Fundraising and VAT

Fundraising and charitable activity is, in general, exempt from the payment of VAT.  As a charity you don’t pay VAT when you buy some goods and services.

You must prove to the person who’s selling the goods or services to you that you’re eligible for relief.

You must register for VAT if your charity’s VAT taxable turnover (the total value of everything you sell that isn’t exempt from VAT) is more than £85,000.

You can choose to register if it’s below this, for example if you want to reclaim VAT on your supplies.

For all information on what VAT rates charities pay look at the information on HMRC’s pages

For more information on tax for charities, including VAT, take a look at the ‘Tax Made Simple’ guides from Sayer Vincent.