Amount of VAT Charged to Print Books and Booklets

VAT is the value added tax which can be included in the price of printing documents for your office, so make sure you know what should have VAT applied to it and what should be VAT zero-rated as some printing companies charge VAT at 17.5% across all of their printing, when your documents might be exempt.

If you are printing books and booklets, yours may be exempt from being charged VAT. Books and booklets are classified as consisting of text, illustrations and images, bound together. In book or booklet form, they can be in any language, even handwritten, or in variations such as shorthand or Braille.

For example, literary books, reference books, directories, catalogues, antique books, manuals and instructions are zero rated for VAT. School workbooks and other educational tools are also zero rated because the students are adding their answers in the spaces provided in these book or booklets, and this applies to any other question and answer format including exam papers, and any other documents which qualify as a book, booklet, brochure, pamphlet or leaflet.

However, books of industrial or architectural drawings, or for commercial purposes are VAT standard rated. As are stationery items such as diaries, address books, picture card and stamp albums. Stamp albums and the like can be exempt if no more than 25% of the album is for the mounting of stamps. 

When rating brochures and pamphlets, it depends on their content, and brochures also are often not bound and contain an amount of text or image advertising. Pamphlets often contain political, social or intellectual information and single sheet brochures may also be exempt from VAT if they too convey information, contain a substantial amount of text, are not designed to hold other items and are therefore supplied complete.

So before you accept that your printing project is subject to VAT and are charged an additional 17.5%, challenge your printer, or simply contact Print Compare now.