{"id":532093,"date":"2026-07-04T02:31:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T02:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/532093\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T02:31:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T02:31:25","slug":"will-my-next-restaurant-bill-be-cheaper-because-of-this-weeks-vat-cut-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/532093\/","title":{"rendered":"Will my next restaurant bill be cheaper because of this week\u2019s VAT cut? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

I see the Government has cut VAT for restaurants \u2013 hurrah, does this mean my meal will be cheaper next time I eat out?<\/p>\n

You\u2019re right \u2013 the VAT<\/a> rate for food hospitality businesses (and hairdressers) has been reduced from 13.5 per cent to 9 per cent as of this week. And there\u2019s an appealing logic in thinking this should automatically lead to a cheaper bill for you, the customer. But, as with so many tax policy issues, logic can depend on your viewpoint.<\/p>\n

What does that mean? Will my bill be lower or not? I was looking forward to finally being able to afford a pre-dinner spicy margarita at the weekend<\/p>\n

The most straightforward answer is that it will depend on where you go. In Dublin, for example, long-standing fine-dining restaurant Dax is cutting its prices to coincide with the VAT change, with a two-course lunch falling from \u20ac53 to \u20ac50 and a four-course dinner from \u20ac98 to \u20ac94.<\/p>\n

Also in the capital, cafe business Lolly and Cooks has said its coffee prices will be lower, while in Westport, Co Mayo, deli\/bistro\/wine bar Savoir Fare has signalled that it will pass on reductions too.<\/p>\n

But this is not a norm being followed by the sector, with most hospitality businesses expected to absorb the VAT cut back into their day-to-day operations as a small benefit to their margins. <\/p>\n

Does that not mean they\u2019re just adding to their profits at my expense?<\/p>\n

That presumes they\u2019re making a profit. T\u00edr, a seasonal Irish deli with two Dublin outlets, posted on Instagram on Thursday to explain how the price of one of its sandwiches breaks down and how a lower VAT rate might affect that. <\/p>\n

It said an \u20ac11.75 sandwich (made with quality, Irish ingredients) generated a 29 cent loss at the 13.5 per cent VAT rate, while it would produce a 14 cent profit at the new rate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just breathing room,\u201d said co-owner Shane Kelly of the new rate, emphasising the huge cost pressures facing independent food businesses at the moment.<\/p>\n

So will this help consumers at all?<\/p>\n

That depends on how you decide to view the policy. The Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke this week described it as \u201ca viability measure to shore up businesses that have been experiencing extraordinary costs\u201d<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Note he did not emphasise the benefit for consumers, even though the Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin had indicated last year that he would like to see this kind of change \u201creflected in the pricing\u201d. <\/p>\n

To take Burke\u2019s comments to their extension, you might want to look at the cut as a small way to help ensure your favourite restaurant or lunch spot stays in business. Thus, you would welcome it without expecting any personal financial benefit and not judge outlets that don\u2019t reduce prices. <\/p>\n

Restaurants Association of Ireland chief executive Adrian Cummins this week told the Inside Business podcast from The Irish Times that deciding whether or not to pass on the cut was \u201ca matter for each business\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hmmm. So if I really want to make an informed choice on this, where can I find expert data to help me?<\/p>\n

The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, the State\u2019s very respected independent spending watchdog, took a look at the area last year<\/a>. It found businesses in the hospitality sector are more likely to pass on VAT increases to consumers, while keeping a higher proportion of VAT reductions.<\/p>\n

As an aside, an extrapolation of its calculations suggested that the annual cost to the State of a VAT cut from 13.5 per cent to 9 per cent for food-serving businesses was equivalent to the cost of hiring 8,846 nurses or 6,053 teachers.<\/p>\n

\"\"The 9 per cent VAT rate has been welcomed by restaurants but does the hospitality sector actually need it?So now you\u2019re saying I have to choose between a new teacher at my child\u2019s school or a cheaper pizza on Saturday night?<\/p>\n

No, we\u2019re not saying that at all \u2013 we\u2019re just telling you what the data-led experts concluded. Speaking of experts, Dermot O\u2019Leary, chief economist at Goodbody, does not expect to see many restaurants passing on this latest VAT cut.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t see anything different this time around,\u201d he said on Thursday. \u201cIn the majority of cases, consumers will not feel it.\u201d <\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary also points out that while not all businesses in this sector appear to be suffering (think McDonald\u2019s and those restaurants where bookings are full out to 2030), this blanket measure will benefit every single operator. <\/p>\n

He notes too that within the \u201cstruggling\u201d category, an outlet\u2019s difficulties may have nothing to do with the amount of VAT paid but, in some cases, could be due to deeper issues. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I see the Government has cut VAT for restaurants \u2013 hurrah, does this mean my meal will be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,10297,709,1843,12361,127441,11757],"class_list":["post-532093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-fiscal-advisory-council","tag-magazine","tag-micheal-martin","tag-peter-burke","tag-restaurants-association-of-ireland","tag-vat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}