School fees VAT: How bursars can get equipped to manage the changes ahead

Currently, the supply of education provided by an “eligible body” is exempt from VAT. Academies, colleges, universities, and independent schools all generally fall under the eligible body umbrella. The exemption also covers the provision by eligible bodies of goods and services “closely related” to the supply of education (e.g. catering, boarding, and sporting facilities).

Prior to the general election, Labour said it would remove this exemption as it applies to independent schools and apply the current standard rate of 20%. Post-election, the proposal was included in the King’s Speech. Therefore, it seems certain to go ahead.

The government will need to amend existing VAT legislation in order to remove the eligible body exemption from private schools while retaining it for colleges, universities, and academies.

However, there are multiple potential grey areas that will need to be addressed in any legislation. For instance, Labour previously confirmed that the new VAT regime will not apply to pupils with an educational, health, and care plan (EHCP). Will fees for pupils with an EHCP remain exempt in their entirety – or only to the extent to which the school receives payment from a local authority? What about schools which support pupils with particular needs, but who may not have an EHCP? Will nursery services provided by independent schools also be covered? What about institutions that provide education within specific targeted sectors (e.g. religion)?

All of these issues will need to be clarified in the draft legislation.

The government has stated its intention to press ahead with the changes as soon as possible.

As detailed above, changes will need to be made to primary legislation, although given the size of the government’s majority, it is likely that even with some deliberation and consultation, these changes will be pushed through relatively quickly.

Most likely, the next big announcement will come in the October Budget, with legislation and guidance for schools published shortly afterwards. The new rules could conceivably start applying to fees from September 2025.

Matters to consider include the following:

MTD compliance 

If yours is one of the majority of independent schools not currently registered for VAT, you will likely need to register shortly after the law changes and within the specified timeframe.

For many bursars, this will mean first-time contact with HMRC’s MTD (Making Tax Digital) VAT regime. In summary, MTD compliance involves filing your VAT return through functional compatible software, keeping records digitally, using digital links to transfer or exchange data, and using the checking functions within your software to ensure returns are accurate.

As an early preparatory step, you should ensure that your current systems can accommodate this extra compliance step. Does your current accounting software include MTD capabilities? Are you clear on how to set it up?

Managing the administrative burden

As we’ve seen, the precise rules still need to be firmed up. However, it’s easy to see how schools could find themselves having to apply a complex mix of exemptions and partial exemptions on a pupil-by-pupil basis—especially when it comes to pupils with specific educational needs.

In addition, there may be extra rules to negotiate—again, potentially on a pupil-by-pupil basis—regarding ancillary services, such as nursery provision, transport, and tuition.

Rather than simply bracing for impact before the rule change is introduced, this is the right time to review your existing capabilities. Special emphasis should be on automated invoicing and tax calculations: reducing errors and saving time.

Exploring what’s feasible

To what extent can we absorb the impact of the change, and how much of it will we need to pass on to parents? This is the big question for school leaders. All eyes are on finance teams to provide the answers.

For this, you need the whole picture. In particular, a corollary consequence of VAT registration will be that VAT on costs will be recoverable in new areas (e.g. maintenance, agents fees, building works, and professional services). The same goes for VAT on capital items, such as buildings that are less than ten years old. All of this should be looked at when analysing the financial impact of the change.

Avoiding expensive mistakes

What if we announce a fee freeze for the next three terms to assuage parents’ fears? What if we announced an increase of no more than 5% per school year for the next couple of years? What if we instigated a fees-in-advance scheme?

In terms of formulating a response, there are multiple possible options out there. Asking “what if?” is easy; the hard part is formulating answers you can trust.

How do we formulate a plan, come up with a revised fees policy – without sleepwalking into a major cash flow crisis further down the line? There are no easy answers.