From 1 July 2026, the VAT rate for hospitality food services in Ireland reduces from 13.5% to 9%. Use this guide to configure your Newbridge POS correctly before the change takes effect.
For full details on the Irish Government policy, we recommend you read the Revenue Ireland guidance to ensure this policy is applied correctly for your specific property and offerings.
⚠️ Important: This change applies only to qualifying food items. Alcohol (23%), soft drinks and bottled water (23%), and hotel accommodation (13.5%) are not affected. You will need to manage multiple VAT rates within your system from 1 July 2026.
Apply the 9% VAT rate - from 1 July 2026
Follow the steps below to create a 9% tax rule in Newbridge POS and update the relevant products:
When: | Steps to complete: |
In advance / Immediately before trading on 01.07.2026 | Step 1: Create a tax rule for 9% |
Immediately before trading begins on 01.07.2026 | Step 2: Update products |
Immediately before trading begins on 01.07.2026 | Step 3: Refresh data on all tills after five minutes |
Step 1: Create a tax rule for 9%
Create a new 9% 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 9% tax rule. Do not update alcohol, soft drinks, bottled water, or accommodation products — these must retain their existing tax rules.
Within Newbridge Back office, select Till Programming, then select Products.
Filter by department or sub-department to locate your qualifying food items.
In the top right, select to Show All entries.
Select the first product, hold shift on your keyboard to select all qualifying items as required.
Click Edit and the mass update products screen opens.
Within the pricing panel, select Tax Rate as 9%.
Click Save.
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.
Inform your team
Keep your team informed ahead of the VAT change 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 the new multi-rate VAT structure, so staff know which products attract 9%, 13.5%, and 23%.
Remind staff that alcohol, soft drinks, bottled water, and accommodation are not subject to the reduced rate.