VAT Blog
Latest news, thoughts and articles from the world of VAT.
Can we raise a management charge to claim VAT on costs?
Can we raise a management charge to claim VAT on costs? Ever since I announced that I am writing a book about intercompany supplies and management charges, I've received a lot of queries from businesses about the subject, so much so that I've been too busy advising...
Not another VAT newsletter
Hello and a very belated Happy New Year I hope you're all well and busy and had a good start to the new year. I had no idea that January would be such a busy month and I'm way behind with everything. I'm certainly not complaining because it's due to a lot of new...
MOSS, MOSS and more MOSS
I'm feeling a bit MOSSED out at the moment. Every where I go and everything I read seems to be about the new MOSS registration scheme for sales of digital services to consumers in other EU countries. There are a lot of articles in the accountancy and tax press and...
Please will you check the VAT clause before we sign the contract?
Well I guess we're all back to "normal" and perhaps feeling pleased to be back at the desk. I know I am. I enjoy the technical challenges of VAT and it's good to get my brain working. And last week, I realized that even after 30 years working in VAT, every day is a...
MOSS: New scheme for retailers of digital services
B2C Digital services and the new VAT registration rules from 1 January: MOSS: New scheme for retailers of digital services MOSS: New scheme for retailers of digital services. I understand the principles behind the new VAT registration system for businesses making B2C...
Agents and VAT
My Compact Oxford Dictionary defines the word “agent” as any of the following: “A person who provides a particular service” “A spy” “A person or thing that takes an active role or produces a particular effect” So the word can take on quite a different meaning...
Exempt, zero-rated, exempt with credit: what’s the difference?
On 1 January 2015, the new “place of supply” rules for sales of digital services to EU consumers (“B2C”)means that many UK businesses will have to change their VAT accounting. Instead of charging UK VAT, businesses will now have to charge VAT in their customer’s...
The easiest way to sell lots of stuff!
Get a really good mailing list of potential customers and keep adding to it! Send emails to prospective customers. Wait for them to buy. That’s it. Blog ended. If only it were as easy as that. But it’s actually the most difficult thing for many business owners,...
What if you can’t get a ruling from HMRC?
One of the developments that has unsettled me over recent years is HMRC’s refusal to give rulings on specific transactions or liability issues. What if you can't get a ruling from HMRC? HMRC’s position on “non-statutory” rulings/clearances is here on their website...
Property developers: can you claim VAT?
Property developers: can you claim VAT? Whenever I’m contacted by a property developer, one of the first questions they ask is, almost without exception, “can I claim my VAT back”. As most of you know already, there is no simple answer to this question, as it depends...
October 2014: Not another VAT newsletter………..
Hi again, I hope you’re busy and that the order books for autumn are looking good. The VAT world is busy as always and I've been thinking about some of the most topical issues. VAT, holding companies and acquisition costs: when it's not enough to make taxable supplies...
Contractors, joint ventures and property development
One of the most important factors in any commercial transaction is to establish what in VAT speak is called the “chain of supply”: in other words, who is doing what for whom. You might think this is obvious, but unless you get this right from the start, it can cause...
VAT, holding companies and VAT on acquisition costs
Revenue & Customs Brief 32/14 It’s normally understood that if you are registered for VAT and make only taxable supplies, you can recover VAT on all of your costs, subject to certain exceptions such as car purchases, certain entertaining costs etc. HMRC recently...
Additional REsources
A Few Other Resources We’ve Created for Our Customers
VAT and flipping dwellings
VAT and flipping dwellings One of the most common types of property developing is the practice of “flipping”; i.e. buying an existing dwelling, typically a house, renovating it and selling it. Very often these deals are done within a relatively short timescale,...
2019, VAT, Brexit and all that…
2019: VAT, Brexit and all that…. Well, here we are back again with Brexit on the news all the time And in typical British style, it’s beginning to feel like a Monty Python sketch or at least a real, honest to goodness, British farce. HMRC has issued some guidance and...
It’s getting to that “management charges” time of year again…….
VAT and management charges and why it’s a lot more important than you’d think…..