As of 13 August 2026, AI cannot claim VAT on your UK business travel costs.

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 GOV.UK VAT guidance and your bookkeeping or VAT-recording system, then identify the VAT return period and the business legal entity making the claim.
   2. Gather the original VAT invoices and receipts for each travel cost, plus the date, supplier, traveller, destination, business purpose, payment method and whether any private use was involved.
   3. Remove personal or unrelated documents from the working folder, and label each remaining file with a unique reference such as TRAVEL-001.
   4. Paste the prompt into a chatbot and upload the labelled invoices, receipts and a spreadsheet containing the expense references and factual details.
   5. Ask the chatbot to produce the review table and totals using only VAT amounts shown on the evidence, with uncertain items kept out of the proposed claim.
   6. Compare every proposed item and VAT total with the original invoice and your bookkeeping record, checking the supplier, date, amount, VAT number where shown and business purpose.
   7. Send the evidence pack, exception list and accountant questions to your accountant or VAT adviser, and only enter items they approve into the VAT return.

   Prompt

   I need a review pack for possible input VAT claims on UK business travel costs, not a final VAT return and not professional advice. Use only the documents and facts I provide, and do not invent figures, VAT rates, invoice details, business purposes or eligibility. For each item, create a table with: date, supplier, journey or expense type, amount including VAT, VAT amount shown on the VAT invoice, business purpose, traveller, evidence supplied, possible VAT treatment, confidence, and the exact missing evidence or question. Separate items into: evidence appears sufficient for accountant review, evidence is incomplete, and do not include without professional confirmation. Do not assume that a receipt is a VAT invoice, that every travel cost allows input VAT recovery, or that a journey is business travel. Recalculate totals only from VAT amounts explicitly shown on valid evidence, and show the arithmetic. Flag duplicates, personal elements, mixed business and private use, overseas costs, mileage or fuel claims, accommodation, food and drink, taxis, public transport, and costs paid by employees for separate review. For every treatment that depends on current UK rules, link to the relevant GOV.UK page and state that an accountant or VAT adviser must confirm it. State clearly which items must not be included in the VAT return until checked. Finish with a concise list of questions for my accountant. The review date is 13 August 2026.

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