Sell sheets and fact sheets are usually zero-rated (0% VAT) in the UK. HMRC weighs these characteristics together rather than ticking them off: A single sheet, A4 or smaller (or up to A2 printed both sides and folded down to A4); held and read, not hung up or displayed; printed on limp paper, not laminated; at least 50 copies; complete in itself, and either short-lived or supplied with something else; no more than a quarter of it to fill in or tear off, and never returned whole (HMRC VAT Notice 701/10, paragraph 3.3).
PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
One sheet.Zero per cent.Noted.
Sell sheets and fact sheets
0% VAT
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 VAT Notice 701/10, paragraph 3.3
0% where it's:
A single sheet, A4 or smaller (or up to A2 printed both sides and folded down to A4)
Held and read, not hung up or displayed
Printed on limp paper, not laminated
At least 50 copies
Complete in itself, and either short-lived or supplied with something else
No more than a quarter of it to fill in or tear off, and never returned whole
Need these printed?
Tell Tenfold the quantity, size and deadline. We'll put together a quote for your job.
A sell sheet is a leaflet with a job title. Nothing about being a sales tool costs it the zero rate: HMRC accepts that brochures usually contain advertising material, and lists advertising leaflets as zero-rated outright. What decides it is the same set of characteristics as any leaflet, and the one that catches sell sheets is stock. They are often printed on a heavy silk or a board because they are handed to a buyer who will keep them on file. Card is not an automatic disqualifier, but HMRC treats it as a sign the item has a function of its own, and something kept for reference is named in the notice as an example of what is not a leaflet.
What decides it?
Whether it is handed out and let go, or filed and referred back to. Reference material is named in the notice as not a leaflet.
When would sell sheets and fact sheets be charged at 20% VAT?
HMRC judges this as a matter of fact and impression, weighing these together rather than ticking them off: a single sheet, a4 or smaller (or up to a2 printed both sides and folded down to a4); held and read, not hung up or displayed; printed on limp paper, not laminated; at least 50 copies; complete in itself, and either short-lived or supplied with something else; no more than a quarter of it to fill in or tear off, and never returned whole. Missing one does not settle it by itself, and the further an item sits from them the harder it is to call it a leaflet. Two of them are rules rather than indicators: lamination takes it out, and so does being designed to be returned whole after completion.
Is the design and artwork for sell sheets and fact sheets zero-rated too?
If your printer does the design, typesetting or finishing as part of the same zero-rated print job, that work can be zero-rated too. Design bought separately from a studio is a standard-rated service.
Where does this come from?
HMRC VAT Notice 701/10, paragraph 3.3, HMRC's guidance on zero rating books and printed matter. See the notices we work from.
Some real jobs
2,000 A4 product sheets on 130gsm silk for an exhibition giveaway0%
Limp paper, held and read, distributed in quantity. A leaflet whatever you call it.
The same sheet on 350gsm board, laminated, for a specifier's file20%
Laminated items are treated as designed to be kept, and reference material is named as outside the leaflet meaning.
A technical sheet supplied inside the box with the product0%
HMRC allows a leaflet to be designed to accompany another product, and names an instruction leaflet as its example.
