Introduction
If you’re registered for VAT, you have to charge VAT when you make taxable supplies.
What qualifies and the VAT rate you charge depends on the type of goods or services you provide.
No VAT is charged on goods or services that are:
- exempt from VAT
- outside the scope of the UK VAT system
This guide to goods and services and their VAT rates is not a complete list. You can see a full list of VAT notices for goods and services not included in this guide.
VAT rate conditions
These rates may only apply if certain conditions are met, or in particular circ*mstances, depending on some or all of the following:
- who’s providing or buying them
- where they’re provided
- how they’re presented for sale
- the precise nature of the goods or services
- whether you obtain the necessary evidence
- whether you keep the right records
- whether they’re provided with other goods and services
Other conditions may also apply.
There are also specific VAT rules for certain trades that affect:
- how you account for VAT
- how much you must pay
- how much you can reclaim
Find information about VAT for builders and VAT for charities.
International trade
Goods exported outside the UK are zero-rated, subject to conditions. You can read more about VAT on goods sent overseas.
Food and drink, animals, animal feed, plants and seeds
Food and drink for human consumption is usually zero-rated but some items are always standard-rated. These include catering, alcoholic drinks, confectionery, crisps and savoury snacks, hot food, sports drinks, hot takeaways, ice cream, soft drinks and mineral water.
Restaurants must always charge VAT on everything eaten either on their premises or in communal areas designated for their customers to use, such as shared tables in a shopping centre or airport food courts.
In addition, restaurants and takeaway vendors must charge VAT on all hot takeaways and home deliveries, but do not need to charge VAT on cold takeaway food unless it’s to be eaten in a designated area.
From 15 July 2020 to 31 March 2021, certain supplies of catering and hot takeaway food that would normally be taxable at the standard rate of VAT, will be liable to the reduced rate of 5%.
Certain animals, animal feeding products, plants and seeds also qualify for the zero rate, but only if the conditions in the following VAT notices are met, however products packaged as pet food are standard-rated.
Find out more about:
- food and drink in VAT Notice 701/14
- catering and take-away food in VAT Notice 709/1
- animals and animal feed in VAT Notice 701/15
- plants and seeds in VAT Notice 701/38
Sport, leisure, culture and antiques
Sport
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Physical education and sports activities | Exempt | VATNotice701/45 |
Leisure
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Betting and gaming — including pool betting and games of chance | Exempt | VATNotice701/29 |
| Bingo — including remote games played on the internet, telephone, television or radio | Exempt | VATNotice701/29 |
| Lottery ticket sales | Exempt | VATNotice701/29 |
| Online lottery games | Exempt | VATNotice701/29 |
| Retailer commission on lottery ticket sales | Exempt | VATNotice701/29 |
Culture
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Admission charges by public authorities or eligible cultural bodies to certain cultural events such as visits to museums, art exhibitions, zoos and performances | Exempt | VATNotice701/47 |
Antiques
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Antiques, works of art or similar (as assets of historic houses) sold by private treaty to public collections | Exempt | VATNotice701/12 |
| Antiques, works of art or similar (as assets of historic houses) used to settle a tax or estate duty debt with HMRC | Exempt | VATNotice701/12 |
Health, education, welfare and charities
Charities
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Admission charges by charities | Exempt | How VAT applies to charities |
| Advertising services for charities | 0% | VATNotice701/58 |
| Certain goods sold at charitable fundraising events | 0% | Charity fund-raising events and VAT |
| Charitable fundraising events | Exempt | Charity fund-raising events and VAT |
