vat on carpets

whiteleyspark

Hi, can you please help me when VAT registered do you add VAT to carpets? I understand this is a grey area with tax. Thanks

douglasstroud

Yes you do

whiteleyspark

This is really odd as I am getting mixed views when doing CIS carpet fitters are exempt for laying carpets. Someone has also said that carpets are exempt from VAT I was wondering if they could be getting mixed up with CIS but they are owners of a carpet shop so I am very confused. Is it definite that if you employ a subcontractor to supply and fit carpets then when invoicing your customer you charge them VAT. I have looked on HMRC and I cannot find where it says they are exempt from VAT so I also thought you would charge VAT for the work.

douglasstroud

Carpets are standard rated for VAT, they are excluded from the CIS scheme unless they form part of a mixed suppy

Spidersong

I'd be worried if the owenrs of a carpet shop thought they were exempt from VAT. Two thoughts strike here though, one that the particular shop is below the threshold and so they're not VAT registered and therefore not charging VAT, so they view their carpets as 'exempt from VAT'.

The other possibility is they are talking about VAT recovery; if you're involved in a zero rated new build house that you're constructing for sale then although you can recover morst of the VAT you incur you are blocked from recovering VAT on incorporated items that are not 'building materials', the most common being white goods, fitted furniture (apart from kitchen units), and ...carpets.