In February 2026, the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) handed down a decision that sent shockwaves through the EV charging industry. In Charge My Street Ltd v HMRC [2026] TC09802, the Tribunal ruled that electricity supplied at public EV charging points qualifies for the reduced 5% VAT rate — not the 20% standard rate HMRC has been insisting on for years.
HMRC has confirmed it will appeal to the Upper Tribunal. But this ruling matters right now, whether or not it survives appeal. Here’s why.
What Happened
Charge My Street Ltd (CMS) operates community-based EV charging stations across the north of England. CMS took the view that its supplies of electricity to EV drivers qualified for the 5% reduced VAT rate under Item 1, Schedule 7A of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 — the provision covering fuel and power for domestic use.
HMRC disagreed. Their published guidance in VAT Notice 701/19 states bluntly that recharging EVs at public charging points is “always treated as standard rated” because the supply isn’t made at a person’s house or building.
CMS appealed. And won.
The Legal Argument
The case turned on Note 5(g) to Schedule 7A VATA 1994, which provides that a supply of electricity is always deemed for domestic use if it’s made “to a person at any premises” where the electricity supplied doesn’t exceed 1,000 kilowatt hours per month.
HMRC’s position was that “any premises” meant the customer’s own premises — essentially their home. The Tribunal firmly rejected this, finding that:
- “To a person at any premises” does not mean “to a person at their premises.” The word “any” means any.
- “Premises” is not limited to buildings. A defined public area such as a car park qualifies.
- Provided the supply at each charging point location didn’t exceed 1,000 kWh per month, the reduced rate applied.
- HMRC’s attempt to pro-rate the de minimis threshold (dividing 1,000 kWh by the number of days in a month for ad hoc supplies) had no basis in the legislation.
The Tribunal did note a wrinkle: where third-party apps were used for payment, those intermediaries might be acting as principals (making their own supply), and the Tribunal didn’t have enough information to determine whether those supplies met the 1,000 kWh test. So the appeal was allowed in principle, and in part.
Sarabjit Singh KC, representing CMS at 1 Crown Office Row, succeeded in persuading the Tribunal that HMRC’s restrictive interpretation simply wasn’t supported by the statutory language.
HMRC Is Appealing
As reported by The Guardian on 21 April 2026, HMRC has confirmed it will appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber). The appeal has not yet been heard at the time of writing.
Until the Upper Tribunal rules, the FTT decision stands but only binds the parties. HMRC’s existing guidance remains unchanged. But the writing is on the wall — and smart operators are already thinking about what this means.
Why CFOs Should Care
If you’re involved in EV infrastructure — whether you’re a fleet operator, charge point network, property developer, or local authority — this case has direct financial implications:
- Pricing models: A 15 percentage point swing in VAT changes the economics of public charging fundamentally. If the 5% rate holds on appeal, operators can undercut competitors who’ve been pricing at 20%, or improve margins.
- Capex decisions: The business case for installing public charge points in car parks, retail sites, and community locations just got more attractive — if the reduced rate applies, payback periods shorten materially.
- VAT recovery and claims: Businesses that have been charging 20% VAT on public EV supplies may need to consider whether protective claims should be submitted to HMRC for overpaid output tax. The four-year time limit applies.
- Third-party platform risk: The Tribunal flagged that supplies made via intermediary apps may not qualify. If your business model relies on third-party payment platforms, the VAT position is still uncertain.
- Contract reviews: Any supply agreements, concession contracts, or landlord-operator arrangements that reference VAT at 20% may need revisiting.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t just a technical VAT dispute. It’s about whether UK tax law supports or hinders the transition to electric vehicles. As one commentator noted in The Guardian’s coverage: “We should be making the transition to EVs as cheap as we can. This is an environmental issue.”
Right now, someone charging their EV at home pays 5% VAT on the electricity. Someone using a public charger pays 20%. The FTT has said that distinction doesn’t exist in the legislation. HMRC says it does. The Upper Tribunal will settle it.
If the appeal fails, the implications extend far beyond Charge My Street. Every public charging operator in the UK would have a basis to apply the reduced rate — and potentially reclaim overpaid VAT going back years. That’s a significant redistribution of value across the EV charging sector.
What To Do Now
Don’t wait for the Upper Tribunal. If your business supplies electricity at public EV charging points:
- Review your VAT position — understand whether your supplies could fall within Note 5(g).
- Consider protective claims — if you’ve been accounting for VAT at 20%, a protective claim preserves your right to a refund if the decision is upheld.
- Monitor the appeal — the Upper Tribunal hearing will be the decisive moment.
- Get specialist advice — the interaction between the de minimis threshold, third-party platforms, and the definition of “premises” makes this genuinely complex.
For further reading, see the excellent summaries from Ross Martin Tax, BKL, and Menzies LLP.
The full judgment is available on the National Archives under neutral citation [2026] TC09802.
Need help reviewing your VAT position on EV charging or other energy supplies? Get in touch with Mark at Tanous — we cut through the complexity so you can make decisions with confidence.