Is VAT charged on auction sales?
If your business is VAT registered, VAT is charged on the hammer price and accounted for in the sale statement. The buyer's premium carries VAT in all cases. Buyers who are registered reclaim it in the normal way, so it does not usually affect what they are willing to bid.
Related questions
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- How a commercial asset auction works
A stage by stage account of an online timed auction for business assets. It covers the asset schedule, cataloguing, viewing days, how bidding closes, buyer's premium and VAT, collection and how you get paid.
- Auction or private treaty: which route to choose
Auction gives you a fixed date and an open market. Private treaty gives you a negotiated price and privacy. This guide sets out when each route suits, what you give up with each, and why many sales use both.
- Preparing machinery and equipment for sale
What to do in the days before viewing so machines fetch what they should. Isolate and make safe, clean but do not repaint, find the tooling and manuals, sort out access, and avoid the mistakes that cost sellers money.
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