Your charity can advertise VAT-free in any medium that communicates with the public, such as a newspaper or television, providing the advert is placed on someone else’s time or space. This means that if someone charges your charity for an advert, for example in their magazine or on a radio programme or for displaying a poster on their premises, they don’t have to charge you VAT.

The VAT relief does not cover costs for advertising in your own media – for example in your charity’s own magazine, on your own website, or on your own T-shirts etc.

Adverts qualifying for the relief can be on any subject, including staff recruitment. Charities can also purchase pre-printed collecting boxes, envelopes and appeal letters at the zero rate.

Low cost lapel stickers, emblems and badges that you might give as an acknowledgment of a donation can also be supplied to you at the zero rate. Find out more in VAT Notice 701/58 below.

If we produce a package of printed material for your charity, some of which is zero-rated and some of which is standard-rated, we may be able to zero rate the entire package. This is known as the ‘package test’. Find out more by following the link at the end of this section

Go to VAT Notice 701/58 Charity advertising and goods connected with collecting donations

Find out more about the package test in VAT Notice 701/10 Zero-rating of books etc