# End private schools’ VAT exemption and rates relief > “Labour will end the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools to invest in our state schools.” > > — Labour Party; 2024 manifesto, page 82, 13 June 2024 - **Status:** Delivered - **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered - **Policy area:** [Taxes](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/taxes) - **Speaker:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour) - **Made on:** 13 June 2024 - **Where:** 2024 manifesto, page 82 - **Cost a year:** Raises £1.5bn to £1.8bn a year (central £1.8bn) - **Who it affects:** Families paying private school fees and the schools (pay more); the stated aim is investment in state schools - **When:** VAT from 1 January 2025; business rates relief removed from April 2025 - **Paid for by:** Not a spending pledge; the manifesto says the change is "to invest in our state schools" (page 82), and its costings count the revenue towards public service pledges including 6,500 new expert teachers (page 127) - **Quote source:** https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Labour-Party-manifesto-2024.pdf#page=82 (checked word for word on 6 October 2026; Quoted for reporting; rights stay with the publisher) - **Last updated:** 6 October 2026 - **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-vat-private-schools-2024 ## Where it stands VAT at 20% has applied to private school fees since 1 January 2025 (Finance Act 2025), and charitable business rates relief for private schools in England ended from the 2025-26 financial year (Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act 2025). Business rates are devolved outside England. The High Court dismissed a human rights challenge to the VAT change on 13 June 2025 and the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals on 27 February 2026; the Supreme Court gave permission to appeal on 22 May 2026 and has listed a hearing for 1–2 December 2026. This card tracks the two tax changes, not how the money is spent. ## Timeline - 13 June 2024, Promised: Labour manifesto pledges to end the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools - 30 October 2024, In plan: Autumn Budget 2024 confirms VAT on private school fees from 1 January 2025 and the end of charitable business rates relief for private schools in England from April 2025 ([evidence](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees)) - 1 January 2025, Delivering: VAT at 20% applies to private school education and boarding provided from 1 January 2025 ([evidence](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/8/section/49)) - 20 March 2025, Legislated: Finance Act 2025 (sections 47 to 49) receives Royal Assent ([evidence](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/8/section/47)) - 3 April 2025, Legislated: Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act 2025 receives Royal Assent; section 5 removes charitable rate relief from private schools in England ([evidence](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/12/contents)) - 3 April 2025, Delivered: Both changes are in force: VAT since 1 January 2025, and the end of rates relief for the financial year from 1 April 2025 ([evidence](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/12/section/6/enacted)) ## About the cost Negative because the pledge raises money. Year used: 2028-29, the year Labour's costings use. Central is the official figure from Autumn Budget 2024, certified by the OBR: £1,665m from VAT plus £85m from business rates (£1.75bn). The other end of the range is Labour's own figure for the same year, £1,510m (manifesto page 127). Official figures for other years: £460m VAT in 2024-25 (part year); £1,505m VAT and £70m rates in 2025-26; £1,560m and £85m in 2026-27; £1,725m and £90m in 2029-30. Costing sources: - [Labour Party: Change, 2024 manifesto (PDF), costings, page 127](https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Labour-Party-manifesto-2024.pdf#page=127) - [HMRC: Private school fees, VAT measure (Exchequer impact)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees) - [HM Treasury: Autumn Budget 2024, Table 5.1, lines 22-23](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/672b9695fbd69e1861921c63/Autumn_Budget_2024_Accessible.pdf) ## Sources - [Labour Party: Change, 2024 manifesto (PDF), page 82](https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Labour-Party-manifesto-2024.pdf#page=82) - [HMRC: Private school fees, VAT measure (30 Oct 2024)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees) - [Finance Act 2025, section 47: removal of exemption for private school fees](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/8/section/47) - [Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act 2025](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/12/contents) - [High Court press summary: R (ALR and others) v Chancellor of the Exchequer, 13 Jun 2025](https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ALR-and-others-v-Chancellor-of-the-Exchequer-private-schools-VAT-judgment-PRESS-SUMMARY.pdf) - [Court of Appeal judgment: R (BYL and another) v Chancellor of the Exchequer \[2026\] EWCA Civ 170, 27 Feb 2026](https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2026/170) - [UK Supreme Court: case UKSC 2026/0056, R (BYL and another) v Chancellor of the Exchequer and others](https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2026-0056) - [UK Supreme Court: case UKSC 2026/0045, R (Emmanuel School (Derby) Ltd and others) v Chancellor of the Exchequer and others](https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2026-0045) ## Checks - Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 6 October 2026; human editor review to come. --- Public Ledger's own writing (headlines, status notes, cost notes, summaries) is licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse it, crediting Public Ledger with a link to the card. Official figures are under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) unless their source says otherwise; quotes from Parliament under the [Open Parliament Licence v3.0](https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/); other quotes are short extracts whose rights stay with the speaker. How the numbers and statuses are made: https://ledgergov.uk/method.