The VAT on food in Ireland in 2026 is split across four rates. The 0% rate covers almost all basic groceries: bread, milk, cheese, eggs, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, pasta, oil, and unprepared tea and coffee. The 13.5% rate applies to cakes, pastries, and biscuits without chocolate coating. The 9% rate applies from 1 July 2026 to restaurants, catering, and hot takeaway food and drink. And the standard 23% rate applies to chocolate, sweets, ice cream, bagged crisps, bottled water, soft drinks, juices, and alcohol.
The legal basis is section 46 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 (VATCA 2010): the zero rate for food is in paragraph 8 of Schedule 2, and the two reduced rates are in paragraph 3 of Schedule 3. Revenue, the Irish tax authority, also publishes a database with the rate for more than two thousand products, one by one. The 2027 budget, presented on 6 October 2026, does not change any of the food or hospitality rates. The standard rates and the rules for selling from Spain are in our guide to VAT in Ireland in 2026; here is the food-by-food breakdown.
What VAT applies to each food in Ireland
| Food or service | VAT | VATCA 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| Bread that meets the legal definition: sliced bread, loaves, rolls, pita or naan | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Milk, oat, soy or almond drinks, butter, cheese, yogurt and eggs | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Meat, fish and seafood | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Fruit and vegetables, fresh, frozen, canned or dried | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Pasta, flour, cereals and muesli | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Olive oil, sugar, honey, salt, spices, sauces and soups, chilled or packet soups | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Tea, herbal infusions, coffee and unprepared cocoa: beans, ground, instant or in bags | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Cooking chocolate and cocoa spread | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Baby food labelled for infants | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Sandwiches and cold takeaway food; pizzas and chilled or frozen dishes | 0% | s. 46(1)(b); Schedule 2, para. 8(1) |
| Cakes, sponge cakes, biscuits without chocolate coating, crackers, croissants, brioche, scones and doughnuts | 13.5% | s. 46(1)(c); Schedule 3, para. 3(5) |
| Oral food supplements | 13.5% | s. 46(1)(c); Schedule 3, para. 3A |
| Cut flowers and nursery ornamental plants | 13.5% | s. 46(1)(c); Schedule 3, para. 22(1) |
| Food served in restaurants, bars, hotels and catering | 9% | s. 46(1)(cb); Schedule 3, para. 3(1) |
| Hot takeaway food, and hot tea, coffee or chocolate | 9% | s. 46(1)(cb); Schedule 3, para. 3(3) |
| Chocolate, chocolates, sweets and chocolate-covered biscuits | 23% | s. 46(1)(a) |
| Ice cream and frozen yogurt | 23% | s. 46(1)(a) |
| Bagged crisps, nachos, vegetable chips, ready-made popcorn and roasted or salted nuts | 23% | s. 46(1)(a) |
| Bottled water, soft drinks, juices, fruit smoothies and sports or energy drinks | 23% | s. 46(1)(a) |
| Beer, wine, cider and spirits, also served in a restaurant | 23% | s. 46(1)(a) |
| Packaged dog and cat food | 23% | s. 46(1)(a); excluded by Schedule 2, para. 12(3) |
Rates verified on 9 October 2026 against Revenue’s VAT rates database, its current rates table, its manual on food and drink in shops, updated in October 2026, its restaurant and catering manual, revised in June 2026, and the tax measures in the 2027 budget.
Four questions to classify a food in Ireland:
- Is it served in a restaurant or catering service, or delivered hot for takeaway? It goes at 9%, except alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water, which go at 23%.
- If not, is it a cake, biscuit or pastry made from flour or egg? It goes at 13.5%, or 23% if it is coated or decorated with chocolate.
- If not, is it a sweet, ice cream, salty snack or a drink that is not milk? It goes at 23%.
- If not, it is basic food and goes at 0%.
