Vintro Pro
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Vintro Pro
NL · FR · EN
A type with high margins and therefore high amounts. All the more reason to have the buying side right.
Second-hand handbags fall under the margin scheme.
Second-hand handbags fall under the margin scheme. In Belgium and France, a full rebuild with new leather and new hardware sits against the renovated-goods line.
A carried bag is tangible movable property that can be used again. That clears the UK test in article 2 of the Value Added Tax (Special Provisions) Order 1995.
What sets this type apart are the amounts. At a margin of a thousand euros or more, every mistake in the calculation weighs heavily, and a missing proof of purchase weighs heavier still.
Buy from a private individual, at auction or from a colleague working under the margin, and there is no deductible VAT. That is exactly the situation the scheme exists for.
The age of the bag does not matter. A piece from 1985 and a bag from last season follow the same rule, as long as both are used and usable again.
Article 2 of the Value Added Tax (Special Provisions) Order 1995 defines second-hand goods as “tangible movable property that is suitable for further use as it is or after repair, other than motor cars, works of art, collectors’ items or antiques and other than precious metals and precious stones”. Article 12(2) opens the margin scheme to “works of art, antiques and collectors’ items” and “second-hand goods”.
That is the whole test, and it is a test about the goods, not about your trade. The power to charge VAT on the profit margin sits in section 50A of the VAT Act 1994, which also names motor vehicles separately. Article 12(3) of the 1995 Order adds the purchase side: you must have taken possession of the goods on a supply on which no VAT was chargeable, or on another margin-scheme sale. gov.uk (VAT margin schemes) puts it plainly: you cannot use a margin scheme for “any item you bought for which you were charged VAT”. Belgium, which follows the EU VAT Directive, keeps its own exclusion list: FPS Finance names new goods, precious metals, precious stones and pearls, renovated goods, goods consumed on first use and goods that cannot be used again in the same state, under article 58, § 4 of the Belgian VAT Code and Royal Decree no. 53 of 23 December 1994. The four-country panel below shows where that changes the answer.
The example is a vintage designer bag: bought for €900.00, sold for €1,750.00. Put your own figures in.
Sold at a loss: no margin on this item, so no VAT. In the UK you work item by item: the loss counts as zero and gives you nothing back.
The VAT is inside the margin, not on top of it. That is the mistake this calculator is built to prevent: 20% on this example’s margin of 850 is 170.00, while in the UK you owe one-sixth, 141.67 — the 16.67% gov.uk quotes. At Belgium’s 21%, the same mistake turns €147.52 into €178.50. How to do this across a whole return period — and why France calculates piece by piece by law — is set out in How do you calculate margin VAT?
In the UK the 1995 Order has no separate exclusion for renovated goods: restitching a bag, replacing a lining or cleaning the hardware is repair, and its cost stays out of the margin (gov.uk, VAT margin schemes). In Belgium renovated goods are excluded, and in France a bag whose new leather and hardware are worth more than the used bag plus the work becomes a new product.
New bags from end-of-line stock come with VAT on the invoice, and gov.uk excludes any item you bought for which you were charged VAT, even if the model is discontinued. In Belgium FPS Finance excludes new goods in their own right. Where that line runs is set out in Is an unused item second-hand goods?
In the UK, gov.uk excludes any item you bought for which you were charged VAT; it does not list new goods as such. In France, goods bought from a private individual fall under the margin even if never used (rescrit BOI-RES-TVA-000270, 19 August 2026). Only Belgium’s FPS Finance names new goods as excluded. End-of-line stock bought from a business that charges you VAT falls outside the scheme in all four countries — because of that VAT, not because it is new.
In the UK, whether handbags fall under the scheme is a matter of UK law: HMRC runs its own margin schemes under section 50A of the VAT Act 1994. Belgium, the Netherlands and France all follow the same EU VAT Directive (2006/112/EC). Each country interprets the rules itself; where that makes a difference for handbags, this page says so. The rate and the calculation method always differ.
Margin across the whole return period. Article 58, § 4 VAT Code and RD no. 53.
Item by item (Wet OB 1968, art. 28b). Per period only if the inspector designates you on request (Uitvoeringsbesluit OB 1968, art. 4c(1)(b)). An antique or collector’s item goes per period by default.
Legally piece by piece, but globalisation per period is allowed, with no prior election. CGI art. 297 A; BOFiP § 260.
HMRC’s own scheme, outside the EU. Below the registration threshold you pay nothing.
At these amounts that is the most expensive mistake on the list. Without a purchase invoice in your records — which you may make out yourself — and a stockbook entry, your margin cannot be demonstrated (gov.uk, VAT margin schemes).
On an €850 margin that is €178.50 instead of €147.52. At these amounts it adds up per bag.
The margin is selling price minus purchase price. Repair costs sit outside it.
Bought with VAT, it is outside the scheme in the UK; in Belgium FPS Finance excludes new goods outright, even if the model is no longer made.
This is an explanation, not tax advice. Whether the margin scheme is the right choice in your case, and how to enter it in your return, is a question for your accountant.
Yes. A carried bag is tangible movable property suitable for further use, which is the definition of second-hand goods in article 2 of the Value Added Tax (Special Provisions) Order 1995, and article 12(2) opens the margin scheme to it. Belgium uses the same definition.
In the UK, yes: the 1995 Order sets no renovation test, and the restoration costs stay out of the margin (gov.uk). In Belgium a bag rebuilt with new leather and new hardware lands on the renovated-goods exclusion, and France treats it as a new product.
Not if you bought it from a business that charged you VAT: gov.uk excludes any such item. In Belgium FPS Finance puts new goods on its exclusion list, even if the model is no longer produced.
In the UK, at 20%, the VAT is one-sixth of the margin: €850 ÷ 6 = €141.67 (in pounds the sum works the same way). In Belgium, at 21%, €147.52 (€850 × 21/121). Charge 21% on top of the margin and you would pay €178.50 — over €30 too much per bag.
The same question, a different kind of piece. The answer differs more often than you would expect.
Every piece gets its own purchase price, selling price and scheme. Vintro Pro keeps margin goods separate from the rest and works out your margin per return period.
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