Since 25 June 2026, VAT on qualifying children's meals and family attraction admissions dropped from 20% to 5%. The cut runs until 1 September. That's ten weeks of reduced VAT on some of the most commercially important trading days of the year. But this isn't a blanket cut for hospitality — the rules are specific, and getting them wrong costs you money or creates compliance problems down the line.
What's Actually Changed
As part of the government's Great British Summer Savings initiative, a temporary 5% VAT rate now applies to three categories of supply:
- Children's meals served and eaten on the premises — but only where the meal is specifically marketed, priced, and presented as a children's meal. A smaller adult portion does not qualify. A dedicated children's menu does.
- Children's admission tickets to cinemas, theatres, shows, and exhibitions — where the ticket is sold specifically as a child or family admission.
- Admission to qualifying family attractions — this is the broadest category. The 5% rate applies to all customers, adults included, at attractions including theme parks, water parks, zoos, aquariums, soft play centres, indoor bounce parks, museums, heritage sites, nature reserves, circuses, adventure parks, and observation attractions.
The relief covers the admission charge only. Food, drink, merchandise, and any separately sold goods remain at their normal VAT rate.
What Doesn't Qualify
This is where mistakes happen. The following are explicitly outside the scope of the cut:
- Takeaway food — even children's meals
- Adult meals, even when sold at a discount or in a smaller portion
- Sports activities, sports facilities, or spectator sports of any kind
- Season tickets or multi-entry passes that allow entry after 1 September 2026 — unless priced the same as a standard single-entry ticket
- Any supply already VAT-exempt — the reduced rate doesn't replace an existing exemption
Pay-per-ride attractions at amusement parks are also excluded even where the wider attraction qualifies. The admission ticket is in scope; the individual ride charge is not.
The Mixed Supply Problem
This is the area most likely to create errors on your VAT return.
If your business sells qualifying and non-qualifying supplies together — a children's meal with an adult meal, an attraction ticket bundled with merchandise, a family package that includes food — normal VAT apportionment rules apply. The qualifying element attracts 5%. The rest stays at 20%. These splits need to be correctly set up in your till system, your booking platform, and your VAT records.
A theme park admission ticket qualifies. The burger sold inside does not — unless it comes from a dedicated children's menu, served on the premises, as part of a children's meal.
Advance Bookings and Season Passes
Eligibility is determined by when the admission takes place, not when it was paid for. Tickets purchased before 25 June for admissions within the relief window can qualify at 5%. If you already accounted for those bookings at 20%, an adjustment to your VAT records may be needed.
Tickets purchased now for entry after 1 September do not qualify.
What to Check Before Your Next VAT Return
The first VAT return to include this period will catch out businesses that haven't set things up correctly. Work through this now:
- Tills and EPOS. Is the 5% rate set up as a separate VAT code on qualifying supplies? Are staff applying it correctly at point of sale?
- Menus and pricing. Are children's meals clearly presented as such? A smaller adult portion or a discounted item doesn't automatically qualify.
- Booking systems. Are advance bookings for in-period admissions correctly coded? Have pre-25 June payments been adjusted where appropriate?
- Mixed supply packages. Have you identified which elements qualify and which don't? Is your system splitting them correctly?
- Reverting on 2 September. Do your systems revert automatically on 2 September, or does someone need to manually switch the rate back?
For the full detail on which supplies qualify, see HMRC's Revenue and Customs Brief 5 (2026).
The summer VAT cut is a genuine opportunity for hospitality and leisure businesses — but only if it's applied correctly. The detail is narrower than the headline suggests, and the cost of getting it wrong lands on your next VAT return.
If you want to check whether your supplies qualify or review your VAT setup for the summer period, speak to a Runway co-founder.
