Gibraltar · Compliance
Gibraltar has no VAT — and 2026 changed a lot around it
Gibraltar is one of the few places in Europe where a restaurant does not charge VAT at all. 2026 changed a great deal around that — a new tax on goods, and an open frontier — without changing the fundamental point. Here is what actually applies.
The three facts, from source.
- Gibraltar does not apply VAT or sales tax, and is not introducing one.
- The Transaction Tax, in force since 10 April 2026 at 15 % (rising to 16 % in year two), applies to goods imported or manufactured for sale in Gibraltar. The official wording is explicit: "These will not apply to services."
- The EU–UK Treaty in respect of Gibraltar has applied since 15 July 2026: a customs union for goods and an open frontier with Spain.
Sources: HM Government of Gibraltar technical notices; EY tax alert on the Transaction Tax; Council of the EU. This is a summary, not tax advice.
What it means day to day
Your menu prices are your menu prices. There is no VAT line to add, no quarterly return to file for it, and no rate to keep track of when a dish moves between categories. A restaurant in Gibraltar has an administrative life that a restaurant in Malaga or Marseille would envy.
The Transaction Tax does touch what you buy — goods brought in for sale — but it does not touch what you sell as a service across the counter, and it does not turn into a VAT system.
What the open frontier changes for a restaurant
Since 15 July 2026 the physical barriers on goods moving between Spain and Gibraltar have gone. In practice that means supply gets easier and more predictable, and it means more people crossing. More people crossing means more of them looking for somewhere to eat on a phone, in the street, in a language that may not be English.
That is worth being ready for: a menu that reads in the visitor's own language, an ordering link that is yours, and a listing that shows up when someone searches nearby.
And one thing that quietly got easier: data
Since the same date, Gibraltar is no longer treated as a third country for personal data coming in from the EEA. No standard contractual clauses, no transfer assessment. If you work with a supplier in the EU, that is one whole file you do not have to open.
What we can do for a restaurant here
The same as anywhere else we work, with the local rules applied: a website that is yours by contract, ordering with 0 % commission, a till on your team's own phones, bookings at no charge per cover, and a menu that translates itself. £2,000 for the website, £179 a month for the system, no lock-in — and no VAT to add on top here.
Build it and see the total: build your pack.
Who wrote this. Tiago, Ultras-Sites. I build restaurant websites and the system that runs behind them — till, orders, bookings, delivery — in Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom. One person to deal with, and prices written out in full: build your pack.