COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course offers a detailed insight into VAT as it applies to the education sector. Participants will gain an understanding of how educational institutions should approach VAT, and the specific pitfalls that can sometimes affect organisations within the sector.
BACKGROUND: VAT is not just an additional cost for universities and colleges. The emphasis on maximising revenue, often involving joint ventures or limited companies, means it is all too easy to be caught out not charging VAT on a supply that does not qualify for exemption. Even within the main educational activity, there are opportunities for recovering input VAT and various tribunal decisions have shown that the scope for applying the partial exemption rules is often not understood. The course does not cover the ordinary rules, for these see VAT in Detail - Parts 1 and 2.
COURSE CONTENT
The Exemption for Education - What it Covers and What it Doesn't
- The importance of 'business' and 'non-business' for VAT purposes
- Eligible bodies
- Vocational training
- Distance learning and 'e-learning'
- Research and consultancy
- English as a foreign language
What Might Not be Exempt
- Supplies to other educational institutions
- Grants or sponsorship?
- Catering
Land and Property Issues
- Zero rates for new construction and 'approved alterations'
- Conferences and conference facilities
- Licences to occupy land
- Vacation lets
Partial Exemption
- Direct attribution
- Standard and special methods
- Recovery of VAT on overheads
Input Tax and Records
- The zero rating for advertising, and equipment bought with donated funds
- The reduced rate for heating and fuel
- Acquisition VAT and the reverse charge
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This course is designed for those in the further and higher education sectors who need to ensure VAT compliance within their institutions.
"Really good use of practical examples and pitched at level all could understand and engage with."
Would you like this course run in-house? Call us on 0207 566 8207 to find out more