NOTE - this scheme ran from 25 June to 1 September 2026 and has now ended. This article is kept for reference, for anyone reviewing Transactions or reporting from that period.
In June 2026 the UK government introduced a temporary reduced VAT rate of 5% on children's and family Tickets for theatre Performances. The scheme ran from 25 June to 1 September 2026.
Who this applied to
HMRC's guidance states that eligibility depends on how a Ticket is marketed, priced and presented throughout the purchase journey. A standard Ticket sold at a Discount, or promoted with family-friendly copy on your website, may not meet that test if it still appears as a standard admission at the point of purchase and in the Transaction record.
In short: if your ticketing setup doesn't have a Variant that clearly identifies it as a children's or family admission, those Tickets may not be eligible - so check your specific setup with your VAT adviser.
What we did
We released an update that allows you to:
Create a Child or Family Ticket Variant and apply a 5% Tax Rate
Control visibility so it appears only for Performances during the qualifying period, either using a dedicated Price Profile or Visibility Rules on the Variant
Set a reduced Tax Rate on fees
Any Tickets sold through a properly configured Child or Family Variant qualified for the reduced rate.
What you needed to do
Review your setup, and check your approach with your VAT adviser. If you were running family offers via a Discount - for example, a discounted block of four Standard Tickets - those needed to be reconfigured using new Variants before 25 June. As adult Tickets within a family offer were also eligible (when sold as part of a family admission or bundle, not as standalone Tickets), you may have wanted to create a specific Variant for use in those offers, to which you could apply the discounted rate and easily identify in your reporting.
Basket Validation rules can also be used to ensure that the correct Ticket combination is purchased for Family offers and bundles.
Tickets already sold
Retroactively applying the reduced rate to advance sales was optional - there was no requirement to do so. If you chose to pass the saving on to Customers who had already booked for Performances falling within the scheme window, HMRC's guidance states it would expect the VAT difference to be refunded to the Customer rather than retained. To do this, you would need to do an in-seat Exchange into your new price Variant. Tickets previously sold using a Variant that does not specify a child or family admission may not be eligible for the reduced rate regardless, so we would always recommend speaking to your VAT adviser before proceeding.
Adjuster Tax Rates
If you charge a Transaction or per-Ticket fee as part of a qualifying Ticket sale, the VAT treatment of that fee may depend on whether it forms part of the same supply as the Ticket. This isn't addressed in HMRC's guidance, so check with your VAT adviser before applying a reduced rate to any fees. If you do need to set a different rate on a fee, you should create a new Adjuster - these are handled separately from Variant Tax Rates.
Learn more - Guide: Create & Manage a Price Table
Important: a note on VAT advice
We're not VAT specialists, and this article is intended to help you understand the practical steps within our platform rather than constitute tax advice. We'd encourage you to review the HMRC guidance directly and speak to your accountant or VAT adviser about your setup and historical sales.
If you have questions, please contact Support.