Day-to-day business print is the one area where almost everything carries VAT. Letterheads, compliment slips, envelopes, business cards, invoice pads and forms are all standard-rated, because they are stationery: things supplied to be written on rather than read. The zero-rated part of a business order is the marketing, which is to say the brochures, the leaflets and the catalogues.
Printing for a new business or rebrand
Some 0%, some 20%
Here's the usual print for a new business or rebrand. Tap any item to see why it's 0% or 20%.
No. HMRC says brochures usually contain advertising material, and lists advertising leaflets, mail order catalogues and trade catalogues as zero-rated. What would cost a catalogue the zero rate is an order form taking up more than a quarter of it, or a design meant to be returned whole.
Cards made to be kept, sent or used in their own right aren't leaflets, so they're standard-rated.
It's stationery. Things you write on are standard-rated, however nicely printed.
It's stationery. Things you write on are standard-rated, however nicely printed.
It's stationery. Things you write on are standard-rated, however nicely printed.
Brochures are zero-rated. Several sheets of reading matter folded or fastened together, even if it's all advertising.
Most folders are standard-rated. A folder can be zero-rated if it's really a brochure, carrying a good amount of information in its own right.
Leaflets are zero-rated. A sheet you pick up, read and bin (or one that comes with a product) is exactly what the zero rate is for.
HMRC lists stickers, labels and tags as standard-rated.
The zero rate only covers paper and card. Fabric, vinyl, PVC, foamboard and the like are standard-rated.
Forms are standard-rated. If more than a quarter of it is space to fill in or a bit to tear off and send back, it's a form, not a leaflet.