The VAT on food in the United Kingdom in 2026 works the opposite way to Spain: there are no reduced rates for food, but rather a zero rate that covers almost the whole basket — bread, meat, fish, milk, eggs, fruit, vegetables, pasta, oil and even cakes and biscuits without chocolate — and a closed list of exceptions that go at the standard 20%: ice cream, chocolate and sweets, bagged crisps, roasted or salted nuts, almost all drinks and alcohol. Everything served in bars and restaurants, and hot takeaway food, is also charged at 20%.
The legal basis is section 30 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 1994) and Group 1 of Schedule 8, which has three lists: the «general items», which are zero-rated and start with food for human consumption; the «excepted items», which go back to 20%, and a few «items that override the exception» and restore the zero rate, such as milk, tea, coffee and cocoa. The 5% reduced rate does not apply to any food: the one for children’s menus was temporary, from 25 June to 1 September 2026, and has already ended. The standard rates and the rules for selling from Spain are in our guide to VAT in the United Kingdom in 2026; here is the item-by-item breakdown.
What VAT applies to each food in the United Kingdom
| Food or service | VAT | Schedule 8 Group 1 of VATA 1994 |
|---|---|---|
| Bread, bread rolls, pita bread, cakes, sponge cakes and biscuits without a chocolate coating | 0% | general item no. 1 |
| Pasta, rice, flour, cereals and pulses | 0% | general item no. 1 |
| Meat, sausages, fish and seafood | 0% | general item no. 1 |
| Milk, milkshakes, butter, cheese and eggs | 0% | general item no. 1 (milk drinks: no. 6 of the items that override the exception) |
| Fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices, including canned or frozen | 0% | general item no. 1 |
| Olive oil and other cooking oils, table salt, sugar and honey | 0% | general item no. 1 |
| Tea, herbal teas, coffee, cocoa and drinking chocolate, for home preparation | 0% | nos. 4 and 5 of the items that override the exception |
| Chilled or frozen ready meals and cold takeaway sandwiches | 0% | general item no. 1 |
| Raw nuts, and roasted or salted nuts sold in their shells | 0% | general item no. 1 (outside excepted item no. 5) |
| Nachos, corn chips and vegetable chips that are not potato chips | 0% | general item no. 1 (outside excepted item no. 5) |
| Ice cream, sorbets, ice lollies and frozen yogurt | 20% | excepted item no. 1 |
| Chocolate, chocolates, sweets, chewing gum, cereal bars and chocolate-covered biscuits | 20% | excepted item no. 2 |
| Bagged crisps, puffed cereal snacks, ready-made popcorn and peeled, roasted or salted nuts | 20% | excepted items nos. 5 and 2 (sweet popcorn) |
| Mineral water, soft drinks, juices, fruit smoothies and syrups | 20% | excepted item no. 4 |
| Sports drinks, including powdered | 20% | excepted item no. 4A |
| Beer, wine, cider and spirits; also alcohol-free beer and wine | 20% | excepted items nos. 3 and 4 |
| Food supplements and vitamins | 20% | do not count as food (VAT Notice 701/14, para. 4.2) |
| Packaged dog and cat food | 20% | excepted item no. 6 |
| Flowers and ornamental plants | 20% | outside Group 1 (VAT Notice 701/38) |
| Food and drink consumed on the premises: bars, restaurants, cafés and catering | 20% | exception (a) and note 3.a |
| Hot takeaway food and drink | 20% | note 3.b and notes 3B to 3D |
Rates verified on 9 October 2026 against Schedule 8 Group 1 of VATA 1994 in its consolidated version (legislation.gov.uk), the HMRC rates table, the UK tax authority, and its notices VAT Notice 701/14 on food and VAT Notice 709/1 on catering and takeaway food, both updated on 8 June 2026.
One source nuance: the law excepts «drinks» without defining them. HMRC’s definition is a liquid taken to hydrate, quench thirst, refresh or for pleasure. That is why smoothies that replace a meal in a slimming diet do not count as drinks and remain zero-rated.
Three questions to classify a food in the United Kingdom:
- Is it consumed on the premises or delivered hot? It goes at 20%, whatever the food is.
- If not, is it among the excepted items: ice cream, sweets and chocolate, drinks, alcohol, bagged crisps, roasted nuts or pet food? It goes at 20%, unless it is milk, tea, coffee or cocoa.
- If not, and it is food for human consumption, it goes at 0%.
