Do you get hit with VAT if you purchase from an individual?

sk66

sk66

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I have a bit of gear I'm going to be unloading (Nikon 300/4, Nikon SB's, Arca Swiss Z1DP, Custom Brackets, etc, etc) and I thought of offering them here in the classifieds before they go on US Ebay.
 
If you are selling something that you've bought so that you've gotten VAT deducted from it.. then you need to sell it with VAT included in the price.
And in some countries you don't have to be a company to take advantage of getting VAT removed at purchase.. so really depends :-)
 
Yes UK purchasers would be liable to charges upon import.
 
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itsdavedotnet said:
Yes UK purchasers would be liable to charges upon import.
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So you're really better off buying used gear from w/in the UK... or are the used prices already a bit higher with VAT included?

For instance, say I'm asking $600/£495 for the 300/4 AF-S and assume that is a good price over here... would that also be a good price over there given that you will have to add VAT?

***This is not a listing, just a theoretical...
 
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The way its worked out here for the purchaser is:

Cost of item + Shipping and insurance cost gives the total cost that import duty and vat is charged on.

So if the item is $600 + $50 shipping/insurance: ($650) £495 + 4% import duty £19.80 + 20% Vat £102.96 + £10 processing fee = a total cost to the purchaser of £627.76.

Figures are just rough guesstimates

I'm not 100% certain of the import duty rate as the last time I bought from the states it was a guitar, not a lens.
 
The general rule of thumb used to be dollars for pound so your $650 item would end up costing around £650.

One thing to bear in mind that as a US shipper you have the control to package and mark up the item for whatever you like, so you might be able to send the item as 'parts' which used to carry zero VAT - I'm not 100% sure this is still valid but it used to be many years ago.

You can also send the items as a lower value so instead of writing up $450 you could put $200 but it's a risk for insurance purposes.

There's a handy calculator here but be warned, you can only use it one as it then asks you to subscribe (cookies don't seem to clear it either)
https://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/

Also details from the Government website
https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty

I've had a few things shipped in the past with less than accurate details being given but as I say, it was a risk I was prepared to take at the time.
 
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You should ask the accountant you maybe be able to write them off.
 
magicaxeman said:
I'm not 100% certain of the import duty rate as the last time I bought from the states it was a guitar, not a lens.
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Import duty on lenses is 6.7%.
 
sk66 said:
For instance, say I'm asking $600/£495 for the 300/4 AF-S and assume that is a good price over here... would that also be a good price over there given that you will have to add VAT?
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On eBay UK, the median sale price for this type of lens (33 sales within the last 3 months) is £500. So £495 would not be an unreasonable price, depending on the condition of course. But the shipping costs from the USA, plus import duty and VAT, would probably be a deal killer.
 
StewartR said:
On eBay UK, the median sale price for this type of lens (33 sales within the last 3 months) is £500. So £495 would not be an unreasonable price, depending on the condition of course. But the shipping costs from the USA, plus import duty and VAT, would probably be a deal killer.
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yeah, it doesn't seem like I'm going to be able to pass along a good deal...
 
Angelboy said:
You can also send the items as a lower value so instead of writing up $450 you could put $200 but it's a risk for insurance purposes.
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In a similar way to, say, you 'could' as in having the potential, hypothetically, and very allegedly, walk out of the super-market with a full trolley of shopping & start loading it into your car, having sort of forgotten to scan all but one toilet roll at the self-scan isle.....the possibility is not necessarily the same as the legality..... and making a knowingly false declaration of value in order to evade paying taxes, would of course be tax fraud..... it's a little more than just a risk for the insurance!
 
Teflon-Mike said:
In a similar way to, say, you 'could' as in having the potential, hypothetically, and very allegedly, walk out of the super-market with a full trolley of shopping & start loading it into your car, having sort of forgotten to scan all but one toilet roll at the self-scan isle.....the possibility is not necessarily the same as the legality..... and making a knowingly false declaration of value in order to evade paying taxes, would of course be tax fraud..... it's a little more than just a risk for the insurance!
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Its the declaration of the sender not the receiver. If the sender makes a mistake with the paperwork it's no fault of the person receiving the item.

Of course, I would never condone such behaviour.........
 
Angelboy said:
Its the declaration of the sender not the receiver. If the sender makes a mistake with the paperwork it's no fault of the person receiving the item.
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Of course not. But then the receiver declares the mistake with the paperwork to HMRC, and pays the import duty and VAT, and the item has still ended up costing them a lot more than if they had purchased from a UK seller.
 
