COS Archives - Berthold Bauer Consultants

HMRC update of COS Heading 65 – Training, tuition or education

by Berthold Bauer on October 7, 2022

On October 4^th 2022, HMRC published a full rewrite to clarify the extent of COS Heading 65 – Training, tuition or education, which can be found here.

COS headings update

by Berthold Bauer on March 1, 2021

HMRC have recently published updated guidance for some Contracted Out Service headings. Most of the changes are either minor clarifications or amendments to the heading titles. The current published guidance for all Contracted Out Services can be accessed here.

New Contracted-Out-Services Headings

by Berthold Bauer on November 5, 2020

Whilst we eagerly await the outcome of the HM Treasury’s ‘VAT and the Public Sector: Reform to VAT Refund Rules’ paper and consultation, (in which a full-VAT refund model is to be explored) a new Treasury Directive has been released expanding the current Contracted-Out-Services (COS) direction

VAT and the Public Sector: Reform to VAT Refund Rules

by Berthold Bauer on September 1, 2020

For a number of years HM Treasury have been considering potential reforms to the Contracted-Out-Services – numbered 1 through to 76 – which you will be familiar with from our reports. As a quick recap these rules [Section 41 VATA94] are the mechanism with which NHS and Government Departments (GD) reclaims VAT on certain outsourced services.

VAT on NHS Salary Sacrifice Lease Cars: Court of Appeal rule in favour of the NHS

by Berthold Bauer on July 14, 2020

Another bit of good news for the NHS – the Court of Appeal has recently supported the Upper Tribunal’s previous decision that lease cars provided under a salary sacrifice are not a supply for VAT purposes (as a result of the ‘de-supply’ order – “Value Added Tax (Treatment of Transactions) Order 1992 SI 1992/630”).

NHS COS deadline extension

by Berthold Bauer on April 7, 2020

HMRC have written to us today to confirm that the NHS will be granted an extension to VAT recovery for VAT incurred in the 2019-20 financial year.

Lease Car VAT Refund Opportunity

by Berthold Bauer on June 24, 2019

As a result of the recent decision of the Upper Tribunal in the case of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, there is an opportunity for any NHS bodies that were accounting for VAT by using the 50% input tax block, to reclaim this ‘blocked’ input tax.

Updates to HMRC Guidance: COS 14 & COS 71

by Berthold Bauer on June 21, 2017

Whilst there does not appear to have been an official announcement by them, HMRC have helpfully updated the guidance on COS Heading 14 Computer Services and COS Heading 71 Welfare Services on the online manual late last week. Whilst Heading 71 hasn’t provided much in the way of difficulties over the years, Heading 14 has certainly been an area of uncertainty for many.

HFMA VAT Technical Sub-Committee Minutes

by Berthold Bauer on April 7, 2017

At a recent HFMA VAT Technical Sub-committee meeting, the issue of whether or not VAT can be claimed on an invoice that was previously unpaid for a period greater than six months was discussed.