Vat?
December 15, 2006 5:11 AM   Subscribe

What gets charged VAT and what does not when sending things from the US to the UK?

I just got my first taste of vat and import tax buggery in the uk. My wife sent me some stuff and it got slapped with an 82 pound VAT tax even though they were used goods.

What is the best way to get things sent from the states? The gift exemption is 36 pounds, so anything under that is good. For things over that, what do i pay duties and vat on?


Any management tips for this?
posted by Lord_Pall to Work & Money (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Unleses you can prove you already owned it in the US, you're stuck paying. What can help is very small parcels -- large letter size or smaller. If they can be delivered directly, oftentimes the postman won't bother trying to collect the fees.

Also, be careful about the lengths you go to to avoid paying -- it's smuggling.
posted by bonaldi at 5:15 AM on December 15, 2006


Response by poster: I can prove I already owned it in the US. It's more of a question of what I can send and what I should expect to pay VAT on.
posted by Lord_Pall at 5:24 AM on December 15, 2006


It's fairly arbitrary. I used to import green coffee beans from the US, and have sometimes been hit with VAT charges on packages the same size, appearance and value, and sometimes not. As a general rule of thumb you would probably be best served to keep the declared value below £100 - £150 if possible (they probably won't find it worth the effort), but otherwise - when receiving tax eligible goods - it seems to be a lottery.
posted by bifter at 5:35 AM on December 15, 2006


The revenue office certainly has a specific procedure for documenting that you already own it. Maybe just call them up and ask them what it is. I'm sure they have a procedure for getting (some of?) your 82 pounds refunded too (I've had similar issues with the GST here in Canada and gotten refunded).
posted by winston at 5:53 AM on December 15, 2006


Lord_Pall: You're moving to the UK, right? Read this.

Also, duty and VAT are charged on the landed value of the item, which includes the cost of shipping it. So if you or someone else sends something via a more expensive shipping method, you automatically pay more in tax! Yay!
posted by grouse at 6:05 AM on December 15, 2006


I don't know, but I think they only check parcels at random - I've had many things posted from the US (and elsewhere) and VAT is inconsistently charged, with the majority of parcels not being taxed. You could take the chance.

I moved furniture, books and things from Australia to the UK, using an Australian-based international removalist, and didn't pay VAT, only the lesser Aus GST. Could your wife save up what you want to send for a big load and do the same, if the costs and local taxes are in your favour?
posted by goo at 11:05 AM on December 15, 2006


« Older Google says: Press Association, Personal Assistant...   |   Music, sweet music, I wish I could caress and kiss... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.