Books and publications: VAT zero rating

Printed books, booklets, brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, newspapers, journals, periodicals, children’s picture and painting books, printed music and maps are zero rated under Group 3 of Schedule 8 to the VAT Act 1994. Since 1 May 2020 electronic books, newspapers and periodicals are zero rated too, unless they are wholly or mainly advertising, audio or video. When a publication is sold with something else, you first have to decide whether you are making one supply or several.

What does the law actually zero rate?

Section 30 of the VAT Act 1994 zero rates the goods listed in Schedule 8, and Group 3 of that Schedule is headed “Books”. HMRC sets out its interpretation in VAT Notice 701/10. The items are:

1. books, booklets, brochures, pamphlets and leaflets
2. newspapers, journals and periodicals
3. children’s picture books and painting books
4. music (printed, duplicated or manuscript)
5. maps, charts and topographical plans
6. covers, cases and other articles supplied with items 1 to 5 and not separately accounted for
7. the publications in items 1 to 3 when supplied electronically, except those wholly or predominantly devoted to advertising, or consisting wholly or predominantly of audio or video content

A note to the Group excludes plans or drawings for industrial, architectural, engineering, commercial or similar purposes, so a set of architect’s drawings is standard rated even if it is bound like a book. HMRC reads the words in their ordinary, everyday sense. For printed matter that means goods on paper or similar material such as card, including Braille. Text sold on other media, such as a CD ROM, is standard rated, and so are audiobooks, whether physical or digital.

The zero rate is a rate of tax, not an exemption, so a publisher can still recover the VAT on its costs. The difference is explained in zero rated and exempt supplies, and the wider rate structure in VAT rates explained.

How do you tell a zero rated leaflet from standard rated stationery?

This is where most disputes arise, because “leaflet” and “brochure” are not defined in law and HMRC treats them as a matter of fact and impression. Its guidance says a leaflet normally:

• is a single sheet no larger than A4 (up to A2 if printed on both sides and folded down to A4 or smaller)
• is meant to be held in the hand and read, not hung up for display
• conveys information and is complete in itself
• is supplied in a quantity of at least 50 copies
• is printed on limp paper

Items whose main function is something else are not leaflets: calendars, admission tickets, discount vouchers, reference cards and items meant for completion or return. HMRC regards laminated items as designed to be kept, so they are standard rated. For forms, it accepts that an item is not primarily for completion if blank areas and detachable parts together take up 25% or less of its total area. Anything designed to be returned whole after completion is always standard rated.

Journals and periodicals must be issued in a series at regular intervals more often than once a year. A regular publication whose main purpose is to promote your own goods is not a periodical, but it may still qualify as a brochure. HMRC’s liability list in Notice 701/10 helps with common items:

Zero rated	Standard rated
Catalogues and mail order catalogues	Business cards and letter headings
Company accounts and reports	Calendars and posters
Instruction manuals	Greetings cards and postcards
Football and sports programmes	Questionnaires and forms
Diaries once completed	Unused diaries and address books

Which electronic publications qualify?

From 1 May 2020, item 7 extended the zero rate to electronic versions of the publications in items 1 to 3: ebooks, online newspapers, digital magazines and journals. A publication that never existed in print can qualify. HMRC says an online newspaper under editorial control that is updated periodically is likely to be a zero rated newspaper, not just a static copy of the print edition.

The exclusion bites when a product is wholly or predominantly advertising, audio or video. HMRC reads “predominantly” as more than half. There is no fixed test: you can compare article counts with adverts and clips, count words or measure space, and HMRC will accept a fair and reasonable assessment based on a sensible method. Keep a note of the method and the figures in case HMRC asks.

Several related supplies stay standard rated:

• ebook readers and the apps used to read publications
• electronic products mainly for completing, such as an electronic diary
• standalone digital maps, charts and music manuscripts (items 4 and 5 were not extended)
• supplies of intellectual property, such as a licence to reproduce content

The way the customer pays does not change the answer. Pay per day, pay per issue and subscriptions all qualify if the content qualifies. A single fee for access to a mix of zero rated and standard rated content must be apportioned on a fair and reasonable basis.

