The situation is that the company I work for has quite alot of land as well as trading day to day and is selling a piece. The company is vat registered.
Can someone please tell me if you elect to VAT when you purchase/sell land through a company is it the company or the piece of land it relates to?
Is there a certificate that can be obtained and do you need one for each piece of land?
How and where do you get a certificate?
I hope someone can help as I have not dealt with anything like this before.
This is a potentially complex subject, and really needs professional assistance, so that the client is aware of the implications of the option to tax. (PM me if that would be helpful.)
The basic certificate is VAT 1614A, which is the notification of an Option to Tax. This has to go to HMRC Option to Tax Unit within 30 days of the actual decision to opt. The Option applies to any parcel of land. So, if the company buys and sells a number of pieces of land, it needs to opt for each one, or not, as necessary.
In my opinion, you should not opt to tax unless you NEED to. Either, there is input tax at stake, or there is a potential TOGC. Otherwise, do not opt to tax.
HMRC have a Public Notice 742A, which explains more.
