Pyromike

This would be me as I detest claim forms. My experience of the DIY scheme is about 30 years old but I would tend to advise honesty wherever possible - they get very picky if you give them obviously duff info and they have heard every excuse in the book. At a guess they still scan every document they receive onto their main computer (stops staff hiding difficult cases lol). One good excuse could be that you delegated delivery to someone who failed to carry out your instruction - another would be that you were debilitated by stress on completion of the build. If you are turned down I would advise you to talk to a specialist tax consultancy - Croners used to be top dog but I don't know now - this is a page off their site that deals with some DIY issues. They will have a better idea about grounds for appeal. https://www.cronertaxwise.com/?s=diy&input_-1=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cronertaxwise.com%2Fcommunity%2Fcategory%2Fvat%2F HMRC may have some appreciation of the fact that you are not an accountant and with luck give you the benefit of the doubt. Don't be put off if you get an initial rejection - ask for details of the appeals procedure (nicely). Best of luck.