What records do I need to keep for VAT?
Answered 17 March 2026
VAT Record Keeping Requirements
What the law says
All taxable persons (i.e. VAT-registered businesses) must keep and preserve certain records and accounts.
Business Records
VAT law requires you to keep all your business records, which broadly includes:
- Annual accounts, including profit and loss accounts
- Bank statements and paying-in slips
- Cash books and other account books
- Credit or debit notes issued or received
- Import and export documents
- Orders and delivery notes
- Purchase and sales books
- Purchase invoices and copy sales invoices
- Records of daily takings (e.g. till rolls)
- Relevant business correspondence
- VAT account (electronic account)
- Documentation relating to dispatches/acquisitions of goods to/from the UK or EU (if applicable)
You will always have to keep a VAT account and copies of invoices, but some other records may not apply to your type of business — if so, you do not have to create such a record just for VAT.
VAT Account
For each tax period, you must keep a summary of the totals of your output tax and input tax — this is your VAT account. There is no set format, as long as it contains the necessary information.
HMRC Guidance / Practice
How Long to Keep Records
HMRC sets out minimum retention periods for different types of record:
| Record Type | Minimum Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Sales/service dockets | No minimum — may be destroyed when no longer needed |
| Copies of orders, delivery notes, invoices for employee expenses | 1 year |
| Production records, stock records, job cards, business letters | 1 year |
| Import, export and delivery from warehouse documents | 3 years |
| Daybooks, ledgers, cashbooks, second-hand scheme stock books | 3 years |
| Purchase invoices, copy sales invoices, credit/debit notes | 4 years |
| Daily gross takings records, retail scheme records | 4 years |
| Bank statements, paying-in books, management/annual accounts | 5 years |
| Any record containing the VAT account | 6 years (no reduction) |
If a record falls within more than one category, apply the longer retention period.
Digital Record Keeping (Making Tax Digital)
Under Making Tax Digital (MTD), all VAT-registered businesses must keep digital records and submit VAT Returns using compatible software. Unless you have been granted a specific exemption, your VAT account must be maintained using software.
Exemptions from Digital Record Keeping
You do not need to keep an electronic account if HMRC is satisfied that:
- It is not practical for you to use digital tools (e.g. due to age, disability, or location)
- You or your business are subject to an insolvency procedure
- Your business is run entirely by practising members of a religious society whose beliefs are incompatible with electronic records
- You are already exempt from filing VAT returns online
Special Schemes
For margin schemes, you do not need to keep digital records of the additional scheme records or the calculation of marginal VAT charged — these must still be maintained, but not necessarily in digital format.
For self-billing, if you are a self-biller you must keep copies of agreements with suppliers and the names, addresses and VAT registration numbers of suppliers who have agreed to self-billing. Failure to keep these records means the self-billed invoices will not be valid VAT invoices.
📌 Key reference: The primary HMRC guidance on this topic is VAT Notice 700/21: Record Keeping, which should be consulted for full details.
Citation sources
You do not need to keep digital records of the: additional records for these schemes calculation of the marginal VAT charged These records must still be maintained in some format, but do not need to be in a digital format. If you do keep a digital record, and your software does not allow you to record the VAT on the margin, you’ll need to record the supply as either one standard-rated supply and one zero-rated supply. Alternatively, you can record the sale at one rate and correct the VAT through
Rules introduced under the Making Tax Digital initiative mean that all VAT registered businesses need to keep digital records and submit VAT Returns to HMRC using compatible software. This notice: explains the digital records businesses must keep, and ways to record transactions digitally in certain special circumstances explains what counts as compatible software, and when software programs do and do not need to be digitally linked where a combination of programs is used gives examples of when
All taxable persons must keep and preserve certain records and accounts. This VAT record-keeping requirements that anyone who is registered for VAT must comply with includes: the VAT account what records must be kept maintaining and preserving records digital record keeping For more information read Record keeping (VAT Notice 700/21). There are several other important sources of information:
If you are a self-biller you’ll need to keep certain records. These are: copies of the agreements you make with your suppliers the names, addresses and VAT registration numbers of the suppliers who have agreed that you can self-bill them You’ll still be responsible for keeping these records if you outsource self-billing to a third party provider. If you do not keep the required records, then the self-billed invoices you issue will not be proper VAT invoices.
You do not need to keep an electronic account if HMRC is satisfied that: it’s not practical for you to use digital tools to keep your business records or submit your VAT Returns — this may be due to reasons such as age, disability or location you (or your business) are subject to an insolvency procedure your business is run entirely by practising members of a religious society (or order) whose beliefs are incompatible with using electronic communications or keeping electronic records you’re alre
For each tax period you must keep a summary of the totals of your output tax and input tax. This is your VAT account and it will help you to fill in your VAT Return. There’s no set format for a VAT account as long as it contains the necessary information contained in Record keeping (VAT Notice 700/21). However, unless you have been granted a specific exemption from digital record keeping, you will need to maintain your VAT account using software. Your software will create the summary totals for
Type of manual record Minimum period to keep the record for Sales or service dockets (mainly used by large organisations especially those involved mainly in retail trading e.g. mail order houses). No minimum period. May be destroyed when no longer needed. Copies of orders, delivery notes, dispatch notes, goods returned notes, invoices for expenses incurred by employees. 1 year Production records, stock records (except those for second hand schemes), job cards, appointment books, diaries, busines
VAT law requires you to keep all your business records. Our view of business records is wide and will include: annual accounts, including profit and loss accounts bank statements and paying-in slips cash books and other account books credit or debit notes you issue or receive documentation relating to dispatches and acquisitions of goods to or from the UK or EU member if you are registered in Northern Ireland or relating to dispatches and acquisitions made before 1 January 2020 if you are regist