Temporary 5% rate: 25th June to 1st September 2026
What is changing?
From 25th June to 1st September 2026 (69 days), a temporary 5% VAT rate applies to certain children’s and family supplies. The government expects businesses to pass this saving onto their customers at the point of purchase.
What is covered?
- Children’s meals served from a dedicated children’s menu (on-premises only)
- Children’s and family tickets for cinemas, theatres, exhibitions, concerts, and shows
- All admission tickets (adults included) to theme parks, zoos, aquariums, soft play centres, circuses, adventure parks, museums, and observation attractions.
The reduced rate applies to all admission tickets at qualifying attractions, not just children’s tickets. A family of four at a wildlife park, two adults included, all benefit from the 5% rate
What doesn’t qualify.
- Smaller portions of adult dishes (it must be a dedicated children’s menu)
- Adult cinema or theatre tickets on their own
- Group tickets not marketed as family tickets
- Season tickets (unless priced the same as standard single entry)
- Sports facilities
What you need to do
- Identify which of your supplies qualify
- Update VAT codes in your till/POS system before 25 June.
- Brief your front-of-house and finance teams on the boundaries and what items/services will be affected by this change.
- Reverse all changes from 2 September
Advance bookings and prepayments
If you’ve already taken bookings or sold tickets covering the relief period, you can apply the 5% rate – but it’s not automatic. You need to make a conscious decision and document it. Speak to us before acting on this.
You can read more about this, here.
As always, if you have any questions, we’re here to help.
You can give us a call on 01872 267 267, message us via WhatsApp on 0777 49 39 111, or email us at [email protected].
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