VAT: implications for aesthetic practitioners

The subject of value-added tax (VAT) is a long-standing complex and contentious issue within the field of aesthetic medicine. It is neither reasonable or rational for HMRC to continue to adopt such a restrictive and discriminatory view towards an important branch of modern-day medicine. As healthcare professionals, we must be prepared to defend our specialty and ensure that the healthcare services we are providing to our patients fall within the exemption criteria, in consonance with other branches of medicine. I am no expert on the subject of VAT and I would always strongly advocate that practitioners seek the advice of a VAT specialist, but I am an expert in the delivery of medical aesthetic healthcare, and I challenge the belief that the work that we do is anything less than true medicine. For most ethically-sound practitioners, it is rare to see a patient who requires medical aesthetic intervention for purely cosmetic purposes.