Survey costs
The rating 3 paragraph has no VAT line. Where does VAT on a builder's quote get decided?
On the builder's quote, not in the rating. A rating 3 paragraph has no VAT line because it is not an invoice for building work. The surveyor is not selling the repair. Any tax is decided when a contractor prices the job, under that firm's tax position and the nature of the work. Do not pencil a tax rate under the paragraph. The report has not chosen one, and the guidance does not print one for you to copy.
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?
Buyers look for a tax line because they want a single all-in number to subtract from the price. The rating will not give it. Condition ratings describe what is wrong or what must be investigated. They are not tax documents. Two builders can both be competent and still show tax differently if their businesses differ, and a cash price with no paperwork is not something the survey has blessed. Ask each contractor whether their figure includes tax, and keep that answer on their quotation.
The home-survey guidance does not contain a VAT table for roofs, damp or drains, and there is no national tariff that grosses up a rating into a tax-inclusive budget. If you are comparing quotes, compare them on the same basis, tax included or tax excluded, and say which. If a quote is silent, ask the builder rather than asking the surveyor to invent the line. The surveyor's silence is not an exemption and not a bill. Your solicitor and the contractor are the people who deal with the invoice you will actually pay.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Confirm you have not allowed a tax figure inside this rating?
- Which items in the paragraph should the builder price before tax is even discussed?
- Is a tax question outside your instruction?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask each builder whether the quote includes tax.
- Do not write a tax percentage under the rating.
- Compare quotes on the same tax basis.
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
If the builder is silent on tax, can the survey fill it in?
No. Tax belongs on the contractor's quote. The rating stays a condition comment.
Does a rating without a tax line mean the work is untaxed?
No. Silence is not an exemption. Only the contractor's invoice can show how that firm is charging.