Remember, CAT on family days out and kids' meals drops to 5% from today until 1 Sept
Sharing this because I saw it a while ago and totally forgot about it until now.
From today (25th of June) until 1st of September, the government's "Great British Summer Savings" thing cuts VAT on a load of family stuff from 20% down to 5%. Businesses are meant to pass the saving on, so in most cases you don't have to do anything, the price is just lower at the till.
This includes:
- Kids' meals (anything off a children's menu)
- Children's and family tickets for cinema, theatre and concerts
- Admission for everyone, adults too, to places like theme parks, soft play, adventure parks, zoos, museums and wildlife parks
Watch out for what's not included:
- Car parking
- Memberships and annual passes, so existing National Trust/Merlin memberships don't change
- Season tickets, unless they cost the same as a single entry
- Sports facilities (lots of those are already VAT-free anyway)
Most places will just charge less automatically, nothing to do, but a few want a code at booking, so check the attraction's own page before you pay. If you've already booked something eligible for a date in this window, some places (National Trust being one) are refunding the difference. Worth a quick look at your confirmation email.
If you're planning anything big this summer, might be worth timing it for the window. We're eyeing up a soft play day and probably a cinema trip while the kids' tickets are cheaper.
One thing worth knowing: if a place isn't passing the saving on, that's worth querying with them, because the whole point is it reaches families rather than just disappearing into prices.