Timetables are usually zero-rated (0% VAT) in the UK, but only if they meet HMRC's conditions: in book or leaflet form (not a poster) (HMRC VAT Notice 701/10, section 8).
PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL
Zero-rated.Enjoy it.It happens rarely.
Timetables
0% VAT
Timetables in book or leaflet form are zero-rated.
HMRC VAT Notice 701/10, section 8
0% as long as it's:
In book or leaflet form (not a poster)
Need these printed?
Tell Tenfold the quantity, size and deadline. We'll put together a quote for your job.
The A to Z entry for timetables carries a condition in brackets: in book or leaflet form. That is the whole rule, and it is about format, not content. A pocket timetable, a folded bus timetable and a bound rail timetable are all reading matter held in the hand. The same information printed as a sheet for the shelter wall is a sheet intended for public display, which 4.1 standard-rates, and the laminated version for a school corridor fails on two counts at once, since laminated items are treated as designed to be kept.
What decides it?
Held and read, or hung up. Book or leaflet form is the condition HMRC attaches.
When would timetables be charged at 20% VAT?
The zero rate applies as long as it's: in book or leaflet form (not a poster). If any one of those isn't true, it isn't zero-rated, so it's 20%.
Is the design and artwork for timetables 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, section 8, HMRC's guidance on zero rating books and printed matter. See the notices we work from.
Some real jobs
A folded pocket timetable for a bus route0%
In leaflet form, held and read.
An A2 timetable poster for a bus shelter20%
A sheet intended for public display.
A laminated timetable card for a reception desk20%
Laminated items are treated as designed to be kept, and it is reference material.
