Survey costs
What should you ask about VAT when you compare two survey fees?
Ask whether the figure includes VAT, and ask for the total you will pay. A quote that looks cheaper can be the same money once VAT is added. RICS does not publish a fee schedule that settles the question. The firm’s written quote does.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Also ask what is excluded: third-party costs such as a drone, a drain camera, or a return visit. A VAT-inclusive survey that excludes the extras you already know you need is not comparable with a package that includes them. Get both in the same form, in writing, before you pay a booking fee.
This page will not state a VAT rate or a typical fee. Rates and prices move, and the house in front of you is not an average. If a firm will not say whether VAT is included, do not guess. Ask again or use a firm that will say.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is this figure inclusive of VAT?
- Which extras are outside it?
- What do I pay if the inspection is cancelled because the seller withdraws access?
What are the typical next steps?
- Compare totals, not headline numbers.
- Keep the written quote with the report.
- Do not pay a booking deposit until the scope and the VAT position are clear.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Are surveys VAT-free?
Do not assume that. Ask the firm. This page will not invent a tax treatment.
Does a lender’s valuation fee include VAT in the same way?
Ask the lender. Their fee is not the survey quote, even if one firm is doing both jobs.