Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

UK property VAT: practitioner checklist for leases, assignments, surrenders, freehold sales, and commercial and residential developments (including TOGCs, option to tax, zero-rating, CGS, reverse charge and overage)

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

Checklists

This checklist outlines the principal VAT points to review on property transactions. Matters under ‘all property transactions’ should always be tested in every instance, then followed by those linked to the specific deal type (grant of a lease, assignment or surrender of a lease, freehold sale, commercial development, or residential development). Topics listed for the grant, surrender or assignment of a lease, and the sale of freehold land, can also be pertinent to any development transaction. For fuller commentary on the VAT issues signposted in this checklist, refer to the VAT on property subtopic and, in particular, the Practice Notes mentioned in this checklist.

Type of property transaction

Key VAT considerations

All property transactions

Is the transaction a transfer of a going concern (TOGC)? If so, there is no supply for VAT purposes and therefore no VAT is payable. For more detail, see Practice Note: VAT—transfers of a going concern involving land and buildings.
Where the deal involves a supply of land and is not a TOGC, confirm whether the supplier has exercised the option to tax that land?...

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Martin Scammell

Martin Scammell is an independent VAT consultant, specialising in property and construction matters, who works with tax departments in major corporates and universities, and with a number of law and accountancy firms. He is the author of the leading reference work on VAT and property.Martin started out in VAT Policy in Customs & Excise, was a Partner at Ernst & Young, where he headed up the VAT real estate group, and then became head of indirect tax at Eversheds.He has been involved in the development of VAT legislation and policy over many years, and regularly serves on working parties established by HMRC. He was a member of the Office of Tax Simplification’s consultative committee for their review of VAT in 2017, and in 2018-19 of HMRC’s external stakeholder group considering the proposed reverse charge for building work. Martin currently works with HMRC as...

Web page updated on 20/05/2026

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