Double Glazing: VAT

(asked on 14th April 2022) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason double glazing is not part of the package of energy improvements subject to zero VAT announced in his Spring Statement.


Answered by
Lucy Frazer Portrait
Lucy Frazer
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This question was answered on 26th April 2022

The Chancellor announced at Spring Statement 2022 that the VAT relief for the installation of energy saving materials (ESMs) will be expanded in Great Britain.

From 1 April 2022, complex eligibility conditions to access the relief have been removed and wind and water turbines have been reinstated as qualifying materials. Qualifying installations will also now benefit from a VAT zero-rate until April 2027. Overall, this represents an additional £280 million of support for investment in ESMs over the next 5 years.

However, the VAT relief for ESMs was not extended to double glazing. While double glazing does have energy saving properties, it is already a popular means to improve the energy efficiency of one’s home. The English Housing Survey suggests that more than 85 per cent of properties in England are already fully double glazed: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445440/EHS_Energy_efficiency_of_English_housing_2013.pdf.

As such, providing tax relief as an additional incentive to install double glazing in one’s home would represent poor value for money.

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