Reclaiming VAT on adult clothes bought for children

Helbo

My youngest son is 12 but I have to buy adult clothes for him. Most clothing retailers sell children's clothes up to the age of 13. A friend of mine thinks that I can claim the VAT back if I can prove that the adult clothes are for him. Does anyone know if this is correct and if so, how do I go about doing it? I really resent paying VAT on clothes for my son and I feel that the retailers are making a fortune out of customers like me.

CoolHotCold

How would retailers make a fortune on VAT?

They can't keep it, thats the purpose of VAT to provide a extra revenue stream for the government.

mumof3plusoh

Would be very interested to know the answer as have a 13 yr old DD who is wearing womens size 8 clothes and adult shoes too

somethingcorporate

VAT goes straight into the taxmans pocket assuming the retailer is solvent enough to pay it when it's due, so hardly retailers making a killing.

I would give your local tax office a call and see what they say. It's a valid question!

nikki1520

Notice 714 states


1.4 What are the conditions for zero rating?
You may zero-rate your supply when all of the following four conditions are met:

it must be an article of clothing or footwear;
it must not be made of fur;
it must be designed for young children, and
it must only be suitable for young children.


Therefore, if your son is wearing clothes that are not "designed as suitable only for young children" then you are stuck with paying adult prices- sorry.

As an aside, retailers make nothing from the VAT- this is passed to HMRC, and funds all sorts of things, including schools.

arcon5

How can you prove the adults clothes are for him?

I'm not surprised this isn't allowed tbh, otherwise it would open so many avenues for people to abuse the system and making false claims.

Plus, the retailers makes no extra money.

bod1467

Depending on invoice/tax payment schedules then retailers MAY make some interest on VAT fees between collecting and passing to HMRC.

arcon5

bod1467 wrote: »

Depending on invoice/tax payment schedules then retailers MAY make some interest on VAT fees between collecting and passing to HMRC.

Counteracted by admin costs and accountancy costs in sorting the VAT returns.

somethingcorporate

arcon5 wrote: »

How can you prove the adults clothes are for him?

I'm not surprised this isn't allowed tbh, otherwise it would open so many avenues for people to abuse the system and making false claims.

Plus, the retailers makes no extra money.

Loads of things like this are done on trust when it comes to tax. Employee mileage, self assessment etc. I doubt it would be any different to that. I had a good few hundred quid back (£800+) from my mileage and they do not ask for proof.

cardinalbiggles

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Loads of things like this are done on trust when it comes to tax. Employee mileage, self assessment etc. I doubt it would be any different to that. I had a good few hundred quid back (£800+) from my mileage and they do not ask for proof.

Dear somethingcorporate,

Your posting has been brought to our attention. We will be contacting you in due course to discuss your recent tax claim.

Sincerely,

HMRC.

(ps. this is a joke... just in case anyone gets excited about the tax man coming knocking)

paddyrg

It is done on trust...with the knowledge you can get a visit any day. In my industry you can actually watch as one company gets an audit, then some of their trading partners, then some of *their* trading partners, etc. It's like a spider wandering round a web. I know my time is coming, probably, so it helps incentivise me to keep complete, accurate records. There's an occasional trading partner of mine who I suspect will be right in the doodah if he gets a VAT inspection - no way he's dragging me down when he gets that visit!