The Forums on VATExchange include a dedicated section for property here https://vatexchange.co.uk/forum/2. This provides a couple of very useful resources:
- First a place to ask questions about VAT and property issues. As with any forum query, we’ll do our best to help you understand the issues involved and tell you where to find more information about your particular query.
- Second, there are a number of short articles on the forum written in response some common queries. Have a browse through to see if any of them relate to your query (see below).
- Recovering VAT on newbuild commercial properties here http://tinyurl.com/mnby7v
- Recovering VAT on existing commercial property costs here http://tinyurl.com/l6e9nm
We don’t give advice about specific transactions on the forums. The forums are a platform to ask for general guidance and we’ll do our best to tell you the issues involved and where to find further information on any subject, including property.
Our aim is to raise awareness of the VAT issues involved with property transactions and encourage you or your client to take formal advice whenever necessary.
Furthermore, in some cases it can be too late to change things once the price has been legally fixed or any payment made so you need to take advice at the planning stage or sooner to identity potential VAT issues.
Reclaiming VAT on Property Costs
The most common question is whether or not the business can recover VAT on property costs.
The answer varies depending on the type of property and various other factors, such as whether the property is being sold or leased or is owner occupied. But many queries relate to commercial property in particular and there are a couple of articles on the subject as follows:
The articles explain the main VAT liability rules for commercial properties, for example if you rent or sell the property, and also the main principles of opting to tax commercial properties. They are relatively short and we’ve tried to write them in every day language for those of you who aren’t familiar with VAT. Let us know if have any ideas for similar articles on other property issues.
But for detailed advice on specific transactions, we recommend that you take professional advice simply because the cost of getting it wrong is simply too high.
At this stage, we probably sound like a cracked record, repeating ourselves! But the cost of proper advice could actually save you a lot of time and money in the longer term and will be a good investment. In the first place, speak to your accountant or solicitor. They know you and your business and will be able to deal with routine VAT issues and, more importantly, will know when to involve a specialist. We would of course be pleased to help subject to our formal fee arrangements and you can contact us using the contact form at the top of the page. Either way it will be money well spent.
In the meantime, we’ll add further information about resources on this subject as we go and long. Keep adding your queries and comments to the Property Forum and we’ll help as best we can.