buying a new van for sole trader

[casper22]

i run a window cleaning business. i earn under the Tax thresh hold atm. My old van was purchased privately. whats my best option to purchase a new or newish van . Am i still liable to pay VAT on the van or am i best looking for a second hand van with no added VAT.
Used for my cleaning business.

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

Hey Casper, welcome to UKBF.

Most second hand vans will also have VAT, and whichever way you swing it that VAT will need paid. You will occasionally find vans being sold privately by other folk who aren't VAT registered and then they can't charge VAT, but you will often find the price of those are inflated a bit while the seller tries to recoup some of the VAT that they have paid and will never see again.

If you think at any point soon you're going to go over the threshold then it might not be lost forever. I understand you can claim back VAT on purchases retrospectively for up to 2 years as long as the asset is still in use within the business.

If you're going down the financing route and want to use HP (which is generally the best method), then any VAT needs covered up front as a "minimum deposit". With some kind of lease purchase you can avoid paying the VAT up front and instead there is VAT applied to each monthly rental, which can be handy for those who aren't seeing any of the VAT back but comes with additional complications which can't be ignored. I always say to business purchasers that if you can find the VAT money to cover it up front, HP is the way to go.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

i run a window cleaning business. i earn under the Tax thresh hold atm. My old van was purchased privately. whats my best option to purchase a new or newish van . Am i still liable to pay VAT on the van or am i best looking for a second hand van with no added VAT.
Used for my cleaning business.

Hi @casper22 if you aren't VAT registered you can't recover any VAT charged on a van you buy (or lease) for your business so if you buy from someone who has to charge VAT you will have to pay the VAT.

I'd have a look at various options and do some calculations for each option looking at buying and leasing and taking into account all of the anticipated costs.

If you use an accountant do ask them for advice too - you can claim tax relief on leasing and buying a van. How and what you can claim will depend on various factors.

 

[casper22]

Thanks for replying.
I'll look around for sales with no Vat
Thanks .
My old van is ready for knackers yard

 

[MBE2017]

Do you need a van or would a large estate suffice?

 

[WaveJumper]

I wish you good luck finding a decent secondhand van they are like gold dust at the moment

 

[MBE2017]

I wish you good luck finding a decent secondhand van they are like gold dust at the moment

Very true.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Casper I would ignore these lot on here they love spending everybody else's money
For window cleaning I would get a thousand pound 1.9 Berlingo van off Autotrader You wont regret it

 

[MBE2017]

Casper I would ignore these lot on here they love spending everybody else's money
For window cleaning I would get a thousand pound 1.9 Berlingo van off Autotrader You wont regret it

Personally I would think a good cleaning rag and squeegee would clean windows better than a Berlingo, and not as heavy to lift.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Personally I would think a good cleaning rag and squeegee would clean windows better than a Berlingo, and not as heavy to lift.

ha ha ha