Policy paper

Revenue and Customs Brief 5 (2026): Temporary reduced rate of VAT for children's meals, tickets and family attractions

This brief explains a temporary reduced rate of VAT for children's meals, tickets and family attractions that applies from 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 21 May 2026
• Last updated: 27 July 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 27 July 2026

     Added new sections on 'Sales through agents, tour operators and ticket platforms', 'Party packages', 'Free meals promotions','Prepayments' and 'Flat rate scheme supplies'.

  2. 21 May 2026

     First published.

Documents

Temporary reduced rate of VAT for children's meals, tickets and family attractions

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Details

This brief explains a temporary reduced rate of VAT of 5% that applies to:

• certain supplies of children’s meals
• children’s admission to theatres, cinemas, concerts, exhibitions and shows
• all admission tickets to attractions suitable for families with children

The reduced rate applies from 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026 (inclusive).