How are bundles and packs treated?

When a book or magazine is sold with something else, HMRC applies the single and multiple supply principles from the Card Protection Plan case. There are three possible outcomes:

• the other item is ancillary to the publication, giving one zero rated supply (dust covers, clasps, bookmarks and slip cases normally fall here)
• the publication is ancillary to the other item, giving one standard rated supply, such as the instruction booklet packed with a washing machine
• the items are distinct and independent, giving a multiple supply where a single price must be apportioned

HMRC’s examples of multiple supplies include a book sold with a film and a children’s colouring book sold with felt pens, because each item can be used on its own. Children’s activity packs are judged case by case. Binders sold alone are zero rated only if designed to hold a particular loose leaf book with its exact title printed on the outside; a company name alone is not enough.

The package test for printed items

If the pack consists entirely of items printed on paper or card, you can choose either apportionment or HMRC’s package test. If there are more zero rated items than standard rated ones, the whole pack is zero rated, and the other way round. If the numbers are equal, the cost of the items decides, and if the costs are exactly equal you apportion. The outer envelope is ignored, but a reply paid envelope counts as a standard rated item. If any item is not paper or card, the test cannot be used.

Free gifts on magazine covers

A cover mounted item, such as a perfume sachet, can be treated as part of a zero rated magazine if there is no separate charge, the issue sells at the same price as issues without the gift, and the item’s cost does not exceed 20% of the total cost of the combined supply and £1, both excluding VAT. Other promotional bundles are covered in VAT on promotional offers.

What about printing, writing and publishing services?

A printer who produces new zero rated goods can zero rate the job, including preparatory and finishing work under the same contract. A subcontractor can zero rate only if it produces the zero rated item itself: typesetting alone is standard rated, but binding pages into a book is zero rated.

Original or specialist services are standard rated even when delivered as a document. HMRC’s examples include an author’s manuscript, a commissioned report from a consultant and a translation. Extra copies supplied at the cost of production plus a reasonable markup can be zero rated. In vanity publishing, if all the books go to the author the payment is zero rated; if most stay with the publisher, part of the fee is for standard rated publishing services. Lending or hiring zero rated items, including by libraries, is zero rated. Charities can buy some otherwise standard rated printed items for fundraising at the zero rate; see VAT reliefs for charities.

How does this work in practice?

Illustration only. A trade association posts each member a pack containing its printed annual report, three leaflets, a booking form that is mostly blank space and a reply paid envelope. That is four zero rated items and two standard rated items, all paper, so under the package test the whole pack is zero rated. If the association added a branded memory stick, the package test could not be used and the price would need apportioning.

Illustration only. A publisher charges £100 a year, excluding VAT, for access to a digital magazine archive and a separate video training library. If a fair method shows 70% of the value relates to the magazine, £70 is zero rated and £30 is standard rated at 20%, so VAT of £6 is due.

What mistakes come up most often?

• Assuming anything printed is zero rated. Business cards, posters, tickets, calendars and stationery are standard rated.
• Zero rating forms where the completion area exceeds 25%, or where the whole document is returned.
• Zero rating audiobooks, apps or ebook readers alongside ebooks.
• Treating a commissioned report or translation as a zero rated book.
• Applying the package test to a pack that contains a non paper item.
• Charging VAT on a zero rated supply and not putting it right. If you overcharged, refund the customer and adjust your return; see correcting VAT errors.

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Related Accountapedia entries

• Single or multiple supplies for VAT
• VAT on vouchers: single and multi purpose
• Membership subscriptions and VAT
• Cultural services: VAT exemption for admissions
• Charitable and residential purpose buildings: zero rating

Sources

• GOV.UK: Zero rating books and printed matter for vat notice 70110
• GOV.UK: Vat rates

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.