The short answer
It depends on what is supplied and when it is installed. The standard rate of VAT is 20%. Energy-saving materials installed between 1 May 2023 and 31 March 2027 are zero-rated, and from 1 April 2027 the reduced rate of 5% applies. A conservatory roof job can mix both rates, so check how the supplier's invoice treats each part.
The standard rate and the energy-saving rate
GOV.UK puts the standard rate of VAT at 20%, and most building work, including a roof, is charged at that rate by a VAT-registered business. A tradesperson who is not VAT-registered does not charge it at all, which is a matter for the supplier and not something a customer can choose.
A separate rule applies to energy-saving materials. HMRC's notice 708/6 zero-rates installations carried out from 1 May 2023 up to 31 March 2027, with the reduced rate of 5% from 1 April 2027. The notice covers energy-saving materials and heating equipment, and its list names what counts.
The practical reading is that insulation installed as an energy-saving material can fall within the zero rate while the notice is in force, and the same installation after 31 March 2027 sits at 5%. The timing turns on the date of the installation, so a roof started in March 2027 and finished in April should be discussed with the supplier before work begins.
We describe the treatment here, and we do not give tax advice. Where the detail matters, HMRC's notice and your own accountant are the places to look.
How a conservatory roof job is split
A conservatory re-roof is rarely only insulation. The job may include removing the old roof, new bars or rafters, a covering, flashing, a ceiling finish and the insulation itself. These are supplies of different kinds, and each is taxed according to what it is.
Insulation fitted as part of a solid roof is the item that can fall under the energy-saving rate. The covering, the timber and the labour for the rest of the roof normally carry the standard rate. A supplier who invoices a single total price should still be able to tell you how VAT has been worked out.
That is a question about the invoice and not about the quote layout. After the survey we issue the quote as one written total, and the VAT treatment sits next to it so you can see what it includes.
A householder is outside the domestic reverse charge, a mechanism for trade-to-trade supplies within the CIS. It never shows on a homeowner's bill.
Our page on insulating a conservatory roof covers the insulation itself and how it is built into a roof.
What to check before you sign
A few questions cut through most of the confusion.
- Is the supplier VAT-registered, and is VAT included in the price you have been given?
- Which rate applies to the insulation, and which to the rest of the roof?
- What date is the installation, and does it fall before or after 1 April 2027?
- Does the quote include scaffolding and waste removal, and is VAT included on those?
Comparing quotes is simpler when all of them state whether VAT is in the total. Citizens Advice recommends getting at least 3 written quotes before choosing.
Be careful with any claim that VAT can be left off a conservatory roof. Zero rating applies to specific energy-saving materials installed in the window the notice sets, and a covering or a labour charge does not become zero-rated because insulation is in the same job.
A third point is worth knowing. If a quote seems to have no VAT in it, confirm whether VAT is to be added or whether the supplier is simply not registered. Our conservatory roof replacement cost page sets out typical UK ranges from named guides.
Dates, grants and the rate after March 2027
The zero rate has an end date. Per the same notice, installations from 1 April 2027 revert to the reduced rate of 5%. That is lower than the standard rate, so the saving does not disappear, but it is smaller.
If you are weighing up when to build, the date of installation is what counts. A roof planned for early 2027 should have its dates agreed in writing, so you know which rate was expected.
VAT is separate from grants. Nothing at national level funds a new roof. ECO4 runs to 31 December 2026, while the Great British Insulation Scheme closed with work due for completion by 31 March 2026, and Warm Homes: Local Grant pays towards insulation for households whose income is usually £36,000 a year or under. Whether you qualify turns on your own position, so assume nothing.
A roofer can describe the work, but the tax and the grants sit with HMRC, Ofgem and your council. We state the facts we can source and leave the advice to the right office.
The conservatory roofs hub lists everything we do on these roofs, and the price we write after your survey says whether VAT is in it.
