Zero rated VAT for disabled people - building work

[Witchlight]

Hi, has anyone any expertise/experience of getting work zero rated under this scheme?

My DF is disabled. My parents are having to move out of their current home, as it is not suitable and cannot be adapted. They have bought a house that needs adapting and are in the process of doing the work.

One of the things being done, is to section out a portion of the current kitchen to create a walk-in shower room with a disabled height loo. The current sitting room will be his bedroom and the remaining kitchen, dining room and old extension are to be knocked into living room/kitchen/eating area with enough room to get about in a wheelchair. Work will be done upstairs too, but this will not be for a disabled person.

My builder does not know about the scheme, but is happy to apply it if I do all the legwork, cross all the Ts etc. I’ve only recently read about it.

I’m fairly certain the new shower room is covered, but so much of the rest is difficult to determine.

I need an expert who can go through my specific building project and determine which bits are zero rated. Or even a large number of case studies. Just the Vat on the project is £40k, which is such a lot of money.

Any suggestions or ideas gratefully accepted.

Can your local council help? I seem to recall a friend of mine had disability work done for her mother and she mentioned the council helped? It was a home the mother owned, not a council owned one. Hope someone more knowledgeable comes along.

The company I work for have done VAT free work. We were given some paperwork declaring it was exempt.

www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-relief-on-certain-building-work-if-you-have-a-disability

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419380/Eligibility_Declaration_Disabled_-March_2015__2.pdf

The council will help, but only once they move in. They can’t move in until the work is done....... they are moving from the country to a London house near grandchildren, to be nearer family and support. The council will be very helpful as soon as it is their main residence.

Thanks Comefromaway. I’ve found that, but cannot work out what is included in the “you have an extension to provide a downstairs bathroom, the VAT-free work can include the preparation of footings (including ground levelling), connection to services (water, gas, electricity and drainage) and the restoration of the immediate decor“.

This is because we are doing work on the house to make it fit for my DM and DF. So my DM is having the bathroom refitted as a walk-in shower on the first floor, as she struggles to get into a bath. This is not included as she is just elderly, not disabled. There will also be a loft conversion, that my DB will live in as their carer. New accommodation for carers is not included.

If the drainage, pipe work and mega flow system will aid all the bathrooms, can we claim a third, or because we are doing other work at the same time, does this invalidate the claim. The area in the kitchen is being re-purposed as the shower room, as it is nearest to the new bedroom (it will take him long enough to get to the loo with his walking frame) and to recreate this living space, we are rebuilding a badly built extension and generally open-planning the rest.

I don’t want to claim anything they are not entitled to, but do want to get all that they are. Being disabled is expensive!

www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-relief-for-disabled-people/vrdp11050

Emoji, thank you so much. There is so much more in that document! I’m not stupid - honest 😉 but it is like wading through treacle to work it out.