UK tribunal rules public EV charging should carry 5% VAT rate instead of 20%
By Eve
A First-tier Tribunal ruled last month that public EV charging should be taxed at the domestic 5% VAT rate rather than the 20% rate currently applied by HMRC, following a case brought by community operator Charge my Street with advice from Deloitte. The ruling hinges on existing VAT law stating that provision of less than 1,000 kWh per month to a person at any premises counts as domestic supply, a threshold impractical for EV drivers to exceed. HMRC is considering the decision and potential next steps, including a possible appeal.
Why it matters
The ruling could materially improve the economics for UK charge point operators, many of whom currently operate at a loss, by reducing the VAT burden on public charging sessions. If upheld, the 15 percentage point VAT reduction would flow through to either improved operator margins or lower consumer pricing, potentially accelerating infrastructure deployment.
Source
- Source
- https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/tribunal-vat-ruling-could-help-loss-making-ev-charging-industry
- Original title
- “Tribunal VAT ruling could help ‘loss-making’ EV charging industry”
- Published
- 17 March 2026 (date approximate)
- Updated
- 22 September 2026
- Also covered by
- Google News
In this story
- Topic
- EV Charging
- Place
- United Kingdom
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