A function quotation template for Irish venues, built for the 2026 VAT rates

Split the per-head price by VAT rate

Start with the headline per-head price the couple asked for, then show how it breaks down: the meal and evening food at 9%, the drinks reception, wine with the meal and any bar package at 23%, and ceremony room, marquee or exclusive-use hire at 23%. Revenue treats alcohol, soft drinks, bottled water and sports drinks as standard-rated in all catering circumstances, while other food and drink with a meal, including fruit juice, takes the catering rate.

If you would rather keep one package price on the quotation, add a line underneath explaining that VAT is charged at the applicable rates and apportioned on the invoice. Either way, decide the apportionment method with your accountant and apply it to every booking.

Bookings that straddle the 2026 rate changes

Two dates matter. Room hire moved to 23% in all venues from 1 January 2026, so hotels that quoted function rooms at 13.5% for events in 2026 have had to revise. Catering moved from 13.5% to 9% on 1 July 2026. Revenue guidance on room hire says an advance payment is taxed at the rate in force when the invoice for that payment was, or should have been, issued. A deposit taken in November 2025 for a March 2026 event carried the old rate, and the final payment the new one.

Keep the rate history visible. When a couple who booked in 2025 asks why their final bill looks different from the quotation, the answer should be on the paperwork, not in a phone call.

Quotation: wedding, country house hotel, Co. Kildare

Saturday wedding in November 2026 for 140 day guests at a country house hotel in Co. Kildare, with a civil ceremony on site

• Catering at the second reduced rate of 9% applies from 1 July 2026.
• Drinks and room hire at the standard rate of 23%.
• Deposit is VAT-inclusive; VAT is due when received.

What your quotation must show in Ireland

What goes on an Irish function quotation

Your business name, address and VAT number, the couple or company, the date and the room or rooms, then guest numbers for the day and the evening separately, because Irish weddings usually add evening guests. List the menu and drinks with prices, the room hire, accommodation blocks if you are a hotel, entertainment you supply, and the deposit terms.

• Business name, address and VAT registration number
• Date, rooms and timings, including residents bar rules
• Day guests and evening guests counted separately
• Menu and drinks prices with VAT rate per line
• Room or marquee hire at 23%
• Service charge, if any, and how it is distributed
• Deposit, payment dates and validity
• Allergen information on the attached menu

Service charges: VAT and the Tips Act

Most Irish wedding venues do not add a service charge, and many corporate venues do. If you do, remember two rules. For VAT, a service charge included on a catering bill is treated as part of the price of the meal and taxed at the catering rate. For employment law, the Workplace Relations Commission says any charge described as a service charge, or that leads customers to think it is for service, must be distributed to staff as if it were a tip received electronically. Put your distribution policy where customers can see it.

Menus and the 14 allergens

Attach the proposed menu to the quotation with allergen information for each dish. Irish rules on non-prepacked food, under S.I. No. 489 of 2014 as updated by S.I. No. 656 of 2024, require allergen information on the 14 allergens to be available. Caterers working off-site can give the allergen declarations in writing at the location. Asking about allergies at quotation stage also flags the guests your kitchen needs to plan for.

Deposits are taxable when you receive them

In Ireland a deposit is not a neutral holding amount. Revenue says a supply is deemed to take place when a pre-payment is received, and VAT is chargeable on it, with an invoice due by the 15th day of the following month. Quote the deposit as a VAT-inclusive amount and plan for the VAT on it in the period you receive it. The special relief for retained deposits after cancellation only applied to cancellations before 1 January 2022.

Evening guests, residents and the late bar

Irish weddings usually run in two waves: day guests for the meal and a larger group arriving for the evening party. Quote them separately. Evening food per head is often a third or less of the meal price, and the counts diverge sharply, 140 for dinner and 200 for the evening is common. A single guest figure on the quotation either overcharges the couple or leaves your kitchen short at 11 pm.

Hotels should also say how the residents bar works after the public bar closes, and whether food served late at the residents bar is on the wedding account or paid individually. Couples often assume the account stays open all night. Your quotation is the place to say it closes at a stated time unless they sign for an extension.

For accommodation blocks, state the release date for unbooked rooms and whether the couple is liable for rooms their guests do not take. Accommodation carries its own VAT rate, so keep it off the function quotation or show it as a separate section with its own terms.

Validity, menu tastings and price reviews

Irish venues often book 18 months ahead. Give the quotation a validity period, commonly 14 days, and explain when the price is fixed: at contract signing, or when the second payment is made. Include one menu tasting for the couple if that is your policy, and say that menu changes after a set date may change the price. Given two VAT changes in a single year, add a line stating that VAT is charged at the rates in force when each payment is invoiced, so a future change is not a dispute.

Quotation questions from Ireland