VAT on Childrens clothing

Fraggle1111

Childrens clothing is supposed to be VAT free, but since my 10 year old son is 5ft5, most of his clothes are adult size and more expensive due to VAT. Even the school uniform shop where we are trying to get large primary school uniform for him are saying we need to buy the adult size and therefore must pay the increased price which includes VAT.

Is there any way that we can avoid having to pay the VAT or claim it back i.e. by proving the items are for a child?

kingfisherblue

If a child has to wear adult clothess, then you have to pay adult prices I think. There was a thread about this only a few weeks ago.

My 11 year old son is 5'6" tall, built like a brick toilet, and has size 11 feet. I've been buying him adult clothes and shoes for some time now. As he grows so quickly, I don't buy expensive clothes for him. Some things I buy a bit big to give some growing room (school shirts - actually adult white shirts from Matalan - can be tucked in and don't show as being a bit bigger underneath a blazer; Tshirts can be worn loose, and adult Tshirts from Matalan can be cheaper than some kids stuff if you buy when on offer; large adult dressing gown is great for snuggling in on Winter nights).

moomoomama27

Fraggle1111 wrote: »

Childrens clothing is supposed to be VAT free, but since my 10 year old son is 5ft5, most of his clothes are adult size and more expensive due to VAT. Even the school uniform shop where we are trying to get large primary school uniform for him are saying we need to buy the adult size and therefore must pay the increased price which includes VAT.

Is there any way that we can avoid having to pay the VAT or claim it back i.e. by proving the items are for a child?

Someone posted almost an identical question a few weeks back I'll see if I can find it.

No there is no way, it's done by size not age.

luxor4t

There is information about school uniform on this thread about kids with larger feet:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3433695
As I said there, due to having tall kids, I was paying VAT when they were in primary school.
Given that all children are growing taller, it would make sense for the VAT laws to change ... well, I can dream!

claire16c

No there is not. Can you imagine what a minefield it would be if it were the case that you could.

Anyway lots of children clothes are as expensive as adults anyway. I saw a childs coat for £65 today!!

Fraggle1111

On general clothes, it's easy to understand the minefield and that some people would claim that all the clothes they buy are for their kids if VAT was discretionary (the thread about the shoes was interesting). But to charge it on mandatory primary school uniform, with school logo, from a specialist school uniform shop - surely that's obviously for a child. And there are lots of bigger kids about nowadays so it would be nice for the government to look at raising the bar a little.
We found a suitable sweat shirt in the school colours on amazon, it won't have the logo but the school will just have to lump it.

claire16c

Fraggle1111 wrote: »

On general clothes, it's easy to understand the minefield and that some people would claim that all the clothes they buy are for their kids if VAT was discretionary (the thread about the shoes was interesting). But to charge it on mandatory primary school uniform, with school logo, from a specialist school uniform shop - surely that's obviously for a child. And there are lots of bigger kids about nowadays so it would be nice for the government to look at raising the bar a little.
We found a suitable sweat shirt in the school colours on amazon, it won't have the logo but the school will just have to lump it.

Thats true you would think school uniform could be an exception - at least the jumper with the logo on. I cant see an adult wanting to wear that lol

If the school kick up a fuss I guess you could always cut out the logo from his old top and stitch it on?

JasonLVC

There is no specific relief for items of school uniform, they are subject to the normal rules for children’s clothes.
However, if you supply garments under a specific agreement with a school catering exclusively for pupils under 14 years of age you may be able to apply the zero rate beyond the garment measurements.
The garments must be unique to that school by design, such as a prominent badge or piping in school colours, and held out for sale as being for that school only. If these conditions are met, you may apply the zero rate irrespective of garment size.
The same principles apply to clothing items which form the uniform of other children's organisations catering exclusively for the under 14s, such as Beavers and Brownies.


These may be zero-rated irrespective of size provided they are:

• designed exclusively for the organisation;
• worn only by under-14s, and
• clearly identifiable to the organisation.

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000138&propertyType=document#P20_825

So if the OP's child has a specific school uniform then cannot see why this cannot be zero rated.

For example, many supermarkets like Asda sell generic school uniforms (black/grey skirts/trousers and black/grey tights), these are clearly not specific school unfiroms, so we're really looking at a specific uniform for a specific school (so embroidered logos, very specific colours/striping would indicate these as unique and zero ratable).

So visit the attached link (which covers all forms of kids clothing and VAT) and show the retailer paragraph 6 from which the above text is taken. A specialist school uniform shop SHOULD know all this already but might be being lazy but every penny counts.