Upload a bank statement and the calculator will estimate input and output VAT, arrange the figures in the nine boxes of a UK VAT return, and break VAT down by rate.
Supports PDF bank statements and statement photos
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Analysis usually takes 20–60 seconds.
| Date | Description | Amount | VAT Rate | VAT Amount | Ex-VAT | Scheme |
|---|
Every UK VAT return, submitted through Making Tax Digital software, comes down to nine numbered boxes. This tool reads a bank statement, estimates the VAT element of each transaction and arranges the totals into those boxes so you can see roughly where a return would land. It is an estimating aid: a bank statement alone cannot tell you everything a VAT account records, so treat the output as a cross-check, never as figures to file.
| Box | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| 1 | VAT due in the period on sales and other outputs |
| 2 | VAT due on acquisitions of goods made in Northern Ireland from EU member states |
| 3 | Total VAT due: box 1 plus box 2 |
| 4 | VAT reclaimed in the period on purchases and other inputs |
| 5 | Net VAT to pay to HMRC, or to reclaim: box 3 minus box 4 |
| 6 | Total value of sales and other outputs, excluding VAT |
| 7 | Total value of purchases and other inputs, excluding VAT |
| 8 | Total value of dispatches of goods from Northern Ireland to EU member states, excluding VAT |
| 9 | Total value of acquisitions of goods into Northern Ireland from EU member states, excluding VAT |
Since Brexit, boxes 2, 8 and 9 apply only to goods moving between Northern Ireland and the EU under the Northern Ireland Protocol. For a business trading only in Great Britain they are normally zero. A negative box 5 means HMRC owes you a repayment; this tool shows that with a minus sign.
Zero-rated and exempt look identical on a bank statement but behave very differently on a return: zero-rated sales still count as taxable supplies and preserve your right to reclaim input VAT, while exempt sales do not. A statement rarely carries enough information to make that call reliably, which is another reason to verify against invoices. For category-by-category examples and the full zero-rated versus exempt distinction, see our UK VAT rates guide.
VAT registration becomes compulsory once taxable turnover for the past 12 months goes over £90,000 (or is expected to within the next 30 days); deregistration is possible below £88,000. Every VAT-registered business, whatever its size, has had to keep digital records and file through MTD-compatible software since April 2022.
A consultancy invoices £12,000 plus VAT in a quarter and buys £4,000 (net) of standard-rated goods and services:
The tool labels transactions with a scheme column, but its box arithmetic follows standard VAT accounting: output VAT minus reclaimed input VAT. Flat Rate Scheme returns work on a different basis entirely (a fixed sector percentage applied to gross turnover, with input VAT generally not reclaimable), so Flat Rate users should not rely on this tool's box figures. The scheme's rules and thresholds are covered in our VAT rates guide.