Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Investment definition

What does Investment mean? In practice, investment describes an asset or bundle of rights committed in a host state with the aim of generating a return. In investor-state work, the operative definition is treaty-specific: most bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and the Energy Charter Treaty use broad, asset-based lists covering, where applicable, tangible and intangible property located in the territory, shareholdings and other equity interests, contractual rights (including concessions), intellectual property, and loans or claims to money, subject to stated carve-outs. The ICSID Convention does not define investment; tribunals assess jurisdiction by the treaty text and case law, commonly considering a contribution of resources,...

VAT treatment of UK property development and investment vehicles: companies, partnerships, LLPs, REITs, co-ownership and joint ventures - registration, option to tax and intra-party supplies

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note addresses the VAT treatment of partnerships, joint ventures and other vehicles in the context of property development and Investment. It considers:

companies, general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships (LLPs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), co-owners and joint ventures
which entity must be VAT registered
which entity should opt to tax
the treatment of dealings between the parties
contributions and distributions
dealings with third parties

Why does this matter?

It is often not obvious how collaborative arrangements should be treated for VAT purposes, or who ought to charge VAT to whom. In some situations the position is genuinely uncertain, and the VAT supplies may fail to mirror commercial reality. It is therefore vital that contracts address the position adequately.

Companies

A company is a comparatively straightforward vehicle for owning property, and the points serve as a reference for contrasting with other entity types.

Registration and option to tax

A company is separate from its shareholders. It registers for VAT, and makes any option to tax, in its own capacity...

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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 22/05/2026

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