Do You Pay VAT on a Home Lift? Who Gets 0% and How to Claim (2026)

VAT relief · HMRC Notice 701/7 · 9 lift makers checked · 1 October 2026

Three of the nine home lift makers we checked explain VAT relief to home lift buyers on their own websites, and all three tell over-60s about a 5% VAT rate. HMRC’s 5% list does not include home lifts. Here is who really pays 0%, who pays 20%, and how to claim before you sign.

Who gets 0% VAT on a home lift

HMRC zero-rates the installation of a lift supplied to a disabled person when the lift is “designed to help that person move between different floors of their private residence” (Notice 701/7, section 6.5). Three conditions have to hold.

1. The person is “chronically sick or disabled”

HMRC defines this as someone with “a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out everyday activities”, or a “condition which the medical profession treats as a chronic sickness, such as diabetes” (section 3.2.1).

The same section rules two groups out: “an elderly person who is not disabled or chronically sick” and “any person who’s only temporarily disabled or incapacitated, such as with a broken limb”.

You do not need paperwork from a council or the DWP. HMRC says the reliefs “are not means-tested”, do not depend on benefits, and “a person does not have to be registered disabled in order to qualify”.

2. The lift goes into their private residence

HMRC’s meaning of private residence is where the person lives. It cannot be a communal residence such as a nursing home, and it “does not have to be the sole or permanent residence” (section 6.3.2). Separate rules zero-rate lifts that charities install in day centres and in buildings where they house disabled people.

3. They give the supplier a written declaration

The supplier is responsible for checking you qualify, so it will ask for a signed eligibility declaration. HMRC publishes a suggested declaration form. Most lift companies supply their own version.

Rates as set out in HMRC’s Notice 701/7 and building work guidance, read 1 October 2026.

Over 60? Why the 5% rate does not cover a home lift

There is a second, separate relief: a 5% reduced rate on some mobility aids for people aged 60 or over. HMRC lists the goods it covers as “grab rails, ramps, stair lifts, bath lifts, built-in shower seats or showers containing built-in shower seats, walk-in baths with sealable doors” (GOV.UK, and Notice 701/7, section 9). Home lifts and through-floor lifts are not on it, and the rate never covers repairs.

So a 63-year-old with no qualifying condition pays 5% on a stairlift and 20% on a home lift. All three makers that explain VAT relief to home lift buyers point over-60s at a 5% rate:

On published starting prices, the difference is large. Both makers below state their price excluding VAT.

Starting prices as printed on each maker’s site on 1 October 2026. VAT columns are our arithmetic. Real quotes are usually higher once survey and building work are added, and the shortfall grows with them: 15% of the pre-VAT price.

How to claim 0% VAT on a home lift

1. Check the person qualifies against the definition above. HMRC warns there are penalties for knowingly accepting false declarations and for fraudulent evasion of VAT.
2. Tell every company quoting that you are claiming VAT relief, and ask whether the quote is inclusive or exclusive of VAT. Most makers publish prices ex VAT, so an ex-VAT quote and a zero-rated quote can carry the same number.
3. Sign a declaration for each supplier. HMRC says you need “a separate declaration for each supplier”, so the lift company, a separate builder and a separate electrician each need one. It should be separate from, or clearly distinguishable from, the order form or invoice.
4. If the disabled person cannot sign, HMRC lets the supplier accept the signature of a parent, guardian, doctor or another responsible person.
5. Do it before you are invoiced. HMRC: “This is not a VAT refund system and there is no facility for HMRC to refund VAT to you.” The supplier keeps the declaration; you do not send it to HMRC.
6. Check the invoice shows VAT at 0%, and keep a copy of the declaration for future servicing, which is zero-rated too.

What the relief covers

The lift and its installation. HMRC zero-rates the services “you necessarily have to perform in the installation” of the lift (section 6.5).

The building work around it. Where qualifying work needs “preparation and necessary restoration work”, that is zero-rated too (section 6.6). HMRC’s own example, for a widened doorway, includes the brickwork, the new door and frame and “the restoration of the immediate decor”. On the same principle, cutting the ceiling aperture for a through-floor lift and making good around it should qualify, so ask your installer to zero-rate it.

Repairs and maintenance. GOV.UK: “The VAT relief also includes the repair and maintenance of the lift.” That makes servicing contracts on a qualifying lift VAT-free for its whole life. See what servicing costs.

What each maker tells you about VAT relief

We read every page we could find about VAT on each maker’s own UK website on 1 October 2026.

“None found” means we found nothing on VAT relief on the pages we could read, including FAQs, buyer guides and product pages. It does not mean the company will not zero-rate a qualifying lift. Stannah’s VAT page says repairs and maintenance of a zero-rated lift are zero-rated too, which matches HMRC. None of the nine says temporary conditions are excluded, and none says home lifts are left off the 5% list.

VAT relief, grants and the price you see

VAT relief and a Disabled Facilities Grant are separate. A grant is means-tested for adults and has to be approved before work starts. VAT relief is not means-tested and only needs the declaration. You can have both.

Check what a price includes before comparing. Every maker that states a VAT basis for its prices states them ex VAT, so a figure that looks like a price for a disabled buyer is a price before 20% for everyone else. Our price guide lists each maker’s VAT basis, and the price tracker records it for every published price.

Questions people ask about VAT on home lifts

Do you pay VAT on a home lift?

Not if the lift is for someone who is chronically sick or disabled, it goes into their own home to help them move between floors, and they sign an eligibility declaration for the supplier. Then the supply, installation, necessary building work, and later repairs and maintenance are all zero-rated, so you pay 0%. Anyone else pays the standard 20%.

Do over-60s get VAT relief on a home lift?

Not for being over 60. HMRC's 5% reduced rate for people aged 60 or over covers only grab rails, ramps, stair lifts, bath lifts, built-in shower seats and walk-in baths with sealable doors. Home lifts are not on the list, so an over-60 with no qualifying condition pays 20%. An over-60 who is chronically sick or disabled pays 0%, the same as anyone else who qualifies.

Do I need to be registered disabled or on benefits to get 0% VAT on a lift?

No. HMRC says VAT reliefs for disabled people are not means-tested, do not depend on benefits, and a person does not have to be registered disabled to qualify. What counts is a long-term impairment that substantially affects everyday activities, or a condition doctors treat as a chronic sickness, such as diabetes.

Can I claim the VAT back after buying a home lift?

Not from HMRC. HMRC says it is not a refund system and there is no facility for it to refund VAT to you. The relief works by the supplier not charging VAT in the first place, so give each supplier your signed declaration before you are invoiced.

Is servicing a home lift VAT-free?

Yes, if the lift was installed for a disabled person in their home. HMRC's guidance says the relief includes the repair and maintenance of the lift. This is different from the over-60s 5% rate, which never covers repairs.

Who signs the VAT declaration if the disabled person cannot?

HMRC lets a supplier accept the signature of a parent, guardian, doctor or another responsible person where the disabled person cannot sign, for example a child or someone who cannot write. Each supplier needs its own declaration, kept separate from the order form or invoice.

Does a temporary injury qualify for VAT relief on a lift?

No. HMRC excludes anyone who is only temporarily disabled or incapacitated, such as with a broken limb. A lift bought while recovering from an operation or injury is charged at 20% unless the person also has a long-term condition that qualifies.

Compiled by the UK Homelifts research team. HMRC rules and maker pages checked 1 October 2026. We recheck them every quarter.