UK clarifies VAT and levy treatment of public EV charging

Official brief states the intended treatment

Revenue and Customs Brief 13 (2026) follows the First-tier Tribunal's Charge My Street decision. HMRC says electricity supplied through a publicly accessible charge point, or one accessible to employees and contractors at work, is not for domestic use. It says those supplies are standard-rated unless supplied to a charity for non-business use and that the treatment applies from 1 November 2026.^[1][2]

Domestic relief is disapplied by access

The companion policy note says the measure is intended to prevent public and workplace charging from receiving domestic-electricity VAT relief or the domestic-use Climate Change Levy exclusion. The draft defines the supply by access to the public, a section of the public, or employees or contractors at their workplace. It would disapply the VAT de minimis treatment for these supplies and make the equivalent levy change. Qualifying domestic electricity remains subject to the separate Great Britain and Northern Ireland rates.^[2][3][5]

Draft clauses identify the legislative route

The draft would add Note 6A to Group 1 of Schedule 7A to the Value Added Tax Act 1994, add Note 5A to Group 24 inserted by article 3(3) of the Value Added Tax (Supplies of Domestic Electricity) Order 2026, SI 2026/987, and insert paragraph 9A into Schedule 6 to the Finance Act 2000. Those are the affected provisions shown by HMRC; no final Finance Act section or further amending instrument was verified.^[3][4]

Check access and supply arrangements

Charge-point operators, electricity suppliers and VAT and levy teams should review who can access each charger, the supply contract, metering and invoices. The draft excludes points accessible only to residents of a particular residential building; charging within a household's general electricity supply may continue to qualify, and charity non-business rules remain separate. HMRC's brief says the government has legislated, but the Budget, policy note and published clauses describe future or draft legislation. Confirm final enacted wording before treating the 1 November date as legally settled. No new return or payment deadline is identified.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}