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View the related Tax Guidance about Input tax

What is input tax?

What is input tax?This guidance note provides an overview of what conditions need to be met before a business is entitled to treat VAT incurred as input tax. This note should be read in conjunction with the other notes in the ‘Claiming input tax’ subtopic. For a flowchart outlining the procedure for claiming input tax, see the Flowchart ― procedure for claiming input tax.What is input tax?The term ‘input tax’ includes the following:•VAT incurred on goods and services that have been supplied to a taxable person•for transactions prior to 1 January 2021, VAT incurred on the acquisition of goods from another EU member state (acquisition tax)•VAT paid or payable on imported goods (import VAT)VATA 1994, s 24(1); SI 1995/2518, reg 29(1)The VAT must be used, or intended to be used, for the purposes of the business carried or intended to be carried on by the person receiving the supply.VAT paid on the above only becomes ‘input tax’ if it meets the conditions outlined below.What conditions must be met for VAT to be treated as input tax?The following conditions must be satisfied before a VAT registered business can reclaim input tax:•a supply must have been made•the supplier must have correctly charged VAT on the goods / services supplied to the recipient reclaiming the VAT•the supply must be made to a taxable person (ie a business that is VAT registered or required to be VAT registered)•the business must receive the goods / services for

Liability ― fund management and other investment management

Liability ― fund management and other investment managementThis guidance note covers the liability of fund management services and some other investment management services.For an overview of liability more broadly, see the Liability ― overview guidance note.For in depth commentary on the legislation and case law on the liability of fund management see also De Voil Indirect Tax Service V4.136G.A review of the fund management exemption published in 2023 concluded that there was no need to amend the UK legislation to clarify its scope. Fund management ― the basicsThe management of certain funds is exempt from VAT. A range of categories of fund are covered by this exemption. Such funds are referred to collectively as special investment funds (or SIFs) although this is technically the terminology used in EU VAT legislation. SIFs include certain open-ended and closed-ended investment undertakings, umbrellas and sub-funds, as well as some pension schemes. The fund management exemption is limited to the management of SIFs. Consequently, the management of other investment funds will generally be standard-rated.Determining whether a given service (or package of services) represents the ‘management’ of a fund within the meaning envisaged by the VAT exemption often presents practical challenges. ‘Management’ can refer to the activities of administering a SIF as well as more typical investment management activities but only where ‘viewed broadly, they form a distinct whole and are specific to, and essential for, the management of those funds’. A single supply which is used for the management of multiple funds including both

Reverse charge ― buying in services from outside the UK

Reverse charge ― buying in services from outside the UKThis guidance note covers the reverse charge that applies to services that have been bought in from outside the UK. For an overview of VAT and international services more broadly, see the International services ― overview guidance note. For in-depth commentary on the legislation and case law in relation to the reverse charge, see De Voil Indirect Tax Service V3.231.Reverse charge ― the basicsCertain services are subject to a reverse charge when they are bought in from outside the UK. This means that instead of the supplier being required to register and account for VAT on its supply of services as normal, the obligation to account for VAT on the services is actually shifted to the customer. The customer therefore treats the service as if it were supplied both to and by itself. In other words, the customer must ‘self-account’ for the VAT on its purchase. The customer is still able to recover the VAT that it charges to itself under the reverse charge subject to the normal VAT rules for input tax recovery. This means that if the customer is entitled to recover all of its VAT, the reverse charge ends up being a simple administrative entry on its VAT return. However, if the customer is not entitled to recover all of its VAT (for example because it is partly exempt), then the reverse charge will have the effect of increasing the amount of VAT due to HMRC. The

