UK cuts tax on family attractions to 5% for summer holidays

Families paid 5% VAT instead of 20% on qualifying children’s meals eaten on premises and on tickets to a wide range of attractions from 25 June to 1 September, putting the cut straight into school-holiday bills at the till. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the temporary reduction on 21 May as part of the Great British Summer Savings package. The package was meant to lower the cost of family leisure and help with the cost of living. The size of the benefit depended on whether businesses passed the cut through in full.

A family ticket priced at £30 with VAT included dropped to £26.25 if the full reduction reached the customer, a saving of £3.75. On a £40 ticket, the bill would fall to £35, saving £5. The reduced rate covered theme parks, amusement parks, adventure parks, water parks, zoos, soft play centres, museums, nature reserves and similar cultural facilities, along with children’s meals bought for consumption on the premises.

For theatres, cinemas, concerts, exhibitions and shows, the lower rate applied only when admission was sold as child entry or as a family ticket that included one or more children. Supplies already exempt from VAT remained exempt, so the measure did not change the tax treatment of services that were outside VAT already. The order behind the change, The Value Added Tax (Reduced Rate) (Hospitality and Tourism) Order 2026, came into force on 25 June 2026.

Cineworld, Merlin Entertainments, Greene King-managed pubs, Nando’s and Barleylands Farm Park in Essex had already committed to passing on the savings. The government also launched a public Summer Savings campaign and a business registration site to promote participating offers. The lower rate was also intended to bring extra summer footfall into venues. The VAT break sat alongside other cost-of-living measures announced the same week, including free bus travel for children in England during August and targeted food tariff cuts.