Great British Summer Savings 2026: 5% VAT on Family Days Out
From 25 June to 1 September 2026, the UK government is temporarily cutting VAT from 20% to 5% on many family days out under a scheme called the Great British Summer Savings. It is one of the biggest temporary VAT changes in years, and it reaches restaurants, cinemas, theatres, theme parks, zoos, museums, soft play centres and more. Here is exactly what qualifies, what does not, how much families can save, and what businesses need to do.
- Dates: 25 June to 1 September 2026 inclusive (20% returns on 2 September 2026)
- Rate: reduced from 20% to 5%
- Where: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Applies to: children’s meals, children’s and family entertainment tickets, and attraction admissions
What is the Great British Summer Savings VAT cut?
The Great British Summer Savings is a temporary VAT relief designed to help families with the cost of days out during the school summer holidays. For a roughly ten-week window from 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026 inclusive, VAT on qualifying supplies drops from the standard 20% rate to the reduced 5% rate. It applies right across the UK, and the standard 20% rate returns on 2 September 2026. The government expects qualifying businesses to pass the saving on to customers through lower prices rather than keep it as extra margin.
What qualifies for 5% VAT?
Three broad categories get the reduced rate during the relief period:
- Children’s meals served in restaurants and cafes for eating on the premises, taken from a children’s menu and marketed, priced and presented as a children’s meal.
- Children’s and family entertainment tickets for cinemas, theatres, exhibitions, shows and concerts.
- Attraction admissions, for both adults and children, to amusement, water and theme parks, fairs and circuses, museums, planetariums, heritage sites, nature reserves and botanical gardens, zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks and farm attractions, soft play centres, indoor bounce and play parks, adventure parks, and observation attractions such as towers, viewing platforms and observation wheels.
What is not included
- Sports and fitness facilities are not covered.
- Takeaway and to-go food stays at its normal rate; only eat-in children’s meals qualify.
- Pay-per-ride attractions are excluded, because the relief is for admission rather than individual rides.
- Merchandise, souvenirs, food and parking sold separately keep their normal VAT treatment.
- Already VAT-exempt supplies, such as certain cultural admissions, cannot switch to the 5% rate.
The conditions you need to know
- Marketed, priced and presented. Eligibility is based on how a supply is marketed, priced and presented, not on who actually buys or uses it.
- Family tickets. A family ticket that includes at least one child can have the 5% rate applied to the whole ticket price.
- Bundled packages. Where a package mixes qualifying and non-qualifying elements, only the qualifying admission part gets 5%; extras such as merchandise or parking must be separated out.
- Season and repeat-entry tickets. These qualify only if they are priced the same as a single-entry ticket, or if they are valid solely within the relief period.
- Advance bookings and the tax point. What counts is the date of the visit. Tickets booked in advance qualify as long as the admission date falls between 25 June and 1 September 2026, while tickets bought during the window for a visit after 1 September revert to 20%. If a business has already charged 20% on a qualifying summer booking, it should refund the difference.
How much could families save?
Cutting VAT from 20% to 5% takes roughly 12.5% off the price of a qualifying item, provided the business passes the saving on in full. Here is a worked example for a family attraction ticket:
On a smaller outing, such as a child’s £30 cinema ticket and meal, the saving would be around £3.75. Spread across a summer of trips, it adds up quickly.
What businesses need to do
- Update your till systems and accounting software to apply 5% to qualifying sales from 25 June.
- Review your menus, price lists and booking platforms, and keep separate lists for eligible and non-eligible items.
- Train front-line staff so they apply the correct rate and can explain it to customers.
- Refund customers who were charged 20% on qualifying summer admissions booked earlier.
- Plan the switch back to 20% on 2 September so the transition is smooth.
- If you use the Flat Rate Scheme, check with your accountant how charging 5% while still paying a flat percentage of gross turnover affects you.
Use our free VAT calculator and set a custom 5% rate to check net and gross prices during the Summer Savings period.
Frequently Asked Questions
It runs from 25 June to 1 September 2026 inclusive, and the standard 20% rate returns on 2 September 2026.
Children’s meals eaten on the premises, children’s and family tickets for cinemas, theatres, shows and concerts, and admission to attractions such as theme parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, soft play and observation attractions.
No. Only children’s meals eaten on the premises qualify; takeaway and to-go food keeps its normal VAT rate.
For attraction admissions, yes, the reduced rate applies to both adult and children’s tickets. For meals it is limited to children’s meals, and cinema or theatre relief covers children’s and family tickets.
Yes, as long as the visit date falls between 25 June and 1 September 2026. If you were charged 20%, ask the business for a refund of the difference.
The government expects qualifying businesses to pass the saving on through lower prices rather than keep it as extra margin, and has been clear that the point of the relief is to make family days out cheaper.
Based on official HMRC and GOV.UK guidance. This is general information, not tax advice; check GOV.UK or speak to a qualified accountant for your own situation.