trader under the partnership’s number without a VAT68 or new registration.

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Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.