There’s no published guidance from Virgin Money specifying a VAT rate on their Business‑Cashback payments — because in the UK under HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) rules, those cashback payments are generally outside the scope of VAT. Here’s how that works and why:
✅ Why Virgin Money Cashback likely has no VAT rate
-
Virgin Money’s “Business Account Cashback” (on debit‑ or credit‑card spend) is a rebate/reward credited by the bank — not a sale of goods or services by Virgin Money to you. (Virgin Money)
-
In UK law, VAT is charged on taxable supplies of goods or services. Standard banking charges — and by extension rewards like cashback — are ordinarily treated as exempt or outside the scope.
-
That means there is no “VAT‑rate” applied to cashback itself: it doesn’t attract the standard 20% (or any) VAT when credited to your account.
📚 Supporting context from VAT rules
-
The official guidance on promotions and “cashbacks” (VAT Notice 700/7) deals primarily with cashback payments made by manufacturers/retailers to reduce the purchase price of goods or services. That guidance does not neatly apply to a bank’s cashback reward for using a card. (GOV.UK)
-
Commentary from accounting practitioners notes that bank‑account rewards or cashback payments typically do not fall under VAT — instead, they are treated as non‑trading income or account rebates.
🧾 What this means for your accounts
-
For your business accounting: when you receive cashback from Virgin Money, you do not add VAT on that amount.
-
You would generally treat the cashback as a rebate or adjustment — not a VAT‑inclusive supply.
-
For VAT returns (if VAT‑registered), you wouldn’t normally include the cashback as a VAT‑charged supply or reclaim anything related to it.
⚠️ Caveats & when to check carefully
-
If the cashback were tied to a supply of goods/services (rather than just a rebate/reward), VAT rules might differ — but that doesn’t match how Virgin Money describes its cashback. (Virgin Money)
-
VAT legislation and HMRC interpretations can change (or have edge‑cases) — if you rely on this in a business context, it’s wise to check with HMRC (especially if you have a complex VAT setup).
Bottom line: Cashback from Virgin Money Business Account is effectively outside the scope of VAT — there is no VAT rate to apply.

0 Comments