As of 13 August 2026, AI cannot work out the VAT treatment of your UK business exports.

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 relevant GOV.UK guidance on VAT and exports, and keep the pages available for comparison with the model's links.
   2. Gather the sales invoices, customer locations and VAT numbers where applicable, descriptions of the goods or services, delivery or performance locations, transport details, Incoterms if known, and export or delivery evidence.
   3. Separate the transactions into goods and services, then record the facts for each transaction in a spreadsheet or table without including unnecessary personal data.
   4. Paste the table and the business details into the prompt, and ask the chatbot to analyse each transaction and identify missing facts rather than guessing.
   5. Open every GOV.UK source cited by the chatbot and compare its wording and scope with the transaction facts, including any conditions for zero-rating or evidence.
   6. Send the transaction table, the provisional analysis, the cited GOV.UK pages and any unresolved questions to your accountant or VAT specialist before applying the treatment to invoices or a VAT return.

   Prompt

   I run a UK VAT-registered business and need a provisional analysis of the VAT treatment of these export transactions. This is not professional advice and must not be treated as a final filing decision.
   
   Use only current GOV.UK guidance and link to the relevant pages. Do not guess, fill gaps or invent facts. First list every missing fact that could change the result. Then analyse each transaction separately under these headings: destination, customer type, goods or services, place of supply, likely UK VAT treatment, evidence or records needed, VAT return implications, confidence, and the specific GOV.UK source supporting the conclusion.
   
   Distinguish between goods and services, exports to countries outside the UK, movements involving Northern Ireland, zero-rating, exemption, outside-the-scope treatment and cases where UK VAT may be due. Flag any transaction that needs an accountant or VAT specialist to decide. Do not give a definitive answer where the facts or current guidance are insufficient.
   
   Business details:
   - VAT registration status: [insert details]
   - Business activity: [insert details]
   - VAT accounting scheme, if relevant: [insert details]
   
   Transactions:
   [Paste one transaction per line or table row, including invoice date, invoice value and currency, goods or services, customer name and business status, customer location, delivery or performance location, transport arrangements, Incoterms if known, and the export or delivery evidence available. Remove unnecessary personal data.]

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