Gift vouchers for workshops and lessons: when do you pay VAT?

With a gift voucher for one specific workshop or lesson, the VAT is already known when you sell it. You pay the VAT at the moment you sell the voucher. With credit a guest can spend on things with different VAT rates, you pay VAT only when it is redeemed. That distinction comes from an EU directive that has applied to vouchers across the EU since 2019.

Which kinds of gift vouchers are there for VAT?

The EU directive on vouchers knows two.

Kind	What is fixed at the sale	When VAT is due	Example
Single-purpose	where the service takes place and the VAT due	when the voucher is sold	voucher for the Wheel throwing for beginners workshop in your studio
Multi-purpose	not yet	when the voucher is redeemed	100 euros of credit for a lesson or a boat rental, each with a different rate

The Dutch tax authority puts it like this: with single-purpose vouchers the VAT consequences are known when the voucher is issued. With a multi-purpose voucher you charge VAT on redemption over the price paid. When that price is not known, you charge it over the value on the voucher (Dutch tax authority).

When is a voucher for a workshop single-purpose?

When everything the voucher can buy has the same VAT rate and takes place in the same place. A voucher for a pottery workshop in your studio in Utrecht is single-purpose: place and rate are fixed.

As soon as a guest can choose with the same voucher between things with different rates, it is multi-purpose. In the Netherlands, giving people the opportunity to do sport, with the lessons that go with it, falls under 9 percent, while renting out a sailing boat falls under 21 percent (Dutch tax authority). Credit for both is therefore multi-purpose. Which rate your service has depends on exactly what you provide, and rates differ per country.

What happens when a voucher is never used?

With a single-purpose voucher you already paid the VAT at the sale. The Dutch tax authority mentions a refund of that VAT when the voucher is not used, provided you take the voucher back and refund the consumer. For a multi-purpose voucher that expires, the directive sets no rule, and the Dutch tax authority names none on that page either. Raise this with your accountant before you sell a pile of vouchers with an expiry date.

How long should a gift voucher be valid?

Pick a period that suits your offer and print it on the voucher. A workshop that only runs in spring needs a different period than a surf school with a season from May to October. A voucher bought in December for a surf lesson should at least last through the following summer.

Issuing and redeeming a card

You issue a gift card with an amount, a validity and, if you like, a name and message. You get a code to give to the buyer. The guest enters the code on the last booking step; the card then pays what is due at that moment, the deposit or the full amount. Superota keeps track of the balance, so a 100-euro card can be spread over two bookings. You can revoke a card. When a booking is cancelled, you put the amount back on the card.

The invoice shows the VAT on the lesson, with the gift card under what has already been paid. That fits a multi-purpose voucher. When you sell vouchers for one specific workshop, discuss with your accountant how you pay the VAT at the sale.

Selling gift cards online to guests, with payment through your site, is in development. Until then you sell them yourself, for example in your web shop or at the desk, and then create the card in Superota.