Buying a service in Ireland from outside the country - pay VAT or not?

bankrupt

Registered User
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Hello All,

I have not been resident in Ireland for quite a number of years. I want to pay an architect to write a report on a site in Ireland - do I pay VAT for this service or not?

Thanks!

B.
 
It's not up to you.

It's up to the architect. If he is in the EU , he must charge you VAT, as you are not registered for VAT. Of course, this assumes that he is registered for VAT, which most architects would be.

Brendan
 
Thanks Brendan,

I think I omitted important information - the Architect is based in Ireland and I am not resident in the EU, the property is in Ireland. I rang Revenue today and in fact they were not certain themselves so I have emailed them to get a final answer (it seems that because it is related to property in the State that slightly different rules apply.)
 
Professional services relating to property situated in the State (this btw includes accounts, tax & legal services relating to property rentals, sales & purchases) always are liable to VAT, assuming the service provider is VAT-registered, regardless of the location or residence status of the customer being invoiced.
 
Thanks TM,

I believe you are correct, because it's a property in the state VAT should be charged. If I had retained an Irish architect to design a house in another country then VAT would not apply it seems. I'll post an update in the unlikely event that Revenue come back with anything different.
 
Hi Joe, I did find that website alright and it left me somewhat befuddled so I rang Revenue who didn't help much with that condition :)

Anyway, I think that the key section in my case is the section 7 Property (immovable goods). Even though I am not in the EU the property is in Ireland and thus VAT is payable.

I am not registered for VAT, would there be any point in me doing so? The amounts of money involved are small but I don't think that registering for VAT would ever allow me to reclaim anything if I could be bothered to go to the effort of doing that?
 
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