What you can claim
A plain summary of the DIY Housebuilders' Scheme. Not advice — always check the current GOV.UK guidance before you submit.
Who qualifies
The deadline
For builds completed on or after 5 December 2023, you have six months from completion. Before that date it was three months. Plenty of sources online still say three — check which applies to you.
You get one claim. You cannot claim in stages, and you cannot go back for something you missed.
You don't attach invoices when you submit. You complete the schedule, and HMRC contacts you afterwards to say which invoices it wants to see. Most guidance online gets this wrong.
What every invoice needs
Miss any of these and the item may not count, however legitimate the purchase.
Four traps worth knowing
Delivery charged separately
Carriage shown on the same invoice as the goods is claimable. A separate haulage invoice generally isn't. Ask merchants to combine them from the start — it costs them nothing.
Plant without an operator
A digger hired with a driver is claimable. The same machine hired on its own isn't. Nor is concrete pump hire — though the concrete itself is fine.
Labour charged at 20%
Construction services on a qualifying new build are usually zero-rated. If you've been charged 20%, that's money back from the contractor — it isn't reclaimable through the scheme.
Invoices in someone else's name
Bought on your builder's trade account? Not necessarily lost. HMRC's guidance contemplates genuine agency arrangements where you can evidence that you paid. More on this →
Commonly claimable
Building materials incorporated into the dwelling. A partial list — HMRC publishes a full A–Z.
Blocks, bricks, cement, mortar, concrete, sand, hardcore, aggregate, lintels, wall ties, damp proof course and membrane, drainage and underground pipework, inspection chambers, insulation, plasterboard, timber, joists, trusses, roofing, windows, doors, cable and wiring, sockets, consumer units, radiators, boilers, underfloor heating, sanitary ware, fitted kitchen units and worktops, flooring other than carpet, light fittings, paint, turf.
Never claimable
Tools and consumables of any kind. White goods, ovens and hobs. Carpets. Skips, scaffolding, portable toilets, muck away. Professional, planning and building regulations fees. Fuel. Bulbs and lamps, though the fittings are fine. Electrical blinds and broadband, both added to the disallowed list in March 2025.
HMRC revises this list without much announcement. We re-check it and version every rule, so a claim prepared today stays reproducible if the guidance changes tomorrow.