Tronc and tips compliance, food and drink VAT, licensed-trade duties, TOMS, hospitality payroll and business rates. We work exclusively with operators in the sector, so every engagement draws on focused hospitality knowledge.
Most hospitality operators are experts in food, service and atmosphere, not in tronc legislation, food VAT hot/cold tests or the mechanics of the Tour Operators' Margin Scheme. The compliance picture is genuinely complex, and the cost of getting it wrong lands on the employer. We handle the tax and accounting so operators can run their business.
Whether you run one site or twenty, the compliance obligations scale with you. Multi-site operators face additional complexity: associated-company rules, group Employment Allowance restrictions, and per-site tronc independence requirements. England is our default jurisdiction. Scotland and Wales have different licensing and rates regimes, which we flag explicitly.
Each sub-trade has its own compliance picture. Choose your trade for sector-specific detail on VAT, payroll, duties and capital allowances.
Food VAT hot/cold split, tronc and tips compliance, kitchen capital allowances and corporation tax for independent and multi-site restaurant groups.
AWRS due diligence, draught duty rates, licensed premises costs and the distinction between deductible renewal costs and non-deductible first-application licence fees.
Hot food VAT, food safety registration (required 28 days before trading), NLW compliance for delivery workers and small business rate relief for smaller premises.
TOMS for packaged travel, accommodation FRS sector rate, capital allowances on fit-out, B&B rent-a-room rules and MTD for income tax obligations.
Eat-in vs takeaway VAT, FRS catering rate, food registration, zero-hours payroll and the cash basis default for sole-trader operators.
Mobile food stand VAT, event catering contracts, casual worker payroll, food business registration and AIA for specialist kitchen equipment.
Five specialist service areas, each built around the compliance obligations that operators in this sector actually face.
An independently run tronc removes employer NIC on qualifying tips. We set up the scheme, confirm troncmaster independence and keep the scheme aligned with the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023.
Zero-hours and casual worker payroll, NLW compliance checks, holiday pay, Employment Allowance claims and monthly PAYE submissions for kitchens and front-of-house teams.
Hot/cold food splits, eat-in vs takeaway VAT, Flat Rate Scheme sector-rate selection, TOMS margin scheme and VAT registration monitoring against the £90,000 rolling threshold.
If your operation packages bought-in accommodation, transport or other travel elements, TOMS applies and you can only recover VAT on the margin. We structure the accounting correctly from the start.
RHL relief ended for new claims from 1 April 2026. We review your rateable value, check SBRR eligibility (100% relief up to £12,000 rateable value) and apply the revised 2026-27 multipliers.
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, in force since 1 October 2024, requires 100% of qualifying tips to reach workers without deductions. Operators also need a written tips policy and allocation records. Tips paid through a genuine independent tronc are free of employer and employee NIC (PAYE income tax still applies), but any employer involvement in allocation destroys the exemption.
Hot food is standard-rated (20%) if it meets any one of five tests (heated to order, kept hot, heat-retentive packaging and so on). Cold food eaten on the premises is also standard-rated, regardless of temperature. Applying the wrong rate is the most common VAT error in the sector and can trigger substantial assessments.
Pubs and bars buying alcohol from UK wholesalers must verify AWRS approval before each purchase. First-application premises licence costs are not tax-deductible (capital expenditure, per BIM61405); only renewal costs are deductible. This distinction catches many operators when they open a new site.
Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief ended for new claims from 1 April 2026. From that date, hospitality properties use revised multipliers (38.2p for rateable values below £51,000; 43p for £51,000 to £499,999). Operators who still qualify for Small Business Rate Relief (100% at or below £12,000 rateable value) should ensure they are claiming it.
Scotland and Wales: licensing and business rates differ. All figures link their official source.
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| VAT registration threshold | £90,000 (rolling 12 months) | GOV.UK |
| National Living Wage (age 21+, from 1 Apr 2026) | £12.71 per hour | GOV.UK |
| Employer NIC rate (above £5,000 secondary threshold) | 15% | GOV.UK |
| Employment Allowance | £10,500 per tax year | GOV.UK |
| Annual Investment Allowance (kitchen plant) | Up to £1,000,000 | GOV.UK |
| SBRR (rateable value up to £12,000) | 100% business rates relief | GOV.UK |
Three free calculators covering the figures operators ask about most: the NIC saving from a compliant tronc, the VAT treatment of individual menu items, and the true labour cost of a rota including NLW, NIC and holiday. No sign-up, no data stored.
A regularly updated index of UK hospitality company registrations and dissolutions, drawn from Companies House SIC 55/56 data (accommodation and food service activities). SIC codes are self-reported at incorporation; the index carries this caveat prominently. Dissolutions are cross-referenced against Insolvency Service statistics.
Tronc independence, food VAT five-test analysis, AWRS due diligence, TOMS margin accounting, draught duty rates, BIM61405 licensing costs: a generalist encounters these infrequently. We deal with them every week across our hospitality client base.
| Area | Our approach |
|---|---|
| Tronc and tips | Independent tronc setup, troncmaster independence confirmed, written tips policy, allocation records and payroll integration |
| Food and drink VAT | Menu review against the five hot-food tests and eat-in/takeaway rule, FRS sector-rate selection, registration threshold monitoring |
| Hospitality payroll | Zero-hours and casual worker payroll, NLW compliance checks, Employment Allowance claims and monthly PAYE submissions |
| Licensed trade | AWRS due-diligence guidance, licensing cost treatment (first-application vs renewal), Machine Games Duty registration |
| Capital allowances | AIA sequencing for kitchen fit-out, main-pool WDA at 14% (FA 2026), new 40% FYA on qualifying additions, special-rate plant |
| Business rates | SBRR eligibility, 2026-27 revised multipliers for RHL properties (RHL relief ended for new claims from 1 April 2026) |
| TOMS | Margin scheme structuring for operators packaging bought-in accommodation or transport; input VAT recovery position |
Composite accounts based on patterns across our hospitality clients. Names and specific figures anonymised. The compliance situations described are real.
“We had been running our tronc without formal troncmaster independence. Once that was pointed out, we restructured the scheme properly and our employer NIC on tips dropped to zero. The savings in the first year covered the accountancy fee several times over.”
“Our previous accountant applied one VAT rate to everything. When a specialist reviewed our takeaway menu, we found we had been overclaiming on cold items and underclaiming on dine-in sales. We corrected the position voluntarily and avoided penalties.”
“The tips legislation change caught us completely off guard. Within a week of contacting the team we had a written tips policy, a compliant allocation record and an updated payroll process. We have not had to think about it since.”
Tell us about your operation. We will explain what your business needs, in plain English, with no obligation.
Articles and guides on tronc and tips compliance, food VAT, licensed trade, payroll, capital allowances and business rates. Written for people running hospitality businesses, not for accountants.