Is there VAT on conference or trade show printing?

Q: Is there VAT on conference or trade show printing?

Some of it. Usually 0% VAT: programmes, brochures, leaflets. Usually 20% VAT: name badges, banners and pull-ups, signs and boards, delegate notebooks, certificates, merchandise. Depends on the job: delegate folders.

Some of it. It depends on the item, not the occasion, so one job can have both rates on the same invoice.

A conference. I've brought my own lanyard.

Printing for a conference or trade show

Some 0%, some 20%

Here's the usual print for a conference or trade show. Tap any item to see why it's 0% or 20%.

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Programmes 0%

HMRC lists programmes (including sports and football programmes) as zero-rated.

Brochures 0%

Brochures are zero-rated. Several sheets of reading matter folded or fastened together, even if it's all advertising.

Leaflets 0%

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.

Name badges 20%

It's designed to be kept and used, not read and thrown away, so it isn't a leaflet. Standard-rated.

Banners and pull-ups 20%

The zero rate only covers paper and card. Fabric, vinyl, PVC, foamboard and the like are standard-rated.

Signs and boards 20%

The zero rate only covers paper and card. Fabric, vinyl, PVC, foamboard and the like are standard-rated.

Delegate folders ?

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.

Delegate notebooks 20%

Blank books for writing in are stationery. Standard-rated.

Certificates 20%

Certificates are standard-rated.

Merchandise 20%

Merchandise isn't printed matter in the VAT sense, so it's standard-rated.