Bars and restaurants: 20%, and hot takeaway food too
In the United Kingdom, hospitality does not have a reduced rate. Everything consumed on the premises goes at 20%, including items that would be zero-rated in a shop, such as a cold sandwich or a glass of milk. The «premises» include the terrace and any area set aside for customers to eat, even if shared by several businesses, such as the tables in a shopping centre. Catering for events and delivery of cooked food ready to eat also go at 20%.
For takeaway food, temperature is what matters. Cold takeaway is 0%, except for products that are always 20%, such as a bag of crisps or a soft drink. Hot takeaway is 20%, and food is hot if it is delivered above room temperature and meets one of these five conditions: it was heated to be eaten hot, heated to order, kept hot after cooking, delivered in packaging that retains heat, or advertised as hot.
That is where counter-service cases come from. A freshly baked loaf that is only cooling down is still zero-rated; a toasted sandwich made to order or a takeaway coffee is 20%. And if the shop provides a microwave for customers, anything sold to be heated there counts as hot food.
The service charge on the bill is charged at 20%; a tip left voluntarily by the customer is not subject to VAT. Vending machines follow the product, and everything is 20% if they are in a dining area or restaurant zone. In Spain, hospitality is 10%, drinks included.
The cases that cause the most doubt
Biscuits and cakes: the chocolate on the outside decides
Cakes are zero-rated and biscuits too, except those fully or partly covered in chocolate, which go at 20%. Those with chocolate chips in the dough remain zero-rated, as do those filled with chocolate between two biscuits. Jaffa cakes are zero-rated because they are cakes, not biscuits. And a gingerbread man decorated with chocolate goes at 20%, unless the chocolate is just a couple of dots for the eyes. Cereal bars go at 20% as confectionery; flapjacks, the baked oat bars that HMRC treats as cakes, are zero-rated.
Bagged crisps yes, nachos no
The 20% rate applies to bagged crisps and snacks made from potato or potato starch, puffed cereal snacks and ready-made popcorn. Nachos, corn chips and beetroot or carrot chips go at 0%, as do roasted chickpeas and popcorn kernels for home popping. Roasted or salted nuts go at 20% if sold shelled and at 0% if they keep their shell, like pistachios.
Drinks: almost all at 20%, including water
Mineral water, juices, soft drinks and fruit smoothies go at 20%. Milk and milkshakes, tea, herbal teas, coffee and cocoa are exempt, going at 0% when sold as a product, not served or hot. Soy or rice drinks go at 0% only if they contain no flavourings or sugar. Alcohol-free beer and wine go at 20%. In Spain, water is 10%, and soft drinks and juices with sugar or sweeteners are 21%.
Gift baskets and hampers
A basket with zero-rated and 20% products is a mixed supply: the price has to be split between the two rates. HMRC allows three shortcuts:
- A minor 20% item that accompanies a zero-rated food follows that food if it is not charged separately, does not exceed 20% of the total cost and costs you no more than £1 excluding VAT.
- An assortment of biscuits is entirely zero-rated if the chocolate ones do not exceed 15% of the net weight.
- A mix of fruit and nuts is zero-rated if the part that would be 20% does not exceed 25% of the weight.
The packaging that only contains and protects follows the contents. A gift tin marketed as such, a jar intended for reuse or the basket itself is a separate supply, at 20%.
Supplements and «free-from» products
Vitamins and food supplements go at 20%: HMRC does not consider them food. Gluten-free or diabetic products follow their normal equivalent: gluten-free flour is zero-rated and gluten-free chocolate biscuits are 20%.
Pets, flowers and plants
Packaged dog and cat food goes at 20%; almost all other pet food goes at 0%. Cut flowers and ornamental plants go at 20%; seeds and vegetable and fruit plants go at 0%. In Spain, pet food and flowers are 10%.
Selling food from Spain to customers in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is outside the European Union: for Great Britain — England, Scotland and Wales — there is no €10,000 threshold or one-stop shop. A sale from Spain to a private UK customer is an export and goes without Spanish VAT (Article 21 of Law 37/1992), provided you can prove the goods left the EU.
What happens next depends on the value of the shipment. For shipments of up to £135 sold directly to the customer, UK VAT is not charged at customs but at the point of sale: you charge it yourself, at the rate for each product, and register with HMRC. With food there is an exception that almost no other sector has: according to HMRC’s guide for overseas sellers, if everything you sell is zero-rated you do not need to register and can apply for the registration exemption.
A shop that only ships olive oil, sausages, cheese and preserves falls into that case. As soon as the catalogue includes chocolate, bagged crisps, roasted nuts, juices or soft drinks, those products are 20% and registration is required. If you sell nougat or marzipan, confirm their classification with a UK adviser: confectionery is 20%.
