Overview:
On the 21st of May 2026 the Chancellor announced a temporary reduced vat rate of 5% for children's meals, tickets and family attractions during the school summer holiday period from 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026 (inclusive).
Children's meals only qualify if they:
Are specifically marketed or presented as children's meals.
Consumed on the premises (NOT takeaway).
The full policy paper explaining the scheme in detail can be viewed on the Government website using the link below:
After reading the policy paper, we recommend that you get advice from your accountant to confirm how these new temporary rules apply to your business.
How to configure the EPOS system for the 5% vat rate:
We strongly recommend that you do NOT simply change the vat rate of existing children's products to 5%.
The safest way is to create duplicate products that are to be sold during the temporary period. This provides for simplified reporting and auditing.
Add a new 5% vat rate.
Add a new product group eg Childrens Meals 5%
Duplicate existing children's products that qualify for the reduced rate.
Set the vat rate to 5%.
Set the product group to eg Childrens Meals 5%.
Reduce the price of the product if appropriate.
Create a new menu section or List PLU for the duplicated products.
If using the Xero integration, you will need to map the 5% vat rate in TouchOffice Web to the corresponding rate in Xero via tillconfig.net.
Reporting on the 5% vat rate:
The Tax Sales report in TouchOffice Web should be used for tax reporting.
The PLU Sales by Group report in TouchOffice Web will show which products have been sold.