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Great British Summer Savings 2026

Dave Carr
Dave Carr
  • Updated

On 21 May 2026, the UK Government announced a scheme to temporarily reduce the VAT rate on certain goods specifically for children and families. From 25 June until 1 September, the VAT rate on family leisure activities and children's meals in restaurants will be cut from 20% to 5%. 

This article will guide you through the steps to override the Tax Code from 20% to 5% on eligible Tickets. Before you read this article, you should be familiar with:

 

What does the VAT reduction apply to?

The VAT reduction applies to the following:

  • Cinemas: Children and Family tickets 
  • Theatres: Children and Family tickets 
  • Exhibitions: Children and Family tickets 
  • Concerts and shows: Children and Family tickets 
  • Visitor attractions: All tickets
  • Children's meals: Children’s meals from a dedicated children’s menu

TIP: Spektrix cannot advise on which rules apply to your organisation’s specific operations. Read the HMRC guidance or contact HMRC for further information.

 

How to apply the VAT changes in Spektrix

To pass the VAT reduction savings onto the Customer, there are two different ways you can apply this in Spektrix:

For reporting purposes, you’ll also need to change the Tax Code to correctly account for the reduced rate of VAT in your system.

Changing the Tax Code on an Event only applies to future sales. To backdate the VAT on previously sold items, contact Support.

To report on VAT split by Ticket Type, contact Support who can add a Report to your system to support this.

 

Updating Ticket prices with the VAT reduction

To update the Ticket price with VAT changes, you can amend existing Ticket Types or set up new Ticket Types.

 

Existing Ticket Types

You’ll need to calculate the Ticket price with the VAT reduction and update your Price List. For example: A Ticket costs £50 with 20% VAT included.

  1. Remove 20% VAT: £50 / 1.20 (20% VAT)  = £41.66
  2. Add 5% VAT: £41.66 x 1.05 (5% VAT) = £43.75

TIP: Alternatively, multiply the Ticket price by 0.875. Using the example above £50 * 0.875 = £43.75.} If you want to apply this to tickets which have already been purchased, return the Tickets at the original price and repurchase at the reduced price.

 

New Ticket Types

If you are setting up new Ticket Types for this scheme, you’ll need to add them to a Price List. You can use the existing Price List assigned to the Event Instance(s) or copy the Price List to use specifically for this scheme. When creating a new Ticket Type, make sure you:

  1. Enter the Ticket Price inclusive of VAT
  2. If copying an existing Price List, assign the new Price List to the Instance(s)

TIP: Use Bulk Instance Updater Tool to assign the Price List to multiple Instances at once.

 

Using an Offer to pass on the VAT savings

You can pass on the VAT savings to the customer by setting up an Offer. For the Offer, you can use your existing Ticket Types, or create new Ticket Types specifically for this Offer. When setting up an Offer, you’ll need to discount eligible Tickets by 12.5%. 

Follow the steps in Package Offers to set this up.

WARNING: The Offer will not work if Tickets are discounted as part of another Offer. If your tickets will likely already have another Offer applied, you’ll need to update the Ticket price instead.

 

Changing the Tax Code on all Ticket Types

If you determine that the VAT reduction should apply to all Ticket Types, you’ll need to update the Tax Code to R - Reduced Rate (5%) on Event Instance(s) between 25 June and 1 September.  Take a look at the following articles for guidance depending on the amount of Instances you need to change:

 

Overriding a Ticket Type Tax Code

To override a Ticket’s Tax Code, follow these steps:

TIP: To access the Admin Interface, you’ll need the General Administrator Role. If you don’t have this Role, ask the Settings Administrator in your organisation to add this Role to your User Account.

  1. In the Admin Interface, go to Pricing > Ticket Types

  2. Click Attributes next to the Ticket Type:

  3. In the Attributes for ticket type screen, click Edit:

In the Attributes for ticket type screen set the following:

  1. Tax Code Override: select R - Reduced Rate (5%)
  2. Instances From: 25 June 2026

  3. Instances To: 1 September 2026