There has been plenty of talk on the news and radio phone- ins already today about how the budget will affect us all. As always there will be winners and losers but there is good news for Storing.com customers regarding VAT changes for storage companies.

From 1 October 2012, all self storage companies will be required to charge VAT, which at 20% will inevitably lead to price increases by the majority of storage companies that don’t already charge VAT. But at Storing.com, the Bedford self storage facility, our prices already include VAT so our existing customers can be reassured that there will be no price rises due to this VAT change.

This change is intended to level the playing field between self storage providers who could qualify for VAT exemption under certain conditions and makes the VAT system fairer for all companies offering storage facilities. Previously around 70% of self-storage companies could avoid charging VAT and gain an unfair advantage over their competitors.

All customers who currently use untaxed storage facilities will be affected if they cannot reclaim VAT that will be charged in the future either because they are an individual or a small business. It is estimated that there are 235,000 self-storage customers in the UK of whom two-thirds are private individuals so the impact of this change will be substantial.

Approximately 250 VAT-registered self storage businesses that do not currently opt to tax their storage will be obliged to impose VAT at 20% from October. Storing.com is one of the minority of self-storage companies whose prices already include VAT so will be unaffected.

In this respect the budget is good news for Storing.com customers but it may be time to review your self-storage arrangements if VAT is not already charged by your current storage provider to avoid a price rise in the coming months.