HM Revenue and Customs gov.uk

VAT refunds for constructing a new charity building

Imported from official source

December 05, 2023 00:00

Finance Classified by Officially

To make a claim using the DIY housebuilders scheme you must be:

constructing a building intended for use solely for a relevant charitable purpose

A building (or part of a building) is not used solely for a relevant charitable purpose when it’s:

used at the same time for other purposes

used at a different time for other purposes

never used for a relevant charitable purpose

by a charity for administering business activities, such as fund raising events where an entrance fee is charged

Your charity must be recognised by HMRC and registered with the appropriate regulator.

If your charity is not currently recognised by HMRC, you can apply for recognition online.

You may not be able to make a claim if you do not intend to use the building solely for a relevant charitable purpose. The term ‘solely’, can incorporate an appropriate smaller margin of 5% use that is not for a charitable purpose.

To avoid unnecessary disputes in marginal cases, we accept that the ‘solely’ requirement is satisfied if the qualifying use is 95% or more.

A relevant charitable purpose building is used by a charity for non-business purposes.

For VAT purposes, activities that do not make a profit, or activities where any profit is only used to further the aims and objectives of the charity, can still be classed as business activities.

Examples of qualifying buildings, depending on the circumstances, include:

offices used by charities for administering non-business activity, such as the collection of donations

school buildings where no fee is charged for providing education

research buildings where the research is grant funded

scout and guide huts used purely for scouting and guiding activities

A relevant residential purpose building is used by a charity for non-business purposes. It is:

a home or other institution providing residential accommodation for children

This is an extract. The publication continues at the source.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Licence

Read the original at the source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-refunds-for-constructing-a-new-charity-building

Officially imported this from HM Revenue and Customs’s own source and shows an extract. If you work there, claiming the profile and verifying the domain lets you choose to show the full text here.

Provenance

Organization: HM Revenue and Customs — imported from official source
Official source: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs.atom ATOM
Imported: October 19, 2026 12:01
Versions: 1 recorded
Identity: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-refunds-for-constructing-a-new-charity-building#2026-10...