Takeaway and Restaurant Accountants in London

If you run a takeaway or restaurant in London, you need an accountant who understands hot food VAT rules, delivery app reconciliation and tipped staff payroll, not a generalist. GM Professional Accountants works with food business owners across London and Essex to handle VAT, bookkeeping, payroll and tax planning so nothing is left to guesswork. Book a free consultation to see how much time and tax we can save your business.

What Is a Takeaway and Restaurant Accountant?

A takeaway and restaurant accountant is a qualified professional who manages VAT classification, payroll, bookkeeping and tax compliance for food businesses, applying sector specific rules on hot and cold food, delivery platform income and tipped staff pay that general practice accountants often miss.

Do Takeaways and Restaurants Need to Register for VAT?

You must register for VAT once your taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12 month period, and you have 30 days from the end of that month to notify HMRC. This is the current threshold for the 2026/27 tax year and it has not changed since April 2024. The test looks back across the previous 12 months every month, it does not reset at your financial year end or on 5 April, so a busy summer or a good run of delivery orders can tip a takeaway over the line without the owner noticing until it is too late.

Zero rated cold food sales still count towards the £90,000 threshold, which surprises many takeaway owners who assume only their hot food sales are relevant. Getting VAT registration timing wrong can mean backdated VAT bills and penalties of 5 to 15 percent of the VAT owed, so monthly turnover checks matter as much as the annual accounts.

How Does VAT Work on Hot Food, Cold Food and Deliveries?

According to HMRC’s VAT Notice 701/14 on food, the eat in versus takeaway distinction and the hot versus cold distinction both change the VAT rate, and applying the wrong one on delivery platform sales is one of the most common and costly mistakes we see. Here is a simplified breakdown to help you classify your sales correctly.

How Do I Reconcile Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat Income?

Delivery platforms pay you the net amount after commission, refunds and marketing fees are deducted, but your VAT return needs the gross sale value and the commission recorded separately as an expense. We set clients up on Xero or QuickBooks with automated feeds so weekly payouts from each platform reconcile cleanly against actual orders, rather than being logged as a single lump sum that hides the true VAT position. We cover this in more depth in our guide on VAT for Takeaways in London, which walks through common classification errors we see during quarterly reviews.

How Should I Pay Myself as a Restaurant or Takeaway Owner?

Most limited company owners in hospitality take a low salary up to the National Insurance threshold and draw the remainder as dividends, which is generally more tax efficient than a high salary once your business is generating steady profit. Sole traders are taxed on the full profit of the business regardless of what they physically withdraw, so cash flow planning around Self Assessment payments due on 31 January and 31 July matters. We set out the full comparison in our article on how to pay yourself as a restaurant owner in the UK.

What Tax Deductions Can Restaurant and Takeaway Owners Claim?

Commercial kitchen equipment, refrigeration units and EPOS systems usually qualify for the Annual Investment Allowance, letting you deduct up to £1 million of qualifying spend in the year of purchase. Delivery app commissions, staff meals, uniforms, food waste and business rates are also allowable, yet many owners under claim because receipts are not kept in a usable format. Our detailed breakdown of top tax deductions for restaurant owners in the UK lists the categories owners most commonly miss.

Sole Trader or Limited Company: Which Structure Suits a Food Business?

What Changes Are Coming for Hospitality Businesses in 2026 and 2027?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax becomes mandatory from April 2026 for self employed restaurant and takeaway owners with income over £50,000, extending to those earning over £30,000 from April 2027, which means quarterly digital updates to HMRC rather than a single annual return. Business rates relief for hospitality premises is also reviewed each Budget, so it is worth confirming your eligibility for Small Business Rate Relief with your accountant every year rather than assuming last year’s relief still applies.

Why Choose GM Professional Accountants for Your Takeaway or Restaurant?

GM Professional Accountants supports takeaway and restaurant owners across London, including businesses based in Ilford and throughout Essex, with hands on experience of hot food VAT classification, delivery platform reconciliation and hospitality payroll. We set your business up on cloud accounting software, file your VAT returns correctly the first time and give you a clear monthly picture of profit rather than a surprise at year end. GM Professional Accountants serves clients across London and Essex, working with food businesses of every size from single site takeaways to multi site restaurant groups.

Frequently Asked Questions