StewartR said:
Of course not. But then the receiver declares the mistake with the paperwork to HMRC, and pays the import duty and VAT, .......
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But doing this would have a negative effect on the UK's balance of trade figures so people, in the interest of the country's economic standing, refrain from doing so. :)
 
Angelboy said:
Its the declaration of the sender not the receiver. If the sender makes a mistake with the paperwork it's no fault of the person receiving the item.
Of course, I would never condone such behaviour.........
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Still, insurance fraud remains a matter of civil, contract law....and under declaring value would most likely only result in the refusal to pay out more than declared value in case of loss.
Tax fraud? HMC&U still have powers dating back to the middle ages! And GUNS?! Messing with them, still congers images of gibbets and metal corpse-cages over craggy cliffs in my mind!
Hey! I used to panic at the idea of going through the Green isle of the air-port, when I had bought a sleeve of cigarettes at Duty Free and still had a half smoked packet in my pocket!
 
StewartR said:
Of course not. But then the receiver declares the mistake with the paperwork to HMRC, and pays the import duty and VAT, and the item has still ended up costing them a lot more than if they had purchased from a UK seller.
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Is that how it works?

I've only shipped a few items many years ago and then I went with the advice from the seller. I wasn't aware that it was my responsibility if a mistake was made.
 
Un less a private seller is vat registered, You do not charge vat, In fact it is illegal to do so.

If some one imports something from abroad They will probably have to pay duty on it (though not from an EU country)
Vat and duty are paid on non EU goods, as it passes though Customs and excise.

I bought a used lens from a Canadian private seller some six years ago, and I was charged nothing by Customs. Though the price and contents were declared.

When we leave the EU Prices are going to rise on just about everything.
American postage charges are astronomical compared to the UK and Europe.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
I bought a used lens from a Canadian private seller some six years ago, and I was charged nothing by Customs. Though the price and contents were declared.
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That's the way it is here... kind of "luck of the draw." As it passes through customs duty tax might be assigned, or it might not. If customs does not assign tax due there is no requirement to self claim, although many states have a requirement to self claim sales/use tax if it wasn't charged.
 
Chaz Photos said:
AS you are in the US VAT is a UK tax and you have to be a UK seller with over a certain income, SO NO you do not get involved in VAT. Any buyer Might have to pay some duty on imports but that's down to the buyer.
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I'm aware that I would not get involved with VAT... the question is, is VAT due (from buyer) when purchasing a used item where VAT was not previously paid? Or is it only import/duty tax *if* assigned. IME, if there is a tax associated then someone is supposed to pay it somewhere along the line...
 
Chaz Photos said:
AS you are in the US VAT is a UK tax and you have to be a UK seller with over a certain income, SO NO you do not get involved in VAT. Any buyer Might have to pay some duty on imports but that's down to the buyer.
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Yes they will. They will pay vat and duty and vat is last to be calculated. So it would be something like £500 + 10% duty + £30 postage = £580 + 20% vat = £696 + £20 carrier admin charge for collecting the taxes so you're talking about £720.
 
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sk66 said:
I'm aware that I would not get involved with VAT... the question is, is VAT due (from buyer) when purchasing a used item where VAT was not previously paid? Or is it only import/duty tax *if* assigned. IME, if there is a tax associated then someone is supposed to pay it somewhere along the line...
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rjbell said:
Yes they will. They will pay vat and duty and vat is last to be calculated. So it would be something like £500 + 10% duty + £30 postage = £580 + 20% vat = £696 + £20 carrier admin charge for collecting the taxes so you're talking about £720.
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This is correct, the only time VAT would not be due was if the item was previously purchased within the UK (and VAT paid) and then exported. On re-importation if you had the correct paperwork trail no further duty or VAT would be due, but you'd have to prove it, and follow all the correct procedures.
 
If anything, new or used is being imported to the UK from outside the EU that wasn't previously sold here, there will be import duty and VAT applied at appropriate rate for the declared contents at a % of the declared value. There are thresholds for the minimum amount VAT is applied, and Duty, they're different. A proportion of things pass through the net without being stopped, but if that happens consider yourself lucky and always assume that import duty, VAT and a handling fee will be due.

Within the EU its slightly different. A transaction between man A and man B should have no taxes to pay. A transaction between business A and man B could depending on the VAT status of the business. A transaction between company A and company B may have no VAT to pay if both are VAT registered, instead both declare it on the VAT return and it gets accounted for with all the other purchases and sales.
 
rjbell said:
Yes they will. They will pay vat and duty and vat is last to be calculated. So it would be something like £500 + 10% duty + £30 postage = £580 + 20% vat = £696 + £20 carrier admin charge for collecting the taxes so you're talking about £720.
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BUT VAT is nothing to do with the seller... That is what the seller wants to know
ALSO many times you will not even pay any duty, I get many items from China and do not pay anything.
Above there is talk about seller should add it to the price...
 
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