Council Tax and VAT Information, help and solutions to many issues encountered when converting barns and older buildings

[elwood]

Hi

I am about to start work on a barn conversion at the moment its a cow shed
we are going to live on site in a static for about 3 years at what point should I start paying council tax.

Also I have my own building company which is vat registered
can I claim 100% of the vat back on labour and materials.

[thedoctor]

Check with the council re council tax and look at the DIY Projects section (Self Build - Reclaiming VAT) for help with the VAT

[Gypsy07]

Legally you should be paying council tax as soon as your static caravan is in place and habitable, even if you're not actually living in it. If it's unoccupied you get an 'empty property' discount, but you are still liable for council tax even when it's unoccupied. I know this because for the last two years I have had a static caravan sitting in a farmyard, on land with no house and no plans to build one, and the council has humped us every step of the way for as much tax as they could get, despite us not living there. They are even trying to charge us for water and sewerage despite us not getting mains water and having our own septic tank. They are a nightmare to deal with when you have anything other than a standard property.