A new business - sorting out tax, vat etc

[SpikieMikie]

Hi,

Although I work full time, an opportunity has come up to trade secondhand cars, which my grandfather used to do from home before he died, after he sold a main agent garage he owned.

Thing is, I know nothing about tax and VAT etc.

I will only be selling a few cars - probably 2 a month maximum and making �300-�800 on each. Any money I make will go towards buying better, more expensive cars and will not be taken by me as income. Certainly not for a number of years.

Therefore, can I keep any tax separate from the income tax I pay through my employer ? I don't want to start getting charged emergency tax etc

I'd like to voluntarily register for VAT, because I understand I could claim VAT back on petrol and repairs I may need to do... but then thats a load of paperwork and how do I charge VAT to customers without increasing the price of cars I'm selling.

Finally, if I can just pay a tax on my profit, how much will I have to pay and how do I pay it ?

I know I should probably know these things, but when people have tried to explain it, it sounds very complicated... possibly because they take income from their profit and also have found legitimate ways to maximise the VAT they claim back.

Thanks.