VAT you could claim back on your bills
Most everyday business bills include 20% VAT, which a VAT-registered business can claim back. Some, like insurance, stamps, rates and wages, have none to reclaim.
Your answer
Enter what at least one of your bills costs a month, including VAT.
About this calculator
For small businesses deciding whether to register for VAT, or checking they reclaim all the VAT on their bills.
Enter each bill a month, including VAT, as it is on the bill. We assume every bill is for the business and all your sales are taxable.
What happens to your answers
We don’t keep them. Your answers go to our server to do the sums and aren’t stored or logged. If you copy a link to your answers, they’re in the link itself, so only share it with people you trust.
How it’s worked out
For each bill we work out a year's cost (the monthly bill × 12) and the VAT inside it: 1/6 of the bill at 20%, and 1/21 at 5% (the VAT fraction).
Rent has no VAT unless your landlord has opted to tax. Insurance and Royal Mail stamps are VAT-free (exempt), train fares are 0%, and business rates and wages are outside VAT, so there's nothing to reclaim on them.
You can only reclaim VAT if you're VAT-registered. You must register once your sales over the last 12 months pass £90,000, and you can choose to register before then. Registering means charging VAT on your sales too.
Worked example
If your business is VAT-registered, you could reclaim £3,780.00 a year of the VAT on these bills.
Bills for the business only · all your sales taxable · rent with VAT · energy at 20% · standard VAT accounting, not the Flat Rate Scheme
| Rent: £14,400 a year, your landlord charges VAT, 20%. VAT is 1/6 of the bill | + £2,400.00 |
|---|---|
| Business rates: £3,600 a year, outside VAT. Nothing to reclaim | £0.00 |
| Electricity and gas: £2,520 a year, 20% on your bill. VAT is 1/6 of the bill | + £420.00 |
| Insurance: £960 a year, VAT-free (exempt); Insurance Premium Tax can't be reclaimed. Nothing to reclaim | £0.00 |
| Phone and broadband: £720 a year, 20%. VAT is 1/6 of the bill | + £120.00 |
| Accountant and other professional fees: £1,800 a year, 20%. VAT is 1/6 of the bill | + £300.00 |
| Software and subscriptions: £1,080 a year, 20%. VAT is 1/6 of the bill | + £180.00 |
| Stationery and office supplies: £360 a year, 20%. VAT is 1/6 of the bill | + £60.00 |
| Royal Mail stamps: £300 a year, VAT-free (exempt). Nothing to reclaim | £0.00 |
| Fuel: £1,800 a year, 20%. VAT is 1/6 of the bill | + £300.00 |
| Train, bus and coach fares: £480 a year, 0% (zero-rated), so no VAT in the price. Nothing to reclaim | £0.00 |
| Wages: £36,000 a year, outside VAT. Nothing to reclaim | £0.00 |
| VAT you could reclaim a year | £3,780.00 |
Based on HMRC's VAT rates on goods and services and the VAT guide (VAT Notice 700).
Questions people ask
Should I register for VAT if I'm under £90,000?
It can pay if your customers are VAT-registered businesses, because they can reclaim the VAT you charge them. If you sell mostly to the public, adding VAT to your prices, or absorbing it, usually costs more than the VAT you'd reclaim.
Can I reclaim VAT on bills from before I registered?
Usually, yes: VAT on goods you still have that you bought in the 4 years before registering, and on services from the 6 months before. Services such as rent and phones count only for those 6 months.
What if I use the Flat Rate Scheme?
On the Flat Rate Scheme you pay a fixed percentage of your sales and can't reclaim VAT on your bills, except on some equipment costing over £2,000.
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