In HMRC v Anna Cook [2021] UKUT 0015, the Upper Tribunal (UT) reversed a decision of the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) decision, Ceroc dance tuition is not exempt from VAT. It is not a supply of private tuition in a subject ordinarily taught at school or university.

The relevant law is contained in Value Added Tax 1994 (VATA) which is the UK’s enactment of Principal VAT Directive 2006/112 EC. 

Section 31 VATA gives an exemption from VAT for the supply of private tuition, in a subject ordinarily taught in a school or university, by an individual teacher acting independently of an employer (via Schedule 9).

This exemption has been the subject of case law which has rejected the application of the exemption where the tuition is for purely recreational purposes.

The FTT allowed the appeal finding that:

HMRC appealed to the UT.

The UT found that:

The UT went on to consider further grounds in the appeal for completeness, finding that:

HMRC’s appeal was allowed.

Useful guides on this topic

Appeals: VAT
How do I appeal an HMRC decision?  How do I appeal a penalty?  How can I request a Statutory Review? 

Education & VAT
What rate of VAT applies to education? What sort of services are classed as education? What do you do if your have multiple supplies including education? What cases are there on VAT and education?

External links

HMRC v Anna Cook [2021] UKUT 0015


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