The aim is to reduce the cost of selected leisure and hospitality activities during the summer holiday period, particularly those used by families with children.

For businesses operating in hospitality, entertainment and leisure sectors, this represents a short-term but significant VAT change requiring careful implementation.

What does the relief apply to?

The temporary 5% VAT rate applies to the following categories of supplies, subject to specific conditions:

🍽️ Children’s meals

• Must be clearly marketed and presented as “children’s meals”

• Typically includes meal deals with non-alcoholic drinks

• Applies to dine-in catering services only

The classification depends on how the meal is marketed, priced and presented, rather than portion size alone.

🎟️ Children’s entertainment tickets

• Cinema screenings

• Theatre performances, concerts and exhibitions

• Tickets must be sold and presented as children’s admissions

Family ticket structures may also qualify where they include children within the package.

🏞️ Family attractions and soft play (admission only)

• Theme parks and amusement parks

• Zoos, aquariums and wildlife attractions

• Museums and cultural venues

• Soft play centres and adventure parks

• Other similar family-focused attractions

The reduced rate applies strictly to admission charges only.

Key VAT and accounting considerations

From a compliance and systems perspective, businesses should be aware of the following:

• Eligibility is determined by marketing, pricing and presentation, not solely by product type

• Clear separation is required between qualifying and non-qualifying elements in bundled supplies

• Tax point rules apply, meaning VAT is determined by the date of admission rather than the booking or payment date

• Items supplied separately (such as merchandise, upgrades, or additional food and beverage items) remain subject to the standard VAT rate

• Normal VAT treatment continues to apply to supplies outside the scope of the relief, including sport and recreational activities

Operational impact for businesses

This change is temporary in nature but will require businesses to review:

• Point-of-sale and booking system configuration

• Ticketing and menu classification

• VAT coding and reporting logic

• Treatment of advance bookings and refunds

• Staff training on correct categorisation of supplies

Prepare early and ensure systems are updated correctly ahead of implementation.

How we can help

Our team can assist you with reviewing VAT treatment and system configuration.

📩 Please get in touch to discuss how this may impact your business.

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