Are Land Registry Fees Exempt From VAT?

Land Registry fees are an essential expense of moving house. The price can vary depending on the value of your property, but you may be wondering if this type of fee is exempt from VAT. If so, we’re covering this in our helpful guide.

As it turns out, this question is not so simple to answer.

The Land Registry does not charge VAT for their services, however some law firms will charge the VAT. If you want to know exactly how much your conveyancer will charge for this service, you can ask upfront how much the land registry fees are and whether they’re charging VAT. Doing this simple check before making an official choice on who to instruct could help you save a little cash, giving you more pennies towards a mortgage deposit.

It’s also best practice to ask for a full breakdown of the conveyancing costs to help you find the best value quote and service.

Why do you need to pay VAT on land registry fees?

You may have bought a property before and not been charged VAT on Land Registry fees. So, it wouldn’t be unusual to question this. The Law Society recently gave new guidance which narrowed down the definition of what can be categorised as a non-VATable disbursement. Land Registry fees used to be classed as a disbursement payment, but in light of the new guidelines, property lawyers are increasingly treating them as taxable.

The laws themself have not changed, but the interpretation has, leaving property lawyers in a position where they need to err on the side of caution to comply with HMRC tax guidelines.

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