VAT Treatment of Serviced Accommodation: A Complex Case with Significant Implications

The First Tier Tax Tribunal (FTT) decision in Realreed Ltd vs HMRC concluded that VAT exemption didn’t apply to income from a London apartment block.
Realreed Ltd owned a block of flats, with some let on VAT exempt long leases and others providing additional services.
HMRC disagreed with Realreed’s treatment of supplies as VAT exempt and assessed them for under-declared VAT.
Realreed argued that their supplies were different from hotels and should qualify for VAT exemption, but HMRC emphasized the similarity of services and marketing.
The FTT dismissed Realreed’s appeal and concluded that the Apartments were similar to a hotel in terms of providing furnished sleeping accommodation for visitors or travelers.

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.