Definition: The UK VAT rates history is the record of how the standard rate of Value Added Tax has changed since VAT began — from 10% in 1973 to today's 20% — plus the reduced and zero rates that have run alongside it. It matters in practice, not just as trivia: the VAT on an old invoice, receipt or contract is worked out at the rate that applied on the date of the supply, not at today's rate, so a figure from 2009 or 1995 needs the rate from that year.
If you only need today's figure, our current VAT rate page has it — and the free VAT calculator on our homepage adds or removes VAT at 20%, 5% or 0% in one step. This guide is for anyone checking a rate from the past.
Pick any date to see the UK standard VAT rate in force on that day — useful for old invoices, receipts and contracts.
Need to work out the VAT itself? Use the free UK VAT Calculator — or see how to calculate VAT step by step.
The standard rate is the default rate — it applies to most goods and services unless a supply is specifically reduced-rated, zero-rated or exempt. It has changed seven times in over fifty years:
| From | To | Standard rate | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1973 | 28 July 1974 | 10% | VAT introduced, replacing Purchase Tax |
| 29 July 1974 | 17 June 1979 | 8% | Standard rate cut; a higher rate (12.5%, then 25%) added for petrol and luxury goods |
| 18 June 1979 | 18 March 1991 | 15% | Higher rate abolished; single standard rate of 15% |
| 19 March 1991 | 30 November 2008 | 17.5% | Standard rate raised from 15% to 17.5% |
| 1 December 2008 | 31 December 2009 | 15% | Temporary cut during the financial crisis |
| 1 January 2010 | 3 January 2011 | 17.5% | Temporary cut ends; rate returns to 17.5% |
| 4 January 2011 | Today | 20% | Raised to 20% — unchanged since |
Two things stand out. First, the rate has only ever gone down twice — in 1974 and in the temporary 2008 cut. Second, the current 20% rate, in force since 4 January 2011, is already the longest any standard rate has lasted: over 15 years, against 12 years for the 15% rate of 1979–1991 and 17 years for the 17.5% rate of 1991–2008.
The UK joined the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973, and VAT came into effect on 1 April 1973 under the Finance Act 1972, replacing Purchase Tax — a tax that had been charged on certain luxury goods since 1940. The first standard rate was a single 10% on most goods and services. Essentials such as most food, children's clothes and books were zero-rated from the start, a pattern that still holds today.
In July 1974 the standard rate was cut from 10% to 8%, but a new higher rate was introduced alongside it: 12.5% on petrol and some luxury goods. That higher rate was doubled to 25% in November 1974, then cut back to 12.5% in April 1976. For most everyday purchases the rate in this period was 8% — the lowest the standard rate has ever been.
In June 1979 the incoming government raised the standard rate from 8% to 15% and abolished the higher rate altogether, leaving a single standard rate for the first time since 1974. The rate then stayed at 15% for almost 12 years — the longest unbroken run until the current 20% rate passed it.
In March 1991 the standard rate rose from 15% to 17.5%, where it stayed for over 17 years — the longest single spell of any rate before the current one. Anyone who ran a business through the 1990s and 2000s did their VAT at 17.5%, which is why so many old invoices, price lists and accounting templates still carry that figure.
The only time the rate has been cut as a stimulus came in the financial crisis. In November 2008 the government announced a temporary reduction from 17.5% to 15%, effective 1 December 2008, to encourage spending. The cut lasted 13 months: the rate returned to 17.5% on 1 January 2010, and then rose to 20% on 4 January 2011. That 20% rate has not moved since.
The 2008–09 window is the one that still causes mistakes today — an invoice dated December 2008, for example, is at 15%, while the same work invoiced a month earlier is at 17.5%. The date on the invoice decides, not the date the work was done or paid for (in most cases the tax point is the invoice or supply date — see the old-invoice section below).
The reduced rate is younger than the standard rate, and it has barely moved:
| From | To | Reduced rate | What it covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1994 | 31 August 1997 | 8% | Domestic fuel and power |
| 1 September 1997 | Today | 5% | Domestic fuel and power, energy-saving materials and other reduced-rate supplies |
| 15 July 2020 | 30 September 2021 | 5% (temporary) | Hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions |
| 1 October 2021 | 31 March 2022 | 12.5% (temporary) | Same hospitality and tourism supplies, stepping back up |
The 2020–2022 hospitality cut was a temporary COVID-19 support measure, announced on 8 July 2020. From 1 April 2022 those supplies went back to the standard 20%. Our guide to calculating VAT at 5% covers the reduced rate in full — which items use it and the 1/21 VAT fraction.
The zero rate (0%) has applied to essentials — most food, children's clothes, books and newspapers — since VAT began, and it still does. Zero-rated is not the same as exempt: zero-rated sales count towards the VAT registration threshold, exempt sales do not. See our registration threshold guide for that test.
When you check an old figure, use the rate in force on the tax point — usually the date the goods were supplied or the invoice was issued, whichever is earlier for most supplies. Do not use today's 20% on an old price.
A £1,000 net job, priced at the standard rate:
A receipt total is £120 including VAT from 2010, when the rate was 17.5%. The VAT fraction at 17.5% is 17.5 ÷ 117.5, which simplifies to 7/47 — so VAT = £120 × 7/47 = £17.87, on a net of £102.13 (check: £102.13 × 1.175 = £120 ✓). The same £120 receipt from 2012, at 20%, would hold £120 ÷ 6 = £20 of VAT. For the step-by-step method at any rate, see how to calculate VAT and how to remove VAT from a price.
This guide is general information, not tax advice. Rates are as published by HMRC and the House of Lords Library; if a supply mixes rates or sits near a category boundary, check the GOV.UK guidance or take advice for your own position.
When did VAT start in the UK?
VAT started in the UK on 1 April 1973, when it replaced Purchase Tax after the UK joined the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973. The first standard rate was 10%.
When did VAT change to 20%?
The standard VAT rate rose to 20% on 4 January 2011, from 17.5%. It has stayed at 20% ever since — the longest any standard rate has lasted.
What was the VAT rate in 2008?
It changed during the year. The standard rate was 17.5% until 30 November 2008, then it was cut to 15% from 1 December 2008 as a temporary stimulus during the financial crisis. It returned to 17.5% on 1 January 2010.
Has VAT ever been 15%?
Yes, twice. The standard rate was 15% from 18 June 1979 to 18 March 1991, and again for 13 months from 1 December 2008 to 31 December 2009, when it was temporarily cut from 17.5%.
What was the VAT rate in 1995?
In 1995 the standard rate was 17.5% — it ran from 19 March 1991 to 30 November 2008. The reduced rate in 1995 was 8%, charged on domestic fuel and power; it was cut to 5% in 1997.
When was VAT 17.5%?
The standard rate was 17.5% in two spells: from 19 March 1991 to 30 November 2008, and again from 1 January 2010 to 3 January 2011, either side of the temporary 15% cut.
What is the history of the 5% reduced VAT rate?
The reduced rate began at 8% in 1994 for domestic fuel and power, and was cut to 5% in 1997, where it has stayed for those supplies. Hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions were also temporarily charged 5% from 15 July 2020 to 30 September 2021, then 12.5% until 31 March 2022, before returning to 20%.
Work out VAT on any figure in seconds with our free UK VAT calculator.
Related guides: How to Calculate VAT · How to Remove VAT from a Price · How to Calculate VAT at 5% · Current VAT Rate in the UK