Selling In An Auction

[woofas]

I am rather confused about the commission charged at an auction.
Lets say the auctioneer charges 10% plus VAT on the seller and 15% plus VAT on the buyer. If a lot sells for £100 - how much does the seller get & how much does the buyer pay?
I know it sounds like a maths question but I really need to know.

[barry1010]

It is not clear cut, it depends on whether or not the seller (not the auctioneer) is registered for VAT and if the item qualifies for VAT.
Assuming the seller isn't, the seller gets £86and the buyer pays £118

[THECORBYLOON]

Assuming VAT is 20%, that is the same as a fifth.

The buyer and seller each pay an extra fifth of the charges as VAT.

Seller pays 12% (extra 2% is a fifth of 10%)

Buyer pays 18% (extra 3% is a fifth of 15%)

The seller pays £12 and is left with £88 while the buyer pays £18 on top of the £100, meaning the auction house gets £30 from a £100 sale.

[ZebuSanctuary]

In the scenario above:

Seller £100 - £10 - £2 (vat at 20% in £10)

Total Amount received by seller = £88.00

Buyer £100 + £15 + £3 (vat at 20% on £15)

Total Amount paid by the buyer = £118.00

Auctioneer has made £30.00. Not bad for the bang of a gavel.

Note depending on auction house, additional charges could be in play e.g. Insurance + VAT

[barry1010]

Auction houses pay huge insurance premiums, it's not all profit

[KJN]

Seller gets £100 less£10 commission less VAT on commission (say at 20 percent) on £10 equals £2 total to seller £88.

Buyer pays£100 plus £15 commission plus VAT £3 total paid £118

[THECORBYLOON]

Don't sell stuff at BARRY's auction house, he pockets an undeclared 2% of the selling price...

[barry1010]

My mistake, Corby

If the seller is VAT registered and the item qualifies then the buyer pays 20% VAT on the hammer price too, an additional £20

[THECORBYLOON]

No, in the example given, 20% of 15% is added to the buyer's premium, meaning it's 18% in total.