VAT on food in France in 2026 boils down to one rule and five exceptions. The rule: almost all food and all non-alcoholic drinks — bread, meat, fish, dairy, fruit, oil, coffee, water, juices and soft drinks, including sugary ones — are taxed at 5.5%. The exceptions are taxed at 20%: sweets, milk chocolate, white and filled chocolate, margarine, caviar and alcoholic drinks. In between is 10%, for food served in a restaurant and for takeaway food eaten immediately.
The legal basis is article 278-0 bis A of the General Tax Code (CGI). It applies 5.5% to products intended for human consumption and lists the exceptions. The French tax authority explains each case in its official guidance, BOFiP, in sheet BOI-TVA-LIQ-30-10-10, updated in November 2025. Corsica has its own rates, and some overseas territories are outside EU VAT. The general rates are in our VAT in France in 2026 guide; here is the breakdown food by food.
What VAT applies to each food in France
| Food or service | VAT | General Tax Code |
|---|---|---|
| Bread, flour, pasta, rice and cereals | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º |
| Meat, fish, seafood, lobster and oysters included | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º |
| Milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and eggs | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º |
| Fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º |
| Olive oil, sunflower oil and other liquid oils | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º |
| Ham, cured meats, preserves and ready-made dishes that can be stored | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º |
| Sugar, honey, jam, pastries, cakes and biscuits | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º |
| Dark chocolate, “de ménage” chocolate and bite-sized chocolates | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º b |
| Cocoa spreads and breakfast cocoa powder | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º b |
| Coffee, tea and herbal infusions | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º |
| Water, juices and soft drinks, with or without sugar | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º |
| Alcohol-free beer, up to 0.5% | 5.5% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º e |
| Food and non-alcoholic drinks served in bars and restaurants | 10% | art. 279 m |
| Takeaway or delivery food for immediate consumption: sandwiches, kebabs, fries, fresh sushi | 10% | art. 279 n |
| Candies, gummies, chewing gum, nougat, marzipan and candied fruit | 20% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º a |
| Milk chocolate, white chocolate and filled chocolate bars | 20% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º b |
| Margarine and vegetable spreads | 20% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º c |
| Sturgeon caviar | 20% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º d |
| Wine, beer, cider and spirits, in shops and restaurants | 20% | art. 278-0 bis A 1.º e |
Rates verified on 29 September 2026 against the French tax authority’s official guidance, BOI-TVA-LIQ-30-10-10 (food) and its appendix on takeaway sales, the BOI-TVA-GEO-10-10 sheet on Corsica and the European Commission’s TEDB database.
Three questions to classify a food in France:
- Is it alcohol, sweets, milk, white or filled chocolate, margarine or caviar? Then it goes at 20%.
- If not, is it served on the premises or sold to be eaten immediately? Then it goes at 10%.
- If not, it goes at 5.5%.
Bars and restaurants: 10%, except alcohol
Food and non-alcoholic drinks served in a bar, restaurant or café are taxed at 10%. Wine, beer and spirits served there remain at 20%. A menu that includes wine therefore has two rates: the restaurant splits the price between the food and the wine according to the value of each part. In Spain, everything served goes at 10%, including alcohol.
Takeaway food: 5.5% or 10% depending on when it is eaten
The French criterion is not the packaging, but whether the product is meant to be eaten immediately. The following go at 10%: sandwiches, hot dogs, kebabs, hot crepes, fries, salads sold with cutlery, individual ice creams — in a cone, tub or on a stick — fresh sushi and non-alcoholic drinks served in an open cup, such as takeaway coffee.
The following stay at 5.5%: drinks in sealed bottles, cans or cartons; bread, pastries and cakes; bags of crisps, yogurts and fruit, even if sold individually or with a spoon; and frozen foods and ready-made dishes that can be stored. A croissant and a bottled juice bought at the bakery go at 5.5%; a sandwich and a coffee in a cup go at 10%.
The cases that cause the most doubt
Chocolate: dark at 5.5%, milk chocolate at 20%
This is the best-known oddity of French VAT. Dark chocolate, “de ménage” chocolate and “de ménage au lait” (with milk, but more cocoa than usual), bite-sized chocolates, cocoa nibs, cocoa butter, spreads and breakfast cocoa powder go at 5.5%. Milk chocolate bars, white chocolate and filled chocolate go at 20%. For products containing chocolate, the threshold is 50%: biscuits and cereal bars coated in chocolate still go at 5.5% if the chocolate does not exceed half their weight. Pastries and cakes with chocolate always go at 5.5%.
Sweets at 20%, sugar and jam at 5.5%
Sugar, honey and jam are food and go at 5.5%. Candies, gummies, chewing gum, sugared almonds, marzipan, candied fruit and fruit paste presented as sweets are confiserie and are taxed at 20%, including sugar-free versions.
Butter at 5.5%, margarine at 20%
Butter is a dairy product and goes at 5.5%, as do liquid vegetable oils. Margarine and vegetable spreads or baking fats are taxed at 20%.
