Building VAT checker

Most work on an existing home is standard-rated at 20%. Building a new qualifying house or flat can be 0%. A qualifying conversion is usually 5%, or 0% for some housing association conversions. Renovating a home that has been empty for 2 years is usually 5%. Installing qualifying energy-saving materials is 0% until 31 March 2027, then 5%.

If a VAT-registered builder supplies and incorporates building materials as part of their work, those materials usually follow the same VAT rate as the work. If you buy the same materials yourself from a shop, that sale is usually 20%, even if they will be used in a new build or as energy-saving materials. See VAT Notice 708, section 11.

The installation of specified energy-saving materials in a home, and from 1 February 2024 in certain charitable buildings, is zero-rated from 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 it reverts to 5%. A shop sale of the materials, with no installation, is 20%. See VAT Notice 708/6.

If you build a new home, or convert a building into a home, you can often reclaim VAT on eligible building materials you bought. You usually have 6 months after completion to claim for work finished on or after 5 December 2023. You can employ a builder; you do not have to do all the labour yourself. See the GOV.UK DIY housebuilders’ scheme guides.

No. TipYard is a plain-language guide to official HMRC notices. The right rate depends on the exact facts, and some work needs a certificate. Read the linked GOV.UK sections, or ask a VAT-registered adviser or HMRC, before you charge or pay a rate.