Taxation UK Contributors (VAT)
- What is Value Added Tax (VAT)?
- Why is Alamy applying VAT?
- How will this affect the payments made to me?
- Are you charging me VAT?
- Why are you adding VAT to your payments to me?
- What do you mean by UK?
- Why are you adding VAT to payments to me rather than me sending you a VAT invoice?
- What is self billing?
- Don’t I have to sign an agreement to be covered by self billing?
- I am to be paid in a currency other that GB Sterling. How will my invoice show the VAT due?
- How will I receive my Self Billing invoice?
- My statement says a payment has been made to me, but I haven't received my self billing invoice?
- Why can’t I raise a VAT invoice to Alamy?
- What does "Alamy will issue self-billed invoices to the Contributor for all Taxable Supplies made to Alamy by the Contributor" mean?
- How is VAT calculated and added to my payment?
- How will I see VAT on my statement?
- Why do you need my VAT number?
- I’m not sure if I'm registered for VAT?
- What do I do if my circumstances change?
What is Value Added Tax (VAT)?
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a UK sales tax. It will only affect you as a Contributor if you are based in the United Kingdom or in the EU. If you are based in the EU, please see the FAQs for taxation for EU Contributors (VAT)
- The UK Customs & Excise definition of VAT
- A tax on the final consumption of certain goods and services in the home market but is collected at every stage of production and distribution.
VAT is charged on the net amount of the goods sold, and the current rate of the tax is 17.5%. You can only charge VAT if you are a registered for VAT with Customs and Excise. The tax charged is usually paid over to Customs and Excise every quarter.
Why is Alamy applying VAT?
Your contract is with Alamy Ltd, which is based in the UK so payments to you fall within the scope of VAT.
How will this affect the payments made to me?
If you are registered for VAT in the United Kingdom then we will add VAT (currently at the rate of 17.5%) onto the payment made to you. If you are not VAT registered then the change will have no affect.
Are you charging me VAT?
No, we are adding VAT to payments made to you. In effect, instead of you sending us a VAT invoice for the sales reported to you, we have done this step already for you.
Why are you adding VAT to your payments to me?
As we now fall within the scope of UK VAT sales made on your behalf should include VAT if you are registered for VAT.
What do you mean by UK?
The United Kingdom comprises England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but excludes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, for the purposes of our billing arrangements.
Why are you adding VAT to payments to me rather than me sending you a VAT invoice?
Alamy is adding VAT to your payments under self billing regulations as it is easier administratively for us to do this, as we can calculate exactly the amount of VAT that should be paid over to you each month. It will also mean you will receive any VAT as soon as the invoice and payment is made to you and you will not have any cash flow disadvantage from raising an invoice and awaiting payment.
What is self billing?
Self billing allows the customer (i.e. Alamy) to produce an invoice which shows the sale amount and output VAT due rather than receiving an invoice from the supplier (i.e. the contributor).
Don't I have to sign an agreement to be covered by self billing?
The Contributor contract contains the agreement between yourself and Alamy for Alamy to self bill you. You should print off the copy of the latest contract (contributor agreement) and keep it as your record of the self billing arrangements between yourself and Alamy. If you change your VAT number or sell part or all of your business then you should contact Alamy as we will need to put in place a new self billing agreement.
I am to be paid in a currency other that GB Sterling. How will my invoice show the VAT due?
If you are to be paid in a currency other than GB Sterling the invoice will show the amount of money payable to you in both US Dollars and in GB Sterling. You should include the Sterling amounts in your VAT return figures.
How will I receive my Self Billing invoice?
You will be notified by email that your self billing invoice has been produced and a copy of the invoice will be included in the mail as an attachment. You will also be able to access the invoice through the website.
My statement says a payment has been made to me but I haven't received my self billing invoice?
Your self billing invoice will not be sent to you until a few days after your statement says the payment has gone out. This is because the date that payment is made on your statement is the date Alamy instructs Citibank, our payment provider, to make payments to you. It takes time for the funds transfers/cheque payments to be made by Citibank and it is not until that we have confirmation that these payments have gone to you that we issue the self billing invoice.
Why can't I raise a VAT invoice to Alamy?
Alamy are paying you under self billing rules. As such we produce the VAT invoice that you can use in your accounts to show the amount of VAT that should be reported to Customs and Excise. Under the rules of the scheme you are not allowed to produce another invoice.
What does "Alamy will issue self-billed invoices to the Contributor for all Taxable Supplies made to Alamy by the Contributor" mean?
Taxable Supplies is defined by HM Customs & Excise as all goods and services which are VAT rated. So if you are a Contributor who is VAT registered then when Alamy pays you for images that you have submitted to Alamy and, which Alamy has sold, then this will be defined as a Taxable Supply. VAT should be added to the Taxable Supply at the rate in force at the time of supply.
How is VAT calculated and added to my payment?
Alamy will add VAT at the current standard of the tax to the net amount to be paid out to you after deduction of payment fees and any foreign exchange fees.
How will I see VAT on my statement?
It will be a line item on your statement when a payment is made to you. It will appear after the payment and FX fees, but before the cheque sent/funds transfer line.
Why do you need my VAT number?
As Alamy will be operating a self billing system we will be adding VAT to the net amount of your payment. To comply with the requirements of the legislation we need to produce a self billing invoice which has your VAT number on it.
I’m not sure if I'm registered for VAT?
You should contact your local Customs and Excise office who should be able to inform you whether you are registered for VAT. To have registered you would have had to have taken active steps to do so. Please see the Customs and Excise website for more details, www.hmce.gov.uk.
What do I do if my circumstances change?
You should update the Alamy website with your new details as soon as possible. If you have changed your VAT number or have sold part or all of your business you should contact memberservices@alamy.com.