11/12/2025
Did you know that...the same Christmas table can be taxed completely differently in the UK than Eastern Europe?
Christmas tables can be full of surprises when you compare how each country classifies food as basic or luxurious.
Countries use VAT to separate everyday basics from treats and luxuries, but they draw the line in different places. Some elements are non-negotiable when we think about a traditional Christmas table.
One of them is Salmon;
In the UK raw salmon just like most unprocessed fish in the supermarket is classed as a basic food, therefore it’s zero rated (0%) for VAT.
In Poland however, salmon is treated as "luxury good" and taxed at 5% VAT after the 2024 VAT changes. It is often treated as a more premium product as not found in local sea territories.
Carp: Polish Christmas essential;
In Poland, carp is a symbol of Christmas Eve dinner and is also taxed at 5% VAT. In the UK, however, carp is not a common everyday fish. While raw carp would also fall under zero-rated VAT if sold as food, it is considered specialty or luxury when served in restaurants; where the standard VAT applies.
Dried fruit & nuts;
In the UK, most dried fruit and raw nuts used for cooking or baking are treated as zero rated basics. In Poland, these ingredients fall under 5% VAT after 2024 reforms. However, dry fruit and nuts sweetened or, under snack section will fall at standard rate of 20%.
"Barszcz", beetroot soup, dumplings & mushroom fillings;
In the UK these raw ingredients remain zero-rated, as they’re considered essential food items, and in Poland the same items receive the 5% VAT rate, those are still “basic,” but no longer VAT free as they were during the temporary anti-inflation shield.
Cakes and confectionery;
In the UK VAT is obsessed with the difference between cakes and confectionery. Most cakes (including Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, mince pies, lebkuchen, many gingerbread products) are treated as cakes -> zero rated. Even gingerbread men can be 0% VAT, unless sold warm or, when there is lots of chockolate addition e.g. plain biscuits will be zero-rated while dipped in chockolate, more likely, will have standard taxation on them.
In Poland, traditional Christmas cakes (piernik, makowiec, sernik, babka, most pastries) usually fall under bakery products with a 5% VAT rate.
Chocolate & chocolate biscuits;
In the UK bars of chocolate and boxed chocolates are taxed at the standard rate (20%) -> it is a “luxury treat” in tax terms. However plain biscuits and many cakes are zero rated. However, there are several types of chocolate product which are used in manufacturing or, cooking processes, which are not regarded as confectionery and which are therefore zero-rated as food.
In Poland chocolate and a lot of classic confectionery are at 23%, definitely not classed as essential good. However, taxation of any biscuits and cakes (even with chocolate inside or on top) is more getle and those products are taxed lower, at 5%.
Coffee - This is where the UK and Poland completely disagree in this subject;
In the UK Coffee beans and ground coffee in a shop are treated as food so normally 0% VAT. But the same coffee served in a café as a hot drink is 20% (catering service). In Poland coffee is much closer to a “luxury” from a VAT point of view. Packaged coffee is mostly 23%. Coffee sold in cafés and restaurants is also 23%
Christmas traditions might look similar on the table - but the tax story behind them is completly different.
✨ In the UK, luxury caviar can be sold VAT free, while regular potato chips or a chocolate bar can be sold with the full 20% VAT.
WHAT ABOUT IMPORTS FROM THE EU TO THE UK?
If your business is importing food products from Poland to the UK as a VAT-registered company, you can:
• use Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA); you only account for import VAT in your VAT return, rather than paying it immediately at the border,
• or pay VAT at customs and claim it later using a C79 certificate from HMRC.
In practice, this means that well-arranged accounting allows you to avoid unnecessary cash tie-ups, even if you're importing "luxury" chocolate or premium fish for the holidays. This only applies if your EU supplier is VAT registered.
For more information get in touch or, follow to:
https://www.kaccountancy.org.uk/contact
