Grants are available to help with VAT on the construction, repair and maintenance of public memorial structures in the UK for work which took place on or after 16 March 2005.

The funding is intended to cover the costs of VAT already paid. The maximum grant available is the full rate of VAT (20% of project costs).

Applications will be accepted from registered charities and faith groups excepted from registering as a charity to help with the cost of works like repairing and cleaning public memorials or installing a new memorial.

The memorial can commemorate a person/people, an animal/s or event/s.

The funding can only be provided for works that have already taken place. It cannot be used for future works. Part-funding is available for ongoing work for parts of the work which have been completed.

To be eligible, the memorial must:

Be a public memorial
Be a structure or involve construction
Have a commemorative purpose
Be single purpose.
Be accessible to the public allowing people to visit, reflect, and pay their respects. The public must have access for at least 30 hours per week.

The funding is for relevant costs which are services provided by a VAT-registered contractor, such as

Construction of an eligible type of memorial
Cleaning
Repairs
Removal of graffiti
Repainting or other decoration
Minor landscaping of areas around a memorial (where it is part of other eligible work)
Minor landscaping in the course of memorial construction.

Local authorities, costs which can be reclaimed from HMRC, grave markers, headstones, mausolea, memorial gardens and trees are not eligible for funding.

The deadline for applications is 30 September 2024.

For more information, please visit East Midlands Business Limited | EMB Group (emb-group.co.uk)