Guide · Ireland

Irish restaurant VAT at 9%: what changed on the bill in July 2026

On 1 July 2026 the food on an Irish restaurant bill moved from the 13.5% rate to the 9% rate. The pint and the cola beside it did not. One bill now carries two rates far apart, and a service charge with a law of its own. This is what each line is, from Revenue's own pages.

Published 24 October 2026 · A practical guide for restaurants in Ireland, not tax or legal advice.

13.5% to 9% from 1 July 2026

Ireland has three VAT rates that a restaurant meets: the standard rate of 23%, the reduced rate of 13.5% and the second reduced rate of 9%. Revenue's page on restaurant, catering and canteen services says that restaurant and catering services were at the reduced rate until 30 June 2026, and that from 1 July 2026 the second reduced rate applies. Its page on the second reduced rate lists catering and restaurant supplies there from that date, with one exclusion that matters more than any other on a bill: alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water.

For a café, a bistro or a hotel dining room the practical change is the same. The food on the plate, and the service of it, is taxed at 9%. The drinks that are excluded are not, however they arrive at the table.

Two dates are worth writing on the office wall. The rate changed in the middle of the year, so the first half of 2026 and the second half sit at different rates in your records; and anything printed before July — a set menu card, a group quote, a gift of a dinner for two — was worked out at 13.5%. Whether a particular sale belongs to the old rate or the new one is a question for your accountant, not for your menu designer.

What stays at 23%: the drinks

Alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water are excluded from the second reduced rate even when they are served with a meal, so they stay at the standard rate of 23%. A two-course dinner with a glass of wine and a sparkling water is three lines at two rates, not one meal at one rate.

That is why a set price needs care. An early-bird menu that includes a drink is food at one rate and a drink at another, and the split between them should be one you can explain line by line. Agree with your accountant how a package price is divided before you print it, and price the drinks so the menu still works at 23%.

Takeaway food counts as goods

Revenue treats takeaway food as a supply of goods rather than a restaurant service, so its rate depends on what the goods are. Its page on the second reduced rate lists hot take-away food, and hot tea and coffee, there from 1 July 2026. A restaurant that sells the same dish for the table and for collection can therefore have two treatments for one recipe: the restaurant service at the table, and goods over the counter.

Cold takeaway food was outside the Revenue pages read for this guide, so it is left to your accountant. If you sell salads, sandwiches or desserts to take away, ask which rate each one carries before you set them up.

In Slotora, collection orders come from your own ordering page for a pickup time today, and they join the same menu as the dining room. Each dish carries the VAT class you give it, so the rate is your accountant's decision, written once.

Showing VAT by class on the bill

A bill with food at 9% and drinks at 23% is only as right as the class each dish was given. This is how Slotora keeps the two apart.

Each dish and drink on the menu carries a VAT class that you choose. Slotora stores the class, not a rate you type on each dish; the wine sits in a different class from the steak because you put it there, so set the classes up once with your accountant.
The bill at the table shows VAT by class, whether it is one check, split by dish, by seat or into equal shares.
The sales reports export daily takings and VAT by class as CSV files for your accountant, and say plainly that they are not a tax return.
Your VAT returns stay with your accountant and your existing process.

The service charge, and the Tips and Gratuities Act notice

Revenue's rates database is clear on the service charge: where it is included on the bill it is part of the price of the meal, taxed at the second reduced rate. A voluntary tip the guest leaves that does not appear on the bill is outside VAT.

The Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022 has applied since 1 December 2022. As the Department of Enterprise explains it, an employer displays prominently its policy on how cash and card tips are shared; a charge called a "service charge" is shared with staff as if it were a tip paid by card; tips paid electronically are paid out fairly; tips cannot be used to make up contractual pay; and staff are given a statement of the tips taken and their own share.

In Slotora a service charge can be set by party size and marked optional or compulsory, each payment is recorded with the tip that came with it, and the tips ledger records each hand-out to named members of staff. The notice on the wall is yours to write; the ledger is how you show you kept to it.

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Irish restaurant VAT: short answers

What is the VAT rate on restaurant food in Ireland?

From 1 July 2026 restaurant and catering supplies are at the second reduced rate, 9%. Until 30 June 2026 they were at the reduced rate, 13.5%.

Is alcohol in a restaurant at 9% now?

No. Alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water are excluded from the second reduced rate and stay at the standard rate of 23%, even when served with a meal.

Is a service charge subject to VAT in Ireland?

Yes, when it is included on the bill: Revenue treats it as part of the price of the meal, at the second reduced rate. A voluntary tip that does not appear on the bill is outside VAT.

What does Slotora cost for an Irish restaurant?

€179 a month per location, set in euro, with no commission on bookings.

Sources (Revenue and the Department of Enterprise, checked 24 October 2026; not tax or legal advice)

The menu, with a VAT class on every dish · Click and collect from your own page · Pricing in sterling and euro

Slotora for restaurants in Ireland · The UK Tips Act, for comparison · All guides