Expert VAT Services is a specialist consultancy practice providing technical advice, support and assistance to businesses, charities, accountancy firms and individuals regarding VAT-related matters, issues and queries (including in relation to land/property; charity VAT; VAT risk areas; VAT liability of income streams; VAT recovery on costs; international supplies; partial exemption; HMRC enquiries; VAT grouping; Import VAT; and most other areas of VAT).

Wholly operated by VAT Specialist Iain Johnston MSc FCCA - who has over twenty years of experience of working with VAT and is pictured above delivering a VAT presentation to charity finance delegates in 2019 - we serve clients across all parts of the UK and, fully appreciative of the difficulties and complexities that VAT can cause for non-specialists, businesses and charities, our ethos is that there is no job, question or VAT query too small for us to help with.

Iain founded the practice in 2020 after seventeen years working within accountancy firms where he developed detailed technical VAT knowledge and experience covering practically all technical areas of VAT, advising an extensive range of charities and businesses across many sectors including manufacturing; energy; property; medical/welfare; education; sports clubs; retail & e-commerce; consultants; charity/not-for-profit; auctioneers; construction; and many others. Iain's experience includes ten years as the sole technical VAT Specialist of an eight-director, 50+ staff member large accountancy practice and his first professional experience with VAT was in 2004. He has continuously worked with VAT since then and he is passionate about assisting clients with VAT-related matters. We aim to provide clear, comprehensive and understandable VAT advice to clients, both large and small, with keen attention to detail.  

The UK VAT legislation is notoriously complex (with frequent changes/new interpretations, including through Tax Tribunal / Court caselaw) and a misinterpretation, misunderstanding, missing a small factor, or getting the VAT treatment "wrong" can simply be catastrophic. Iain has an extensive, detailed working knowledge of the intricacies of the VAT legislation and particular VAT risk areas and VAT savings opportunities, and a knowledge/library of caselaw including from the First Tier and Upper Tribunals. He has experience negotiating with HMRC in respect of VAT enquiries/assessments and has a number of notable successful cases where HMRC assessments have been reduced by substantial amounts. 

Iain has also prepared and presented VAT training sessions and VAT public speaking engagements to accountants, finance staff, charity delegates and non-specialists over a number of years and can offer VAT training. He is a qualified ACCA Chartered Certified Accountant and also holds an MSc Masters Degree in Professional Accountancy from the University of London, in which he chose a key underlying project to be in relation to the simplification of the UK VAT system. 

Whether you have a one-off enquiry regarding a single transaction or property; a larger scale project/review; a dispute with HMRC; or anything else in the world of VAT, please do not hesitate to get in touch and we would be delighted to determine if we can be of assistance. For the vast majority of queries, we can usually agree upon a fixed fee with you in advance of resolving the issue (based upon a competitive hourly rate), and we would be pleased to provide a no obligation quote. We are genuinely passionate about helping clients resolve their VAT issues and providing clarity in this difficult area. 

While highly experienced in face-to-face meetings and site visits, in the majority of cases issues can be resolved via telephone, e-mail, or video call (Teams/Zoom), with no requirement for a physical meeting, and there is genuinely no query considered too small. Iain regularly advises many clients throughout England, Scotland and Wales remotely (and is well-travelled throughout the UK) and can serve clients across all parts of the UK; our clients are widely distributed. For all VAT queries and reviews, we aim to provide clear and sufficiently detailed written/e-mailed advice for your retention, reliance and assurance. This can also be discussed with you in detail to answer any question you may have and to ensure full understanding, given the difficulties and uncertainties often arising from VAT.