| Charity shops — selling donated goods | 0% | Charitable donations and VAT |
| Construction and sale of new buildings for a relevant charitable purpose | 0% | VATNotice708 |
| Energy-saving materials permanently installed in dwellings and buildings used for a relevant residential purpose providing the total cost of them (not including VAT) is not over 60% of the cost of the installation of the products (not including VAT) | 5% | Energy-saving materials — supply only — are standard-rated — VATNotice708/6 |
| Sponsored charitable events | Exempt | Charities and VAT |
| Voluntary donations to charity | Outside the scope of VAT | Donations to charities |
Welfare
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Building services for disabled people | 0% | Notice701/7VAT reliefs for disabled people |
| Burial or cremation of dead people, or burial at sea | Exempt | VATNotice701/32 |
| Mobility aids for the elderly | 5% | Mobility aids for older people |
| Equipment for blind or partially sighted people | 0% | Equipment for blind or partially sighted people |
| Equipment for disabled people | 0% | Equipment for disabled people |
| Funeral plans written under contracts of insurance | Exempt | VATNotice701/36 |
| Smoking cessation products — nicotine patches and gum | 5% | Read Budget Note BN77 (PDF, 42K) |
| Welfare services provided by charities at significantly below cost | Outside the scope of VAT | VATNotice701/1 |
| Magnetic tape adapted for recording speech for blind people together with apparatus for making and playing the adapted tape and certain low vision aids | 0% | Aids for blind people |
Health
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Care or medical treatment provided by a qualifying institution like a hospital, hospice or nursing home | Exempt | VATNotice701/31 |
| Dispensing of prescriptions by a registered pharmacist | 0% | VATNotice701/57 |
| Health services provided by registered doctors, dentists, opticians, pharmacists and other health professionals | Exempt | VATNotice701/57 |
| Incontinence products | 0% | VATNotice701/7 |
| Maternity pads | 0% | VATNotice701/18 |
| Sanitary protection products | 0% | VATNotice701/18 |
| Low vision aids | 0% | Equipment for blind or partially sighted people |
Education
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Education, vocational training and other connected services provided by an eligible body like a school, college or university | Exempt | VATNotice701/30 |
Power, utilities, energy and energy saving, heating
Power
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Electricity for domestic and residential use or for non-business use by a charity | 5% | Fuel for business use is usually standard-rated — VATNotice701/19 |
| Gas for domestic and residential use or for non-business use by a charity | 5% | Fuel for business use is usually standard-rated — VATNotice701/19 |
| Heating oil for domestic and residential use or for non-business use by a charity | 5% | Fuel for business use is usually standard-rated — VATNotice701/19 |
| Solid fuel for domestic and residential use or for non-business use by a charity | 5% | Fuel for business use is usually standard-rated — VATNotice701/19 |
Utilities
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Cesspools, septic tanks or similar (domestic) — emptying | 0% | Emptying industrial cesspools, septic tanks or similar is standard-rated — VATNotice701/16 |
| Sewerage services supplied to domestic or industrial customers | 0% | Sewer and drain cleaning, unblocking or maintenance is standard-rated — VATNotice701/16 |
| Water supplied to households | 0% | Water supplied to industrial customers is standard-rated — VATNotice701/16 |
Energy-saving materials installed in dwellings and buildings used for a relevant residential purpose
To qualify for the reduced rate, you must be over 60 or in receipt of any of the benefits listed in VATNotice708/6.
Alternatively, you may be eligible to get the reduced rate on the products if the total cost of them (not including VAT) is not over 60% of the installation of the products (not including VAT). If your products cost more than 60% of the installation, you’ll only be entitled to the reduced rate on the installation.
