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Reclaiming VAT on items for both business and private use

You may use some of the goods and services that you buy for your business for both business and non-business use. You can generally only reclaim VAT on the proportion of these items used for business purposes. For example if you buy a computer and use it 50 per cent for your business and 50 per cent for private use, you can only reclaim 50 per cent of the VAT. Normally you would simply reclaim that proportion of VAT on your VAT return. In some very limited situations you can reclaim all the VAT and then pay back the proportion of VAT used for non-business purposes. The rules that apply to motoring expenses and road fuel are different.

This guide will show you how to calculate the business use proportion of an item and how to reclaim that proportion of VAT.

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Business and non-business use - a definition

If you buy goods or services that you use for both business and non-business purposes, you can only reclaim VAT on the proportion of the item that you use for business purposes. Non-business purposes include items for private or charitable use.

If you buy goods or services that you use only for non-business purposes, you cannot reclaim any VAT.

This distinction is important as the VAT on the cost of these goods and services can only be reclaimed if they are exclusively for business use. If the goods or services will also be for non-business use, the correct percentage of the cost must be accurately calculated to ensure you are claiming back the right level of input VAT. This is called apportionment.

x% business use = you can only reclaim x% of the VAT

A good example is if you buy a mobile phone for your business. If you only use it for a third of the time for business purposes, you can only reclaim a third of the VAT on purchase and service plans.

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How to reclaim the right amount of VAT for business use

There are two main ways you can use to reclaim the VAT on the business element of an item used for both business and non-business purposes.

Generally speaking you must apportion the VAT on services. The VAT on goods can either be apportioned or you can use the reclaim and pay back the VAT method.

Apportioning the VAT

Using this form of calculation is the easiest and most straightforward. For example, if you buy a computer and only use this for business purposes or 20 per cent of the time, you can only claim 20 per cent of the VAT back. If you work from home, use your study 50 per cent for business and redecorate it, you can reclaim 50 per cent of the VAT.

Reclaiming and paying back the VAT

With this method you reclaim all the VAT on the item and then make an adjustment within the tax year to account for the proportion of the item that was used for non-business purposes. For example, if you bought a DVD player that you use half for business and half for private, you reclaim 100 per cent of the VAT you paid. You then add the 50 per cent of the VAT attributable to private use onto your VAT due (output tax) at a later VAT return.

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How to calculate the proportion of VAT to reclaim

HMRC has no hard and fast rules on how you do this. As every business is different you can devise any fair and reasonable method to calculate the proportion of an item that is used for business purposes.

The important point to remember is that whatever method you use, you need to keep records to show how you calculated the proportion of business and private use on these items and how the items have been actually used. You should be prepared to justify your method to HMRC when you have a VAT inspection. You can also agree a particular method for a particular item with HMRC.

Some ways in which you can calculate and keep records of how you apportion business use include:

  • how a particular asset is used - eg if you have a boat or aircraft you can keep a log of when it is used for business and when it is used privately
  • time spent on business and non-business activities - eg if your employees work within your business, but also for a portion of their time work for you personally, you can keep a record of the business and non-business time
  • floor space within premises - eg if you use a premises for both business and non-business purposes, you can calculate the percentage of floor space used for business

Get information on visits by VAT officers

Find out about keeping records, invoicing and accounting for VAT

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Reclaiming VAT on motoring expenses and road fuel

Generally you can reclaim all of the VAT on motoring expenses even if your car is used privately as well as for business purposes. There are several options you can choose from to calculate the proportion of VAT that you can reclaim on the private use of road fuel.

Find out about reclaiming VAT on cars and motoring expenses

More about reclaiming VAT in mixed business and non-business use in VAT Notice 700/15

How to apportion VAT if your business is partially exempt

If you are partly exempt, you must first work out how much VAT you can treat as input tax before you deal with any

If you buy or sell goods or services that are both VATable and exempt from VAT, you must first calculate how much VAT you can treat as reclaimable (input tax) before you carry out any partial exemption calculations.

Get information on exempt and partly exempt goods

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How to apportion VAT for charities

Charities and other not-for-profit organisations need to be clear about organising their incomes and expenses, as often their activities will be a mixture of business and non-business activities.

Find out about VAT for charities and other not-for-profit organisations

More useful links

Find out more about when you can reclaim VAT and when you can't

More about partial exemption in VAT Notice 706

More about reclaiming VAT in mixed business and non-business use in VAT Notice 700/15

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