Bars and restaurants: 9% from 1 July 2026
Restaurants and catering go at 9%, the second reduced rate, from 1 July 2026. Between 1 September 2023 and 30 June 2026 they were at 13.5%, so any table dated before summer 2026 is out of date. Within restaurant service, the 9% rate covers almost everything: a cold sandwich, which in a shop goes at 0%; a cake, which goes at 13.5%, or an ice cream, which goes at 23%.
The exception is drinks. Alcohol, bottled water, soft drinks, sports drinks and vegetable juices go at 23% even when served at the table. Fruit juices, however, go at 9% as part of the service and at 23% in a shop. The corkage fee charged by a restaurant for serving the customer’s wine goes at 23%.
Takeaway food is not a restaurant service, but a supply of goods. Hot takeaway goes at 9%: that is food that has been heated, kept hot or is still warm after cooking, and is delivered above room temperature. Cold takeaway goes at 0%. If the cold item is sold together with the hot item for one price, such as coleslaw with roast chicken, everything goes at 9%. On a menu that combines hot food and a soft drink, the price must be split between 9 and 23%.
The 9% rate for hot food only improves what would otherwise be zero-rated: a heated croissant still goes at 13.5%. Home delivery is charged at 23%, because Revenue does not treat it as ancillary to the food. The service charge included in the bill follows the food, at 9%. Vending machines apply the rate for each product. And catering served to pupils at school or patients in a hospital is exempt. In Spain, hospitality is taxed at 10%, drinks included.
The cases that cause the most doubt
Bread: not everything goes at 0%
Ireland defines bread in law. Bread baked with flour and certain specified ingredients goes at 0%: fats and sugars together may not exceed 12% of the flour weight, and dried fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices may not exceed 10%. Anything outside those limits goes at 13.5%: that is the case for croissants, brioche, cheese breads and crispbread. A bagel goes at 0% only if it meets the definition.
Biscuits and cakes: moisture and chocolate
For Revenue, a biscuit has at most 12% moisture; with more than that, it is a cake. Both go at 13.5%, which is why Jaffa Cakes, which are cakes, do too. What changes the rate is chocolate: a biscuit coated or decorated with chocolate goes at 23%, while one with chocolate chips in the dough still goes at 13.5%. A mixed assortment goes at 13.5% only if the chocolate biscuits do not exceed 15% of the weight. Cereal bars go at 23%, except those that are a flour-based pastry product.
Coffee: three rates for the same product
Beans, ground coffee or instant coffee go at 0%. Hot and takeaway goes at 9%. Bottled or served cold with ice goes at 23%, like any other drink. The same applies to tea. Milk and plant-based drinks go at 0%, and Revenue accepts the zero rate for milk-based drinks if milk makes up more than 50% of the volume; those sold to improve sports performance go at 23%.
Salty snacks: here, nachos do pay
Bagged crisps, nachos, vegetable chips, pork scratchings, ready-made popcorn and roasted or salted nuts, shelled or unshelled, go at 23%. Natural nuts and popcorn kernels, including microwave popcorn, go at 0%. This differs from the UK, where nachos and vegetable chips go at the zero rate.
Food supplements and diet products
Oral food supplements — tablets, capsules, powders — go at 13.5% from 1 January 2020. Foods for special medical purposes and meal replacements for weight control go at 0% if they meet Revenue’s criteria. Sports, energy and vitamin drinks go at 23%.
Pets, flowers and plants
Packaged dog and cat food goes at 23%. Cut flowers and nursery ornamental plants go at 13.5%; plants and seeds for producing food go at 0%. For a potted plant, if the pot is worth 20% or more of the pre-VAT price, it is charged at 23%. In Spain, pet food and flowers are taxed at 10%.
Selling food from Spain to customers in Ireland
A Spanish shop that ships food to private customers in Ireland 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 Irish VAT rate that corresponds to each food and declares it through the One Stop Shop (OSS), as explained by the European Commission. We explain this in the €10,000 distance-sales threshold.
