Buying MH abroad - vat question.

namwaldog

namwaldog

Joined
Jan 2, 2015
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Cumbria
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MH
Burstner Solano t725
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since 2014
I may have got the wrong end of the stick here but if you buy a MH from, say, Germany do you pay the vat there or in the UK when you import it - or both ??
Can anyone tell me from the image below, in the ad from mobile.de, the bit that is circled red, how would that work?

Also, anyone ever tried to claim the Vat back if registered for Vat?

20190114_214323.jpg


Barry
 
Can't help with the first part of your question.

Claiming the VAT back? How are you thinking of working a MH into your business?

Edit: Ah, I see. If you pay VAT both ends then you should be able to claim it back from one end.
 
My understanding is that you have to pay both and then reclaim the German VAT, in reality your German dealer may sit on your VAT cheque and the not bother banking it when you prove payment of U.K. 20%

Martin
 
Eggs said:
Claiming the VAT back? How are you thinking of working a MH into your business?
Click to expand...

Perhaps by using it to attend shows to promote a business ancillary to MH's, decals, bike racks, etc ?
 
namwaldog said:
Perhaps by using it to attend shows to promote a business ancillary to MH's, decals, bike racks, etc ?
Click to expand...

Yep, if that's your business it's well worth running by your accountant.

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My understanding was that you paid appropriate vat in whatever country you purchased in, which would be refunded when UK vat was paid. However my brother imported a new Cathargo from Belgium last week without paying any local tax. This might vary according to whatever policy a particular dealer has I guess.
 
Pay vat in Germany, pay U.K. Vat on import, reclaim German vat back with proof of U.K. Payment.
 
namwaldog said:
I may have got the wrong end of the stick here but if you buy a MH from, say, Germany do you pay the vat there or in the UK when you import it - or both ??
Can anyone tell me from the image below, in the ad from mobile.de, the bit that is circled red, how would that work?

Also, anyone ever tried to claim the Vat back if registered for Vat?

View attachment 277143

Barry
Click to expand...
There is no issue claiming the vat back on import, in reality you wouldn't pay the vat at all in Germany,as it is an 'in euro' transaction
 
I think the normal thing is to pay the VAT in Germany then send them proof of VAT payment in the UK . The Germans then refund you or tear your cheque up.
In my case I paid the VAT to HM revenue whilst at the dealership in Germany, showing them proof of the transfer. Once I got home and received the receipt from HM Revenue I sent it to the dealership and they were happy.

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You would pay the vat at import and then claim back on your vat return.

The real issue is private use of vehicle and paying benefit in kind on the % of private use based on full retail price and the CO2 emissions.
 
If you buy in Germany, you pay German VAT and the dealer refunds it to you, once you provide him with proof of paying UK VAT.
Belgium is different. You pay the net price to the Belgian dealer and the VAT in the UK.
We've bought in both Germany and Belgium.
 
It depends on your dealer as Martin says a lot of them want a check or payment for the VAT that they return once you prove you have paid the UK vat. We have bought 3 vans from Belgium VAT free just paid the UK VAT.

You can claim the VAT back for business use but HMRC are very strict on it these days so need to be careful. Also if you carry goods for business the van will need plating every year rather than an MOT after 3 years.

Even if you are claiming the VAT back you may have to pay it first ( not on your quartly declaration) as you have to pay the VAT before you can register the vehicle.
 
Hi, when we looked into importing a new van from Germany the dealer was prepared not to charge us vat, with the promise of proof of us paying it in Spain in our case.
Not all do this, and you pay it and claim it back, some might hold a cheque and tear it up, once they have proof you have paid it elsewhere. :D
We went down the used van route. :LOL: Bob
 
Last edited:
I collected my new van 3 years ago tomorrow, we bought from Germany and all the dealer asked for was our visa card details and if we didn't send proof of the VAT paid in UK with in 2 weeks he would take German vat from CC.

We had it all done and dusted with in a week.

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We bought in Germany from same dealer as @lorger .
We didn't pay German VAT, paid UK VAT on import. And sent receipt of UK VAT payment to German dealer. No card details taken as ins. Must have an honest face :)
I don't know the rules for second hand vehicles though that have already paid VAT. I assume no VAT required as already paid in one member state.
 
Not Europe I agree. But I imported my First R-V from the US. (1996/7) The R-V was registered with the IRS (or whatever) as being "exported", with no sales tax due. And the UK tax was calculated by the UK customs on the Invoice. But was never paid as the R-V was a personal import and had been "owned" in the USA (by us) for over a year.

I understand that this ruling may have been changed.
 
Just to clarify if buying second hand, if the vehicle is more than 6 months old and has done more than 6000 km there is no UK VAT to pay and you can't claim back the German VAT.
 
Thanks for all your replies especially the last one from @Lenny HB as it would probably be a second hand MH we would buy if we decided to buy abroad.
Thanks again
Barry
 
all might change shortly.

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You can claim the VAT back if you are using it for business purposes but you will also generate a benefit in kind if you use it to go away for holidays etc that are not connected with your business. If you run a rental company then you will have to prove that you are running a business. When you come to sell it then you will have to charge VAT on the sale. By claiming a large chunk of VAT back in a VAT Quarter you may trigger a VAT Inspection by HMRC this may result in costing you far more than you save :) . You may of course get away with it but they now use a lot of computer technology to track unusual activity. I filled in the wrong figure in a VAT Return. Put a gross figure in a net figure box. Not a good idea. I tried to explain what I had done but they insisted that they needed to check 6 years of books. Took them two days and the only thing they found was the wrong figure in the wrong box and the fact they owed us some money :)
 

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