VAT Refund for Doctors – A rare win

A significant VAT development for organisations using or supplying locum doctors

A recent tribunal decision, followed by HMRC accepting that it will revise its policy, has created a genuine opportunity for some organisations to revisit the VAT treatment of locum doctor supplies. For the right fact patterns, this may support historic refund claims. But this is not a blanket refund exercise, and the detail matters.

This issue can affect medical recruitment agencies, NHS bodies, private hospitals, clinics and other healthcare organisations that have either charged VAT on supplies of locum doctors or borne irrecoverable VAT on those supplies.