With Ireland, crossing the threshold usually lowers the bill: olive oil, cured meats, cheeses and canned goods move from the Spanish 4 or 10% rate to 0%. But not everything goes down, and the same product is almost never in the same category in both countries:
| Product | VAT in Spain | VAT in Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Plain bread | 4% | 0% |
| Pasta | 10% | 0% |
| Milk | 4% | 0% |
| Cheese | 4% | 0% |
| Eggs | 4% | 0% |
| Olive oil | 4% | 0% |
| Meat and cured meats | 10% | 0% |
| Biscuits and cakes without chocolate on the outside | 10% | 13.5% |
| Chocolate | 10% | 23% |
| Roasted coffee | 10% | 0% |
| Mineral water | 10% | 23% |
| Sweetened soft drinks | 21% | 23% |
| Beer | 21% | 23% |
| Wine | 21% | 23% |
| Dog and cat food | 10% | 23% |
| Flowers and ornamental plants | 10% | 13.5% |
| Food served in a restaurant | 10%, drinks included | 9%; alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water, 23% |
Spanish rates verified the same day against Article 91 of Law 37/1992 (boe.es). 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 follow their own rules; the One Stop Shop only covers VAT.
- Business customers: if you sell to an Irish restaurant or shop with a valid VAT number and the goods leave Spain, the intra-EU supply is exempt and the customer accounts for VAT in Ireland. Check the number first with the VIES VAT number checker.
- Northern Ireland: it is not Ireland for VAT purposes. It is part of the UK and applies UK rates, although for goods it follows EU rules and its orders also count towards the threshold. We explain this in VAT on food in the UK.
How to set it up in WooCommerce
The tax classes you already use for Spain do not match Ireland. The Spanish “super-reduced” 4% rate works well: bread, milk, cheese, eggs and olive oil go at 0% in Ireland. The 10% “reduced” rate splits into three: pasta, meat and coffee go at 0%; biscuits and cakes go at 13.5%, and chocolate, mineral water and pet food go at 23%. The way to do it is to create custom classes for the food groups that change rate between countries and assign them product by product. For a quick check, the EU VAT calculator gives you the rate and amount according to the customer’s country; for a specific food, compare the result with the tables above.
Do you sell food to Ireland from your WooCommerce store?
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 the custom classes you create for foods that change rate between countries. It also monitors the €10,000 threshold, validates the VAT number in VIES at checkout, and prepares the OSS report by country.
Frequently asked questions
What VAT applies to food in Ireland in 2026?
0% for basic food: bread, milk, cheese, eggs, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, pasta and oil. 13.5% for cakes, pastries and biscuits without chocolate coating. 9% for restaurants and hot takeaway food. And 23% for chocolate, ice cream, salty snacks, bottled water, soft drinks, juices and alcohol.
How much VAT do you pay in a restaurant in Ireland?
9% from 1 July 2026; before that it was 13.5%. Alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water go at 23% even when served at the table.
What VAT applies to bread in Ireland?
0% if it meets the legal definition, which limits fats and sugars to 12% of the flour weight. Croissants, brioche, and other breads that exceed it are taxed at 13.5%.
What VAT does wine have in Ireland?
23%, in shops and in restaurants, the same as beer, cider, and spirits.
Does the VAT on food in Ireland change in 2027?
No. The 2027 budget, presented on 6 October 2026, does not change food rates or the 9% hospitality rate. Its VAT measures go elsewhere: respiratory vaccines for livestock, the flat-rate compensation for farmers, and the fund that returns part of VAT to charities.
Continue here
- VAT in Ireland in 2026: the five rates and the July change in hospitality
- VAT on food in the United Kingdom in 2026: the zero rate and what goes to 20%
- VAT on food in Spain in 2026: what goes to 4%, 10% and 21%
- VAT rates by EU country in 2026: the full table for all 27
- EU VAT calculator: the rate and amount for your European customers
