newhome

When you have a complicated case like this with £££ riding on it you really need to write to HMRC and ask them. It will come down to what they say ultimately, not what people think on here. I don’t think you can leave the building and incorporate it into the new house and have it count as a new build as it fails the “demolish everything to foundations” test. It might then turn it into a conversion instead but it would fail on that point as the building you are demolishing has been a dwelling and presumably lived in.

Have a read of this post as there are some nuances of the VAT system that’s it’s good to be aware of. The post doesn’t cover all of these but gives an overview. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/6851-a-guide-to-the-vat-reclaim-process/?do=findComment&comment=115965

Thinking about it if you are refused I would appeal on the basis that if an aga that provides space and water heating as well as cooking is eligible (and clearly stated as eligible) then a combined hob must also be eligible using the same principle. Do please provide an update once your claim has been processed as this will assist others.

Grey area. You might be lucky and get it back but there is no clear policy as far as I know. Definitely worth a go though and you’re right it would be better if the invoice stated the extraction element. When you do your reclaim ensure that your own description is suitably worded too. Don’t bank on it being accepted though.

Yep! Kitchen company got it wrong but in your favour. Doesn’t matter if it’s built in or not in the same way that ‘real’ built in wardrobes aren’t eligible (only ones that have doors fitted onto walls).

Looks cracking! Well done.

From the reclaim form notes Is the property that you have built a new build? A new build is a building that has been constructed from scratch. In general, unlike a conversion, it will not incorporate any part of an existing building. This means that where a building is constructed on the site of a pre­existing building it will not incorporate any part of the former building above ground level. So if you are constructing your new house on the site of a former building, your claim will not be eligible unless: • you have demolished the pre­ existing building to ground level (you may retain cellars, basement and the ‘slab’ at ground level), or • the new building retains no more than one façade (2 on a corner site) of the pre­ existing building so long as the façade is being retained as an explicit condition in your Planning Permission. As a garage is not a dwelling I don’t see that your claim will fail and the word building is used in the singular, but it would be best to write to HMRC and ask your specific question. Phoning them is no good as they have gone back on phone advice in the past claiming that there is no record of it. The tribunal appears to take a dim view of scenarios where HMRC have confirmed something and then backtracked later. In addition, in the tribunal case I linked to the claim was only refused for the invoices that pre dated the new PP. The whole claim did not fail.

You have to send HMRC a copy of the planning permission too. Has your plot been legally separated from the existing house and the dwelling and the land it’s on able to be sold separately? If not then it’s not eligible for the reclaim regardless of what property you build.

There is a post here that implies that it is not. @Crofter may be able to explain more. https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/13305-looking-for-advice-log-cabin-caravan-build-scotland/?do=findComment&comment=222590

There was a tribunal case here that has some similarities. I think you should be ok to claim for the new build as long as you wait until planning permission is formally granted before starting the demolition as that is the date that zero rating can apply. I don’t think you will be able to claim for the garage but I don’t see why you should need to demolish it either. As long as none of your invoices pre date the date of the planning permission no one should be any the wiser. Can you leave the garage off the PP anyway if it meets the criteria for permitted development? Added to say caveat emptor .... https://forum.buildhub.org.uk/topic/6851-a-guide-to-the-vat-reclaim-process/?do=findComment&comment=226636

You can also refer him to VAT Notice 708 section 7 or 8 depending on your conversion https://www.gov.uk/guidance/buildings-and-construction-vat-notice-708#section7

I have a downstairs wet room that doubles up as a dog shower when needed, but as I live by the beach winter mud is thankfully not a concern.

You could fit it inside in the utility room, maybe under the sink, and run the hose outside?

Most people I know just install a thermostatic mixer outside on the patio area. I haven't seen anyone use a shower tray or similar outside.

Oh and I remember that despite living only 90 miles from Newcastle the poxy thing went to Edinburgh first, then across to Carlisle and finally to Newcastle. If there was one parcel I wanted to see take a direct route it was that one!

I sent mine ‘next day delivery before noon’ and that cost a reasonable amount. I couldn’t insure it for the amount needed (circa 25k) and even a fraction of that was £££. I assume that they may accept copies if the whole thing goes missing. Might be worth doing a decent scan of all the documents so that pretty decent colour copies can be printed if needed. Same here! The courier system took a while to update and I was getting peed off that I couldn’t see that it had arrived for several hours after it had been delivered. I would aim to have it delivered on a working day rather than the weekend.

It used to be advised that you should physically drop the claim off to mitigate against it being lost in transit on the way there, but they must have got fed up with people dropping them off as you are no longer allowed to and have to use a courier.

Yep, they don’t. They just need to be in the same order as you entered them on the form and with a unique reference number.

I've got the perfect solution to this. Live on your own then you have no idea how any sound transmits ?

No unfortunately you need to print and post everything. They will only accept hard copies.

Wash and then use something like borax I think?

Ditto, my master en suite is larger than the main bathroom (the guest en suites are smaller). The master has 2 basins too, and a larger bath and shower. Ironically I use the bath in the main bathroom as the one in my en suite is really too large ?.

It sounds as if they haven’t checked anything. They’ve just paid out 70% and the checking will come later. TBH they could have someone scanning all of the documents and then putting them into a PDF file or similar so that people could work from home checking the claims. Not enough office space to accommodate everyone seems to be a stretch when a role is desk / paper based and doesn’t require any specialist equipment or contact with customers. My company issued 2 years worth of laptops to those who didn’t ordinarily work from home within 2 weeks to enable people to remain productive.

Covid is just an excuse but at least they’ve given one. They gave no reason why it took 20 weeks to process my claim in 2018 when they state that it should be about 6 weeks.

I agree. Everything seems to be in their favour all of the time. It took 20 weeks for them to process my VAT reclaim in 2018, well outside their expected timelines and with no fear of anyone holding them to account. Most companies have been working near normally throughout Covid 19, but not these guys!