Jul 22
Eat out to help out scheme – Help for businesses
How does this affect me?
In very simple terms this is a UK wide Government scheme to encourage us to eat out. Eligible businesses register with the Government, they then offer a discount (must be 50%) on their food and non-alcoholic drink, the discount is then claimed back by businesses from the Government.
The scheme applies Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday if and when the business is open.
It runs from 3 August and ends 31 August 2020.
Adults and children are included, and the discount is set at a cap of £10 including VAT. The cap is £10 per diner and is not calculated per individual spend it is each diner x £10. Service charges are excluded along with alcoholic drinks.
A more comprehensive guide is below.
How does this help me?
If you have a restaurant or other eating establishment this scheme is aimed at you. The list of eligible business’ are:
- Restaurants
- Cafes
- Public houses that serve food
- Hotel restaurants
- Restaurants and cafes within tourist attractions, holiday sites and leisure facilities dining rooms within members clubs
- Workplace and school canteens
It enables you to offer customers a discount which you then claim back from the Government.
You must be registered as a food establishment with the relevant local authority on or before 7 July 2020.
How do I register for the scheme and can we register for you?
We cannot apply for you, but the registration process is simple. All the information you need to register along with a link to complete the process is below:
Register your business for the eat out to help out scheme
Other information
What sales are eligible for the scheme?
You can use the scheme to apply a discount to food and/or non-alcoholic drink purchased for immediate consumption on the premises, up to a maximum discount of £10 per diner (the £10 includes VAT). There is no minimum spend.
You cannot use the scheme to apply a discount to alcoholic drinks, food or drink that is eaten off the premises or any food or drink related to a private party, event or function.
Can I decide when I use the scheme?
It is expected that you will offer the discount during the whole of your opening hours on all the eligible days that you are open and on all qualifying food and drink.
Can I offer my normal discounts?
You can use the scheme alongside other offers and discounts you are using. But you must apply these other offers to the value of the transaction before you make your claim to HMRC. You will only be reimbursed for the qualifying discounts to provide as part of the scheme.
What counts as eating on the premises?
For this scheme this means any area set aside for the consumption of food or non-alcoholic drink by your customers. It does not matter if this area is shared by customers of another establishment.
You can use the scheme if you have a cafe that has an outdoor seating area where food/drink is sold for immediate consumption.
You cannot use the scheme if you put tables outside on the pavement of your take-away or mobile van. To be eligible your business must have the facility to offer dining on the premises. Establishments with only informal outside seating in an area that does not belong to them and/or is not shared with other establishments will not be able to take part in the scheme.
If a customer is dining in and then takes away the remainder of their meal, the discount still applies.
If you operate in an outlet and share a designated dining area with other outlets you can use the scheme for food or drink sold for immediate consumption in that designated area.
If you run a stall at a stadium or attraction you can use the scheme provided there is a designated area belonging to you for your use by your customers.
If you operate a hotel and provide and bed and breakfast service you cannot use the scheme for food and drink sold as part of a wider accommodation service.
How do I make the claim?
The system for claiming back the discount has not yet been launched and it is not scheduled to be available until 7 August. HMRC will release further information in due course. This is what we know so far:
- You must wait 7 days for registration before making your first claim – HMRC will pay eligible claims within 5 working days.
- You will be able to then submit claims weekly.
- You will still need to pay VAT on the customers full bill.
- Any money received through the scheme is taxable income.
- The claims service will close on 30 September.
What else do I need to know:
Based on the other schemes it is likely to be easy to use and you will need to keep records of the total number of people who have used the scheme, the total number of transactions under the scheme and the total amount of discounts you have provided, this information needs to be retained on a daily basis.
You can still use the scheme if I have registered for the job retention scheme or claimed self-employment income support.
We are here to help
If you would like any further guidance or information on the scheme please do contact us and we can discuss your specific questions/concerns.


