Income from a fundraising event run by a charity, its wholly owned trading subsidiary or certain other qualifying bodies is exempt from VAT under Group 12 of Schedule 9 to the VAT Act 1994, provided the event’s primary purpose is raising money and it is promoted as a fundraiser. The exemption is lost for every event of a kind if more than 15 events of that kind are held at the same location in the organiser’s financial year, although weeks in which takings from similar events are £1,000 or less are left out of the count.

What does the law actually exempt?

Group 12 of Schedule 9 contains three items. Item 1 exempts supplies of goods and services by a charity in connection with an event organised for charitable purposes by one or more charities. Item 2 does the same for a qualifying body where the event is organised exclusively for the body’s own benefit. Item 3 covers events organised jointly by a charity and a qualifying body. In every case the event’s primary purpose must be the raising of money and it must be promoted as being for that purpose. Note 1 to the Group confirms that an event can be accessed wholly or partly by electronic communications, so online auctions, quizzes and streamed concerts can qualify.

The exemption is mandatory for any event that meets all the conditions, so a charity cannot opt to charge VAT. HMRC’s helpsheet adds that a qualifying event automatically falls within Extra Statutory Concession C4 for Income Tax and Corporation Tax, as long as the profits are applied charitably.

Exempt income does not count towards VAT registration turnover, but a registered charity may find its overhead VAT recovery restricted under the partial exemption rules. Normal VAT still applies to what the charity buys in to run the event.

Who can use the exemption?

Three kinds of organiser qualify:

  • Charities. HMRC expects the body to have charitable status and may ask for its HMRC recognition reference.
  • Wholly owned trading subsidiaries. Note 2 treats a body corporate wholly owned by a charity as a charity if it has agreed in writing to transfer its profits to a charity, or its profits are otherwise payable to a charity.
  • Qualifying bodies. Note 3 covers non profit making organisations within item 1 of Group 9 (such as trade unions and professional associations), eligible bodies under Group 10 whose principal purpose is providing facilities for sport or physical education, and eligible cultural bodies under item 2 of Group 13.

Individuals and informal groups holding events for national appeals are unlikely to be charities or qualifying bodies, so the exemption will not apply to them. Events organised jointly with anyone else, such as a commercial promoter, are outside it. A charity may use a professional fundraiser, but any part of the gross receipts the agent keeps is consideration for agency services and is subject to VAT.

What counts as a fundraising event?

HMRC describes an event as an incident with an outcome or result. Semi regular or continuous activities, such as frequently running a shop or bar, are not events. Typical examples are balls, dinners, concerts, fetes, exhibitions, car boot sales, sponsored walks, quizzes and auctions of bought in goods.

The event must be organised primarily to raise money, and those attending must know it is a fundraiser. Following the Upper Tribunal decision in Yorkshire Agricultural Society in January 2025, HMRC accepts that an event can have more than one primary purpose, so the exemption can still apply where fundraising and another purpose are so interlinked that they cannot be separated in importance. HMRC also now accepts that the word “primarily” in the promotion condition can be ignored, but the event must still be promoted as a fundraiser. Tickets and publicity should use wording such as “in aid of” or “help us to raise money for”, and copies should be kept as evidence.

Events forming part of a social calendar for members, or organised primarily for another purpose such as an annual general meeting, do not qualify. Street collections are donations outside the scope of VAT altogether.

How does the 15 event limit work?

Note 4 to Group 12 provides that where more than 15 events of the same kind involving the charity or qualifying body are held at the same location in its financial year, the exemption does not apply to any event of that kind held at that location in that year. HMRC’s helpsheet is explicit that VAT is not charged only from the 16th event: every event in a programme of 16 or more is taxable at the standard rate.

Location means the same place. HMRC accepts that 20 balls held by a national charity in different towns would all qualify, and each hall in a cinema or theatre complex is a separate location. A charity’s entire website is one location for online events. HMRC will not simply accept weekly boot sales moved between adjacent fields as separate locations.

A concert repeated on successive evenings is a separate event each night. A single event spread over several days at one place, such as a golf tournament, counts as one.

Note 6 adjusts the limit for a financial year longer or shorter than twelve months. The figure of 15 is replaced by the whole number nearest to the number of days in the financial year multiplied by 15 and divided by 365.

The small scale events rule

Under Note 5, an event is disregarded when counting towards the limit if it is held in a week in which the aggregate gross takings from events of that kind at that location do not exceed £1,000. Coffee mornings are the typical example. The £1,000 is gross income before costs such as room hire, and if takings exceed £1,000 in a week, every event in that week counts towards the 15.

Which income is covered, and which is not?

All supplies in connection with a qualifying event are exempt, including admission charges, brochures and advertising space in them, goods sold at the event and directly connected sponsorship. Items that would normally be zero rated, such as donated goods sold by a charity, eligible printed matter and young children’s clothing, stay zero rated, and a registered organiser can recover input tax directly attributable to them. This is the practical difference explained in zero rated versus exempt supplies.

The exemption does not reach sales made after the event. Video and audio recordings sold afterwards, and surplus adult T shirts and mugs, are standard rated, although commemorative programmes and children’s T shirts remain zero rated. Any activity within the Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme, such as a package of travel and accommodation, is excluded, and VAT Notice 701/1 adds that events including bought in accommodation or more than 2 nights’ accommodation from the charity’s own resources do not qualify. Notice 701/1 applies this rule to charity challenge events such as treks and bike rides.

What if an event does not qualify?

A charity can set a standard rated minimum ticket price and invite a voluntary donation on top, which is outside the scope of VAT if HMRC’s conditions are met. Publicity must state that anyone paying only the minimum will be admitted, the extra must buy no benefit such as a better seat, and the amount must be left to the ticket holder. For performances and fixtures the minimum must not be below the usual commercial price, and for dances the total minimum charges must not be less than the organiser’s total costs.

How does this work in practice?

Illustration only. A VAT registered charity with a 31 March year end plans a monthly quiz at its usual village hall, 12 quizzes in total, and a weekly coffee morning there that takes about £200 a week. The trustees then add four extra quizzes at the same hall over the winter. That makes 16 quizzes of the same kind at one location in one financial year, so none of the 16 is exempt and VAT is due on all the quiz income, not just the last one. If the four extra quizzes are instead held at a separate venue in another town, the hall total stays at 12 and both sets can qualify, provided the move is genuine. The coffee mornings never go above £1,000 in a week, so they are ignored for the count.

If the same charity changed its year end and had a first period of 273 days, the limit for that period would be 273 multiplied by 15, divided by 365, which is 11.2, so the limit becomes 11 events of a kind at one location.

What mistakes come up most often?

  • Treating only the 16th and later events as taxable, when the whole series loses exemption.
  • Failing to mention fundraising on tickets and posters, leaving no evidence of the fundraising purpose.
  • Treating souvenir sales after the event, or regular bar and shop income, as part of the exempt event.
  • Exempting challenge events that include a travel and accommodation package.
  • Deducting costs before testing the £1,000 weekly small events threshold.

For reliefs on what a charity buys, rather than what it sells, see VAT reliefs for charities, and for the wider business and non business split see what counts as business activity for VAT.

If HMRC opens a check into your return, tax investigation insurance pays your accountant’s fees. Solar Protect cover pays up to £100,000 with no excess; it never pays tax, interest or penalties. Read how our cover works or get a quote.

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.