Historic VAT rates for the UK since the 1980s can be quite hard to pin down so we are happy to publish them here:
Standard UK VAT Rate from 1979 to 1991
18/06/1979 to 18/03/1991 – 15%
Standard UK VAT Rate from 1991 to 2008
19/03/1991 to 30/11/2008 – 17.5%
Standard UK VAT Rate from 2008 to 2009
01/12/2008 to 31/12/2009 – 15%
Standard UK VAT Rate from 2010 to 2011
01/01/2010 to 03/01/2011 – 17.5%
Standard UK VAT Rate from 2011 to Present
04/01/2011 to Present – 20%