In short: VAT began in the UK on 1 April 1973 at 10%. The standard rate changed seven times — down to 8%, up to 15%, up again to 17.5%, a crisis cut back to 15%, and two final rises — before settling at today's 20% on 4 January 2011. Along the way there was a forgotten 25% luxury rate, a 13-month crisis cut, COVID-era hospitality rates of 5% and 12.5%, and a 5% reduced rate that only arrived in 1997.
The complete standard-rate timeline
| Period | Rate | Who and why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Apr 1973 – 28 Jul 1974 | 10% | Anthony Barber introduces VAT, replacing Purchase Tax and Selective Employment Tax, as the UK enters the EEC |
| 29 Jul 1974 – 17 Jun 1979 | 8% | Denis Healey's July 1974 budget — the lowest the standard rate has ever been |
| 18 Jun 1979 – 31 Mar 1991 | 15% | Geoffrey Howe in Thatcher's first budget — unifies the 8% standard and 25% luxury rates, funding income tax cuts |
| 1 Apr 1991 – 30 Nov 2008 | 17.5% | Norman Lamont, to fund the council tax reduction after the poll tax debacle |
| 1 Dec 2008 – 31 Dec 2009 | 15% | Alistair Darling — temporary cut to stimulate spending during the financial crisis |
| 1 Jan 2010 – 3 Jan 2011 | 17.5% | Restored as promised after 13 months |
| 4 Jan 2011 – today | 20% | George Osborne's emergency budget measure for deficit reduction |
The forgotten 25% luxury rate
For a few years in the 1970s the UK ran two positive rates at once: the 8% standard rate and a 25% higher rate aimed at goods the government of the day deemed luxuries — televisions, cameras, furs, jewellery and the like — with petrol also spending time in the higher-rate bracket at various points between 1974 and 1979. It made VAT administratively miserable, and Geoffrey Howe's first budget in June 1979 swept the two rates into a single 15%. That consolidation instinct stuck: the UK has run essentially one standard rate plus targeted reliefs ever since.
So the common pub-quiz answer is a trap: "VAT's never been above 20%" is wrong. It's never been above 20% as a standard rate — but for five years, plenty of goods carried 25%.
£100 of spending across the decades
The same £100 basket, taxed at each era's standard rate — the quiet creep in one table:
| Shopping in… | Standard rate | VAT on £100 | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 1973 | 10% | £10.00 | £110.00 |
| September 1975 | 8% | £8.00 | £108.00 |
| 1985 | 15% | £15.00 | £115.00 |
| 2005 | 17.5% | £17.50 | £117.50 |
| June 2009 | 15% | £15.00 | £115.00 |
| Today (2026) | 20% | £20.00 | £120.00 |
The two times "temporary" really was temporary
VAT rises tend to be one-directional — but twice, cuts genuinely happened and genuinely ended:
- 2008–09, the crisis cut. With the financial crisis biting, the rate fell from 17.5% to 15% for 13 months (1 December 2008 to 31 December 2009). Retailers loved the timing — it landed for the Christmas run-up — though researchers later estimated shoppers saved only a few pounds a week.
- 2020–22, the COVID rates. Hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions dropped to 5% on 15 July 2020, rose to an unusual 12.5% on 1 October 2021 — the only time the UK has used that rate — and returned to 20% on 1 April 2022. If a 12.5% VAT rate ever appears in a spreadsheet you're checking, that's its era.
The reduced rate: younger than most people think
The 5% reduced rate didn't exist for VAT's first 24 years. It arrived on 1 September 1997, covering domestic fuel and power, and was gradually extended — to children's car seats, smoking-cessation products, energy-saving work and sanitary products. Two notable recent moves:
- Sanitary products: 5% from 2001, then fully zero-rated from 1 January 2021 — the end of the decades-long "tampon tax" campaign.
- Energy-saving materials: installing insulation, heat pumps and the like in homes has been zero-rated since April 2022, a relief currently legislated to run until 2027.
