Question answered
Is VAT charged on commercial roofing?
The short answer
Yes. Repairs and re-roofing on a commercial building are normally charged at the standard rate, which GOV.UK gives as 20%. The lower rates for energy-saving materials are written for residential accommodation and charitable buildings, so a shop, office or industrial unit should plan on 20%. Whether you can recover the VAT depends on your own VAT position.
Roof work on a shop, office or industrial unit attracts the standard rate of VAT. A narrow relief for insulation exists, and the way a quote is written decides what you actually pay.
The standard rate on commercial roof work
GOV.UK states that the standard VAT rate is 20%. A re-roof is standard-rated, and in practice a repair, a re-cover, a run of new sheets or a gutter lining on a commercial building is quoted with VAT at that rate unless a specific relief applies. A total of £10,000 before VAT becomes £12,000 once the tax is added, so it is a large and separate amount rather than a rounding.
When a contractor gives you a total price, you need to know whether VAT is already inside it. Some cost guides and some quotes show figures without it, and a number that looks a fifth lower than another may simply be the same price before tax. Ask the question at the start, in writing, before anyone compares totals. It is the quickest way to avoid an unwelcome surprise on the invoice. Our commercial roofing quotes state the position plainly.
Where the lower energy-saving rates apply
HMRC's Notice 708/6 (last updated 31 January 2024) zero-rates the fitting of listed energy-saving products between 1 May 2023 and 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 the reduced rate of 5% takes over. That is a deliberately narrow relief, aimed at homes and charities and not at trading premises. The notice says the relief applies to installation in residential accommodation and charitable buildings.
Roof insulation is among the materials listed, because the notice covers insulation for roofs or lofts. The relief attaches to the insulation, however, and not to the roof covering above it. A trading unit, a shop or an office does not fall inside that wording, so plan on the standard rate for the whole job unless HMRC confirms something different for your building. If the building belongs to a charity, read the notice's definition carefully before you rely on the relief, and keep the reply you get in writing.
Mixed jobs and what counts as one supply
The notice tells suppliers to decide whether insulation work forms a single supply, charged at one rate, or several supplies. Its own example is insulating a roof space while an extension is built, which it treats as one standard-rated supply. A re-roof that includes new insulation can therefore be charged differently from insulation fitted on its own.
Treat the rate on insulation inside a re-roof as something to confirm, not something to assume. Whether any part of it qualifies for the zero rate turns on how the job is structured and invoiced. If your project includes insulation, ask for the VAT treatment to be set out on the written quote before you sign, and check it with your accountant if the sum is large. We explain how the rules apply to your roof when we quote, and we put the answer in writing so that it can be checked later.
Reading a quote for VAT and scaffolding
Before you set one total beside another, check two things on every quote: does it include VAT, and does it include scaffolding? Checkatrade's cost guides state many figures exclusive of VAT, so a guide figure and a quote total only become comparable once you add 20% to the guide. Scaffolding is a significant cost on any roof above single-storey height, and a total that leaves it out can look cheaper than it is.
Written pricing follows the survey and shows one overall sum, so the VAT question is easy to put to us directly. If you are weighing several contractors, how to choose a commercial roofing contractor sets out what else to ask. When a leak forces the job, the same checks apply to the make-safe work, as described in what to do when a shop or office roof leaks.
Recovering VAT and other fees that carry it
Whether your business can recover the VAT on a roof depends on its VAT registration, how the building is used and who owns it. That is a question for your accountant or HMRC, not for a roofer, and it is worth asking before the work starts rather than after the invoice arrives. Keep the VAT invoice, with the contractor's registration number on it, because it is the document you will need.
Other costs around the job can carry VAT as well. Building control fees at Adur & Worthing Councils carry VAT, apart from regularisation fees. Building control can come into play where a new covering behaves differently in a fire or makes the roof heavier by 15 per cent or more, as the Planning Portal's roof guidance explains, so that cost may arrive on top of the roofing total. The planning side is covered in planning for commercial roof work, and the age of the existing roof, which often triggers the project, in how long a commercial roof lasts.
VAT on roofs: two more questions
Does a charity-owned hall pay the same VAT on a new roof?
The energy-saving relief names charitable buildings, but it covers specified insulation, not the roof covering. The re-roofing itself is standard-rated. Read HMRC's Notice 708/6 for its definition of a charitable building and ask HMRC to confirm your position before you sign a quote.
Will VAT on roof work change after March 2027?
The 2027 date in the notice affects only the specified energy-saving materials: the zero rate runs to 31 March 2027 and the reduced rate of 5% applies from 1 April 2027. GOV.UK lists the standard rate as 20%. If your project straddles that date, ask for the VAT treatment in writing.
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