Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > IT Contractor's - VAT registered?

[Ian Harris]

If you are VAT registered, and register the bike in the company's name you can offset the VAT no problems, but there seems to be some varying opinions on what happens when you sell the bike.

My bloke said that the VAT on the sale price of the bike had to be paid back when the company disposes of the bike, so you only save the difference between the price you buy the bike at and the price you sell it for.
However, The other advantage is that you also save VAT on all servicing costs , and the servicing comes from your gross not net income, the downside is the taxable benefit of the bike is much higher than it was 10 years ago (when it was a bit like a van, almost a "freebie"). You have to declare how much the servicing is costing you... Its like everything, it tends to be a bit of a "swings and roundabouts" thing. The bike also has to be registered in the company name, which can have insurance implications (most ask "is the bike registered in your name") I got around this by having the dealer register the bike with my name in front of the company name.

It seemed to save me a lot of money when I first bought a bike in the company name, but by the time it was 5 years old, I was begining to wonder. Best thing to do is ask your accountant to look at the implications in your exact circumstances (or, if you're brave enough to do your own accounts, best wait until someone who knows more about it than me replies!)