VAT Cut to 5% on Family Days Out — What It Means for Kent Families and Businesses

The Chancellor has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on a wide range of family-friendly attractions, children's meals and entertainment tickets. From 25 June to 1 September 2026, the VAT rate on these items will drop from 20% to just 5% — a meaningful saving for families and a potential boost for hospitality and leisure businesses across Kent.

Whether you are a parent planning the summer holidays in Gravesend, or a local business that runs a soft play, café or family attraction, here is what you need to know.

What Is Changing?

For just over two months this summer, VAT will be cut from the standard 20% rate to a reduced rate of 5% on a specific list of items. The cut applies across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The reduction covers:

Children's Restaurant Meals

Meals served to children in restaurants, cafés and similar venues will be subject to the lower rate. This makes eating out as a family noticeably cheaper, assuming the saving is passed on by the venue.

Family Tickets for Entertainment

Child and family tickets for cinemas, theatres, concerts, shows and exhibitions will qualify for the reduced rate. So a trip to the cinema, a pantomime or a live music event becomes more affordable.

Family Attraction Tickets

Child and adult admission tickets to a long list of attractions are covered, including amusement parks, fairs, museums, zoos, soft play centres, circuses, adventure parks, nature reserves, wildlife parks and observation decks.

For families in Gravesend and the wider Kent area, that opens up real savings at popular days out — think attractions like Diggerland in Strood, Hop Farm Family Park, Wingham Wildlife Park or Howletts Wild Animal Park, as well as London-based museums and zoos within easy reach by train.

How Much Could a Family Save?

The saving depends on whether the business passes the full VAT reduction on to customers, but the maths is straightforward. The government has stated that it "expects businesses to pass on VAT savings to customers".

Take a £30 family ticket to an attraction. Under the standard 20% VAT rate, the VAT element is £5. Under the new 5% rate, the VAT element drops to roughly £1.43 — a saving of around £3.57 per ticket, if passed on in full.

Across a summer of days out, meals and entertainment, that can add up to a noticeable amount for a Kent family.

What This Means for Local Businesses

If you run a leisure, hospitality or tourism business in Gravesend or anywhere in Kent that supplies any of the qualifying items, you have some decisions to make — and not much time to make them. Here is what to think about.

1. Decide How to Pass on the Saving

The government has been clear that it expects the saving to reach customers. You will need to decide whether to drop your headline prices by the full difference, offer it as a "VAT-free summer" promotion, or absorb a portion of the saving to support margins. There is no single right answer, but you should be ready to explain your approach to customers if asked.

2. Update Your Pricing and Tills

Your point-of-sale systems, online booking platforms, menus and price boards will all need updating from 25 June. They will also need to be switched back on 1 September. Cloud accounting and EPOS systems make this much easier, but it still needs planning.

3. Get Your VAT Returns Right

You will need to apply the correct rate of VAT to qualifying sales during the relevant period, and the standard rate to non-qualifying sales. If you run a mixed business — for example, a café that serves both adults and children's meals — you will need to keep clear records of which sales fell under which rate.

4. Use This as a Marketing Opportunity

A 15-percentage-point cut is a strong story to tell. Local family attractions, cafés and entertainment venues in Gravesend should think about how to promote the temporary saving on social media, in shop windows and through Google Business Profile updates. Tourists and locals alike will respond to clear messaging about cheaper family days out.

Watch the Detail

As with any temporary VAT change, the detail matters. Definitions of "family ticket", "children's meal" and what counts as a qualifying "attraction" will determine which of your sales fall under the 5% rate. We are reviewing the guidance as it is published, and we will be helping our clients across Kent apply the rules correctly to avoid any errors in their VAT returns.

It is also worth remembering that this is a temporary measure. From 2 September 2026, the standard 20% VAT rate returns. Planning ahead for that switch-back is just as important as preparing for the cut.

The Other Announcements Affecting Families

The VAT cut sits alongside a wider package of measures designed to help with the cost of living. Free bus travel for children aged five to 15 in England during August, targeted cuts to import tariffs on items like biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts, and a continued freeze on fuel duty all add up to a slightly easier summer for family budgets.

For more on the mileage allowance rise — another change announced at the same time — see our separate guide.

How MCC Partners Can Help

At MCC Partners in Gravesend, we work with cafés, soft play centres, family-run leisure businesses, restaurants and other hospitality clients across Kent. With less than five weeks until the VAT change takes effect, now is the time to get your systems ready.

We can help you:

• Identify which of your sales qualify for the 5% rate
• Update your bookkeeping and VAT return processes
• Reconfigure your cloud accounting or EPOS system
• Plan a pricing and marketing approach that protects your margins and benefits your customers
• Switch everything back smoothly on 1 September

If you would like to talk through how this temporary VAT cut affects your business, get in touch with our team. We are based at 1a Saddington Street in Gravesend and offer friendly, practical advice for SMEs across Kent.

Call us or pop into our Gravesend office at 1a Saddington Street, Gravesend, Kent DA12 1ED for a no-obligation conversation.

This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute personal tax or VAT advice. VAT rules can be complex and depend on your specific circumstances, so please speak to a qualified accountant before making decisions based on this information.