When is VAT due on a gift voucher in Hungary?
Under the Hungarian VAT Act it depends on whether the voucher is single-purpose or multi-purpose. Selling a single-purpose voucher is itself the supply, so VAT is due when it is sold; selling a multi-purpose voucher is not a supply, and VAT is due when it is redeemed (VAT Act §§ 18/A-18/B).
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What is a single-purpose and a multi-purpose voucher?
| Term | What it means | Where it is |
|---|---|---|
| Voucher | An instrument that must be accepted as payment or part payment, and on which, or in whose documentation (its terms included), what can be had for it, or from whom, is named | 24/A(a) |
| Single-purpose voucher | At issue, the place of supply and the VAT due are both known | 24/A(b) |
| Multi-purpose voucher | Every other voucher | 24/A(c) |
In practice the question is whether, at issue, it can be known at what rate and where what is had for the voucher will be supplied. If it can only be redeemed for goods or services supplied in Hungary at one rate, both are known. If it can also be redeemed for goods at different rates, at 5 and 27 percent for example, the VAT due is not known at issue, and by the definition the voucher is multi-purpose.
When, and on what, is the VAT paid?
Details
| Single-purpose | Multi-purpose | |
|---|---|---|
| Selling the voucher | The supply of the goods or services the voucher is for (§ 18/A(1)) | Not a supply (§ 18/B(1)) |
| Redemption | If the issuer redeems it, not a taxable transaction (§ 18/A(2)) | The redeemer makes the supply then (§ 18/B(1)) |
| Taxable amount | What is received when it is sold | What was paid for the voucher, less the VAT in it; if that is not known, the value shown on the voucher (§ 66/A) |
- If a single-purpose voucher is redeemed by someone other than its issuer, the redeemer is treated as supplying the issuer (§ 18/A(3)).
- Any identifiable service provided by whoever distributes a multi-purpose voucher, distribution for example, is a supply of services (§ 18/B(2)).
This is general information based on the VAT Act as read on 17 October 2026, not tax advice. Decide with your accountant which kind your own voucher is, and how it goes into the return.
Is a gift voucher a discount?
Details
No: when someone pays with a voucher, the price of what they buy does not get smaller, part of it is simply paid by the voucher. So a voucher cannot lower the taxable amount of the goods the way a price reduction does; the rule at redemption is in the table above.
How does HelloCRM's shop handle this?
Details
- A gift card is a product in the shop, with its own VAT rate; a new gift card product starts at 0 percent, and the editor says that a single-purpose voucher is taxed when sold, and that which kind it is, is the accountant's call.
- The part paid by gift card is a payment, not one of the order's lines, so it does not change the taxable amount of the goods bought.
- On an invoice draft made from the order, a gift card line at 0 percent is marked ATK (outside the scope of VAT); if you set a real rate, the line is taxed at that rate.
Which module?
Module: Webshops (paid module, price coming soon).
Questions
Who decides whether a voucher is single- or multi-purpose?
The Act's definition: single-purpose if the place of supply and the VAT due are known at issue (§ 259 point 24/A(b)), every other is multi-purpose. Check with your accountant whether that holds for your own voucher.
What is the taxable amount when a multi-purpose voucher is redeemed?
What was paid for the voucher, less the VAT on the goods or services supplied; if that is not known, the money value shown on the voucher or its documentation, also less the VAT (§ 66/A).
Can another business redeem my single-purpose voucher?
Yes, and then the redeemer is treated as making the supply the voucher is for to the issuer, at the value at which it accepts the voucher (§ 18/A(3)).
Sources
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. The rules come from: 2007. évi CXXVII. törvény az általános forgalmi adóról (Áfa tv.) 18/A-18/B., 66/A., 159., 163., 165-167. § és 259. § 24/A. pont, Nemzeti Jogszabálytár (checked )