Car or van for VAT purposes?
VAT registered businesses can generally reclaim the VAT when they purchase a commercial vehicle. It’s normally easy to tell the difference between a car and commercial vehicle such as a lorry or tractor. There is a group of vehicles however where it is harder to establish whether they are a car or a commercial vehicle - the car-derived van or combi van.
Car-derived vans are based on cars and look similar from the outside, but the manufacturer or convertor has usually removed the rear side windows, taken out the rear seats and adapted the floor so it can be used as a commercial vehicle.
Combination vans (or combi vans for short) usually don’t have windows on the side of the vehicle behind the driver and passenger, but will have additional seats fitted behind the front row for carrying passengers.
HMRC have published a list of specific models of combi vans on their website with their VAT treatment, which can be found at the link below.
If you are unsure of the VAT treatment of any vehicle that does not appear on this list, please contact us and we will be happy to advise you.