It’s time to get back into our pubs and restaurants and with 50% off – why not? The Eat Out to Help Out scheme is now open and it has been set up to encourage diners to go back into the restaurants now that lockdown has been eased.
As the name suggests, this scheme is only available to eateries which offer a ‘dine-in’ area and so you cannot register if you only offer takeaway or were not registered as a food business with your local authority on or before 7 July 2020.
The scheme is available to use Monday to Wednesday and applies throughout August. The offer is for a 50% discount on food and non-alcoholic drinks (shame) capped at £10 per person. There is also no limit to the amount of times an individual can utilise the scheme and all diners in a group of any size can use the discount, including children.
Have you registered for the Eat Out to Help out scheme?
You will require a government gateway account and appropriate company details to register for the scheme.
You can search and find a local restaurant that is registered for the scheme, so registration is important as without this the restaurant will not be included on the list and will not be able to claim the discounted amount back from the Government.
https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/eat-out-to-help-out/find-a-restaurant/
Registration is instant, and you will also be provided with appropriate promotional material to be placed around your establishment to inform customers that you are registered for the scheme.
Record Keeping
Once registered like all the Government schemes, it’s very important to keep appropriate records, each day the following must be retained:
- total number of people who have used the scheme in your establishment
- total value of transactions under the scheme
- total amount of discounts you’ve given
The first claim back from the Government will be 7 days from registration, then going forward weekly claims can be submitted. HMRC will pay eligible claims within 5 days after submission. VAT will be payable on the total bill and claims received will be treated as taxable income.
The government has set aside £500m to fund the policy and diners used the Eat Out to Help Out scheme more than 10.5 million times in its first week, the Treasury has announced.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the Author and other professionals may express different views. They may not be the views of Lambert Chapman LLP. The material in the article cannot and should not be considered as exhaustive. Professional advice should be sought in connection with any of the issues contained in the article and the implementation of any actions.