IRISH STANDALONE SAUNA operators say they are facing a choice between raising their prices or absorbing shrinking margins after the government hiked their VAT rate from 9% to 13.5%. 

Multiple owners have said they are upping the price of a sauna by around a euro an hour because of a VAT hike that was issued in July.

However, the Department of Finance has told The Journal that the VAT rate for these businesses was always 13.5%, despite multiple operators in the industry saying that this was not the case. 

Guidance issued in 2018 by Revenue stated that the VAT rate for saunas was at the reduced rate of 9%, with a remark that noted that “generally” saunas are situated in sporting facilities.

In July of this year new guidance was issued for ‘sauna: miscellaneous services’ which said that the reduced rate of 9% only applied to saunas operating within sporting facilities where there was “no separate charge” for the sauna. 
13.5% is still a reduced rate, but the further reduced rate of 9% will now only apply to saunas and steam rooms operating within a fitness complex.

Standalone sauna business owners have told The Journal that this difference will cause them to have to put up prices and lose customers, and will put them at a disadvantage against larger leisure centres with similar facilities.

Several sauna companies have already informed their customers that they will be raising prices as a result.

The Hotbox Sauna, a company that has several wood fired saunas in unique locations such as Killiney Beach and Dublin’s docklands, emailed customers in recent days to inform them that prices will now go up at all eight of their locations.

“The government moved saunas from the 9% VAT rate to 13.5%. Something that is completely out of our control. It didn’t come alone. Minimum wage went up, employer PRSI went up with it, and so did the wood and energy it takes to keep 25 saunas hot all year,” the company told its patrons.

“This is our first increase since spring 2025,” they added.

An hour at one of their city location saunas at an off-peak time will now cost €15.95, which is one euro more expensive than before, and a session at a peak time will cost €21.95, which is two euros more expensive.

The company also announced at the same time that it is introducing discounts for students, over-66s, and healthcare workers.

Another outfit, the Sauna Snugg in Cork, has also raised prices for all its sessions by 95 cents, while promising to bring them down again if the VAT is reduced.

Steve Forde from the Sauna Snugg told The Journal that people in the industry did not know about the increases until news got around by word of mouth.

“I just happened to check the Revenue site after the Budget to see if there was any impact and I noticed the rephrasing, targeting standalone sauna companies… it was not announced,” he said.

Forde added that because his sauna service is connected to a GAA facility and there are some cross-deals for gym members, it always would have been under the second-reduced rate anyway, but under the new guidance his business is under the higher rate, because they also offer services to non-gym members.

Forde said that the increase will have “a significant impact on the industry”.

“It brings a difficult decision: absorb the additional VAT ourselves, reducing already tight margins, or pass the increase on to customers at a time when affordability is becoming increasingly important”.

He added that it’s disappointing that the increase would come after so much growth in the industry in Ireland, after many people have “invested heavily” in facilities, which he said create “local employment and provide valuable health and wellbeing services”.

Steve said that the increase is an “intentional tax” on physical and mental health, “because the industry is noticeably growing”.

“Instead of this being encouraged, the government is looking at it as another opportunity for profit, while completely disregarding the importance of the actual service that we are providing to people,” he said.

Forde urged the government to reconsider the increase and said that for small operators it will have an impact on the long-term viability of their business.

He said that standalone saunas being treated as distinct from those in fitness complexes raises questions about compliance with the “EU principle of fiscal neutrality”, which “seeks to prevent similar competing services from being treated differently for VAT purposes”.

Forde said that smaller standalone operators are now at a disadvantage compared to larger leisure centre facilities.

Having had to put up his own prices by just under one euro, Forde said that he is aware that even a small price increase means “losing a certain number of customers”, which he said is “deeply upsetting”.

The Journal asked the Department of Finance for comment.