Restaurant VAT rate in Ireland 2026: the 9% rate for food and hairdressing

Revenue lists 9% as the second reduced rate alongside 23%, 13.5% and 4.8%. The July 2026 change brings food service and hairdressing into it.

• Food and catering: restaurants, cafés, catering, and food served in hotels.
• Hairdressing services.
• Not covered: hotel accommodation stays at its existing rate.

Not everything a restaurant sells moves to 9%. Alcohol, many drinks, and some takeaway items can be taxed differently from a meal. For any item you are unsure of, search Revenue’s VAT rate database for that specific item rather than assuming.

Work through these before your next VAT period closes.

• Tills and booking systems: confirm sales from 1 July 2026 are charged at 9%. A till still set to 13.5% collects more VAT than the rate requires.
• Menus and price lists: decide whether to pass the cut on. Either way, the VAT on the sale is 9%.
• Catering invoices: business-to-business invoices dated on or after 1 July 2026 should show 9%.
• Purchases are separate: the cut applies to your sales. VAT on stock, equipment and energy depends on what those items are.

Irish VAT3 periods normally cover two months, so the May to June and July to August periods sit either side of the change. If your period mixes sales from before and after 1 July 2026, the sales were taxed at 13.5% and then at 9%. Your records must support both, and the annual Return of Trading Details breaks sales down by rate, so a clean split now saves work at year end.

Take a meal priced at €100 before VAT. At 13.5% the VAT is €13.50 and the customer pays €113.50. At 9% the VAT is €9.00 and the customer pays €109.00.

If you keep the menu price at €113.50 after 1 July 2026, that price now includes VAT at 9%. The VAT inside it is €113.50 multiplied by 9 and divided by 109, which is about €9.37, and the rest is your net sale. The extra margin is yours only if the till splits the VAT correctly; a till still applying 13.5% would show €13.50 of VAT on the same sale and overstate what you owe.

These are the errors to look for when you review the first periods after July 2026.

• One till or online ordering system updated, another not: check every place you take money, including delivery apps.
• Gift vouchers and deposits: look at when the supply actually happens before deciding which rate applies, and check Revenue guidance where you are unsure.
• Drinks coded at the food rate: keep drinks on their own till buttons so they keep their own rate.
• Hotel packages: split the room from the food so each part carries its own rate.
• Old price lists on catering quotes: reissue quotes that straddle the change date.

HelloBooks tags each transaction with its Irish VAT rate, including 9%, and computes the VAT3 figures from the ledger. Daily takings can be coded at the right rate by date, and the AI flags lines that look wrong for you to check. You then enter the totals in ROS yourself; HelloBooks does not file the return.

HelloBooks does not run Irish payroll yet, so restaurants and salons with staff keep their payroll software or bureau for wages.