VAT at the standard rate of 20% will be added to private school fees from 1 January 2025, according to details just published by the Treasury.
Any fees paid from today for the term in the new year will be subject to the additional tax, removing the possibility of parents paying in advance to bring costs down.
Where a child is funded to be in an independent school because their needs can not be met in the state sector, the local authority will have those costs refunded.
The government says it will also legislate to remove the business rates charitable rates relief.
Labour pledged to apply VAT to public school fees during the election campaign but we did not know the date it would start from until now.