For HNC, HND and English language delivery partners
You charged VAT on course fees. A court says you may not have had to - Claim Back now!
On 6 July 2026 the Court of Appeal ruled in St Patrick's International College v HMRC that three private colleges teaching HNCs, HNDs and degree courses should not have been charged VAT, because to their students the courses were no different from the same courses at universities and FE colleges. If you teach HNC, HND or English language courses, for your own students or for a UK university or college, and VAT has been charged since 2022, you may be able to claim some of it back.
Free, no obligation A video call with our VAT specialist at a time that suits you. What the court decided
Where the case stands
- First-tier TribunalHMRC won
- Upper TribunalHMRC won
- Court of AppealColleges won
- HMRC Brief 9Claims possible
- Supreme CourtHMRC appealing
Why claim now
The appeal could take until 2028. The four-year limit will not wait.
A claim for VAT charged in error can only go back four years from the end of each VAT period. Periods ending before four years ago are already out of time, and HMRC's appeal to the Supreme Court does not stop the clock. On our VAT specialist's estimate a decision is unlikely before 2028, by which time every period before 2024 will be gone.
Those pre-2024 periods have the clearest legal footing, because since 1 January 2024 UK law no longer allows VAT legislation to be set aside for conflicting with EU law. Right now about 15 months of the claimable window fall before 2024. A protective claim made now keeps them, and can be added to each year until the appeal is decided.
Approximate and counted by month. Your own VAT periods set the exact dates.
Who this is for
Private colleges and delivery partners teaching courses universities and colleges supply VAT free
Universities and FE colleges teach HNCs, HNDs and English language courses without VAT because they are eligible bodies. Many of them bring in private partners to teach those same courses, and those partners have usually been charging VAT. That is the gap the St Patrick's ruling opens up.
HNC and HND teaching
- Private colleges teaching Pearson HNCs or HNDs to their own students
- Delivery partners teaching HNCs or HNDs for a university or FE college under a franchise, subcontract or partnership
- VAT charged on that teaching, to students or to the partner institution, at any point since mid-2022
English language teaching
- Pre-sessional English and English for academic purposes taught for a university
- English built into international foundation and pathway programmes
- TEFL taught by a college that also teaches HNCs, HNDs or degrees
Probably not
- Universities, FE colleges and other eligible bodies, whose own courses are normally exempt already
- Providers that did not charge or account for VAT on these courses
- Short commercial and corporate training with no university or college equivalent
- Private schools, standard-rated since 1 January 2025 under separate rules
Free online consultation
Start with a conversation. It costs nothing.
A claim is only worth making if the numbers still add up once input tax comes off, and if it can stand up to HMRC's questions on who bore the VAT. The consultation answers both before you commit to anything.
- Request a consultationYour name, your organisation and what you teach. About a minute.
- Video call with our VAT specialistWhat you teach, who for, how fees were invoiced and how VAT was accounted for.
- A straight answerWhether a claim looks worth making, which periods are still in time and the main risks.
- You decideIf you go ahead, the scope and fee basis are agreed in writing first. If not, that is the end of it.
Two-minute check
What do you teach?
Pick one to start the check. Five questions, an instant outcome, and you can stop at any point.
Guides
Plain answers, with the sources
Every guide starts with a short answer, then the detail, then links to the legislation, HMRC guidance and judgments it relies on. Each one shows the date it was last checked.
Who it is for
- HNC and HND delivery partnersPrivate colleges and delivery partners teaching HNCs and HNDs for universities and FE colleges may have overpaid VAT. How the St Patrick's ruling could apply to you.
- English language and pre-sessional providersPre-sessional English, EAP and TEFL taught for universities and colleges: when VAT charged on English language courses may be reclaimable.
VAT rules
- Is education VAT exempt?Education is exempt from VAT only in certain cases. The routes to exemption in plain English, and where the St Patrick's ruling fits for private colleges and delivery partners.
- What is an eligible body?Which organisations count as eligible bodies for the VAT education exemption, and why a private delivery partner usually is not one.
- VAT Notice 701/30 explainedA plain English guide to HMRC VAT Notice 701/30 on education and vocational training, and how it applies to private colleges and delivery partners.
The ruling
- St Patrick's International College v HMRCWhat the Court of Appeal decided in St Patrick's International College v HMRC [2026] EWCA Civ 852 and what it means for HNC, HND and English language providers.
- HMRC Brief 9 (2026)What HMRC's Revenue and Customs Brief 9 (2026) says about VAT claims from alternative education providers, and what it leaves out.
- Supreme Court appealStatus of HMRC's appeal to the Supreme Court in St Patrick's International College v HMRC, when a decision is likely and why providers are claiming now.
Claiming
- Reclaiming overpaid VATHow education providers claim back VAT charged in error: the four-year limit, net claims, telling HMRC about errors and what HMRC checks.
- Why claim nowClaims only reach back four years and the Supreme Court is unlikely to decide St Patrick's before 2028. How a protective VAT claim keeps older periods in time.
- Unjust enrichmentHMRC can refuse a VAT refund if your customers bore the cost. How unjust enrichment works when your customer is a university, a college or the students.
- Input tax and partial exemptionGoing VAT exempt has a cost. How input tax, partial exemption and the Capital Goods Scheme reduce a claim.
- Claim checklistThe records a college or delivery partner needs before a VAT claim: partner agreements, course documents, invoices and payment flows, VAT returns and partial exemption workings.
- Worked examplesIllustrative figures for an HND college, an HND delivery partner invoicing an FE college and a pre-sessional English provider, and what waiting until 2028 could cost.
Accountants and tax advisers: if you act for a private college, a delivery partner or an English language provider, you can refer them to us and stay involved throughout.
Refer a clientTalk it through, free and with no obligation
Book a free online consultation with our VAT specialist. We look at what you teach, who you teach it for and how VAT was charged, then tell you plainly whether a protective claim is worth making.