VAT changes – Great British Summer Savings scheme
The Government has been under a lot of pressure to try to help households deal with the “cost of living crisis”. On 21 May 2026, it announced the Great British Summer Savings scheme, whereby VAT on family outings, including attractions and meals, will be chargeable at the reduced rate of 5%, rather than the standard 20% rate.
From 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026 inclusive, the 5% rate will apply to:
– certain supplies of children’s meals;
– children’s admission to theatres, cinemas, concerts, exhibitions and shows; and
– all admission tickets to attractions suitable for families with children.
Do you have a qualifying business?
The scheme will apply to businesses making consumer facing supplies to families with children. It includes the following types of organisations:
– restaurants, cafés and similar catering establishments;
– cinemas, theatres, exhibition and performance venues;
– operators of circuses, fairs, amusement parks, theme parks, adventure parks and water parks, zoos and other animal attractions, soft play centres and certain other family-focused attractions;
– museums and similar cultural attractions.
Children’s meals
You may remember that, during the re-opening of businesses following one of the COVID-19 lockdowns, there was a debate about whether a scotch egg counted as a ‘main meal’. Hopefully what constitutes a child’s meal under the new scheme will not be so difficult to interpret!
The reduced rate applies to the supply of children’s meals (including non-alcoholic drinks) that:
– are marketed and priced as a meal for children; and
– supplied as part of catering services by a restaurant, café or similar establishment for consumption on the premises.
Note that takeaways do not qualify and neither do meals marketed as smaller portion, lower calorie options. If a restaurant offers a fixed price children’s meal (including a non-alcoholic drink and dessert) on a dedicated children’s menu, then the whole supply will be subject to the reduced rate. However, things can be a lot more complicated than that! If a children’s menu lists a main meal, with a drink or dessert available for an additional charge, the treatment will depend on whether these items are on the children’s menu. If they are, they may also benefit from the reduced rate, but if the additional items are selected from the standard menu, 20% VAT will apply.
Children’s admission tickets
The reduced rate will apply to tickets marketed and priced as children’s tickets only, for cinemas, theatres, shows, concerts and exhibitions. However, where tickets are bought for children but are not marketed as such, they will be liable to the standard 20% rate of VAT. Family tickets (that include one or more children) will be eligible to have the 5% rate applied to the whole family ticket.
Attractions and soft play
The reduced rate applies to charges made for a right of admission for any customers, regardless of age, to qualifying attractions that are suitable for families with children, including:
– amusement parks and fairs (excluding pay-per-ride attractions);
– circuses;
– adventure parks, including outdoor adventure centres;
– museums and similar cultural facilities, including planetariums, heritage sites, nature reserves and botanical gardens;
– zoos, aquaria, wildlife parks and farm visitor attractions;
– soft play centres and indoor play facilities;
– observation attractions, including viewing platforms, towers and observation wheels.
Multiple-entry tickets
Where a single ticket gives admission to more than one attraction and this ticket is solely for admission within the relief period, then the 5% rate may apply. However, if a ticket permits repeat entries outside the dates 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026, this will not qualify for the relief, unless the ticket is the same price as a single-day entry.
Sporting activities
The reduced rate does not apply to sport, including charges for spectating and for participating in sport or physical recreation. This includes:
– admission to sports events;
– use of sports facilities;
– participation in recreational sport.
Note that some supplies of sport or physical recreation may instead be exempt VAT, under existing provisions.
Time of supply
The reduced rate applies to supplies of a right of admission for a date falling between 25 June 2026 and 1 September 2026. Thus:
– Supplies bought before 25 June 2026 may have the reduced rate applied (even if the supplies were bought prior to the scheme’s announcement, in which case the VAT can be amended and the customer refunded the excess VAT paid).
– Tickets bought between 25 June and 1 September for admission on or after 2 September 2026 remain subject to the standard rate.
What is the impact for customers?
As an example, if a relevant VAT-inclusive supply currently costs £60 and the supplier passes on the VAT cut fully to the customer, the cost will reduce to £52.50 (i.e. a £7.50 saving). Clearly, a family with several children wishing to undertake plenty of activities over the summer holidays (perhaps instead of holidaying abroad, given airport disruption and rising air fares) will find that the scheme helps their money go a lot further.
What is the impact for businesses?
It is hoped that the VAT reduction will help businesses to survive and thrive during these difficult economic times. However, whenever there is a change in the VAT rate, there is plenty of scope for businesses to make errors as to which supplies are affected and from when (e.g. when programming their tills). Errors potentially lead to penalties and interest and, when it is a temporary change (as here), it doubles the chance of such problems.
We can make sure you get appropriate help if you have problems in dealing with these changes or want to know how they might affect your business. Please do get in touch if you need to.
