Renovation quote comparison: design fees, VAT and exclusions

Which VAT questions belong beside a design quotation?

A quotation comparison should state whether the supplier is VAT registered, whether the quoted amount includes VAT and which supply each tax treatment describes. HMRC's charging guidance says only VAT-registered businesses can charge VAT. A non-registered supplier's fee without VAT is not the same as a zero-rated supply.

Quotation field	Information to request
Supplier	Legal name and VAT status
Design fee	Net amount and included deliverables
VAT	Rate, amount and whether already included
Gross total	Amount payable for the stated scope
Exclusions	Work, purchases and expenses outside that total

Ask for missing information in writing before comparing the totals. Do not add VAT a second time to a quotation that already includes it.

How do separately supplied design fees change the gross total?

Separately supplied professional design services normally remain standard-rated when supplied by a VAT-registered business, even where qualifying construction work has a reduced rate under VAT Notice 708. The table below uses chosen example prices, not market averages or quotations from named designers.

Example	Net or stated fee	VAT	Amount payable
Registered designer, net fee	GBP 5,000	GBP 1,000 at 20%	GBP 6,000
Non-registered designer, stated fee	GBP 5,000	Not charged	GBP 5,000
Registered designer, VAT-inclusive quote	GBP 5,000 net	GBP 1,000 already included	GBP 6,000

The examples illustrate tax presentation only. Different suppliers may offer different deliverables, insurance, experience or availability; equal net figures do not establish equivalent services.

Can a whole renovation quotation use the reduced rate?

A reduced-rate construction scenario does not automatically determine the rate for separately supplied professional services, furniture or other excluded items. Review the actual supplies and qualifying conditions rather than applying one percentage to the entire budget. A combined design-and-build contract needs its own analysis, which the simple examples here do not resolve.

For an arithmetic example only, GBP 40,000 of work confirmed as eligible at 5 percent gives GBP 42,000 including VAT. A separate GBP 5,000 design fee at 20 percent gives GBP 6,000, making GBP 48,000 in total. The example assumes eligibility has already been established; it does not determine whether a particular property or contract qualifies.

What scope differences can make quotations incomparable?

Quotations become difficult to compare when one includes construction drawings, tender queries, procurement or site attendance and another prices only a concept package. Record the number and purpose of deliverables, the revision allowance, expenses and the process for approving extra work before treating a cheaper total as a saving.

1. Put every quotation against the same written room list and brief.
2. Mark design, construction and goods as separate cost groups.
3. Record supplier VAT status and the treatment of each supply.
4. Ask for exclusions and variation charges in writing.
5. Compare the total amount payable for equivalent deliverables.

The design fees guide explains charging models and the CDM domestic-client guide explains a separate set of project duties. A quotation comparison does not replace appointing the required project roles.

Download the worksheet

The CSV worksheet contains the comparison rows from this page and can be opened in a spreadsheet. Save a dated copy with the source documents, replace illustrative inputs with the project figures, and keep the assumptions visible when sharing a calculation.