During the course of your transaction, in some cases, we will send you a Completion Statement as well as an Invoice. For those of you who are not new to the firm, upon perusal, you will note that the format of our completion statements and invoices has changed, and now show VAT as chargeable on certain disbursements which were not previously subject to VAT. Recent guidance provided by the Law Society will affect the way all law firms charge VAT on their disbursements and so it is not an issue unique to us in any way – it is purely a result of recent developments; as well as Law Society and HMRC guidance issued in certain cases that have appeared at the First Tier Tax Tribunal and Court of Appeal.
What counts as disbursement?
Broadly speaking any payment made to a third party in connection with the matter we are dealing with for you is classed as a disbursement. The Solicitors Act 1974 refers to them as “costs payable in the discharge of a liability properly incurred by him on behalf of the party to be charged with the bill”.
HMRC require a specific set of criteria to be satisfied for a payment to be treated as a non-VATable disbursement.
What is the new position?
The rules on what is a “disbursement” have not changed but the interpretation of the rules has been narrowed following the recent cases. Recently, all law firms were issued with new guidance from the Law Society that seeks to provide some real clarity.
We have now been advised to take a very narrow view of what is classed as a “disbursement”. Anything that can be deemed as being part of the services provided to you is now classed as a VATable disbursement. This contrasts with a straightforward repayment of a third-party service supplied to the client.
Some key examples of changes which you may have noticed in our invoicing are as follows:-
- Land Registry official copy documents: The Land Registry does not charge VAT on its fees for providing copy title documentation. However, we will now be charging VAT when we pass on those fees as we review the documents to advise and report to you.
- Land Registry priority searches and land charges search: these searches are undertaken at the Land Registry on most transactions that will require a Land Registry application. The Land Registry does not charge VAT on its fees for providing these searches, but we will now be charging VAT when we pass on those;
- Other Property searches including Land Charges (LLC1): where official search results are provided by the Local Authority, the said Local Authority does not charge VAT on the Local Land Charge element of the search fee. We are now required to charge VAT when we pass on the costs of those elements where VAT is not chargeable.
How does this affect you?
If you are VAT registered and the services we provide to you are during the course of your business dealings, then, subject to your Accountant’s advice, you should be entitled to claim the VAT back through your VAT returns. Our invoices will detail those disbursements on which you have paid VAT and so it is simply a case of some paperwork and a cash-flow consideration.
If you are an individual not obtaining services in the course of business or are not VAT registered, unfortunately, the VAT will be an additional cost to you.
Rest assured, if the third-party provider already charges VAT on its fees already, then you will not see any change in the total costs of those disbursements. For example, most property searches are already subject to VAT by the search provider and in those cases, the total cost will remain the same, but our presentation of the information on your completion statement and invoice will be different.
George Ide LLP. We’re on your side
Contact our team
For further information about any of our services or to book a no-obligation consultation, call us on 01243 786668 or email directly at info@georgeide.co.uk.
Client Testimonials
For the sale and purchase of our properties we found the service we received throughout the conveyance to be exemplary. A clear, efficient and professional service from Nicholas Smith and his team.
I would look no further for any future property conveyance and as a result of this experience with George Ide I will consider them, first and foremost, for future legal matters.
Ian & Susan Archer
Nicholas Smith
You have been a pleasure to deal with and have been so competent, patient, organised and professional. I still cannot believe how stress-free the whole procedure was with you. In stark contrast, I completed today on my house in N Ireland after five (!) months of legal wrangling. I am delighted with the house and, although still surrounded by packing boxes, am making progress. Once again. Thank you for all you did. Kind regards,
Elaine Young
Nicholas Smith
Maddie was always calm, efficient and prompt in her responses, for which I am very grateful.
Mrs Marilyn Young
Maddie Carty
We just wanted to take the time as well to say a personal thanks to the pair of you for your excellent service and support during our move. We had used you before but, like many people, we were tempted to go this time with one of the low cost on line conveyancing quotes we received. Had we done so we are now sure we would have regretted it as we feel that the exemplary service we got from yourselves was true value for money. In particular, towards the end of the process when we had to deal with a very demanding buyer for our house we felt very well supported by you not just in the technical elements of your service but also in the responsiveness and personal support we received. We have heard numerous stories from friends and colleagues of how they have struggled with conveyancing services during property transactions and have enjoyed telling people what a positive experience we had with George Ide.
Jeremy & Nicky Mills
Nicholas Smith
Thank you so much Nicholas for the brilliant service you have given is throughout the selling and buying of our properties. You, and Maddie, have been exceptional.
Mr and Mrs Holder
Nicholas Smith
Many thanks again for your work and support on the sale of my flat in Putney – as per my previous experiences on sale/purchasing properties with your help, you give conveyancing lawyers a good name! Very efficient, prompt and pragmatic plus you know what to advise/caution me on without overdoing it. After the dust has settled I will be looking for an investment property to buy so no doubt will be back in touch in due course. Enjoy the rest of the summer and thanks again.
Katherine Marshall
Nicholas Smith
The speed from offer to completion surprised everyone we spoke to and more than met our deadline to beat the June Stamp Duty deadline. Well done, absolutely delighted.
John Middleditch
Nicholas Smith
Splendid service from Maddie, who was always happy to explain any questions we had, replying promptly and in plain English! She also proactively made sure at several stages in the process, that in light of her most recent clarifications, we were still happy to proceed.
Alan Diverall & Tracey Kent
Maddie Carty
It is hard to improve on an existing, excellent service and I have no suggestions to make. I will definitely recommend you and would use your services again.
Mr. Philip Oliver
Nicholas Smith
Nick was at the very top of his game (again). If there is a better lawyer out there, I’ve yet to meet him. A giant amongst men. Respect.
Pete Cunningham
Nicholas Smith
We want to say a very big thank you to both of you for all your help in our house moves. We have been very impressed with your highly efficient, no fuss approach to the conveyancing. It has made the whole process so much easier for us and we would have no hesitation recommending your services to others.
Best wishes and thank you once again.
Tony &Joanne Heys
Nicholas Smith
Maddie was incredibly helpful throughout the whole process.
Easily contactable and very reassuring. Carol and the team at George Ide
were very efficient in delivering documents and always cordial. Absolute
pleasure to work with. Anon.
Maddie Carty
Contact Our Friendly Legal Experts Today
For general enquiries or to discuss more specific needs in personal or commercial law please get in touch with a friendly member of our team today.
Latest News
19th January 2026
Mediation: it pays to talk
7th October 2025
What Is Vicarious Liability? 2025 Update
21st May 2025
How to Contest a Will: Everything You Need to Know
29th April 2025
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – Are you ready for MTD?
14th March 2025
