As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly check whether your UK VAT invoice is compliant.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open the invoice and gather the supplier's VAT registration details, the customer's name and address, invoice number, invoice date, supply date if different, description, net amount, VAT rate, VAT amount, total and currency.
   2. Write down the transaction facts beside the invoice, including whether the customer is a business, where each party is located, what was supplied, where it was supplied and whether a VAT scheme or reverse charge may apply.
   3. Open GOV.UK guidance on VAT invoices and copy the relevant current guidance into the chatbot if the invoice involves an overseas customer, a reverse charge, exempt supplies, mixed rates or a special scheme.
   4. Paste the prompt and attach the invoice, removing bank details and unnecessary personal information before sending it.
   5. Ask the chatbot to recalculate each line and compare its extracted fields with the visible invoice, then separate definite omissions from issues that depend on missing facts.
   6. Compare the basic field and arithmetic findings with the GOV.UK guidance you opened, and correct only points that are supported by the invoice, your transaction facts or that guidance.
   7. Send an unusual, high-value, disputed or cross-border invoice and the unresolved findings to your accountant or VAT specialist before issuing or correcting it.

   Prompt

   Check the UK VAT invoice below for apparent compliance issues as at 2026-08-13.
   
   Do not certify it as legally compliant and do not guess. Use current GOV.UK guidance where available and state clearly when you cannot determine something from the information supplied.
   
   First, extract the invoice details into a table. Check the visible invoice fields, supplier and customer details, invoice number and date, description, amounts, VAT rate, VAT amount, total, currency and any stated reverse-charge or special-scheme wording. Recalculate the arithmetic and identify any mismatch.
   
   Then assess whether the stated VAT treatment appears consistent with these transaction facts:
   - Supplier VAT status: [insert]
   - Customer type and VAT status: [insert]
   - Customer location: [insert]
   - Goods or services supplied: [insert]
   - Supply location and delivery details: [insert]
   - Relevant VAT scheme or exception, if known: [insert]
   
   Separate your findings into:
   1. Clear apparent errors or missing information.
   2. Items that appear correct based only on the supplied information.
   3. Facts needed before the VAT treatment can be assessed.
   4. Questions to ask an accountant or VAT specialist.
   
   For every finding, quote the relevant invoice text or calculation, explain the reason in plain English, and distinguish a calculation check from a tax-law judgement. Do not invent VAT rates, thresholds, dates or customer details. End with a short list of corrections to make and a clear statement that this is not professional advice.
   
   Invoice text or image:
   [ paste or attach the invoice here ]

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