As of 13 August 2026, AI cannot apply the VAT reverse charge to your business transaction.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   Someone with a licence or accountable authority has to sign this before it counts.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface gets you a draft, but you cannot verify it yourself. That is the catch.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open the supplier invoice and gather the transaction date, supplier and customer countries, VAT numbers, description of the goods or services, VAT shown and where the supply was made or used.
   2. Check your VAT registration details and records for any VAT group membership, sector-specific rules and the VAT return period that includes the transaction.
   3. Paste the gathered facts and the copyable prompt into a chatbot, then save its provisional classification, missing-information list and GOV.UK or HMRC source links.
   4. Open each linked GOV.UK or HMRC page and compare the transaction facts and any stated exceptions against the guidance, without treating the chatbot's provisional treatment as confirmed.
   5. Send the invoice, facts, chatbot output and source links to a UK VAT accountant or tax adviser and ask them to confirm the VAT treatment, invoice wording and bookkeeping entry in writing.
   6. Apply the confirmed treatment in your accounting software, retain the evidence with the invoice and use the professional's confirmation when preparing the relevant VAT return.

   Prompt

   I need help preparing a VAT reverse-charge review for one UK business transaction. Do not make a final decision for me and do not assume any missing facts. Use only the information below, identify the relevant current GOV.UK or HMRC guidance, and include links where available.
   
   Transaction date: [date]
   Supplier name, country and VAT registration details: [details]
   Customer name, country and VAT registration details: [details]
   What was supplied: [goods or services]
   Where the supply was made or used: [details]
   Invoice wording and VAT amount shown: [paste invoice text]
   Whether either party belongs to a VAT group: [details or unknown]
   Any sector-specific facts, such as construction or land: [details or unknown]
   How my business normally records VAT: [details]
   
   Return:
   1. The facts that matter to the decision.
   2. The possible reverse-charge rules or exceptions that may apply.
   3. The missing facts or documents that must be confirmed.
   4. A provisional treatment clearly labelled as unconfirmed.
   5. Draft invoice and bookkeeping wording, without inventing VAT numbers or amounts.
   6. The exact GOV.UK or HMRC sources a VAT accountant should check.
   7. A short list of questions to send to a UK VAT accountant.
   Do not tell me to apply the reverse charge, omit VAT, reclaim VAT or submit a VAT return unless a qualified VAT professional has confirmed the treatment.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.