13 August 2026| CATEGORIES: Capital Goods Scheme, New legislation, VAT| TAGS: Capital Goods Scheme, partial exemption, property VAT
The UK Government has introduced significant changes to the VAT Capital Goods Scheme (CGS), with effect from 29 July 2026. Computers have been removed from the CGS entirely; and the expenditure threshold for land, buildings and civil engineering works has increased from £250,000 to £600,000, excluding VAT. The changes are intended to simplify the VAT rules and reduce the administrative burden associated with monitoring and adjusting input tax recovery on capital assets over a number of years.
30 April 2025| CATEGORIES: Customs, reform, simplification, VAT| TAGS: business donations to charity, Capital Goods Scheme, Online marketplaces, Temporary admission relief
The government has published a policy document Spring 2025 Tax Update: simplification, administration and reform summary. It announces a package of tax and customs administration and simplification measures, including some significant VAT reforms.
7 August 2024| CATEGORIES: Private school fees, standard rated, VAT| TAGS: 20%, school fees, UK, VAT change
The government has announced that from 1 January 2025 private school fees will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%. Boarding services provided by a private school will also be subject to VAT at 20%. Anti-forestalling measures will be introduced to prevent VAT avoidance.
24 May 2023| CATEGORIES: e-Commerce, VAT, VAT registration| TAGS: digital services, e-commerce, ESS, GST, VAT
The trend for businesses to provide services digitally or online has accelerated significantly in recent years, particularly following the COVID pandemic. The Value Added Tax (VAT) and Goods and Sales Tax (GST) compliance obligations of businesses providing digital or electronically supplied services (ESS) are increasing. Tax authorities increasingly require overseas businesses to register for and charge local VAT/GST on their B2C supplies of ESS.
28 April 2023| CATEGORIES: Exports, Uncategorised, VAT, zero rate| TAGS: Exports, HMRC, New guidance, zero rate
HMRC have recently updated guidance in Notice 703 to clarify what is considered to be satisfactory evidence to zero rate exports. Businesses that export goods should review the guidance to ensure their record keeping meets these standards.
20 April 2023| CATEGORIES: Customs, Spring Budget 2023, VAT| TAGS: Customs, HMRC, Spring Budget 2023, VAT
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, presented the Spring Budget to the House of Commons on 15 March 2023. This article looks at the main points of interest from a VAT and Customs perspective. The full set of Spring Budget 2023 documents are available here.
9 February 2023| CATEGORIES: Brexit, second-hand vehicles, VAT| TAGS: new VAT rules, Northern Ireland, second-hand vehicles
A new VAT-related payment scheme for businesses that buy second-hand cars in GB and move them to Northern Ireland or the European Union for resale is to be introduced. This puts Northern Ireland dealers in a comparable financial position to their counterparts in the rest of the UK. Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol the VAT second-hand car margin scheme could no longer be used by dealers for these sales.
New UK VAT penalty regime
HMRC is introducing a new VAT penalty regime for VAT return periods starting on or after 1 January 2023. All businesses should familiarise themselves with the changes, particularly as certain businesses could be subject to penalties for the first time.
1 February 2023| CATEGORIES: New penalty regime, VAT
1 December 2022| CATEGORIES: Autumn Statement, VAT, VAT registration| TAGS: VAT registration threshold
In the Autumn Statement Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced that the VAT registration and deregistration thresholds would be frozen for a further 2 years from April 2024. The current thesholds of £85,000 (VAT registration) and £83,000 (VAT deregistration) have now been in place since April 2017.
11 November 2022| CATEGORIES: VAT, VAT reduction| TAGS: tampon tax, VAT rate cut
A report by the Tax Policy Associates think-tank has found that following the abolition of 5% VAT on women’s sanitary products only a 1% price reduction was passed on to consumers.
