Duties & relief
Used household goods can enter Great Britain free of VAT and duty. New ones usually cannot.
HMRC, not your mover, decides. We prepare the claim, the list and the declaration so that decision is made on complete facts. The notes below are the rules we work to in 2026 for Great Britain. They are guidance, not a private ruling.
Transfer of Residence relief
If you are moving your normal home to the UK you may import used personal belongings without customs duty or import VAT. HMRC’s Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief is the mechanism. You apply online with form ToR1 before the goods ship. If approved, HMRC issues a letter with a unique reference that we put on the import declaration.
On the facts HMRC currently publishes, you generally need to show that you:
- ▸Are transferring your normal home to the UK.
- ▸Have had your normal home outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months.
- ▸Have owned and used the goods for at least 6 months before import.
- ▸Import them within 12 months of transferring residence.
- ▸Will keep them for personal use and will not sell, lend, hire or give them away in the UK within 12 months of import.
Alcohol, tobacco, commercial vehicles and goods from a second or holiday home sit outside the relief. Goods bought under a duty-free scheme often fail as well. A television bought last month is not “used” for this purpose, even if it has been plugged in.
If relief is not granted
Import VAT is charged at the UK rate that applies to the goods — 20% for most household effects — on the value plus freight plus insurance, plus any duty. Customs duty may also apply where the consignment is above the low-value threshold and the commodity attracts duty.
The £135 low-value duty relief on non-excise goods still exists in 2026 for many shipments, with the government having set an end date of October 2028. It is a duty point, not a VAT holiday, and it is not a substitute for ToR.
Worked example
A 35 m³ used household from Berlin, owned and used for years, importer transferring residence with an approved ToR unique reference: import VAT £0, duty £0 on the qualifying goods.
The same consignment plus a £2,400 dining table bought four weeks before departure: the table is declared separately. VAT at 20% is due on that item (and its share of freight) unless another relief applies. The rest of the house can still ride on ToR.
Simplified rates, accompanied goods and gifts
Accompanied personal goods
If you bring goods with you rather than as unaccompanied freight, HMRC’s simplified rates for personal goods may apply to the declaration you make yourself. That is a different process from a mover’s CDS entry on a container.
Gifts and parcels
A house move is not a parcel. Gift allowances (including the £39 gift VAT threshold) do not convert a furniture consignment into a tax-free gift. Do not describe a household shipment as gifts to “make it easier”.
Northern Ireland
NI has a distinct customs position for goods arriving from outside the UK and the EU. A GB ToR plan is not automatically an NI plan. Tell us the delivery postcode at survey.
Primary sources we follow: HMRC guidance on Transfer of Residence relief, simplified rates for bringing personal goods into the UK, and tax and duty on goods sent from abroad. Always check GOV.UK for the text in force on the day you apply — rates and reliefs do change.
We will not sell you a relief we cannot defend
If your facts do not support ToR, we will say so and quote the likely VAT. That conversation belongs on the survey call, not at the port. Send the dates you lived abroad, the visa, and a first-cut list of anything bought recently.
Talk through your dates