If you sell through a marketplace, the platform collects the VAT. If the customer is a business that gives you its UK VAT number, it declares it under the reverse charge. The £135 limit is measured per complete shipment, not per item, and excludes transport and insurance when they are shown separately on the invoice. Above that, the normal import rules apply: import VAT, at 0 or 20% depending on the food, and any applicable customs duties are paid at customs.
Whether on your invoice or at customs, the UK rate almost never matches the Spanish one:
| Product | VAT in Spain | VAT in the United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Plain bread | 4% | 0% |
| Pasta | 10% | 0% |
| Milk | 4% | 0% |
| Cheese | 4% | 0% |
| Eggs | 4% | 0% |
| Olive oil | 4% | 0% |
| Meat and sausages | 10% | 0% |
| Biscuits and cakes without chocolate on the outside | 10% | 0% |
| Chocolate | 10% | 20% |
| Roasted coffee | 10% | 0% |
| Mineral water | 10% | 20% |
| Soft drinks with sugar | 21% | 20% |
| Beer | 21% | 20% |
| Wine | 21% | 20% |
| Dog and cat food | 10% | 20% |
| Flowers and ornamental plants | 10% | 20% |
| Food served in a restaurant, drinks included | 10% | 20% |
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 your first parcel:
- Alcohol: wine, beer and spirits are outside the £135 rule. Any shipment, whatever its value, pays import VAT at 20% at customs and the UK alcohol duty.
- Northern Ireland: UK rates apply, but for goods it follows EU VAT rules. A shipment there is not an export, but a distance sale that counts towards the €10,000 threshold: below that, Spanish VAT applies; above it, UK VAT declared through the one-stop shop, which for almost all food is 0%.
- Border: in addition to VAT, food may be subject to sanitary checks and require certificates, especially products of animal origin. Check with your carrier or customs broker what the UK border currently requires for each product before accepting orders.
How to set it up in WooCommerce
Until you charge UK VAT, calculate taxes by shipping address and add a 0% row for the United Kingdom in each tax class. Northern Ireland is not a separate country in WooCommerce: it is inside «United Kingdom (UK)», so separate it by postcode — theirs start with BT. And explain on the shipping page who pays import VAT and duties on orders over £135. You have the step-by-step guide in the VAT in the United Kingdom guide.
If you register because you sell products at 20%, the classes you use for Spain will not work. What shares 10% there is split in two: pasta, meat and coffee go at 0% in the United Kingdom, and chocolate, mineral water and pet food go at 20%. Create a dedicated class for the foods that carry 20% in the United Kingdom and assign it product by product.
Do you sell food to the United Kingdom and the EU from your WooCommerce?
EHERO Woo VAT handles the European side. When destination VAT applies, it uses each EU country’s rate according to the product tax class and respects any custom classes you create for foods that change rate between countries. It also keeps an eye on the 10,000 € threshold, validates the VAT number in VIES during checkout, and prepares the OSS report by country. Orders to Great Britain are still configured as exports, with WooCommerce tax rows.
Frequently asked questions
What VAT do foods have in the United Kingdom in 2026?
0% for almost all food: bread, meat, fish, dairy, eggs, fruit, vegetables, pasta, oil, cakes, and biscuits without chocolate on the outside. 20% for ice cream, chocolate and sweets, bagged crisps, almost all drinks, and alcohol. The reduced 5% rate does not apply to any food.
Which foods are charged 20% in the United Kingdom?
Those that the law excludes from the zero rate: ice cream, chocolate, sweets, cereal bars, and chocolate-covered biscuits; bagged crisps and peeled roasted or salted nuts; mineral water, juices, soft drinks, and sports drinks; alcohol, and packaged food for dogs and cats. And anything consumed on the premises or sold hot to take away.
How much VAT do you pay in a restaurant in the United Kingdom?
20%, on both food and drink. Cold takeaway food is 0%, except for products that always carry 20%; hot food is 20%.
What VAT does wine have in the United Kingdom?
20%, in shops and restaurants, plus the UK alcohol duty. Non-alcoholic beer and wine are also charged at 20%.
I sell food from Spain to the United Kingdom, do I charge UK VAT?
For shipments up to 135 £ to Great Britain, yes: you charge it yourself at the product rate. If everything you sell is zero-rated, you can ask HMRC for a registration exemption. For higher-value shipments, you do not charge VAT: it is paid at customs. And to Northern Ireland you sell under EU rules.
Keep reading
- VAT in the United Kingdom in 2026: the three rates, the 135 £ rule, and Northern Ireland
- VAT on food in Ireland in 2026: from 0% on bread to 23% on bottled water
- VAT on food in Spain in 2026: what goes at 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
