Following the success at Tribunal in the case of Three Counties Dog Rescue, other animal rescue charities receiving payments from new owners, sometimes referred to as ‘donations’, when re-homing animals, may be able to recover the VAT incurred on vet fees, kennelling costs, pet food, etc.
Because the payments, mistakenly called donations at one time, were not treated as donations (e.g. gift aid was not recovered on them), the Tribunal accepted that they were charges for the supply of a dog. The sale of donated goods by a charity is VAT zero rated, therefore it was decided that the charity is entitled to register for VAT, does not have to account for VAT on the payments received, but can recover VAT incurred on their purchases related to the sale of the animals.
If you think your charity may be able to benefit in this way, just call 01227 768231 and ask to speak to our VAT team or email vat@reeves.co for further information.
