Labour's VAT on private schools has applied since 1 January 2025, at 20% on tuition and boarding fees alike. For a family abroad weighing a UK boarding place, it is charged on the school's fee, so check whether any fee you are quoted includes it. We found no exception in HMRC's guidance for parents who live overseas. It reaches board and lodging too.
When did VAT on private school fees start?
VAT at 20% has applied to private school fees since 1 January 2025. Labour's 2024 general election manifesto said it would remove the VAT exemption on private school fees, and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed the plan on 30 October 2024. Parliament then passed it. The Finance Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, put it into law in sections 47 to 49.
Does VAT apply to boarding fees?
Yes: HMRC says that since 1 January 2025, education services provided by private schools in the UK for a charge carry VAT at 20%, and that this includes boarding services. VAT is due on the total of everything the school receives for your child's education, which includes what you pay and any external bursary.
Registration fees count too. HMRC says those that must be paid for your child to attend carry VAT, the same as normal school fees. If you are still choosing a school, our guide to applying for September entry covers the timing. For a boarder, the tax reaches the teaching, the board and lodging, and the registration fee.
Do families living overseas pay VAT on UK school fees?
Yes. HMRC applies VAT to education and boarding supplied by private schools in the UK, whoever pays the fee, and we found no exception in its guidance for families who live abroad. We read two HMRC documents in full: the policy paper, Applying VAT to private school fees, and the guidance on goods and services related to private school fees, last updated on 5 February 2026. Neither sets a different rule for parents overseas.
The ISC Census 2026 counts 22,941 non-UK pupils whose parents live overseas at ISC schools, down from 25,526 in 2025. Of those, 93.0% board. In the census's words: "In particular, the introduction of VAT on independent school fees and increased difficulty in obtaining student visas are likely to have had an impact on recruitment in 2025 and 2026." It adds that it is not possible to attribute changes in pupil numbers to specific causes.
How much have private school fees gone up since VAT?
Excluding VAT, the average ISC boarding fee is £14,980 a term in 2026, with VAT at 20% on top; at schools in both censuses, boarding fees rose 4.2% in a year. At senior level the average boarding fee is £14,735 a term, and in the sixth form it is £15,601, both excluding VAT. With VAT, the overall average is about £17,976 a term: £17,682 at senior level and £18,721 in the sixth form.
Across ISC schools, day and boarding, that completed both censuses, average fees rose 4.4% between January 2025 and January 2026, excluding VAT. The census also notes that schools have taken different approaches to setting fees since VAT arrived, and it leaves specialist SEND schools out of every fee figure. So treat these as sector averages. Ask each school for its own termly fee with the VAT shown as a separate line.
What is exempt from VAT on school fees?
Little on a boarding bill: board and lodging and registration fees carry VAT, while stationery sold separately for class and courses teaching English as a foreign language are exempt. HMRC's guidance says that any board or lodging fees closely related to education are subject to VAT. A package of education for a single fee is normally treated as one supply, with VAT on the whole.
Some items supplied separately and closely related to education are exempt, such as stationery sold to a pupil for use in class. School meals charged separately may be exempt if they meet HMRC's conditions, but board and lodging is not. Courses a private school provides to teach English as a foreign language are exempt too. Ask the school which lines on its bill carry VAT, and whether any English support is billed as a separate course.
Is the VAT here to stay?
Not settled yet: two lower courts dismissed the challenges, but religious schools and families have Supreme Court permission to appeal, with a hearing listed for 1 to 2 December 2026, subject to change. Plan on paying VAT, and do not budget for a refund while the appeal is pending.
The High Court dismissed three human-rights claims against the VAT on 13 June 2025. The Court of Appeal rejected both appeals on 27 February 2026. The Supreme Court granted permission to appeal on 22 May 2026, and its case page warns that hearing dates and panels are subject to change. We give no view on the outcome.
Are schools closing because of VAT?
We found no source that isolates VAT as a cause: in England, 69 mainstream independent schools closed between January 2025 and 18 June 2026, for any reason, and 18 opened. The figure comes from Department for Education data quoted by the House of Commons Library. It counts closures for any reason, including mergers and de-registrations, and may also include some schools that moved to another site. It is not a count of VAT closures.
Ask any school you are considering how its pupil numbers have moved since 2025.
How we help families plan the full cost
In March 2025, a family our co-founder Chris Woodburn was advising had narrowed their choice to three schools and told him the difference in fees, with VAT included, would probably decide it.
At least 25 of the 141 family enquiry threads we received between 17 June and 15 September 2026 raised cost, fees or budget. We do not quote schools' fees. Our advice is to plan with each school's own figures, asked for in one form: the termly fee, the VAT, the registration fee and any separately billed extras, side by side.
Our guide to what UK football boarding schools cost covers the wider budget, and our fees and funding page explains how a place is paid for. Our football scholarships page explains how sports awards are assessed. When you are ready, register your interest and we will be in touch.
Chris Woodburn is co-founder of Prestige Football Schools, a BBSN accredited agent and British Council certified. He has spent 15 years placing international families.
Sources:
- HMRC, Applying VAT to private school fees and Charging and reclaiming VAT on goods and services related to private school fees
- House of Commons Library, VAT on private school fees (26 June 2026)
- ISC Census and Annual Report 2026
- UK Supreme Court, case UKSC/2026/0045