Temporary Reduced Rate of VAT

From 25 June to 1 September 2026, the 5% reduced rate of VAT will apply to the following eligible activities:

• Children’s meals. To qualify for the reduced rating, the meal:

  • Must be held out for sale as a meal for children.

  • Must be a supply of catering by a restaurant, café or similar establishment and consumed on the premises.

  • Must not be takeaway food.

  • Can include drinks.

• Children’s cinema, theatre, show and concert admissions tickets.

• Admission to qualifying attractions that are suitable for children. This includes amusement parks, museums, heritage sites, zoos and soft play areas. The reduced rate applies to all admissions, regardless of the customer’s age.

  How will the reduced rate apply to season tickets and advance purchases?

  Season tickets that permit repeat entries with the relief period (25 June - 1 September) will qualify for the reduced rate. However, where a ticket allows repeat entries before or after the relief period it will not qualify for the reduced rate, unless it is priced the same as a standard single-entry ticket.

  The reduced rate can be applied to advance and prepaid sales where the admission will take place during the relief period. This includes those that were made before the government’s announcement.

  If a business has already paid over standard rate VAT on such a sale on their VAT return, they can make an adjustment on their next return to be refunded the VAT. The government does however expect businesses to refund any overpaid VAT back to the customer.

  How will businesses pass the savings on?

  The government expects businesses to lower their prices so that the VAT cut is passed directly on to the customer.

  This may require work in updating signage, tills, accounts software and websites to deal with the revised pricing for the summer. However, this may be justified by the increased footfall.

  Affected businesses should check how the rules will apply in their specific circumstances. Detailed HMRC guidance is available to help businesses.

  If you need any help in dealing with the temporary VAT reduction, please feel free to contact us. We would be happy to help you!