Do bailiffs charge VAT on their fees?

The statutory fee scale sets the amounts enforcement agents can charge, but it states them before VAT. Whether VAT is then added is not the agent’s choice — it follows a rule in the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 about the creditor’s VAT status.

The basic rule

Where the creditor is VAT registered, the agent may not recover VAT on the fees from the debtor. Where the creditor is not VAT registered, a sum equivalent to VAT can be added to the fees.

Who is and is not VAT registered

Councils are VAT registered. So are most large public bodies. That means council tax, business rates, parking and traffic penalties enforced by a local authority, and magistrates’ court fines are all collected by VAT-registered creditors. VAT cannot be added to the fees on any of those debts.

Private individuals and many small businesses are not VAT registered. Where a county court judgment or a High Court writ has been obtained by a private creditor who is not VAT registered, a sum equivalent to VAT can be added to the enforcement fees. In practice this arises most often with High Court enforcement, where private creditors — pursuing unpaid invoices, rent arrears or employment tribunal awards — frequently lack VAT registration.

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How the fees look with and without VAT

On the standard scale, which applies to council tax, parking fines and county court warrants of control, the fixed fees from 1 May 2026 are £79 at the compliance stage, £247 at the enforcement stage and £116 at the sale stage. Because those creditors are VAT registered, these are also the totals a debtor can be asked to pay — VAT is not added.

On the High Court scale, the fixed fees from 1 May 2026 are £79 at compliance, £200 at the first enforcement stage, £520 at the second enforcement stage and £550 at the sale stage. Where the creditor is a private individual or unregistered business, a sum equivalent to VAT at the current rate is added to each of those figures. The High Court enforcement officers page sets out how those stages work.

Standard scale: compliance fee (from 1 May 2026)

£79No VAT added — creditors on this scale are VAT registered

Standard scale: enforcement fee (from 1 May 2026)

£247No VAT added

High Court scale: first enforcement fee (from 1 May 2026)

£200Plus VAT equivalent where creditor is not VAT registered

High Court scale: second enforcement fee (from 1 May 2026)

£520Plus VAT equivalent where creditor is not VAT registered

Other amounts that can be added on top of the fixed fees

VAT is not the only addition to the fixed fees. The regulations also allow recovery of costs that were reasonably and actually incurred during the enforcement. These apply regardless of the creditor’s VAT status.

• Storage costs for goods that have been removed.
• A locksmith’s charges where reasonable force was lawfully used to enter, including the cost of securing the property afterwards.
• Court fees for applications the agent made that were granted.
• Auction costs: the auctioneer’s commission (up to 15% of what goods fetch at an auction house, or 7.5% for an online auction), plus out-of-pocket expenses and reasonable advertising.
• Exceptional costs, but only if a court orders it on an application made with the creditor’s consent.

On debts above the threshold, a percentage fee also applies: 7.5% of the amount over £1,900 on the standard scale and 7.5% of the amount over £1,200 at two stages on the High Court scale. The bailiff fees calculator applies these figures but leaves out the VAT equivalent and the variable costs listed above, because those depend on facts it does not know.

Checking a statement that includes VAT

A fee statement that includes VAT on a council tax or parking fine debt is inconsistent with the regulations, which say the agent may not recover VAT from the debtor where the creditor is VAT registered. Any dispute about the amount recoverable is decided by the court. The bailiff fees page explains how to challenge a fee.

On the standard scale the fixed fees are £79 at the notice, £326 once an agent has visited and £442 if goods are removed for sale, before any percentage fee on a larger debt.