Counter rules

VAT on materials: what's on the ticket

• The standard rate of VAT is 20%¹.
• Suppliers charge VAT at the standard rate on most building materials².
• So a price "ex VAT" at 20% is the price with VAT divided by 1.2, and the price with VAT is the ex VAT price times 1.2.

Builders: materials follow the rate of the work

• Builders charge VAT on building materials they supply and fit at the same rate as their work. If the work is zero-rated or reduced-rated, so are the building materials, but some items aren't building materials and stay at the standard rate³.
• Examples from HMRC's notice: carpets, carpet tiles and underlay aren't building materials, and most devices powered by electricity or gas aren't either³.
• Work on a home that hasn't been lived in for the 2 years before work starts may be charged at the reduced rate of 5%; section 8 of the notice sets out the conditions³.
• The construction reverse charge doesn't apply to construction materials supplied on their own⁴.

Energy-saving materials: 0% only when installed

• A zero rate applies to installing certain energy-saving materials from 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027⁵.
• Supplying energy-saving materials without installing them is standard-rated: the sale of energy-saving materials by a retailer is always standard-rated⁵.
• From 1 April 2027, installations revert to the reduced rate of 5%⁵.
• Which materials count is listed in the notice.

Building your own home: the DIY housebuilders scheme

• If you have planning permission to build a new home for you or your relatives to live in, or to fit out a shell bought from a developer, you can claim back the VAT on building materials².
• For buildings completed on or after 5 December 2023 you make a single claim, no more than 6 months after completion, online or on form VAT431NB². Conversions use form VAT431C, with the same 6 months⁶.
• Only building materials count. You can't claim for fitted furniture other than fitted kitchen furniture, carpets, underlay and carpet tiles, garden ornaments, sheds and greenhouses, or plant, tools and equipment, among others².
• You must have a VAT invoice for everything you claim for. It shows the supplier's name, address and VAT number, the date, the quantity and description of the goods, the price, and your name and address if the value is more than £250².

Trade waste: carriers, notes and plasterboard

Carrying waste in your van

• Registering as a waste carrier is usually free if you only carry waste you produce yourself; otherwise it costs £191.02. An upper tier registration is renewed every 3 years for £130.25. You can get an unlimited fine if you don't register⁷.
• The Environment Agency's register says a business is lower tier if it only carries waste it produced itself, unless that is construction or demolition waste. A business that carries construction and demolition waste is one of its examples of upper tier⁸. Registering tells you which tier you're in⁷.

Handing waste on

• A business must fill in a waste transfer note for each load that leaves its premises, and check its waste carrier is registered⁹. An invoice with the same information will do; keep a copy for 2 years¹⁰.
• Householders have a duty too: to take all reasonable measures to make sure their waste only goes to an authorised person. For a business offering to take it, the code says to check it has an up to date, valid upper tier registration¹¹.
• Check any carrier on the Environment Agency public register⁸.

Plasterboard

• Gypsum-based waste, such as plasterboard, must not go to a landfill cell that accepts biodegradable waste¹².

Lifting: bags, blocks and boards

• Under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992¹⁴, employers must avoid hazardous manual handling so far as reasonably practicable, assess the risk of what can't be avoided, and reduce it as low as reasonably practicable¹³.
• The law sets no weight limits, so HSE's guideline figures are not safe limits¹⁵. HSE says there is "no such thing as a 'safe' weight"¹⁶.
• The guideline figures show when a fuller assessment is needed. The highest are 25 kg for men and 16 kg for women, held close to the body between knuckle and elbow height; they are lower above and below that and further from the body¹⁷.
• Many bagged materials come in 25 kg bags, such as bagged concrete¹⁸ and mortar¹⁹.
• HSE's Manual Handling Assessment Chart (MAC) helps identify higher-risk tasks, and its construction page has more on plasterboard, kerbs and paving, and blocks¹⁴.