How is everyone?

[Rob]

I too am spending a great deal of time, rather than money, on old cars - but it was ever thus. On the other hand, a friend is threatening to pay me to restore his MGB to health, so that might at least supplement my meagre income as a coin dealer...

Keep it meagre as long as you can Derek.

I have had to register for VAT and it's a right pain in the arse!

VAT isn't that big a problem. I've been VAT registered for the past 25 years and have had no hassle from HMRC whatsoever. In the case of the margin scheme it is very simple to operate as long as you keep tidy accounts. Presumably they are held on a computer and you use an accounting package. I use Sage, but any package worth its salt would offer the same accounting tools. Keep your margin purchases in one nominal code and your margin sales in another, subtract one from the other and you have your gross profit which is 120% of your net profit. So 1/6 to the VAT man and 5/6 you retain. Couldn't be simpler apart from having no VAT whatsoever. As with all systems, care taking in setting up the accounts package structure with pay itself back manyfold over the years. The people who complain most are those who work in a cash environment, where no records are kept and so transaction losses are facilitated by inadequate memories (conveniently so in some instances I'm sure), but if you are careful enough with documentation then the computer does all the work for you. To be honest, I would have thought that with any item over £500 (or less), you would want to account for it for personal rather than tax reasons. No records means you might sell it below cost (uh.... I don't think so).