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Tax & accounting

Place of supply of services and the VAT reverse charge (UK)

When you buy or sell services across borders, VAT depends on where the service is treated as supplied. HMRC Notice 741A sets out the general rules and their main exceptions.

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Answers are written by a language model solely from this base's documents, with numbered sources. They can be wrong and aren't legal, medical or financial advice: check the sources before any important decision.

The two general rules

B2B general rule services are supplied where the customer belongs; B2C general rule services are supplied where the supplier belongs. There are exceptions, such as land-related services and use and enjoyment rules.

A business belongs where its business establishment is: where its central administration operates and day-to-day management decisions are taken. A registered office alone is not enough.

The reverse charge on services bought from abroad

If you belong in the UK and buy B2B general rule services from a supplier outside the UK, the reverse charge applies and you account for the VAT yourself, for example on legal services bought from a French business. If you're not VAT registered, the value of those services counts towards your taxable supplies for registration purposes.

Services directly related to land

These rules cover services where the land is central to the service, or which legally or physically alter a property, not those with only an indirect or incidental link. An interior designer redecorating a particular hotel supplies a land-related service; a colour scheme for a hotel chain's properties does not.

Frequently asked questions

Can I treat a customer who gives me a VAT number as a business?

Yes. Unless you have information suggesting the service is wholly for private use, you may presume your customer is in business if they give you their VAT number.

Are charities and local authorities B2B customers?

B2B supplies include supplies to customers with both business and non-business activities, such as charities, local authorities and government departments.

Does VAT MOSS still apply in the UK?

No. According to Notice 741A, the VAT MOSS service no longer applies in the UK for sales made after the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.

For developers and agents

Embed / API / MCP

Connect this base to Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT or your own app. Each API or MCP request costs €0.10, charged to your Kopik credit (not charged if nothing is found). You need an API key: create one from your dashboard.

MCP for your agents

This base's MCP server URL (tools ask_base and search_base):

MCP URL
https://kopik.io/api/mcp?base=uk-vat-guide-hmrc
Claude Code, Cursor and other clients
Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http kopik-uk-vat-guide-hmrc "https://kopik.io/api/mcp?base=uk-vat-guide-hmrc" --header "Authorization: Bearer kpk_…"
JSON config (mcpServers)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kopik-uk-vat-guide-hmrc": {
      "url": "https://kopik.io/api/mcp?base=uk-vat-guide-hmrc",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer kpk_…"
      }
    }
  }
}

REST API for your apps

mode is "answer" (written answer + sources) or "passages" (raw passages only). Add an optional maxPriceCents to cap the price: if the base costs more, the call is refused and nothing is charged.

curl
curl -X POST https://kopik.io/api/v1/bases/uk-vat-guide-hmrc/query \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer kpk_…" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"question": "Your question here", "mode": "answer"}'

Getting started

  1. Create a key in your dashboard and top up your credit.
  2. Replace kpk_… with your key.
  3. Full details (responses, errors, JS and Python examples): developer docs.