Input tax ― business, non-business and private use

Input tax ― business, non-business and private useThis guidance note looks at issues around whether expenditure is used for business, private or other non-business purposes in the context of VAT recovery and input tax.For an overview of input tax more broadly, see the Input tax ― overview guidance note.For in-depth commentary on the legislation and case law on input tax and business activities, see De Voil Indirect Tax Service V3.405A–V3.410.Business, non-business and private use ― the basicsA general rule is that it is not possible to recover VAT on costs incurred on non-business activities. There are, however, a number of significant exceptions to this general rule that are summarised towards the end of this guidance note. Only VAT on costs which is used for business purposes can properly be said to be ‘input tax’. VAT which is incurred for either private or non-business purposes is not input tax and cannot be recovered, other than in exceptional circumstances. HMRC policy regarding whether an activity is in the course or furtherance of a business has been influenced by Court decisions. The Court of Appeal decision in Wakefield College v HMRC is particularly relevant in this context and has resulted in HMRC referring to a two-stage test to determine whether an activity is a business activity, namely:•does the activity result in a supply of goods or services for consideration?•is the supply made for the purpose of obtaining income?Wakefield College v HMRC [2018] EWCA Civ 952Please refer to the General principles

VAT liability ― overview

VAT liability ― overviewThis guidance note provides an overview of the concept of VAT liability along with links to further practical guidance on the subject.In-depth commentary on the legislation and case law associated with VAT liability is covered in:•De Voil Indirect Tax Service V4.1 ― VAT exemption•De Voil Indirect Tax Service V4.2 ― the zero rate of VAT•De Voil Indirect Tax Service V4.4 ― the reduced rate of VATIntroduction to liabilitySupplies of goods and services which are made by taxable persons in the course of their UK business activities can be subject to one of four VAT liability treatments:•standard-rated•reduced-rated•zero-rated•exemptStandard, reduced and zero-rated supplies are often referred to collectively as ‘taxable supplies’. This distinguishes them from exempt supplies. The distinction between supplies that are taxable and supplies that are exempt is important because of its consequences for input tax recovery. VAT can generally be recovered on costs which are used to make taxable supplies. However, VAT cannot generally be recovered on costs which are used to make exempt supplies. This distinction is covered in greater detail in the Input tax ― overview and Partial exemption ― overview guidance notes. The reduced-rate, the zero-rate and exemption are sometimes referred to collectively as ‘VAT reliefs’. This is because VAT is either not chargeable on sales or is chargeable at a lower rate than the standard-rate. Despite being a ‘relief’, exemption will not necessarily be a more desirable treatment than the standard-rate because of its impact

Liability ― supplies of fuel and power

Liability ― supplies of fuel and powerThis guidance note examines the liability of supplies of fuel and power.For an overview of the concept of VAT liability generally, see the Liability ― overview guidance note.For in-depth commentary on the legislation and case law on supplies of fuel and power, see De Voil Indirect Tax Service V4.406.Liability of fuel and power ― the basicsThe default position is that a supply of fuel and power will be liable to VAT at the standard-rate. However, certain supplies of fuel and power which are made for a ‘qualifying use’ (see below) are subject to the reduced-rate of VAT. The reduced-rate applies to a wide range of kinds of fuel and power including solid fuels, gases, oils, electricity, heat and air-conditioning, provided they are supplied for a qualifying use. Qualifying use includes both ‘domestic’ use and a charity’s non-business use. In this context, domestic use includes certain ‘deemed’ domestic supplies which would not be considered to be domestic in the ordinary sense of the term. For example, some supplies of fuel and power below ‘de minimis’ thresholds are deemed to be for domestic use even if the fuel and power are actually used in a commercial setting. In addition, supplies of fuel and power (which are deemed to be goods rather than services for VAT purposes) can be zero-rated when they satisfy the conditions for zero-rated exports. The zero-rate for exports is covered in the Exporting goods ― overview guidance note. Types of fuel and

VAT review ― registration and compliance

VAT review ― registration and complianceThis guidance note is intended to provide more detail on areas to consider during a VAT review which relate to general compliance. This document should be used in conjunction with the Checklist ― VAT review when undertaking the actual review in order to ensure that all relevant items have been covered.Whilst this guidance and associated checklist have been prepared to seek to cover the common issues and risks which might arise, care should be taken to ensure that any specific business or sector issues are considered as part of a comprehensive review.VAT returns and compliance ― return and payment deadlinesA typical starting point when undertaking a VAT review or due diligence exercise is to confirm whether all VAT returns and payments have been made on time. The VAT return and any payment due must reach HMRC by the due date stated on the return. For a normal return, this will be:•no later than one month after the end of the VAT return period, and•no later than one month after the effective date for cancellation of registration (or, in the case of a business that had failed to register, one month after the date when liability to be registered ceases)Businesses can check the payment deadline using the payment deadline calculator provided by HMRC.If during the course of a VAT review it is identified that returns or payments have been made late, the next step will be to confirm whether the business has

