Registration and deregistration

The VAT registration and deregistration thresholds will stay at their current levels of £85,000 and £83,000, respectively, until 31 March 2026, as announced in the Autumn Statement.

Services directly supervised by pharmacists

The VAT exemption for healthcare will be extended to services carried out by staff who are directly supervised by registered pharmacists in the UK, with effect from 1 May 2023.

Medicines dispensed on prescription

Zero-rate VAT will be extended to prescriptions for medicines supplied through Patient Group Directions from autumn 2023.

Deposit return schemes

Simplifications will be made to the VAT treatment of deposits charged under a drink container deposit return scheme. From 1 August 2023, in effect, businesses will not have to account for VAT on the value of the deposit on drink sales at each stage in the supply chain. Instead, the manufacturer or importer who first sells the product in the UK will have to account for VAT on the value of the deposit for containers that have not been returned in exchange for a deposit refund. If the container is not returned, HMRC will collect the VAT on the unredeemed deposit.

Late payment interest and penalties, and repayment interest rules

Technical changes are being made to ensure interest is charged on late payments of VAT and that penalties are applied as intended. In particular, businesses that use annual accounting will not be charged late payment interest or penalties on instalments that they pay late, but only on any balancing payment they fail to pay on time.

DIY housebuilders' scheme

The VAT DIY housebuilders’ scheme will be digitised and the time limit for making claims will rise from three to six months.