VAT on Private School Fees & Removing the Charitable Rates Relief for Private Schools

The government has published a technical note outlining the design, scope, and expected impact of applying 20% VAT to private school fees across the UK and removing the business rates charitable rates relief for private schools in England. This technical note is intended to provide clarity to those schools and families who will be impacted by these changes.

Draft legislation on the VAT policy change, accompanied by an explanatory note, has also been published alongside this technical note. The government welcomes comments from interested stakeholders on the questions contained within the technical note, and on the draft VAT legislation to ensure it achieves the government’s policy objectives.

Technical consultation response

The government has published a response to the technical consultation on applying 20% VAT to private school fees across the UK and removing the business rates charitable rate relief for private schools in England that ran between 29 July 2024 and 15 September 2024. This document summarises the main views shared through the consultation, provides the government’s response to these, and outlines the technical amendments that are being made to these policies ahead of implementation. The government is grateful to all those who took the time to contribute to this consultation process.