The VAT rise & your wedding

There is no escaping it - the rate of VAT is set to go back up to 17.5% on the 1st of January 2010 and if you have had quotations from VAT registered suppliers in the last 12 months then they will have been at the rate of 15% VAT and suppliers may not have informed you of the rise come the New Year.

To top it off, there is quite a bit of confusion regarding when they are to apply the 17.5% rate rather than keeping the 15% rate applied.

The answer is this:

If you have booked and paid a deposit during the last 12 months you will have paid VAT at 15%. However, any balance paid after 1st January 2010 will cost you an additional 2.5%.

Here is what we would advice you to do:

1. Check all of your quotations and look at those suppliers who are VAT registered. If their quotation does not breakdown the VAT separately then look at the letter head for any sign of a VAT registration number. If you are still in doubt, ring them.
2. Then work out how much extra 2.5% is going to put on your bill.
3. If you are in a position to pay your balance prior to the 31st of December 2009 without putting yourselves under extra financial pressure, then it may be worth doing so.
4. However, if your wedding is still some way off, you may want to pay by credit card in the first instance and then use your cash to pay your card. This way you should be insured should your supplier go into liquidation before the big day. Alternatively, take out some wedding insurance - Mrs2Be recommends E&L Insurance.
5. If there are bills you are unable to pay prior to the 1st of January, work out how much extra you will have to pay and adjust your Mrs2Be wedding budget planner accordingly.

Hopefully by doing this, you will avoid any nasty surprises!