VAT rules
Is English as a foreign language tuition VAT exempt?
Short answer
Yes, even when a commercial English language school supplies it. The law treats a commercial provider of English as a foreign language as an eligible body, but only for its EFL tuition. Its other courses stay standard-rated. If your school has charged VAT on EFL courses, that part may be reclaimable within the four-year limit.
What is covered
Teaching English to people whose first language is not English, supplied by a language school or other commercial provider. HMRC's guidance says any other education the commercial provider supplies is standard-rated.
What is not covered
- Other courses the school runs, such as business English packaged with consultancy, exam preparation in other subjects, or teacher training. These are standard-rated unless another route applies.
- Activities and excursions sold separately from the tuition.
Goods and services closely related to exempt EFL tuition, such as accommodation or meals for students, may also be exempt if they are for the student's direct use and necessary for delivering the education. That needs checking case by case.
The limit was challenged in St Patrick's
Interactive Manchester, one of the colleges in the St Patrick's case, also taught TEFL. The tribunals held that its EFL status covered only its EFL supplies, following earlier case law. The colleges challenged that limit in the Court of Appeal, but the court did not need to decide the point because they won on another ground. For now the EFL-only rule stands.
Mixed schools
A school that runs both EFL and other courses makes a mix of exempt and taxable supplies. It becomes partly exempt, and the partial exemption rules decide how much input tax it can recover. Getting the split right matters both for any claim for past periods and for your VAT returns going forward. See input tax and partial exemption.
Sources
- VAT Notice 701/30, commercial EFL providers: GOV.UK
- First-tier Tribunal [2023] UKFTT 408 (TC) and Upper Tribunal [2025] UKUT 101 (TCC) on the EFL-only limit: caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk
- St Patrick's International College Ltd & Ors v HMRC [2026] EWCA Civ 852: caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk