The short answer
Yes. Roof repairs and re-roofing on an existing home are normally standard-rated, so VAT is charged at 20%, and listed homes are no different, since approved alterations there are charged at 20% as well. The exception is installing roof or loft insulation in a home, which is zero-rated until 31 March 2027, after which the reduced rate of 5% applies. Your quote should show VAT.
Why a roof repair or re-roof carries 20% VAT
HMRC's guidance for the building trades, VAT Notice 708, treats most construction as standard-rated. Repairing a roof and re-covering one both count as work on a building that already stands, so the standard rate applies to them. The standard rate is 20%.
That covers the jobs people ask about most: replacing slipped slates or tiles, re-bedding a ridge, renewing lead flashings, stripping and re-covering a slope, laying a new flat roof covering, and replacing fascias, soffits and guttering. The VAT is added to the firm's price, so a quote of £5,000 before VAT becomes £6,000 with it.
VAT only applies if the firm is registered. Smaller businesses below the registration threshold do not have to charge it, and a sole trader may legitimately quote without it. That does not make a quote better or worse; it makes two quotes hard to compare unless both say plainly whether VAT is included. The examples in this page are about the rate, not about whether a particular firm charges it.
Listed buildings and the 2012 change
For years, approved alterations to listed dwellings could be zero-rated. That ended, and the same guidance now says the same rule has applied to approved listed-dwelling alterations from 1 October 2012. So a re-roof of a listed house in the Stroud valleys, even when the work needed listed building consent, is charged at 20%.
Consent and VAT are separate matters. If your home is listed, the council decides whether and how the roof can be altered, and the covering is normally matched like for like. Whether you are in a listed building or a modern semi, the rate does not change because the stone is old or the work is specialist. Unsure whether your house is listed, or whether the work needs consent? Ask the planning team at Stroud District Council before anything is stripped.
Repairs to a listed property are standard-rated as well, as is the scaffold, the waste removal and the labour. The whole job is taxed at the same rate unless it falls into one of the narrow exceptions.
Where insulation is different: zero-rating to 31 March 2027
A second HMRC notice, VAT Notice 708/6, covers energy-saving materials. It says a zero rate applies to the installation of certain specified energy-saving materials from 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027, and that from 1 April 2027 these revert to the reduced rate of 5%. Insulation for roofs or lofts is one of the materials named.
In practice, when insulation for the roof or loft is the job, that installation can be zero-rated, while the covering around it may not be. A job that combines a new covering and new insulation can therefore show more than one VAT treatment. How that splits depends on the facts of the work, and it is not something to guess at. Mixed jobs are not ours to advise on. Have the firm say on the quote how VAT applies, and speak to HMRC or your accountant if you need certainty.
The date matters. Work that is carried out after 31 March 2027 moves to the 5% rate, so a plan that includes insulation may be worth timing with that in mind.
What your quote should show about VAT
The quote should say whether prices include VAT, state the VAT amount separately or in a total line, and give the firm's VAT number if it is registered. Treat a quote that is silent on VAT with caution. Plenty of arguments over final bills begin with a figure that was never clear on the point.
When you compare quotes, put them on the same footing. Cost guides often state prices excluding VAT: Checkatrade's roof replacement cost guide shows a UK average of about £8,000, with most jobs between £4,000 and £19,000, and those figures exclude VAT. Add 20% to see what you would pay. Our page on what a roofing quote should include lists the other things to expect, and the roofing costs guide explains how the cost of a job is built up before VAT goes on.
Another point is how the figures move. VAT is charged on the whole invoice, so a variation to the work after the survey, such as extra battens found rotten, carries VAT on top of the extra cost.
Does the covering you choose change the VAT?
No. Natural slate, clay, concrete, stone, lead and single-ply flat roofs are all taxed as the same kind of work. A more durable covering costs more before VAT, so the VAT bill is higher too, but the rate is the same. If you are weighing materials, our page on the most durable roofing material in the UK covers lifespan, and roof shapes explains why a hipped or complex roof costs more than a simple gable.
Repairs are no different. A single slate replaced, a flashing renewed, a gutter run refixed: the call-out, labour and materials carry VAT if the firm is registered. Small jobs are not exempt because they are small.
The straightforward way to avoid surprises is to ask early. At Supreme Roofing Stroud, typical costs are published ahead of any visit, and the quote that follows the survey states the VAT, so the total is clear before you decide.