VAT guidance for events

Purpose 

This guidance explains the VAT treatment of the most common income and expenditure relating to events organised by the Faculty of Law. 

It is intended for colleagues who organise conferences, workshops, seminars and other events. It covers the situations encountered most frequently by the Faculty and should not be treated as a substitute for advice from the University's VAT Team. 

If you are unsure about the VAT treatment of an event, contact the University’s  VAT Team before confirming prices or raising purchase orders.  

VAT basics 

Universities are generally exempt from VAT on education and closely related services, but commercial activities and certain services may be subject to VAT.  

For events, it is helpful to remember three VAT categories.

 Education provided by the University 

The University of Oxford is an eligible body for VAT purposes.   

Event Income 

Income received from supplies of education made by the University are generally exempt from VAT.  

Educational activities include, for example: 

• courses 
• classes 
• lectures 
• educational seminars 
• conferences 
• symposia 
• assessed distance learning 
• professional or vocational education. 

The exemption is based on what is being supplied, rather than who attends. Delegates may include students, academics, practitioners or members of the public.  

A. Charging delegates to attend an event 

If delegates pay to attend an event whose principal purpose is the provision of education, the delegate fee is normally VAT exempt. This means VAT is not added to the delegate fee.  

Typical examples include: 

• academic conferences 
• research symposia 
• educational workshops 
• professional development courses 
• specialist training events. 

Important 

Not every conference qualifies as education for VAT purposes. 

Where an event is primarily commercial, for example marketing, networking, course promotion or consultancy, the income may instead be standard-rated. 

If you are unsure whether an event qualifies as educational, seek advice from the University's VAT Team before advertising delegate fees.  

B. Free events 

Where delegates attend free of charge, there is generally no supply for VAT purposes. 

As no consideration is received, the event is normally outside the scope of VAT. 

Most Faculty events fall into this category.  

C. Commercial activities 

Not all Faculty income qualifies for the education exemption. 

Examples of activities that may be subject to VAT include: 

• hiring out rooms or conference facilities 
• consultancy provided to commercial organisations 
• research undertaken for commercial clients 
• administrative or professional services supplied to external organisations. 

These activities should always be considered separately from educational events.  

Event expenses 

This section applies where the Faculty purchases event services from a University college or another eligible educational body. 

Typical costs include: 

• venue hire 
• catering 
• accommodation. 

The VAT treatment depends on the nature of the event.  

A. Paid educational events 

Where delegates pay to attend an educational conference or course, certain supplies can be treated as closely related to education and therefore VAT exempt. It could be provided to anyone, including academics, industry practitioners, and members of the public. This normally requires the event organiser to confirm that the event qualifies for the education exemption.  

If the event involves knowledge sharing and best practices discussions, it may not fall within the scope of provision of education and therefore supplies connected to this event could be treated as standard-rated.  

If a college requests an Eligible Body declaration or VAT exemption form, contact the Faculty Law Events team if you are unsure how it should be completed. 

B. Free events 

For free events, the VAT treatment depends on who is attending. 

Where both students and non-students attend, you should apportion costs between: 

• students (VAT exempt), and 
• non-students (standard-rated). 

For this reason, it is important to know how many attendees fall into each category. 

Practical steps 

When organising a free event: 

• record whether attendees are students or non-students during registration; 
• provide the attendance split to the college if requested; 
• where required, raise separate purchase orders for the student and non-student elements; 
• ask the college to issue separate invoices where appropriate. 

The 90% incidental rule 

Where one group represents 90% or more of attendees, the smaller group is normally treated as incidental. 

For example: 

• 90% students / 10% non-students → the whole supply can usually be treated as VAT exempt. 
• 90% non-students / 10% students → the whole supply can usually be treated as standard-rated.  

Practical checklist on how to treat event expenses: 

Before organising an event, ask yourself: 

1)  Is the main purpose educational? 

Yes → continue below 

No -> standard-rated VAT 

2) Is the event being held at a college/eligible body? 

Yes -> continue below (complete Eligible body/VAT Exemption Declaration form) 

No -> standard-rated VAT 

3) Is the event free or paid? 

Paid → VAT exempt 

Free → student portion (VAT exempt) v non-student portion (standard-rated VAT) 

• Keep records of student and non-student attendance. 
• Raise separate purchase orders for students v non-students.  

Need help? 

VAT can depend on the detailed facts of an event. 

Please contact the University VAT Team if you are unsure or have any queries about an event you are planning.