Know About Exemption of VAT for Orangeries and Conservatories

Construction of conservatories and orangeries is popular form of home improvement these days. However, a proper planning is to be done for their construction. Certain regulations and permissions should be followed before constructing an orangery or a conservatory. A bit of confusion may arise for the application of VAT for conservatories and orangeries. At certain cases, the VAT can be exempted and in some cases its value can be reduced.

For normal construction of a conservatory, a standard VAT rate of 17.5 percent is applied. Four circumstances are present where the VAT can be zero or reduced and these include listed buildings, new buildings, barn conversions and uninhabited buildings. If construction of a conservatory or an orangery is done in such a way that it is attached to a listed building, then the VAT rate is zero.

New buildings in UK have zero VAT rate. When a new house is designed or specified, then it is better to specify an orangery or a conservatory in order to avoid VAT. Addition of conservatories or orangeries to barn conversions is most complex. If a barn is listed, then 0% VAT rate is applied. While converting an agricultural property into a residential property then 5% of VAT rate is applicable. The VAT rate is 17.5% when the barn is already a residential property.

The other case is uninhabited buildings. When renovation of a single dwelling has been empty for three years, then a reduced rate of 5% is applied. A proper evidence has to be provided that the house has been empty and the build would be used for residential purposes after renovation.