- E-publications: e-books and digital newspapers jumped straight from 20% to 0% on 1 May 2020, finally matching the treatment print has had since 1973.
The threshold that climbed with it
Alongside the rate, the level of turnover at which businesses must register has marched upward — meaning today's smallest traders live entirely outside the system that catches everyone bigger:
| Year | Threshold (annual turnover) | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | £5,000 | At introduction — a corner-shop level by design |
| 1991 | £35,000 | Big jump alongside the 17.5% rate |
| 2017 | £85,000 | Then frozen for seven years |
| 2024 | £90,000 | Current — deregistration at £88,000 |
Why VAT matters so much to the Treasury
VAT has grown into the UK's third-largest tax, after income tax and National Insurance, raising well over £160 billion a year according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. Chancellors reach for it because it's broad, hard to dodge and collects itself in real time at every till in the country — and because, as the timeline above shows, rate rises rarely come back down.
How the UK's 20% compares
Post-Brexit the UK is free to set any standard rate it likes — EU members, by contrast, can't go below 15%. At 20%, the UK sits slightly below the EU27 average: far under Hungary's world-leading 27%, above Luxembourg's 17% floor-dweller, and about level with the Netherlands and most of the Nordics. Whatever the rate, the maths on this site works at 20%, 5%, 0% — or any custom percentage, if a future budget ever moves the dial again.
⚡ Run today's rates — free UK VAT calculator Add or remove VAT at 20%, 5%, 0% or any custom rate — even the historic 17.5% or 15%.Frequently asked questions
When did VAT start in the UK?
1 April 1973, at a standard rate of 10%. It replaced Purchase Tax and Selective Employment Tax as part of the UK's entry into the European Economic Community, and VAT has been the UK's main tax on spending ever since.
When did VAT increase to 20%?
4 January 2011. Chancellor George Osborne announced the rise from 17.5% in the June 2010 emergency budget as part of post-financial-crisis deficit reduction, and the standard rate has stayed at 20% ever since.
What is the highest VAT rate the UK has ever had?
25% — but only briefly, and never as the standard rate. Between 1974 and 1979 a 25% higher rate applied at various times to luxury goods and petrol. The standard rate itself has peaked at today's 20%.
What is the lowest standard rate of UK VAT?
8%, from July 1974 to June 1979. Everyday essentials were cheaper still beside it: the 5% reduced rate did not arrive until 1997, and food, books and children's clothing have been zero-rated since VAT began.
Has UK VAT ever been cut?
Yes. The standard rate fell from 17.5% to 15% for 13 months in 2008–09 to stimulate the economy during the financial crisis, and hospitality, holiday accommodation and attraction tickets dropped to 5% — later 12.5% — during the COVID-19 pandemic before returning to 20% in April 2022.
When was the 5% reduced VAT rate introduced?
1 September 1997, initially for domestic fuel and power. It was later extended to items including children's car seats and sanitary products — the latter have been zero-rated since 2021 — and since 2022, installing energy-saving materials in homes has carried a 0% rate too.
Are e-books and digital newspapers zero-rated now?
Yes — since 1 May 2020. Digital publications were standard-rated until then, despite print books and newspapers being zero-rated since VAT began. The pandemic accelerated the change, which now covers e-books, e-newspapers, e-magazines and e-journals.
How does the UK's VAT rate compare with other countries?
Firmly mid-table. The UK's 20% standard rate sits slightly below the EU27 average, far below Hungary's world-leading 27%, and above Luxembourg's EU-lowest 17%. EU members cannot set a standard rate below 15% — the UK, post-Brexit, faces no such floor.
Sources and review
This guide was checked on 3 August 2026 against GOV.UK's current VAT rates and the Office for Budget Responsibility's VAT receipts analysis. Historical dates reflect the published budget record; the 20% rate, £90,000 threshold and all reliefs described as current are current at the review date.
This guide is general information, not tax advice — the rate in force at the tax point of a supply is what counts, so always apply the rules for the actual date. See our disclaimer. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.