Supplies from non VAT registered tradesman

[MortarThePoint]

Decorator gets much better discounts on paint than I could. I've spoken to his supplier and I can pay for things and receive his discount. The resulting invoice would have his name and address under the 'Invoiced to' section and my name and address under the 'Delivered to' section. Would HMRC accept that for a VAT claim?

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-refunds-for-new-builds-if-youre-a-diy-housebuilder#vat-on-goods

 

If the approach above isn't OK, is there another way of navigating this I've missed? Decorator isn't VAT registered so he can't sell me the items and we each claim back the VAT.

[Russell griffiths]

Open your own account and ask for the same rates as he is getting. 

[MortarThePoint]

10 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

Open your own account and ask for the same rates as he is getting. 

 

They won't do it. He gets 30-40% off and they say I can only get 10%

[saveasteading]

10 minutes ago, MortarThePoint said:

They won't do it

Others may. Assuming this is a decent order by the merchant's standard. Ie are we talking of hundreds in one order?

Make a list and ask for their best price, then you don't need an account.

 

BUT decorators' merchant's are not always the best price. They often provide delivery included which keeps the contractor working. Try BM too.

 

[MortarThePoint]

1 minute ago, saveasteading said:

are we talking of hundreds

Yes prob £700+

[nod]

Get him to book it out to your address 

plot 1 ####

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, MortarThePoint said:

Yes prob £700+

Decorators spend £50 and take all day to use it. So it isn't as price sensitive as with building materials. Hence,  giving decorators a credit account and delivery included is a big deal.  

And your decorator hasn't reached the vat threshold because of these lower sums.

Get your whole list typed up and shop around.

 

[jack]

No guarantees, but I had 3 or 4 (out of a couple of hundred) receipts that were in a tradesperson's name. I just made a note in the covering letter when submitting the VAT reclaim and they paid out.

 

One was for exactly your scenario. In our case, our tiler could get insane discounts on certain stuff - way better prices than I could source the same things anywhere else, even after VAT reclaim. My thinking was that we'd either get the refund even though the invoice was in the wrong name (which is what happened), or the refund would be refused for that invoice, in which case we'd still be ahead compared to having paid for it ourselves at the higher rate. 

One other thing: a reason that some companies will refuse to give you the same discount as a business (such as a tradesperson) is that you are a consumer. A consumer sale comes with far more protections for the user (and hence potential hassle/risk/cost for the seller) than a B2B sale.

[MortarThePoint]

He's already bought some bits so I'll do as @jack suggests for that. Any other stuff he gets he'll do as @nod suggests, and I'm going to shop around for the more expensive stuff (Tikkurila & Scuff-X) as @saveasteading suggests.

 

Thanks 👍 

[saveasteading]

And report back please.

Good shopping!