Readers’ forum: Building contractor

My client is a building contractor who operates through a limited company jointly owned by him and his wife.

He is now mooting the possibility of building a new residence for himself and has asked me for advice on whether he should do this either through the mechanism of the DIY builders’ scheme or arranging for his own construction company to build the house for him.

If his own construction company which is involved in new housebuilding were to build the house presumably it could charge the work to him personally and he would reimburse the company with VAT being charged at the zero rate.

If he were to go down this route would the VAT incurred by his own construction company in terms of making an ongoing supply to him only be validly incurred for business purposes...