What GOV.UK says VAT-registered businesses keep
GOV.UK guidance on keeping VAT records says to keep records of everything you buy and sell, including zero-rated, reduced-rate and VAT-exempt items, plus copies of all invoices you issue. It also lists self-billing agreements, debit or credit notes, and goods you give away or take from stock for private use.
The same page lists general business records such as bank statements and cash books. HMRC's VAT Notice 700/21 goes further and says "VAT law requires you to keep all your business records", naming "bank statements and paying-in slips" among them, and adding that the records you need depend on your type of business.
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Your situation may differ, so check the linked GOV.UK pages (and HMRC if you are unsure) for the rules that apply to you.
How long GOV.UK says to keep them
The GOV.UK page says to keep VAT records for at least 6 years, and 10 years if you use the VAT One Stop Shop or the VAT Mini One Stop Shop scheme. It also gives separate periods for some items, such as 4 years after the claim for bad debt relief information (10 years if you used the VAT MOSS).
Notice 700/21 says: "Generally, you must keep all your business records for VAT purposes for at least 6 years." It adds that records used for other tax purposes may need to be kept longer, and that HMRC may allow a shorter period for some records if storage is a serious problem. Read the notice before assuming this applies to you.
Digital records and Making Tax Digital for VAT
GOV.UK says you must keep some VAT records digitally and follow the rules for Making Tax Digital for VAT, unless you are exempt. It says digital records must be kept with compatible software, and that separate software packages must be digitally linked rather than copied and pasted.
The page also says you must keep all invoices you receive, as either originals or electronic copies. I did not find the page setting out exactly which spreadsheet or software set-ups qualify, so check the GOV.UK Making Tax Digital guidance before relying on a spreadsheet for any VAT record.
How a spreadsheet can help you organise statements
A bank statement PDF is awkward to filter or total. Turning it into rows and columns gives you a working copy you can sort and check. Nothing here says a spreadsheet satisfies any HMRC or Making Tax Digital requirement; it simply helps you organise the originals, which you should keep.
A simple layout, with made-up figures, might look like this:
Date Description Amount VAT quarter Invoice ref
2026-05-04 Supplier payment -240.00 Q2-2026 P-2210
2026-05-11 Customer receipt +600.00 Q2-2026 S-0873
2026-05-20 Software subscription -30.00 Q2-2026 P-2231With the data in columns you can filter by quarter, flag rows that have no matching invoice, and total receipts and payments with a SUM or pivot table. A column noting where each original invoice or statement is stored makes it easier to find later.
Check converted rows against the opening and closing balances on the statement before relying on totals. If you use a tool such as PDFtoRow to convert statements, keep the original PDFs too.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. GOV.UK's Keeping VAT records page lists general business records such as bank statements and cash books, and VAT Notice 700/21 names "bank statements and paying-in slips".
GOV.UK says at least 6 years, or 10 years if you use the VAT One Stop Shop or VAT Mini One Stop Shop scheme. Notice 700/21 says records used for other tax purposes may need to be kept longer.
It says you must keep some VAT records digitally and follow the Making Tax Digital for VAT rules, unless you are exempt, using compatible software.
Primary Evidence & Official References
- Charge, reclaim and record VAT: Keeping VAT records — gov.uk (Verified 2026-10-29). Official source documentation →
- Record keeping (VAT Notice 700/21) — gov.uk (Verified 2026-10-29). Official source documentation →