Enable Variable VAT – Getting Started

From April 1, 2026, new Swedish VAT rules apply to restaurants: food served on-premises is 12%, but the same food as takeaway or delivery is only 6% (temporary reduction until December 31, 2027). Alcohol remains unchanged at 25% regardless of service form. Vendion has built in support for this through the Variable VAT feature, which calculates VAT automatically based on what the guest orders and how the order is consumed.

What happens when you enable the feature?

When Variable VAT is on, Vendion combines two things for each product line on a bill:

1. VAT category – what type of item it is (food, alcohol, other goods, VAT-exempt)
2. Order format – whether the order is "Dine in" (Äta här), "Table" (Bord), "Takeaway" (Avhämtning), or "Delivery" (Leverans)

The system then calculates the correct VAT rate automatically. You no longer need to set a fixed VAT per product – Vendion follows the law for you.

How to enable Variable VAT:

1. Log in as admin
2. Go to Settings → VAT (/admin/moms)
3. Turn on Enable variable VAT (Aktivera varierad moms)
4. (Optional but recommended) Also turn on Require order format before payment (Tvinga orderformat före betalning)

Require order format before payment – why? If you use the same register for both served food and takeaway, staff can forget to switch between order formats. Then you take payment with the wrong VAT. The toggle forces staff to explicitly choose an order format before they can press Pay – a small hurdle that protects against incorrect VAT.

Checklist – am I ready to enable?

Before turning it on, go through your menu and verify that each product group has the right VAT category. All product groups default to "Food / non-alcoholic drinks" when you enable – correct for most of a restaurant menu, but not for drink groups containing alcohol.

Minimal checklist:

• Review product groups under /admin/meny – go through each and every group
• Set "Alcoholic drinks" on groups like Beer, Wine, Spirits, Cocktails
• Leave "Food / non-alcoholic drinks" on Starters, Mains, Desserts, Sides, Soft drinks, Coffee, Tea
• Set "Other goods 25%" on shop items like t-shirts, adult cookbooks
• Set "VAT-exempt" on gift card issuance (if you sell gift cards at the register)
• Verify accounting mapping under /admin/bokforing – that 12%, 25% and 6% point to correct VAT accounts (2610, 2620, 2630)
• Test in a calm moment – turn on, run a test order in the POS, verify VAT looks right on the receipt, turn off again if something is odd

What happens to existing orders?

Already paid or finalized orders are not affected when you enable variable VAT. Receipts that have already been printed are locked – Vendion never touches historical orders. The feature applies only from the moment of activation onwards.

Open tabs that exist in the register when you turn it on continue with the VAT they were started with, until they are paid. If you want perfect tidiness, first pay off or park all open tabs, then enable the feature, then resume operations.

What if I turn it off again?

Vendion goes back to using the fixed VAT rate set on each product. Nothing breaks – but you lose the automatic switch between 12% and 6% based on whether the guest dines in or takes away. For most restaurants, this isn't a state you want to be in after April 1, 2026, because you then risk charging wrong VAT and running into trouble during a tax audit.

Frequently asked questions

"Do I have to do this?" Yes, if you sell both served food and takeaway/delivery. The law says food takeaway should be 6%. Without variable VAT you will over-charge VAT on takeaway orders, which is incorrect invoicing and gets flagged by Skatteverket (the Swedish Tax Agency) during spot checks.

"What if I only have dine-in?" Then it's less critical – but still recommended. Should you ever start offering takeaway, everything is already configured correctly.

"What if I only have takeaway?" Also recommended – VAT becomes 6% on food consistently, and you can add dine-in in the future without reconfiguration.

"Does it interfere with the control box / cash register registration?" No. Vendion sends the correct VAT per line to the control box exactly as before – only that the correct VAT is now calculated dynamically instead of statically.

Further reading after activation

• Order formats in the POS – what the four formats do
• Configure VAT category per product group – primary configuration point
• Change order format mid-order – if the guest changes their mind