Date posted: 21st May 2026
Today (Thursday, 21 May 2026), HMRC has announced a temporary 5% VAT rate for children’s meals, family attraction tickets and cinema/theatre admissions – effective 25 June to 1 September 2026.
Hydeam Sulton, VAT Partner, has outlined details about the announcement below. As the window opens in just over four weeks, this means a very tight turnaround for systems and process changes, so getting advice early is essential. Further details about the temporary VAT rate can be found here.
Who this applies to
Businesses making consumer‑facing supplies to families with children during the school summer holidays. This includes, but is not limited to, the following types of organisations and their advisers:
- 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, observation attractions and certain other family-focused attractions
- museums and similar cultural attractions
What qualifies
- Children’s meals on a dedicated children’s menu (dine-in only — no takeaways)
- Children’s cinema, theatre and concert tickets
- Family tickets where at least one child admission is included — the whole ticket qualifies
- All-age admission to theme parks, zoos, soft play, museums, aquariums, heritage sites, observation attractions and more
What doesn’t qualify
- Takeaway children’s meals
- “Small portions” or cheaper adult meals not on a children’s menu
- Standalone adult theatre and cinema tickets
- Season passes covering dates outside the window (unless priced the same as a single entry)
- Pay-per-ride charges within attractions
- Sport and physical recreation
What to do before 25 June 2026
- Map your supplies against the qualifying criteria
- Update EPoS and till systems and accounting systems
- Review advance bookings and season ticket prepayments
- Train finance and front-of-house teams
- Take advice on application of rules and where applicable any mixed or bundled packages
If you would like to discuss how these changes may affect you or your business, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of our specialist team.
