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VAT issues on sale of land with planning permission

19 November 2019 / Neil Warren
Issue: 4721 / Categories: Comment & Analysis
Land sale challenges

Key points

  • Jointly owned land is a partnership for VAT purposes.
  • Sales of land are usually exempt from VAT unless an option to tax election is in place.
  • Considerations when opting to tax include input tax for the buyer SDLT and housing association buyers.
  • Non-registered entities may choose to register for VAT but should remember to deregister after the sale.


Some readers might remember the excitement of waiting each week to see what was the number one record on Top of the Pops. It used to be a fantastic boost if your favourite artist or band was leading the charts although I seemed to be the only person at school whose favourite band was The Wombles. Anyway less about Orinoco and Great Uncle Bulgaria and back to VAT.

The most common query from accountants in the past six months has been about...

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