| Installed goods | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Air source heat pumps | 0% (5% Northern Ireland) | VATNotice708/6 |
| Boilers — wood fuelled | 0% (5% Northern Ireland) | VATNotice708/6 |
| Central heating and hot water controls | 0% (5% Northern Ireland) | VAT Notice708/6 |
| Draught stripping | 0% (5% Northern Ireland) | VATNotice708/6 |
| Ground source heat pumps | 0% (5% Northern Ireland) | VATNotice708/6 |
| Insulation | 0% (5% Northern Ireland) | VATNotice708/6 |
| Micro combined heat and power units | 0% (5% Northern Ireland) | VATNotice708/6 |
| Solar panels | 0% (5% Northern Ireland) | VATNotice708/6 |
| Water and wind turbines | 0% | VATNotice708/6 |
Heating equipment and connection of gas supply (to the extent they are grant-funded by certain funders to people aged over 60 or who are in receipt of certain benefits)
| Installed goods | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Closed solid fuel fire cassettes | 5% | VATNotice708/6 |
| Electric dual immersion water heaters with factory-insulated hot water tanks | 5% | VATNotice708/6 |
| Electric storage heaters | 5% | VATNotice708/6 |
| Gas-fired boilers | 5% | VATNotice708/6 |
| Gas room heaters with thermostatic controls | 5% | VAT Notice 708/6 |
| Oil-fired boilers | 5% | VATNotice708/6 |
| Radiators | 5% | VATNotice708/6 |
| The installation, repair and maintenance of a boiler, radiators, pipework and controls forming a central heating system (including micro combined heat and power systems) | 5% | VATNotice708/6 |
| The installation, repair and maintenance of renewable source heating systems. This means space or water heating systems which use energy from: renewable sources, including solar, wind and hydroelectric power; or near renewable sources, including ground and air heat | 5% | VATNotice708/6 |
| Connection or reconnection to the mains gas supply | 5% | VATNotice708/6 |
Building and construction, land and property
Building and construction
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Substantial reconstructions to protected buildings that are buildings used as a dwelling, for a relevant residential purpose or for a relevant charitable purpose | 0% | VATNotice708 |
| The installation of a bathroom or lavatory, constructing ramps and widening doorways or passageways for disabled people in their own home | 0% | Building services for disabled people |
| Construction and first freehold or long leasehold sale of a new building for a relevant charitable purpose | 0% | VATNotice708 |
| Construction and first freehold or long leasehold sale of a new building for relevant residential purposes | 0% | VATNotice708 |
| Construction and first freehold or long leasehold sale of new domestic buildings | 0% | VATNotice708 |
| Converting existing premises by increasing the number of dwellings within the building | 5% | VATNotice708 |
| Renovating a dwelling that has been empty for at least 2 years | 5% | VATNotice708 |
| First freehold or long leasehold sale of a commercial building converted into a dwelling or dwellings | 0% | VATNotice708 |
| First freehold or long leasehold sale of buildings converted for relevant residential purposes | 0% | VATNotice708 |
| First freehold or long leasehold sale of buildings converted for relevant charitable purposes | 0% | VATNotice708 |
Land and property
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Garages or parking spaces let together with dwellings (under shorthold tenancy agreements) for permanent residential use | Exempt | Garages or facilities specially designed for parking are standard-rated — VATNotice742 |
| Parking — grant, or licence, to occupy land on which incidental parking takes place | Exempt | VATNotice742 |
| Property, land and buildings — grant, or licence, to occupy land or buildings | Exempt | VATNotice742 |
| Sale or long lease of a new dwelling with garage or parking space | 0% | VATNotice708 |
Transport, freight, travel and vehicles
Transport
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Aircraft repair and maintenance | 0% | VATNotice744C |
Freight
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Freight transport to or from a place outside the UK | 0% | Domestic freight transport is standard-rated, unless it is the domestic leg of freight transport between the UK and another country (0%). — VATNotice744B |
| Freight containers — sale, lease or hire to a place outside the UK and the EU | 0% | VATNotice703/1 |
| International freight transport that takes place in the UK and its territorial waters | 0% | VATNotice744B |
Travel
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Houseboat moorings | Exempt | VATNotice742 |
| Parking spaces or garages supplied with houseboat moorings | Exempt | VATNotice742 |
| Passenger transport in a vehicle, boat or aircraft that carries not less than 10 passengers | 0% | VATNotice744A |
