VAT and Gift Cards – Single-Purpose or Multi-Purpose Voucher?

The biggest misunderstanding in gift card accounting comes down to one question: which type of voucher are you selling? The answer determines whether VAT is booked at sale or at redemption – and the difference can be hundreds of thousands of SEK in errors if done wrong.

The two categories under Swedish VAT law

Under the Swedish VAT Act Ch 5 § 40–41 there are two types of voucher:

1. Single-purpose voucher (SPV)

   • The VAT rate is known at issuance
   • The buyer's purpose is determined already at sale
   • VAT is charged immediately, at sale

2. Multi-purpose voucher (MPV)

   • The VAT rate is not known at issuance (depends on what the guest chooses)
   • Multiple different VAT rates are possible
   • VAT is charged at redemption

The test – is this an SPV or MPV?

Ask yourself: "When the card is sold, do I know exactly which VAT rate will apply?"

Rule of thumb for restaurants

In practice, 99% of Swedish restaurants sell multi-purpose vouchers. Because:

• Almost all restaurants serve both food (12%) and alcohol (25%)
• Gift cards are usually open for any consumption
• It's extremely hard to keep a card strictly within one VAT class

Why Vendion defaults to multi-purpose voucher

Because:

1. Most restaurants serve alcohol at some point
2. MPV is the conservative interpretation
3. The Swedish Tax Agency has accepted MPV as restaurant standard

Vendion handles all gift cards as MPV: no VAT at issuance, VAT at redemption.

Decision tree

Can the card be used for items with different VAT rates?
   → Yes → Multi-purpose voucher (MPV) → No VAT at issuance
   → No  → Does the card have a fixed item/known VAT rate?
             → Yes → Single-purpose voucher (SPV) → VAT at issuance
             → No  → Treat as MPV (precautionary principle)

In 99% of cases the answer is MPV. Vendion is built for it.

Related articles

• Gift cards – multi-purpose voucher (VAT Ch 5 § 40)
• VAT accounts (2610, 2620, 2630)
• VAT in Vendion – Sweden