For brokers

After Completion: Keeping the Client's VAT Reclaim on Track

PropertyVAT Team · Updated 21 October 2026 · 3 min read

Most brokers treat drawdown as the end of a VAT case. It is the end of the funding, not the end of the risk.

The facility is repaid from an HMRC refund. If the client does not do three things properly, the exit does not arrive — and you hear about it from both sides.

What the exit actually depends on

None of these is yours. All of them determine whether the facility you placed repays on time.

Completion day: the VAT invoice

This is the highest-value thing you can flag, and it takes one sentence.

The seller's VAT invoice is the primary evidence for the reclaim. A completion statement is not a substitute. On the day, the seller's solicitor is engaged and responsive; six weeks later the file is closed and the request becomes a chase.

Say it before completion: "Make sure your solicitor obtains the seller's VAT invoice on the day — not the completion statement, the actual VAT invoice."

Clients who have done this before will nod. Clients who have not will thank you in a month.

Quarter end: the filing

The reclaim is made on the return for the period in which completion fell. Two things go wrong.

The return sits unfiled. The client completed shortly before quarter end — the good scenario — and then nobody files for three weeks. The timing advantage evaporates.

The evidence pack is assembled reactively. HMRC asks, and the client starts gathering documents they could have had ready.

A short message at quarter end is enough: "Is the return going in this week, and is the evidence pack together?"

If HMRC verifies

Common on a large first claim from a new SPV, and not a sign of a problem.

The timeline then depends almost entirely on how fast the client responds. A complete reply by return resolves matters in weeks; a partial reply in instalments can add months.

The pack should be: the seller's VAT invoice, the completion statement, the VAT registration certificate, the option to tax and acknowledgement, and a short statement of intended use.

Tell the lender early

This is the part that protects your relationship with the lender.

If the refund is going to be late — an enquiry opened, an invoice still outstanding, a return not yet filed — say so three weeks before expiry, not three days.

Lenders extend routinely for borrowers who flag problems early. They are far less accommodating about a redemption date that passes with no warning. And the broker who gave them notice is the one whose next case gets a quicker answer.

A simple follow-up rhythm

Four touchpoints, each a single message:

1. Before completion — remind about the VAT invoice
2. A week after completion — confirm the invoice was obtained
3. At quarter end — confirm the return is being filed, pack ready
4. Four weeks after filing — confirm the refund has arrived, or flag the delay to the lender

Fifteen minutes across three months. It protects the facility, the client and your standing with the lender.

Why it is worth your time

You are not being paid for this. You are protecting three things:

• The client, who completes, recovers, and remembers who made it painless
• The lender, who gets redeemed on time and takes your next call
• Your pipeline, because VAT-affected buyers are repeat buyers

The brokers who get the most VAT business are not the ones with the best rates. They are the ones whose cases redeem cleanly.

This guide is general information, not tax or financial advice. Clients should take their own VAT advice and instruct their own accountant.