The short answer
Yes, removal carries VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent, if the firm is VAT registered. The zero rate that applies to energy-saving materials is for installing them, not for taking them out. The reverse charge used between building businesses does not apply to a homeowner. Check that any quote says whether VAT is included.
The standard rate applies to removal
GOV.UK states that the standard rate of VAT is 20 per cent, and it is the rate on building work that a VAT-registered business does for a householder. Taking spray foam out of a loft is building work. It is not the supply or installation of insulation, so it does not qualify for any of the reduced rates that attach to energy-saving measures.
That can come as a surprise. Insulation sounds as if it should sit on the favoured side of the line, and in the news the words zero-rated and insulation appear together often. But the relief follows what the work does: it applies to putting insulation in, not to removing it.
A trader who is not VAT registered adds no VAT, which alone can make two quotes differ. This is not a sign that anyone is cutting corners, and it is not a reason to prefer one firm or distrust another. It does mean you should be comparing like with like, which is the subject of the next section.
For the sequence of the job itself, see our spray foam removal page.
Zero rate is for installing energy-saving materials
The relief you may have heard about is real, but narrow. HMRC's notice on energy-saving materials (Notice 708/6) sets a zero rate for installations made between 1 May 2023 and 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 the reduced rate of 5 per cent applies instead. Insulation is among the materials covered.
What matters is the word installation. When you have the loft re-insulated after the foam has gone, with mineral wool or another product, that installation can fall within the zero rate while the relief lasts. Removal sold as its own job is a separate supply, charged at the standard rate. A firm doing both may show them on the invoice as different rates, or give you a total that blends them, so ask how it was worked out.
Please be careful with claims you may hear. If one firm removes the foam and re-insulates as a single job, ask how HMRC's notice applies to the removal part. If in doubt, ask them to write down which rate they are applying to which part of the work. Our guide to insulation after spray foam removal looks at the choices once the loft is clear.
What homeowners do not need to worry about
The domestic reverse charge is a rule for work passed from one VAT-registered firm to another inside the Construction Industry Scheme. It moves the VAT accounting from the supplier to the customer. It does not apply when the customer is a homeowner paying for work on their own house, so you will never be asked to account for VAT yourself. If a quote mentions the reverse charge on a job at your home, ask why.
You also do not need to work out the rate by yourself. A VAT-registered firm should state on the quote or invoice whether VAT is included, what rate it is charged at and its VAT number. If any of that is missing, ask for it before you agree to the work. If a firm is registered, its VAT number should appear on the paperwork, and you can ask for it at any stage. Keep the quote, because the final invoice should match it unless you have agreed a change in writing.
One check is worth making on any total. Is it the figure including VAT or the figure before it? A lower number that leaves VAT off is not a lower price.
Checking the quote before you sign
A written quote should leave no doubt about VAT. Look for a sentence saying the total includes VAT or that VAT will be added, and for the rate. If a quote is silent, assume nothing and ask. A firm that is not registered should say so in plain words, and the total it gives is then the whole of what you pay.
Check the same of any scaffold that the job needs. Whether it is included, and whether the total covers VAT on it, should be stated. Our answer on the spray foam removal cost sets out what drives the price.
Our process is simple: a survey of the loft, pictures of what is there, then a single written total, with VAT shown as in or out of the figure, before you decide. If you later have the loft insulated again, that is a separate installation, and we will tell you which rate we expect to apply to it.
If anything on a quote or invoice looks wrong, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 can advise on your next step. You can also check HMRC's own guidance on the VAT rates for building work.
