# VAT on food



## agadele (28 Nov 2007)

i was in the hilton hotel recently meeting a friend, where we had lunch.I paid the bill and at the total they had VAT added?I thought there was no VAT on food, so was that for the use of their surroundings? I thought it was a bit naff that there menu price didnt include this and it was added on afterwards.
just thought Id share it


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## Nige (28 Nov 2007)

There is Vat on meals you eat out, but not on many (though not all) of your groceries eg fresh fruit, meat, bread are 0% VAT.

All menus in Ireland should show the VAT inclusive price, but some receipts then split this price between the Vat exclusive and VAt amounts.


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## demoivre (28 Nov 2007)

agadele said:


> i was in the hilton hotel recently meeting a friend, where we had lunch.I paid the bill and at the total they had VAT added?I thought there was no VAT on food,



Here's some [broken link removed].


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## ubiquitous (28 Nov 2007)

agadele said:


> I thought it was a bit naff that there menu price didnt include this and it was added on afterwards.



This couldn't be true? Surely no hotel could get away with this sort of thing nowadays. Are you sure?


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## ClubMan (28 Nov 2007)

agadele said:


> i was in the hilton hotel recently meeting a friend, where we had lunch.I paid the bill and at the total they had VAT added?


Presumably you mean in _Ireland _and not, say, in the _US _where they add sales tax on top of the "net" bill total?


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## Caveat (28 Nov 2007)

ClubMan said:


> Presumably you mean in _Ireland _and not, say, in the _US _where they add sales tax on top of the "net" bill total?


 
I also remember Scotland having a similar practice that seemed unusual to me.


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## ClubMan (28 Nov 2007)

Are you also sure that it was not a service charge on top of the bill?


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## agadele (29 Nov 2007)

Hi all

it was here in Limerick. Ok, I found the receipt.It says:

2 Chowder -15.90
1 Smoothie - 4.85
1 Cappucino - 3.60

CASH        50.00
0.84 VAT 21%  4.85
2.32 VAT 13.5% 19.50

Food 24.35

I suppose its just unusal seeing the VAT written like that on a cafe receipt.


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## Caveat (29 Nov 2007)

ClubMan said:


> Are you also sure that it was not a service charge on top of the bill?


 
Doubt it - I saw it on a McDonald's receipt too.

_Edit: Sorry, on second thoughts maybe CM's comment wasn't directed at me!_


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## Flymask (29 Nov 2007)

This is just part of the restaurant's accounting system and it's pretty common to see it on receipts/invoices. Restaurant sales generally have to be split between items that are liable for VAT at 13.5% and those liable for VAT at 21% (most noticeably on wine/drinks).

In your example, the VAT was not - as your original post implied - added on afterwards (the menu prices included the VAT). The figures shown above are just a breakdown of the total bill between the two VAT categories.


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## ubiquitous (29 Nov 2007)

Flymask said:


> Restaurant sales generally have to be split between items that are liable for VAT at 13.5% and those liable for VAT at 21% (most noticeably on wine/drinks).



This is done on the insistence of the Revenue VAT authorities. Helps them to track collection of full 21% VAT on drinks etc when included with other elements of a meal.


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