5.5% or 19.6% ?

[Iceni]

And of course the clients of 3bc have to complete the form certifying that the house has been a house for over 2 years etc etc thus appearing to absolve 3bc from any blame if the incorrect rate of TVA has been applied. Though I don't know anyone who has been the subject of a TVA investigation to know whether these forms are a good shield.

When we ran our biz back in Essex we always charged VAT according to the rules - not prepared to risk the wrath of the Customs Gestapo to save a customer a few quid. But that's another country and another story.

John

 

 

[Val_2]

John, several builders here in Brittany were subjected to an inspection by the TVA inspectors and all had to stump up thousands of euros that were deemed to be owing because the work they did in real terms represented a complete new property at the end of the day. Luckily,it was only a minority and most artisans are on the level or if not sure like us,we get it in writing from the TVA people as to the correct rate to charge. At least now the onus is on the client to pay the difference and not the artisan any more.

[TroisChatNoir]

As a Restorative Stonemason the "built in the last two years" rule

doesn't apply to me, the buildings I work on are mainly all pre war but it appears that TVA is still a moot point, along with every Devis is a copy of an attestation that the client signs to say the building is an Old building and the work is to repair & restore existing structures, anything new or an alteration to the original structure is subcontracted out to other artisans, all the other work is open to debate, an example is a job I've just completed which was to rebuild a collapsed portion of a building including the missing window, door & part of the roof and then repoint the whole, I used the existing stone which was lying around the place, repaired the door & window Jambs/Lintels with some reclaimed Oak from the barns, had a new Oak door made & put in new double glazed windows along with new petite tiles on the new roof timbers, the house is a bit like the tale of the fishermans knife which has had ten blades & 1 handle but it's basically still the same knife cos some of it is original and we are restoring it back to its original glory. the same supplier/client rule applies as per my original post therefore materials I supply can carry a surcharge but only 5.5% is charged to the client TTC on any invoice. If I subcontract myself to another Artisan I charge them 19.6% they claim it back on their TVA return but charge the client 5.5% TTC for my services otherwise TVA is being charged twice, as far as I am aware that is not strictly legal ....

my rates are the same as local French artisans and the amount of profit or choice of materials made is usually the difference between winning and losing a contract if it comes down to price! in my experience winning usually comes down to reputation from previous clients ...

[BJSLIV]

If you are getting involved in rebuilding walls then client must sign the full version of the certificate. Whether the work qualifies for 5.5 will then depend on the exact nature  and the percentage of the existing structure which is affected.

http://www.pro-habitat.com/pdf/attestationnormale.pdf

As for your subcontract work the normal rules of VAT apply. You charge the full rate to the main contractor who will reclaim all of the tax you have charged.

 

[TroisChatNoir]

you are correct on all counts BJSLIV this form was supplied to me by my accountant 2 yrs ago. 

my advice to anyone is to use qualified tradesmen with a good accountant then there should be no worries