i think it works in a similar way our bathroom did ….. we would not have been able to claim the VAT relief if the disabled and the non disabled people in the house had equal use of the bathroom. We are lucky enough to have Two bathrooms so we were able to claim the bathroom which had been altered was solely for the disabled person.
I would imagine if the non disabled person only uses the car for the sole benefit of the disabled person I think the car should be VAT free.
But in the scenario you gave in your previous post:
wonder how HMRC deals with the issue where the driver is able bodied and the non driving passenger is disabled, all the disabled passenger needs is space for a wheelchair so no vehicle adaptions are required?
As there are no adaptions being made to the vehicle, then the VAT relief wouldn’t apply to the vehicle.
For the VAT relief to apply, the following must be taken account of:
Adaptations to the motor vehicle must be permanent and substantial and be designed to meet the specific needs of the disabled wheelchair user, to enable them to travel in it, by entering the vehicle or to enter and drive it. If only minor changes to the vehicle are needed for the disabled person to enter or enter and drive it, then the purchase of the car will not qualify for zero rating although the adaptations may.
Dave