| Tolls for bridges, tunnels and roads operated by public authorities | Outside the scope of VAT | Privately-operated tolls for bridges, tunnels and roads are standard-rated — VATNotice700 |
Vehicles
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Aircraft repair and maintenance | 0% | VATNotice744C |
| Airships — sale or charter | 0% | VATNotice744C |
| Caravans (more than 7 metres long or more than 2.55 metres wide) | 0% or 5% | Taxing holiday caravans |
| Civil aeroplanes — sale or charter | 0% | Gliders — sale or charter — are standard-rated as are hot air balloons — VATNotice744C |
| Helicopters — sale or charter | 0% | VATNotice744C |
| Houseboats — sale or let out on hire | 0% | But holiday accommodation let in a moored houseboat is standard-rated — VATNotice701/20 |
| Military aeroplanes — sale or charter | 0% | VATNotice744C |
| Ship repairs and maintenance | 0% | VATNotice744C |
| Shipbuilding — 15 tons or over gross tonnage | 0% | VATNotice744C |
Printing, postage, publications — books, magazines and newspapers
Printing
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Brochures | 0% | VATNotice701/10 |
| Leaflets | 0% | VATNotice701/10 |
| Pamphlets | 0% | VATNotice701/10 |
Postage
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Direct-mail postal services meeting all the conditions of VAT Notice 700/24 3.2 and 3.3 | Outside the scope of VAT | VATNotice700/24 |
| Postage, packing and delivery within the UK included in the sales contract but charged for separately, for example, mail order | The same rate as the goods being delivered or posted | Postage, packing and delivery within the UK charged as an optional extra is always standard-rated — VATNotice700/24 |
| Public postal services provided by the Royal Mail under a universal service obligation | Exempt | Standard Royal Mail first and second class services for example |
| Other postal services that are not subject to a universal service obligation | Standard-rated | Supplies that are not subject to regulation |
Publications
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Books | 0% | VATNotice701/10 |
| Children’s painting and picture books | 0% | VATNotice701/10 |
| Maps and charts | 0% | VATNotice701/10 |
| Magazines | 0% | VATNotice701/10 |
| Newspapers | 0% | VATNotice701/10 |
| Printed or copied music | 0% | VATNotice701/10 |
| Publications | 0% | Some items are standard-rated such as exercise books, letterheads, posters — VATNotice701/10 |
Clothing and footwear
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Babywear | 0% | VATNotice714 |
| Children’s clothes and footwear | 0% | VATNotice714 |
Protective and safety equipment
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Carrycots with restraint straps | 5% | VATNotice701/23 |
| Children’s car seats, booster seats and booster cushions | 5% | VATNotice701/23 |
| Children’s safety seats with bare wheeled framework | 5% | Prams and pushchairs are standard-rated — VATNotice701/23 |
| Cycle helmets — CE marked | 0% | VATNotice701/23 |
| Motorcycle helmets that meet safety standards | 0% | VATNotice701/23 |
| Protective boots and helmets for industrial use | 0% | VATNotice701/23 |
Financial services and investments, insurance
Financial services and investments
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Financial services including the issue, transfer or receipt of, or dealing with money, securities for money or orders for the payment of money | Exempt | VATNotice701/49 |
| The granting of credit such as loans | Exempt | VATNotice701/49 |
| The management of credit by the person who has granted it | Exempt | VATNotice701/49 |
| The provision of the facility of instalment credit finance for example hire-purchase | Exempt | VATNotice701/49 |
| The provision of qualifying financial intermediary services | Exempt | VATNotice701/49 |
| The issue, transfer or dealing with a security, including shares and bonds | Exempt | VATNotice701/49 |
| The operation of a current, deposit or savings account | Exempt | VATNotice701/49 |
| The management of a qualifying special investment fund | Exempt | VATNotice701/49 |
| Financial service supplied as a separate element but with other goods or services | Exempt | VATNotice701/49 |
| Financial service supplied as part of a single supply with other goods or services | Exempt if financial service is the principal element of the supply | VATNotice701/49 |
| Gold investment coins | Exempt | VATNotice701/21 |
Insurance
| Goods or services | VAT rate | Moreinformation |
| Friendly society subscriptions for the provision of insurance | Exempt | VATNotice701/36 |
| Insurance and reinsurance transactions | Exempt | VATNotice701/36 |
| Insurance brokers and agents acting in an intermediary capacity | Exempt | VATNotice701/36 |
| Insurance supplied as a separate element but with other goods or services | Exempt | VATNotice701/36 |
| Insurance supplied as part of a single supply with other goods or services | Exempt if insurance is the principal element of the supply | VATNotice701/36 |
