United Kingdom
UK food VAT, in outline.
Hot or cold, eat in or take away. Those two questions decide most of it, and the edge cases are famously awkward.
In short
In the UK, food supplied in the course of catering, which includes eat-in and hot takeaway food, is generally standard-rated. Most cold takeaway food is zero-rated. The distinction between hot and cold and between eat-in and takeaway therefore drives the treatment, and there is a long history of borderline cases. This is a summary, not tax advice.
Updated 28 August 2026
Catering is standard-rated
Food supplied in the course of catering is standard-rated, and that includes anything eaten on the premises and hot food taken away. For a restaurant with a dining room, this covers most of what you sell and the treatment is straightforward.
Cold takeaway is where it gets interesting
Most cold food taken away is zero-rated, which is why the hot-cold distinction matters so much for takeaways and why it has generated so much case law. A cold sandwich taken away and the same sandwich eaten in are treated differently, which surprises people the first time they meet it.
- Eat in: standard-rated
- Hot takeaway: standard-rated
- Most cold takeaway: zero-rated
- Certain items have specific treatment regardless
Set VAT per order type
Because eat-in and takeaway differ, your system needs to apply rates by order type as well as by item. A till that cannot distinguish will get one of them wrong on every transaction, which compounds fast across a year.
The borderline cases are genuinely borderline
UK food VAT has produced some of the best-known tax disputes precisely because the boundaries are difficult. If you sell something that sits near a line, do not reason from a similar product. Check HMRC guidance for that category or ask your accountant, because being confidently wrong here is expensive retrospectively.
The honest limitation
This is an orientation to the structure, not a determination for your menu. Rates and thresholds change, and product categorisation is detailed. HMRC guidance is the authority and your accountant should confirm treatment.
Questions, answered straight.
Not covered here? Just ask us.
Is hot takeaway food standard-rated?
Generally yes, where it is supplied hot for immediate consumption. The specific tests are set out in HMRC guidance and have been litigated extensively.
What about delivery charges?
Treatment of delivery charges depends on the supply they relate to. Check guidance rather than assuming they follow the food automatically.
Do I need to charge differently for eat-in and takeaway?
The VAT treatment differs, which is separate from whether you charge the customer a different price. Many operators hold one price and absorb the difference, which is a commercial choice.
Is this tax advice?
No. Use HMRC guidance and your accountant for your specific menu.
See it run your restaurant.
Twenty minutes on your menu and your numbers. We'll show you what actually changes in the first month and exactly what it costs. If it's not right for your restaurant, we'll tell you that instead.
- Live in days, not months
- We build your menu and train your staff
- No contract, and thirty days to change your mind
Rather just ring us? +353 87 438 8032
Tell us about your restaurant
We reply the same day, usually inside a couple of hours.