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Only for works of art, antiques over a hundred years old and collectors' items. And only if you are VAT-registered and have told HMRC you opt in. Not registered? Then you don't need the margin scheme at all.
Which rules? This page follows UK law: HMRC, the VAT Act 1994 and the margin scheme order. Do you trade in Belgium, the Netherlands or France? Pick that country below.
Are you an EU dealer buying in the UK instead? Read Buying pieces in the UK after Brexit.
Your EU supplier's invoice shows no VAT. That is not what decides your resale: you pay VAT on import.
You run a dealership in the UK, perhaps as a sole trader, and you buy a piece from a dealer in Belgium, the Netherlands or France. Because the piece leaves the EU, the dealer invoices without VAT. So can you sell it on under the margin scheme, as you would with stock bought from a private seller?
The answer turns on two things: what kind of piece it is, and whether you are VAT-registered.
There are three moments, each with its own rules.
From their shop to your customer
The EU dealer sells
0% VAT Exports out of the EU are exempt, provided the dealer can prove the goods left.You import
20% or 5% UK import VAT on the value plus transport.You sell on
margin, full or none Depends on the kind of piece and your registration.The supplier's 0% decides nothing about your resale. The import does.
Their side. In the EU, a supply that leaves the Union is exempt, margin goods included: export comes before the margin scheme (Directive 2006/112, article 146). That is your supplier's paperwork, not yours. More on that side here.
Your side. On this page you are the importer: you pay UK import VAT at the border or through your courier. And that is where the answer lies. Under UK law, a dealer may only use the margin scheme on goods he imported himself if they are works of art, antiques or collectors' items.
That distinction decides everything. A 1960s chair is vintage, but for UK VAT it is an ordinary second-hand good. An antique only counts as one when it is more than one hundred years old.
Make sure you can prove the age: a purchase invoice, an expert's report or a certificate of age with the shipment. Without proof, it is 20%.
You buy a piece from an EU dealer for £1,000, without VAT. You sell it in your shop for £1,600 to a private customer. We leave out transport and duty to keep the sum small.
| Situation | Import VAT | Reclaimed? | VAT on sale | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antique, registered, margin scheme | £50 | no | £91.67 | £458.33 |
| Antique, registered, normal VAT | £50 | yes | £266.67 | £333.33 |
| Antique, not registered | £50 | no | £0 | £550.00 |
| Vintage, registered | £200 | yes | £266.67 | £333.33 |
| Vintage, not registered | £200 | no | £0 | £400.00 |
The margin scheme sum. Your purchase price is £1,000 plus £50 import VAT: £1,050. The margin is £1,600 minus £1,050: £550. It includes 20% VAT, so 1/6 of the margin: £91.67.
Normal VAT. You reclaim the £50, but pay 1/6 of the full £1,600: £266.67. On an antique the margin scheme saves you £125 here.
Not registered? Then import VAT is simply a cost and you charge nothing on resale. You keep £550 on the antique and £400 on the vintage piece.
In pounds, under UK rules. It starts with the example above.
| UK import VAT | £0.00 |
| Of which you reclaim | £0.00 |
| VAT on your sale | £0.00 |
The calculator leaves out customs duty. If your commodity code carries duty, it is added to the value on which import VAT is charged. This is a guide, not a return.
Then it is simple. A UK business only has to register once its taxable turnover over the past twelve months goes above £90,000. Below that you charge no VAT, so the margin scheme plays no part.
You still pay the import VAT, and you cannot reclaim it: only a registered business can treat import VAT as input tax. So you price it in, like the transport.
Not registered: 5% or 20% at the border, and never any VAT on that piece again.
Once you pass £90,000 you must register. From then on, the rest of this page applies.
For goods you import yourself, the margin scheme is an option, not automatic. You have to tell HMRC in writing.
If you don't notify, you sell your imported antiques under normal VAT: import VAT reclaimed, VAT on the full price.
