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Apply a temporary 5% VAT rate for children's meals

The UK government has introduced a temporary VAT reduction from 20% to 5% from 25 June 2026 to 1 September 2026, as part of the Great British Summer Savings scheme 2026.

Written by Xanthe Jackson

A temporary reduced VAT rate of 5% applies to children's meals served at qualifying catering establishments between 25 June 2026 and 1 September 2026 inclusive. You can use this guide to configure your systems correctly before the change takes effect on 25 June 2026, and to reverse those changes when the standard 20% rate resumes from 2 September 2026.

For full details on the UK Government policy, we recommend you read the Gov UK Policy Paper to ensure this policy is applied correctly for your specific property and offerings.

āš ļø Important: Document every change you make ā€” all updates will need to be reversed when the VAT rate returns to 20% for children's meals from 2 September 2026.

Apply the 5% VAT rate - from 25 June 2026

Follow the steps below to create a 5% tax rule in Newbridge POS and update the relevant products:

When:

Steps to complete:

In advance / Immediately before trading on 25.06.2026

Step 1: Create a tax rule for 5%

Immediately before trading begins on 25.06.2026

Step 2: Update Products

Immediately before trading begins on 25.06.2026

Step 3: Refresh data on all tills after 5minutes

Step 1: Create a tax rule for 5%

Create a new 5% VAT tax rule in Newbridge POS. See our article on creating a tax rule for full steps.

Step 2: Update products

Update each product that qualifies for the reduced rate to use the new 5% tax rule.

  1. Within Newbridge Back office, select Till Programming, then select Products.

  2. Filter by department or sub-department to locate your childrenā€™s meal items.

  3. In the top right, select to Show All entries.

  4. Select the first product, hold shift on your keyboard to select all childrenā€™s items as required.

  5. Click Edit and the mass update products screen opens.

  6. Within the pricing panel, select Tax Rate as 5%.

  7. Click Save.

  8. Confirm on screen to continue.

Depending on the number of products being updated, this will take a few minutes.

Step 3: Refresh data on all tills

After updating the products, on each till, navigate to Functions, then select Refresh Data. Allow five minutes for the changes to take effect before trading begins.

Reverse the VAT rate - from 2 September 2026

From 2 September 2026, revert your Newbridge POS configuration to the standard 20% VAT rate.

Complete these steps immediately before trading begins on 2 September 2026:

  1. Update products to reapply the standard 20% tax rule, as shown in Step 2 above.

  2. Select Refresh data on all tills and allow five minutes for the changes to take effect before trading begins.

Inform your team

Keep your team informed throughout the VAT change period to reduce errors at the point of sale.

  • Inform your finance and sales teams about the rule changes made within each system.

  • Provide quick reference guides for VAT changes to your staff for this limited period.

  • Remind staff of the reversal date ā€” all changes must be reverted from 2 September 2026.

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