Exemption ― finance ― intermediaries

Exemption ― finance ― intermediariesThis guidance note is intended to provide details on the VAT treatment of intermediary services provided in connection with the provision of financial services. What are intermediaries?It is very common for supplies of financial services to involve other businesses acting as intermediaries between the parties buying and selling the financial services. Other businesses may also be involved in the transaction providing specialist advice or assisting with ensuring that the transaction takes place. The supply of intermediary services connected with financial services are often exempt from VAT.A supply of intermediary services consists of bringing together, with a view to the provision of financial services:•persons who are or may be seeking to receive financial services•persons who provide financial servicesThe performance of preparatory work before the conclusion of a financial services contract can be exempt from VAT. This does not include a supply of market research, product design, advertising, promotional or similar services unless it forms part of a composite supply of exempt intermediary services (see below).In order for an intermediary service to be exempt from VAT, the party must be acting in the following capacity:•must be acting as an intermediary in relation to an exempt financial services transaction•must be providing an intermediary service in relation to the exempt financial services transaction•if the financial services transaction falls within VATA 1994, Sch 9, Part II, Group 5, item 1, 2, 3 or 4, the intermediary must be undertaking work that is preparatory to the

Flat rate scheme (FRS) — operating the scheme

Flat rate scheme (FRS) - operating the schemeThis guidance note sets out how to operate the flat rate scheme (FRS). For an overview of the FRS more broadly, see the Flat rate scheme (FRS) - overview guidance note.See also De Voil Indirect Tax Service V2.199B and V2.199C.Operating the FRS - the basicsA business operating the flat rate scheme (FRS) must choose, from a prescribed list of sectors, the sector which most closely describes its type of business. A set ‘flat rate percentage’ is applicable to each sector.In simple terms, this flat rate percentage is applied to the VAT inclusive turnover of the business to calculate VAT due to HMRC for a period. This means that the business is not required to keep detailed input tax records to work out exactly how much VAT can be reclaimed on costs. Instead, a notional amount of VAT recovery is built into the flat rate percentage.For example, an accountant operating the FRS is likely to choose ‘accountancy or book-keeping’ as its type of business. The applicable flat rate percentage is 14.5%. If the accountant has a VAT inclusive turnover of £120,000, VAT due will be £17,400 (£120,000 x 14.5%).Various factors can complicate the basic operation of the FRS. For example, when choosing an appropriate sector there may be multiple possibilities or a business may have more than one kind of business activity. There are also special ‘limited cost trader’ rules which mean that businesses with low levels of costs must use a higher

Cancelling a VAT registration number

Cancelling a VAT registration numberThis guidance note provides:•guidance regarding when a person must deregister from VAT on a compulsory basis•guidance regarding when a person can deregister from VAT on a voluntary basis•practical points to consider in relation to the cancellation of a VAT registrationFor in-depth commentary on VAT deregistration please refer to De Voil Indirect Tax Service V2.151 to V2.155.When must a person deregister from VAT on a compulsory basis?The VAT registration ― voluntary guidance note explains when a person is entitled to be registered for VAT. A person who is registered for VAT and ceases to be entitled to be registered must notify HMRC within 30 days from the date they ceased to be entitled to be registered. HMRC can cancel the registration of a person who has ceased to be entitled to be registered for VAT, even if the person has not notified HMRC. A failure to notify HMRC may result in a penalty. If the reason the person is no longer entitled to be registered is because they have transferred their business as a going concern the VAT registration number may, subject to the agreement of the person acquiring the business and HMRC, be transferred to the person acquiring the business. The request for the VAT registration number to be transferred should be submitted to HMRC using the form VAT68. In all other circumstances the VAT registration number must be cancelled, although HMRC may agree to a request for the deregistration to be