laptop for business: reclaim vat

[glennh]

Hi folks,

I'm on flat rate vat so generally can't claim vast back on purchases but I read today that I can on computing equipment over £2000 only if bought in one purchase.

The machine I'm looking at is a Lenovo yoga 2 pro (if ever released in the UK....) Which at top spec will come in around £1500. Even with some software added it's not going to be at that level and no point spending > a few hundred quid just so I can claim back £200.

Have I understood things right regarding the vat? Are there any tips re buying a laptop for business?

Thanks
Glenn

[CheeseSlice]

Yes, over £2000 (inc vAT) you can reclaim the VAT even on flat rate scheme. Just search the HMRC website and you'll find all the info there. I think the purchase has to be done as a capital asset rather than an expense.

Just seen that there is a business 'Thinkpad' Yoga coming out too, although the Ideapad Yoga Pro 2 still looks much nicer. The Thinkpad version has a retracting keyboard which was one of the main complaints with the Ideapad.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

The only way it's going to work is if you can up the spec to get it over the threshold. As you say, there's a limit to where it makes sense to spend more just to save the VAT. At £1500 you're probably below that limit.

It doesn't have to be a single item though, just a single purchase if capital goods from the same supplier, to qualify. Do you need anything else? If not, you'll just have to pay the VAT. Your FRS surplus income should more than cover the amount anyway.

[mudskipper]

The only way it's going to work is if you can up the spec to get it over the threshold. As you say, there's a limit to where it makes sense to spend more just to save the VAT. At £1500 you're probably below that limit.

It doesn't have to be a single item though, just a single purchase if capital goods from the same supplier, to qualify. Do you need anything else? If not, you'll just have to pay the VAT. Your FRS surplus income should more than cover the amount anyway.

Are you? My understanding is that if you spend £2000 inc VAT you can claim back the VAT.

So 2K's worth of stuff will cost you £1666.67 - for an extra £166.67 you can have 500 squids worth of shiny new stuff!

[kal]

Are you? My understanding is that if you spend £2000 inc VAT you can claim back the VAT.

So 2K's worth of stuff will cost you £1666.67 - for an extra £166.67 you can have 500 squids worth of shiny new stuff!

WHS Am looking at the new top of the line macbook pro 15 which costs more than 2k without any software extras!

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Are you? My understanding is that if you spend £2000 inc VAT you can claim back the VAT.

So 2K's worth of stuff will cost you £1666.67 - for an extra £166.67 you can have 500 squids worth of shiny new stuff!

You're right, depends if OP meant £1500 net or gross. I assumed he meant gross, in which case he still has another £500 inc VAT to spend.

I've just done this myself. New Apple MBP and iPad and saved about £400 in VAT.

As an aside, annoyingly Apple charged my card for each item separately and sent me individual invoices for each item even though they were purchased together. I've heard from others that they often do this. I should still be ok to claim the VAT as it's still clearly a single purchase (I have my order as proof and each invoice quotes the same order number) but I am still waiting for confirmation from my accountant on this. I might try and get a single VAT invoice out of them but I imagine that might prove difficult. Something to bear in mind if you are ordering from Apple!

[mudskipper]

You're right, depends if OP meant £1500 net or gross. I assumed he meant gross, in which case he still has another £500 inc VAT to spend.

I've just done this myself. New Apple MBP and iPad and saved about £400 in VAT.

As an aside, annoyingly Apple charged my card for each item separately and sent me individual invoices for each item even though they were purchased together. I've heard from others that they often do this. I should still be ok to claim the VAT as it's still clearly a single purchase (I have my order as proof and each invoice quotes the same order number) but I am still waiting for confirmation from my accountant on this. I might try and get a single VAT invoice out of them but I imagine that might prove difficult. Something to bear in mind if you are ordering from Apple!

But that extra £500 effectively costs £167. And that's before you account for corp tax etc, so seems like it is worth it to me.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

But that extra £500 effectively costs £167. And that's before you account for corp tax etc, so seems like it is worth it to me.

That's one ay of looking at it.

The other way of looking at it is if you'd just bought the £1500 laptop, you'd be £167 better off and you'd still have a new laptop.

For me the line is where spending more would result in a net reduction in the cost, but it really depends on what you're buying I guess.

[Scrag Meister]

You're right, depends if OP meant £1500 net or gross. I assumed he meant gross, in which case he still has another £500 inc VAT to spend.

I've just done this myself. New Apple MBP and iPad and saved about £400 in VAT.

As an aside, annoyingly Apple charged my card for each item separately and sent me individual invoices for each item even though they were purchased together. I've heard from others that they often do this. I should still be ok to claim the VAT as it's still clearly a single purchase (I have my order as proof and each invoice quotes the same order number) but I am still waiting for confirmation from my accountant on this. I might try and get a single VAT invoice out of them but I imagine that might prove difficult. Something to bear in mind if you are ordering from Apple!

I had a similar issue when I bought my first hardware from Dell back in 2007.

I just rung them up asked if they could merge the parts of the order onto 1 invoice, Bob's your uncle, 1 invoice.

[CheeseSlice]

As an aside, annoyingly Apple charged my card for each item separately and sent me individual invoices for each item even though they were purchased together. I've heard from others that they often do this. I should still be ok to claim the VAT as it's still clearly a single purchase (I have my order as proof and each invoice quotes the same order number) but I am still waiting for confirmation from my accountant on this. I might try and get a single VAT invoice out of them but I imagine that might prove difficult. Something to bear in mind if you are ordering from Apple!

+1. Lenovo will do this too.

They do a really weird thing through the 'Digital River' website (their authorised reseller based in Luxembourg, selling on behalf of their business partner Lenovo in Hook, UK. Hmmmmm...).
You can view and print a single invoice (showing tax) on the web page, but you also get individual PDF VAT invoices for each item as they arrive separately. Each one has the same order number.
I use FreeAgent for my accounts so I created a single 'Bill' for the main invoice, and then I can account for the separate payments as paying towards the same bill.