Back to basics: VAT on deemed supplies

Just because no monetary consideration is passing hands does not mean that no supply is taking place for VAT purposes. Deemed supplies are often overlooked and can result in significant VAT costs. Where high value items such as property are transferred for no monetary consideration, the VAT values at risk can be significant. By carefully considering such high value one-off transactions from a VAT perspective and ensuring the correct actions are taken in time, significant irrecoverable VAT costs can be avoided. Often this can be something as simple as ensuring an option to tax is notified to HMRC in time but without this, the irrecoverable VAT cost may cause major issues to businesses.