Then the answer is different. The UK is the only one of the four countries where a dealer can still sell an antique he imported himself under the margin scheme. In the EU, a reduced rate on import shuts the margin scheme, and antiques are always imported at a reduced rate there.
imported at 6%, reclaimable; resold at 6% on the full price
imported at 9%; resold under normal VAT
imported at 5.5%; imported goods never on the margin
net 5% on import; that 5% goes into the purchase price
That is the rest of this page: margin allowed for works of art, antiques over a hundred years old and collectors' items, once you have notified HMRC in writing. The 5% import VAT goes into the purchase price. For the UK scheme itself, read the UK margin scheme.
Since 31 December 2025, a Belgian dealer can no longer use the margin scheme on a piece imported at a reduced rate. Antiques, art and collectors' items are imported at 6%, so the margin is closed for them. The dealer reclaims the 6% and sells on at 6% of the full price.
The same piece in euros: imported at €1,000, so €60 import VAT, reclaimed. Sold for €1,600, of which 6/106 is VAT: €90.57. That leaves €509.43. A vintage piece is imported at 21% and sold at 21%: that leaves €322.31.
Law of 19 December 2025 (Belgian Official Gazette, 31 December 2025), circular 2026/C/14; table A, heading XXI of Royal Decree no. 20.
Since 1 January 2025, a Dutch dealer can only opt for the margin on pieces he imported himself if the reduced rate did not apply on import. Works of art, collectors' items and antiques are imported at 9%. So the margin is closed: he sells under normal VAT and reclaims the import VAT.
Wet OB 1968, art. 28c(1), and table I, part a, item 29a (wetten.overheid.nl, version in force from 1 January 2026).
The option for self-imported art and antiques (article 297 B CGI) has not existed since 1 January 2025. BOFiP puts it plainly: goods that were imported can never be sold under the margin scheme. Works of art, collectors' items and antiques are imported at 5.5%.
BOI-TVA-SECT-90-20-20-20250514, § 90 and § 370; BOI-TVA-SECT-90-40-20250514, § 20.
"The invoice had no VAT, so it can go on the margin"The supplier's 0% is an export exemption. What counts for you is the import, and there you do pay VAT.
Treating vintage as antiqueA 1960s piece is not an antique. Under a hundred years it is 20% on import, and no margin.
Using the margin without notifyingFor antiques you import yourself, you must opt in with HMRC in writing first.
Reclaiming the 5% and using the margin as wellIt is one or the other. On the margin scheme the import VAT sits in the purchase price and you don't get it back.
Only if the piece is a work of art, an antique over a hundred years old or a collectors' item, you are VAT-registered and you have opted in writing with HMRC to use the margin scheme on imported goods. For ordinary second-hand goods you cannot.
You pay import VAT, you cannot reclaim it, and you charge no VAT when you sell. You don't need the margin scheme. Registration only becomes compulsory above £90,000 turnover over twelve months.
A net 5%. For works of art, antiques over a hundred years old and collectors' items, only 25% of the value counts on import, at the 20% rate. For ordinary second-hand goods it is 20% of the full value plus transport.
No. An export goes out without VAT whether or not the dealer bought it on the margin. What you can do afterwards depends on the UK import, not on their scheme.
No. In Belgium, the Netherlands and France an imported antique can no longer go on the margin scheme, because antiques are imported there at a reduced rate and that rate now excludes the margin.
Sources — UK: VAT Act 1994, section 21(2), (4) and (5) and section 24(1)(c); The Value Added Tax (Special Provisions) Order 1995 (SI 1995/1268), art. 2 and art. 12(3)(b), (4), (5) and (8); HMRC VATMARG07000; gov.uk, Check if you can use a VAT margin scheme if you import from, or export to, countries outside the UK; gov.uk, £90,000 registration threshold. Belgium: VAT Code art. 58 §4, 4°; law of 19 December 2025; circular 2026/C/14. Netherlands: Wet OB 1968, art. 28c and table I, item 29a. France: BOI-TVA-SECT-90-20-20-20250514 and BOI-TVA-SECT-90-40-20250514. EU: Directive 2006/112, art. 146. Checked on 30 October 2026 at legislation.gov.uk, gov.uk, wetten.overheid.nl and BOFiP. This is an explanation, not tax advice.
Vintro Pro tracks purchase price, selling price and margin per piece, imports included. Ready for your accountant.