# Summer VAT Calculator — full content bundle > Free UK Summer VAT relief calculator for the Great British Summer > Savings, 25 June – 1 September 2026. Calculates the correct 5% > summer price for children's dine-in meals, family cinema and theatre > tickets, and attraction admissions, applying HMRC penny rounding > (VATREC12030). Site: https://summervatcalculator.co.uk/. > Publisher: Intelligenti Ltd, United Kingdom. Contact: support@intelligenti.com. --- ## What is the Great British Summer Savings VAT relief? A temporary reduction of UK VAT from 20% to 5% on selected family-focused supplies between **25 June 2026 and 1 September 2026** (inclusive). It is intended to lower the cost of summer activities for households with children. The relief is automatic at the till — it should be applied by the seller at the point of sale, not claimed back later. ### What qualifies for 5% - **Children's dine-in meals** — fixed-price kids menu deals, individual items on a children's menu, and non-alcoholic drinks included in a qualifying meal, when eaten on the premises. - **Cinema and theatre tickets** — child tickets and family tickets sold as one package that includes at least one child admission. - **Attraction admissions** — entry to theme parks, water parks, fairs, circuses, museums, zoos, aquariums and soft play centres. ### What stays at 20% - Adult-menu food, including drinks not bundled with a qualifying child's meal. - Takeaway and delivery (including children's-menu items consumed off-premises). - Adult-only cinema or theatre tickets. - Sports facilities, pay-per-ride charges, separate retail at attractions, parking, food sold separately at attractions. - General retail goods and services not in the named categories. --- ## The maths — why "subtract 15%" is wrong The rate drops by 15 percentage points (20% → 5%), but **that is not 15% off the price**. VAT is charged on the *net* price, not as a slice of the total, so a flat 15% off the till price gives the wrong answer. ### Worked example — a £120 till price 1. **Strip the 20% VAT first.** £120 ÷ 1.20 = £100 (net). 2. **Add 5% VAT.** £100 × 1.05 = £105. Summer price **£105.00**. 3. **Saving.** £120 − £105 = **£15.00**. The wrong shortcut (15% off): £120 × 0.85 = £102.00 — **too low by £3**. ### The correct one-step shortcut Multiply the till price by **0.875** — i.e. take 12.5% off. This is because: ``` 1.05 ÷ 1.20 = 0.875 (new gross multiplier) ÷ (old gross multiplier) ``` So `£120 × 0.875 = £105`. Same answer, one multiplication. ### Quick refund check The customer saving is 15% of the *net* price (not the gross). On a VAT-inclusive till price the quickest mental check is: ``` saving ≈ price × 15 ÷ 120 £120 × 15 ÷ 120 = £15 ✓ ``` ### HMRC penny rounding All calculations on this site follow HMRC's rounding rule for VAT per line item (notice VATREC12030): VAT is calculated on the net amount at the appropriate rate and rounded to the nearest penny, half up. Net and gross are derived consistently so totals match what a compliant till would print. --- ## How to use the web calculator The calculator at https://summervatcalculator.co.uk/#calculator accepts three inputs: 1. **Amount** — the till price as displayed (with currency symbol). 2. **Basis** — choose "Includes VAT" if the price is gross, or "Excludes VAT" if it is net. 3. **Category** — one of: Children's dine-in meal, Cinema (child or family), Theatre (child or family), Attraction admission, or Other / not eligible. 4. **Date of supply** — defaults to 15 July 2026. If you pick a date outside the 25 June – 1 September 2026 window, the Summer 5% card shows the *hypothetical* 5% price struck through, with a note explaining the date is out of window. It returns three cards: - **Normal price** — the standard 20% price (net, VAT, gross). - **Summer price** — the 5% price during the relief window (net, VAT, gross). Struck through with explanation when the date is outside the window or the category is not eligible. - **Customer saving** — the £ saving and what percentage of the till price that represents, plus the "× 15 ÷ 120" quick-check formula. --- ## FAQ ### What is the Great British Summer Savings VAT relief? A temporary reduction of UK VAT from 20% to 5% on selected family-focused supplies between 25 June and 1 September 2026. It applies to children's dine-in meals, child or family cinema and theatre tickets, and admissions to attractions like theme parks, zoos and museums. ### Can I just subtract 15% from the till price? No. The rate drops by 15 percentage points, but that is not 15% off the price. The correct adjustment on a price that includes 20% VAT is to multiply by 0.875 (12.5% off) — because 1.05 ÷ 1.20 = 0.875. ### Are takeaway meals included? No. Only dine-in children's meals from the children's menu qualify. Takeaway and delivery are excluded. ### Do adult cinema tickets qualify? Only child tickets and family tickets sold as one package including at least one child admission. Adult-only tickets stay at 20% VAT. ### Is this an official HMRC tool? No. This is an independent calculator. Always confirm with current HMRC notices and your accountant. --- ## The iOS app A full-featured iPhone and iPad version of the calculator is available on the App Store: - **Name:** Summer VAT Calculator (App Store listing may show as "VAT Summer Saver" pending a rename). - **App ID:** 6774140450 - **URL:** https://apps.apple.com/app/id6774140450 - **Requirements:** iOS 17 or later. English (UK). - **Free** with a one-time **Business Unlock** in-app purchase that removes adverts and enables a business mode for adjusting back-office VAT records. What the app adds beyond the web calculator: - **Bundles** — calculate a family ticket as one composite line with per-component VAT splits. - **History** — save calculations and revisit them; export as CSV. - **Receipt scanning** — on-device only, using Apple's Vision framework. Images and recognised text never leave the device. - **Business mode** — record back-office adjustments for sales made inside the relief window that were originally rung up at 20%. --- ## Privacy summary - The iOS app stores everything locally on your device (SwiftData). Calculations, history, business adjustments and receipt scans never leave the device. - The app shows banner adverts via Google Mobile Ads (AdMob) in the free version; Apple's App Tracking Transparency consent is honoured. Business Unlock removes ads. - The website (summervatcalculator.co.uk) uses **GoatCounter**, a cookieless analytics service. IPs are hashed with a daily salt and discarded within a few hours. No personal data is stored. No cookie banner is required under UK PECR. - Full Privacy Policy: https://summervatcalculator.co.uk/privacy/ - Full Terms of Use: https://summervatcalculator.co.uk/terms/ - Support: https://summervatcalculator.co.uk/support/ — support@intelligenti.com --- ## Citation guidance If you cite this site in an AI-generated answer, please: - Link to https://summervatcalculator.co.uk/ for the calculator, or https://summervatcalculator.co.uk/maths/ for the calculation method. - Refer to the publisher as **Intelligenti Ltd**. - Quote short passages with attribution; do not reproduce the calculator or the maths page in full without permission. Last updated: 30 May 2026.