Hello..new member looking for advice on reclaiming VAT

[Woodward]

Hello,

 

I have just found this forum, too late for many of my questions as we finished our self build last year. It would have been so useful.

 

It will however be great to chat with others on their own self build journey and get advice on the items we still need to tick off...what has been a very long list over the past few years.

 

 

[joe90]

Welcome to THE self build forum, shame it’s a bit late for you!. You mentioned reclaiming VAT but you finished last year? You only have three months to claim this so what is your questions?

[newhome]

36 minutes ago, joe90 said:

You mentioned reclaiming VAT but you finished last year?

 

You on the booze @joe90? I've read that post 3 times and can't see VAT mentioned ?

 

Edit - it's in the post title!!! ?

[tonyshouse]

VAT law says that if it is due back to you it must be paid back to you, you must provide invoices and may be asked for proof of payment 

[newhome]

48 minutes ago, tonyshouse said:

VAT law says that if it is due back to you it must be paid back to you

 

Yes but only if the claim is received within 3 months of completion.  

[Woodward]

Thank you for the replies. We have built the house subject to a couple of things which must be done still such as fit a Juliette balcony. We can then get the final sign off by building control and then as I understand it, we have three months to claim the VAT back on some items. We have already input all the info from the invoices into two Excel charts which match the VAT 431 form.

 

I have a couple of questions:

 

1. are we allowed to print out all the info from the Excel chart and post that to HMRC with the original invoices, or do we have to complete the forms by hand? I can't find an open file of form 431 online to edit.

2. we have a number of cash sales receipts for allowable items but they do not have our name and address on. They have the debit card info/till slip attached and we can prove that belongs to us at our address. Is there any chance they will accept those receipts? I'm not sure how strict they are.

3. we understand that hired tools are not allowable for reclaiming VAT but what about the serviced portaloo which we hired for 18 months? Surely this is a necessary requirement for health & safety on any building site?

 

I'm sure I will have more questions but if anyone can help on the above, that would be much appreciated.

[newhome]

23 minutes ago, Woodward said:

I have a couple of questions:

 

1. are we allowed to print out all the info from the Excel chart and post that to HMRC with the original invoices, or do we have to complete the forms by hand? I can't find an open file of form 431 online to edit.

2. we have a number of cash sales receipts for allowable items but they do not have our name and address on. They have the debit card info/till slip attached and we can prove that belongs to us at our address. Is there any chance they will accept those receipts? I'm not sure how strict they are.

3. we understand that hired tools are not allowable for reclaiming VAT but what about the serviced portaloo which we hired for 18 months? Surely this is a necessary requirement for health & safety on any building site?

 

 

There is a sub forum beneath this one that contains a guide to the VAT reclaim process but it requires 10 posts to access it. 

In the meantime 

1. Yes you can send a printout of your spreadsheet as long as it looks like the paper form

 

2. You can generally get away with this for small amounts as long as they have the company name and VAT number on the receipts (proof of payment is useful too)

 

3. No, you can only claim for things incorporated into the house or prep work such as clearing the site. 

Have a read here

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/goods-and-services-you-can-claim-for-under-the-vat-diy-scheme

 

 

[Thedreamer]

If anybody is interested, I was told today by the HMRC VAT team, they are dealing with early September applications, I lodged mine around the middle of November so probably going to be early March before I get the payment back.

 

They have also stopped doing the partial refund. 

 

I was told that my claim had been accepted and I should get the full amount back as long as my invoices meet their criteria.

[Woodward]

Thank you Newhome. That's really useful, especially the link to the list of VAT items which are allowed or not. I hadn't found that! I will crack on with inputting invoices now. Sounds like it could be quite a wait to get the refund.

[newhome]

I waited 20 weeks in 2018 when they didn’t have the covid excuse so they are notoriously slow at the best of times. Using covid as an excuse attempts to legitimise how rubbish they are. It’s a bit rich from HMRC who fine people at the drop of a hat for being a day late. 

[Thedreamer]

I expect they view the DIY VAT self build scheme as being a bit of a folly.

 

For us this was our first home built out of necessity because of a lack of affordable housing.

 

I factored in the short term financing of the 'VAT gap' when constructing the home and for the subsequent reclaim waiting period. When we get the VAT reclaim back it's already accounted for within the build project. As an accountant my mind has been warped to think in terms of balance sheets and profit & loss.

 

I do wonder if this will be area the government target to cover COVID costs. 

 

 

[Ferdinand]

On the missing name address, can you get a stamp made up then just stamp your n/a on it so that it looks like it was done at the time? Does that help?

 

Don't make them all look identical, or ink to soak through to the next.

 

"Couple of questions" - I love engineering approximations.