Luxury seafood: lobster yes, caviar no
Lobster, langoustine, oysters and foie gras go at 5.5%, like any food. The only luxury exception is sturgeon caviar and its derivatives, at 20%. Substitutes such as lumpfish roe stay at 5.5%.
Drinks: everything at 5.5% except alcohol
- Water, juices and soft drinks: 5.5%, sparkling or still, with or without sugar. Sugary soft drinks are also subject to a separate sugar tax, but the VAT is the same.
- Coffee, tea and herbal infusions: 5.5% in shops; 10% when served in a bar or in a takeaway cup.
- Alcohol-free beer: 5.5% up to 0.5% alcohol; above that, 20%.
- Wine, beer, cider and spirits: 20%, in shops and restaurants.
Corsica, Monaco and overseas territories
In Corsica, food and non-alcoholic drinks sold in shops are taxed at 2.1%; sweets, chocolate not included in the 5.5% list and alcohol remain outside that reduction. Monaco applies French VAT, so it is treated like France. Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion have their own rates, but they are outside the EU VAT territory: a shipment from Spain is an export. French Guiana and Mayotte do not have VAT.
Selling food from Spain to customers in France
A Spanish store that ships food to private customers in France applies Spanish VAT while its distance sales to consumers in other EU countries — in total — do not exceed €10,000 per year. Above that, it applies the French VAT rate that corresponds to each food item and declares it through the one-stop shop (OSS), as explained by the European Commission. We explain this in the €10,000 threshold for distance sales.
A distance sale is a product delivery, not a catering service, so the normal rate is 5.5% or 20%; 10% is reserved for prepared food delivered to be eaten immediately. The same product does not fall into the same group in Spain and France:
| Product | VAT in Spain | VAT in France |
|---|---|---|
| Common bread, milk, cheese and fruit | 4% | 5.5% |
| Olive oil | 4% | 5.5% |
| Cured ham, cured meats and preserves | 10% | 5.5% |
| Coffee | 10% | 5.5% |
| Mineral water and juices with no added sugar | 10% | 5.5% |
| Sugary soft drinks | 21% | 5.5% |
| Milk chocolate bar | 10% | 20% |
| Candies and nougat | 10% | 20% |
| Margarine | 10% | 20% |
| Wine | 21% | 20% |
| Wine served in a restaurant | 10% | 20% |
Spanish rates verified on 17 September 2026 against article 91 of Law 37/1992 (boe.es) and the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) document “Tipos impositivos en el IVA 2026”. Details in VAT on food in Spain.
Three more things before sending the first parcel:
- Wine and beer: they count as distance sales for VAT purposes, but excise duties on alcohol are handled separately; the one-stop shop only covers VAT.
- Business customers: if you sell to a French restaurant or shop with a valid VAT number and the goods leave Spain, the intra-Community supply is exempt and the customer self-assesses the VAT in France. Check the number first with the VAT number checker in VIES.
- Shipments to Corsica and overseas territories: postal codes starting with 20 are Corsica, with its own rates. Those starting with 971, 972, 973, 974 and 976 are overseas territories: export, with customs formalities.
How to set it up in WooCommerce
The tax classes you already use for Spain do not match France. If you reuse the Spanish “super-reduced” 4% class, bread, milk and olive oil would fall into the French super-reduced rate, 2.1%, which in France is not for food: they would be undercharged. With the “reduced” 10% class, most food falls correctly into 5.5%, but milk chocolate, candies and margarine, which go at 20%, would be undercharged. And with the standard class, a sugary soft drink would be taxed at 20% instead of 5.5%. What works is creating custom classes for the food groups that change rate between countries and assigning them product by product. For a quick check, the EU VAT calculator gives you the rate and amount according to the customer’s country, whether they are a business or an individual, and the product type; for a specific food, cross-check the result with the tables above.
Do you sell food to France from your WooCommerce?
When destination VAT applies, EHERO Woo VAT applies each country’s rate according to the product tax class (standard, reduced or super-reduced) and respects any custom classes you create for foods that change rate between countries. It also monitors the €10,000 threshold, validates the VAT number in VIES during checkout and prepares the OSS report by country.
Frequently asked questions
What VAT do food products have in France in 2026?
5.5% for almost all food and all non-alcoholic drinks; 10% for restaurant service and takeaway food eaten immediately; and 20% for alcohol, sweets, milk, white or filled chocolate, margarine and caviar.
How much VAT is paid in a restaurant in France?
10% for food and non-alcoholic drinks, and 20% for wine, beer and spirits.
What VAT applies to chocolate in France?
It depends on the type. Dark chocolate, bite-sized chocolates and cocoa spreads go at 5.5%. Milk chocolate bars, white chocolate and filled chocolate go at 20%.
What VAT applies to soft drinks in France?
5.5%, with or without sugar. In a bar or served in a takeaway cup, 10%.
What VAT applies to wine in France?
20%, in shops and restaurants.
Continue here
- VAT in France in 2026: the four rates and the Corsica case
- VAT on food in Spain in 2026: what goes at 4, 10 and 21%
- VAT on food in Italy in 2026: from 4% for bread to 22% for wine
- VAT rates by EU country in 2026: the full table
