VAT question

kwerk

kwerk

kwerk

Wise Guy
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If I order something to someone in the UK, but I don't live in the UK, do I have to pay VAT? Or am I entitled to have the VAT refunded? Or can you only claim it back if you're taking the goods out of the country?

In other words if I ordered something from a UK shop to be delivered to a UK house and I paid with an American CC, why should I have to pay VAT on it because I'm a non-resident.
 
It can be refunded if you permanently leaving the country.

Otherwise it has to be charged on any sales by UK sellers, it doesn't matter who's buying.
 
If I order something from the UK and they export it to me the VAT is deducted because I'm outside the EU.

So if I order something online and have it delivered inside the EU (as a gift), why do I still have to pay VAT? I'm not a resident.
 
If it is for the UK then VAT is levied, exactly as sales tax is charged if you were to buy anything within or import into the US. If you were removing the item from the EU you would claim the VAT and pay sales tax instead. It works the otherway around when sending a US item to the EU you claim the sales tax and pay VAT. In your case you are paying VAT at the point of sale and keeping the item within the UK so VAT is valid.
 
kwerk said:
If I order something from the UK and they export it to me the VAT is deducted because I'm outside the EU.

So if I order something online and have it delivered inside the EU (as a gift), why do I still have to pay VAT? I'm not a resident.
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The same reason I have to pay your sales tax if I buy in the USA.
 
delta0 said:
If it is for the UK then VAT is levied, exactly as sales tax is charged if you were to buy anything within or import into the US. If you were removing the item from the EU you would claim the VAT and pay sales tax instead. It works the otherway around when sending a US item to the EU you claim the sales tax and pay VAT. In your case you are paying VAT at the point of sale and keeping the item within the UK so VAT is valid.
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Sales tax is done on the state level. If you order something online from a different state they don't charge you the sales tax. Individual states aren't allowed to tax interstate commerce or residents of other states and there is no federal sales tax.

So my question was if VAT is charged by where the customer is a resident of, or where there product is delivered/consumed. But couldn't a lawyer argue that the goods are "consumed" by the purchaser by the act of gifting it to someone else and were actually consumed OUTSIDE the EU?
 
kwerk said:
Sales tax is done on the state level. If you order something online from a different state they don't charge you the sales tax. Individual states aren't allowed to tax interstate commerce or residents of other states and there is no federal sales tax.

So my question was if VAT is charged by where the customer is a resident of, or where there product is delivered/consumed. But couldn't a lawyer argue that the goods are "consumed" by the purchaser by the act of gifting it to someone else and were actually consumed OUTSIDE the EU?
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You can try and argue anything you want, it's not going to affect that you will be due to pay VAT on purchases which stay within the UK. It would however be a logically unsound argument about consumption though. If it were otherwise then do you not think that any number of big companies would already have tried this?
 
In general The UK VAT system somewhat broken. When I lived in Switzerland (outside EU) I made lots of purchases in France and Germany and the VAT was removed at purchase, automatically in most cases. UK shops would deny any ability to remove VAT at point of purchase. However, when buying from a shop in the UK I did manage to force shops to give a VAT refund form, which you place at the airport when leaving.
 
I've purchased stuff from the UK before and wasn't charged VAT. Like I have paid for a dedicated server in London and VAT was excluded, but there is nothing to stop me giving the login to someone in the EU as a gift and no VAT would have been charged. But I think it would have technically been exported first, then re-imported, but there's no way for them to apply import duty or whatever as they would with physical goods because it wouldn't go through customs.

ETA: server rental not a physical server.
 
[TW]Fox;23434917 said:
It doesn't.

kwerk isn't exporting anything. Hence being liable for VAT.
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Yarp.

IIRC if it's being exported (delivered to a non EU address) VAT isn't applied at all.
If it's bought in the UK but will be taken out of the country from memory there is a form you can use to claim the VAT back, I think Argos even has signs up, saying that for items over £35 if you're taking them abroad as a non EU resident you can claim the VAT back.

From what I can tell Kwerk is wanting to buy an item in the UK, and have it delivered to a UK address as a gift, which would make it liable for VAT.

IIRC UK VAT is actually easier to avoid paying as a non EU resident than many US sales taxes.
I've got vague memories of one US state requiring anyone buying anything within the State, regardless of if they were mail ordering it to outside the state to be charged (I think it caused a massive fuss with Amazon and Ebay sellers).
 
The law is the goods are within or entering the UK therefore they are levied with VAT. That is the law. You pay import duty and or sales tax in the US as part of the US law. Gifting something you bought outside the EU to the UK can avoid the tax if it is less than £20 when the item is checked at the point of importing it. However you are buying it within the EU and it would be daft to export it to the US just to claim the VAT and then post it back as a gift assuming it is less than £20. Resident or non-resident you can be liable for tax in any country because when you operate there you are liable to their laws.
 
Werewolf said:
Yarp.

IIRC if it's being exported (delivered to a non EU address) VAT isn't applied at all.
If it's bought in the UK but will be taken out of the country from memory there is a form you can use to claim the VAT back, I think Argos even has signs up, saying that for items over £35 if you're taking them abroad as a non EU resident you can claim the VAT back.

From what I can tell Kwerk is wanting to buy an item in the UK, and have it delivered to a UK address as a gift, which would make it liable for VAT.

IIRC UK VAT is actually easier to avoid paying as a non EU resident than many US sales taxes.
I've got vague memories of one US state requiring anyone buying anything within the State, regardless of if they were mail ordering it to outside the state to be charged (I think it caused a massive fuss with Amazon and Ebay sellers).
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Definitely a pain when I buy stuff over there. Get wacked with their tax when I'm on holiday. The jeans I'm wearing right now I haven't got the tax back on.
 
Energize said:
I love the way VAT damages our exports like this. (!)
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Businesses that actually do 99.9% (or whatever it actually is) of exports won't be paying VAT.

Opening up the system to what kwerk wants will just result in lots of tax evasion by regular consumers.

People already casually boast/defend VAT and customs duty evasion when importing into the UK, on this forum with hardly anyone batting an eyelid. They even suggest doing it to get lower prices.

At least Amazon pay VAT.
 
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