The government is introducing a temporary reduced rate of VAT for children's meals in restaurants and family leisure activities over the summer. VAT will be reduced from 20% to 5% on qualifying activities in the latest government drive to ease pressure on household budgets.
Outlining the measure, HMRC have issued 'Revenue and Customs Brief 5 (2026): Temporary reduced rate of VAT for children's meals, tickets and family attractions'.
The Brief is aimed at businesses that will be making consumer-facing supplies to families with children over the summer months. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Restaurants, cafes and similar catering establishments.
- Cinemas, theatres, exhibition and performance venues.
- Museums and similar cultural attractions.
- Operators of circuses, fairs, amusement parks, theme parks, adventure parks, water parks, zoos, soft play centres, observation attractions, and certain other family-focused attractions.
From 25 June to 1 September 2026, VAT will be reduced from 20% to 5% on eligible children's meals and activities. The reduction will generally not apply to adult customers except where the adult customer forms part of a qualifying family package.
- Children's meals and activities that are currently exempt will not be affected by the changes.
Children's meals
Where the following conditions are met, the reduced rate will apply:
- The meal is 'held out' for sale only as a meal for children.
- Whether a meal is held out will depend on how the meal is marketed, presented and priced as opposed to who consumes it, i.e., a meal on a children's menu would be within the scope of the reduction.
- The meal is supplied as part of catering services by a restaurant, cafe, or similar establishment and is for consumption on those premises.
If a child's meal includes various courses or has an additional drink and is supplied for a single inclusive price, the reduced rate can apply; however, optional add-ons or upgrades priced separately that do not form part of the meal are subject to the normal rate of VAT.
- A non-alcoholic drink supplied with the child's meal will qualify; however, where a meal includes an alcoholic drink, it will not be regarded as a child's meal for the purposes of the reduction.
The following are not within the scope of the reduced rate:
- Meals that are marketed as smaller portions.
- Where the same meal appears on both a children's and adult menu, the children's portion is usually differentiated by size and price. Portion size alone is not a determining factor.
- Lower-calorie options.
- Discounted versions of adult meals.
- Shared meals intended for both adults and children.
- Takeaway meals.
HMRC's Brief provides the following examples:
- If a restaurant offers a fixed price children’s meal (for example, main, drink and dessert) on a dedicated children’s menu, the whole supply is subject to the reduced rate.
- If a children’s menu lists a main meal, with a drink or dessert available for an additional charge, then if these items are also on the children’s menu, they may also benefit from the reduced rate. However, if additional items are selected from the standard menu, then the reduced rate does not apply.
- If a menu includes a smaller or cheaper portion of an adult meal that is not presented as part of a children’s menu, this is not a children’s meal and remains standard-rated.
Children's theatre and cinema tickets
The reduced rate of VAT will apply to children's admission tickets to the following:
- Cinema screenings.
- Theatrical performances, shows and concerts.
- Exhibitions.
A child's ticket is held out for sale only as a right of admission for a child, based on how it is marketed, priced and presented by the supplier.
- If tickets are sold individually for different categories of customers, the reduction in VAT only applies to those that are advertised and sold as children's tickets.
- Family tickets, which include one or more children, will have the rate applied to the whole ticket, including any adults admitted as part of the package.
- Standalone groups or multi-person tickets that are not sold as family admissions will not qualify. These types of tickets remain standard-rated.
HMRC's Brief provides the following examples:
- If a cinema sells adult and children’s tickets separately, only the children’s tickets are subject to the reduced rate. Adult tickets remain standard-rated.
- If a theatre sells a family ticket (for example, two adults and two children) for a single price, as the package includes at least one child admission, the whole package is subject to the reduced rate.
- If a venue sells only standard admission tickets and does not offer tickets marketed as children’s admissions, all tickets remain standard-rated.
Attractions and soft play
The reduction of VAT applies to admission for any customers where the qualifying attraction is suitable for families with children.
The following venues are included (unless admission to that venue is already exempt from VAT):
- Amusement parks, fairs, water parks and theme parks (excluding pay-per-ride attractions).
- Circuses.
- Adventure parks, including outdoor adventure centres.
- Museums and similar cultural facilities, including plantariums, heritage sites, nature reserves and botanical gardens.
- Zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks and farm attractions.
- Soft play, indoor bounce parks and indoor play facilities.
- Observation attractions, including viewing platforms, towers and observation wheels.
Goods and services supplied outside of the ticket purchase, such as food, merchandise or upgrades, remain subject to their normal VAT treatment.
If a single ticket allows admission to various attractions, but that ticket is solely for admission during the eligible period, the VAT relief may apply. For tickets that include repeat entries outside of the relief period, the ticket will not qualify for relief unless the ticket is the same price as a single-day ticket.
- For example, weekly passes or season tickets that allow repeat entries outside the eligible relief period will not qualify where the ticket is priced higher than a single entry ticket.
- If the ticket allows for repeat entries only inside the relief period, this will attract the reduced rate of VAT.
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
Admissions to shows and certain attractions
If a business currently charges standard rate VAT for admission to screenings, performances and certain attractions, they will only need to apply the reduced rate from 25 June to 1 September 2026.
Bundles and mixed supplies
Where tickets include various goods and services bundled together, normal VAT rules to determine the correct liability still apply. If a part of the bundle is eligible for the relief, the reduced rate will apply to the eligible part only.
Time of supply
The eligible period is 25 June to 1 September 2026, inclusive. Any purchases made before and after these dates are subject to normal VAT rules.
- Tickets bought during the period for admission on or after 2 September 2026 remain subject to the standard rate.
- If advance purchases of tickets are made, businesses may opt to apply the lower rate of VAT to keep in line with the change of rate provisions, which also includes any advance purchases made before the announcements.
- If VAT has already been accounted for at the standard rate, a business can make an adjustment to apply the lower rate. The government expects that where a customer has prepaid, the business will refund them any additional VAT paid, rather than pocketing the difference.
The reduced rate is subject to the relevant statutory instrument being made and coming into force. HMRC's Brief is an outline of how the law is expected to be applied once it is enacted.
In addition to the above, the government has also introduced free bus travel in England for children aged 5-15 in August to encourage families to get outdoors.
Useful guides on this topic
VAT: What's New 2026-27?
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Starting in business: VAT
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Goods or services for VAT
What are goods and what are services for VAT? The answer may have an impact on the time of supply, the place of supply and in some cases the rate of the supply. The answer is not always as straightforward as it may seem.
External Links
Great British Summer Savings 2026: Family activities VAT relief fact sheet
Great British Summer Savings 2026: VAT slashed to save families money on days out