Private tuition is exempt from VAT under item 2 of Group 6 of Schedule 9 to the VAT Act 1994 when it is supplied by an individual teacher acting independently of an employer, in a subject ordinarily taught in a school or university. Sole traders and partners, including members of an LLP, can use the exemption, but a limited company cannot, even if the teacher is its only shareholder, and lessons delivered by anyone the tutor takes on to help are taxable.

What does the law say?

Item 2 of Group 6 exempts “the supply of private tuition, in a subject ordinarily taught in a school or university, by an individual teacher acting independently of an employer”. HMRC’s VAT Education Manual at VATEDU40100 traces this to Article 132(1)(j) of the Principal VAT Directive, which covered tuition given privately by teachers and covering school or university education.

The exemption stands apart from the main education exemption for eligible bodies described in VAT on education and private school fees. A tutor does not need to be an eligible body, a qualified teacher or registered with anyone. What counts is how the tuition is supplied and what is taught.

Who counts as an individual teacher acting independently?

VATEDU40200 says the exemption applies when an individual teacher supplies education or training in a personal capacity or as a member of a partnership, on their own account and at their own risk. It applies equally to partners in limited liability partnerships. The phrase “own account and own risk” comes from the European Court’s decision in Haderer, which HMRC still follows.

Three situations fall outside it:

  • Employees. Tuition carried out by employees is excluded (VATEDU40300). In Marcus Webb Golf Professional, golf lessons given by the professional as a partner were exempt, but lessons he gave as director of the family company, and lessons by a partnership employee, were standard rated.
  • Limited companies. VATEDU40500 says that where a company employs a teacher, the company’s supplies are not exempt, even if the teacher is its sole shareholder. This is often a deciding factor when a tutor weighs up sole trader versus limited company.
  • Onward supplies by schools. Where a tutor supplies tuition to a school, the school’s onward supply to its pupils is not the tutor’s private tuition.

Some arrangements do not stop exemption. VATEDU40200 confirms it does not matter whether the tutor teaches one person or a group, contracts with the pupil or with an organisation that makes an onward supply, or works under a franchise using another business’s methods, name or trading style. Tutors working through online platforms or agencies therefore need to look at whom they contract with and on what terms, rather than assuming the platform makes the supply.

Which subjects are ordinarily taught in a school or university?

The subject must be one in which instruction is commonly given in schools, universities or further education colleges, not one that appears only occasionally. The tribunals have asked whether the activity is taught only infrequently, and whether it is part of a course of study rather than a recreational activity that happens to take place in schools. HMRC says where there is doubt the business must produce evidence. The purpose of the lessons and the age of the pupils do not decide the point, but may indicate whether the subject is a school or university one.

The case law gives a feel for where the line falls:

Activity Outcome
Golf lessons (Marcus Webb) Accepted by HMRC as a subject ordinarily taught
Driving lessons for a licence (A & G Fahrschul Akademie) Not school or university education
Transcendental meditation (Colin Beckley) Not part of a course of study
Belly dancing (Audrey Cheruvier) One form of dance, not as taught in schools
Yoga (Stuart Tranter) Overwhelmingly recreational and not ordinarily taught
Pilates (Christine Joy Hocking) Educational, but not school or university education
Motocross riding and motorcycle maintenance (Simon Newell) Did not meet the requirements

VATEDU40200 adds that instruction and coaching in sporting and recreational activities can qualify, provided all the other conditions are met. Tutoring in core school subjects such as mathematics, English and the sciences is the clearest case. Recreational fitness and wellbeing disciplines are where the disputes have arisen.

What if the tutor takes on other teachers?

The exemption covers only the tutor’s own teaching. VATEDU40400 says it does not extend to instruction delivered by anyone the sole trader or partnership employs or engages to help. The business may apportion its income between exempt and taxable elements using any fair and reasonable method, or, if that is impractical, treat all its tuition as taxable. Taking on staff in a non teaching role, such as a bookkeeper or receptionist, has no effect.

Tutorial colleges, sometimes called crammers, are usually run for profit and are not eligible bodies. HMRC says their tuition is unlikely to be exempt as private tuition, although a sole proprietor can exempt the lessons they personally deliver. Where each teacher contracts in their own capacity directly with the pupils, those teachers’ supplies are exempt, so the contracts need checking.

Are books, materials and other extras exempt?

No. VATEDU40600 says there is no exemption for separate supplies of goods and services closely related to private tuition, even if they are clearly educational. VAT Notice 701/30 paragraph 6.2 says goods and services that are not an integral part of the tuition must be standard rated unless relief is available elsewhere. A printed workbook sold separately may qualify for the zero rate for books under Group 3 of Schedule 8, but online course access or exam entry administration charged on top of lessons would need to be considered on its own terms.

How does the exemption affect VAT registration?

Exempt supplies are left out of taxable turnover, which HMRC defines as everything sold that is not VAT exempt or outside the scope. A tutor whose only income is exempt private tuition never has to register, however much they earn. Taxable income, such as tuition delivered by assistants, standard rated materials or company supplies, counts towards the £90,000 registration threshold.

The flip side is that exempt tutors cannot recover VAT on their costs. A registered tutor making both exempt and taxable supplies is partly exempt and needs a partial exemption calculation. For the difference between exemption and zero rating, see zero rated versus exempt supplies.

How does this work in practice?

Illustration only. A self employed maths tutor earns £60,000 a year from lessons she gives herself. She takes on two tutors as subcontractors, whose lessons bring in £95,000. Her own £60,000 stays exempt. The £95,000 delivered by the others is taxable, so her taxable turnover passes £90,000 and she must register and account for VAT on those lessons, unless each tutor genuinely contracts directly with families as an independent teacher. If she had instead incorporated a company and employed herself and the others, all £155,000 would be taxable.

HMRC applies the same rule to doctors: VAT Notice 701/57 treats lectures on medical training courses and first aid training given by a doctor as a sole proprietor or partner as exempt private tuition. Their wider position is covered in health and medical services: VAT exemption.

What mistakes come up most often?

  • Incorporating a tutoring business without realising the company’s lessons become standard rated.
  • Treating lessons by assistants or subcontracted tutors as exempt because the business owner is a teacher.
  • Claiming exemption for recreational disciplines such as yoga or Pilates that tribunals have held are not school or university subjects.
  • Exempting separately charged books, kits and online resources along with the tuition.
  • Assuming that a tutor who teaches through a school is supplying the pupils, when the school makes the onward supply.

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Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.