Claiming business expenses without a receipt in the UK

By Hazem ElsawyLast reviewed 3 min read
A business director reviewing business expense records and invoices.

Losing a receipt is a frustrating reality for sole traders and small business owners. The good news is that losing a receipt does not automatically mean losing your tax deduction.

For Income Tax and Corporation Tax, HMRC's primary legal test is whether the money was spent "wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade" under s. 34 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 (ITTOIA 2005).

If you can establish that the cost was genuinely incurred for your business, HMRC will often accept secondary evidence. However, there are strict limits — especially if you are VAT-registered.

What secondary evidence works when a receipt is lost?

If you misplace a receipt or the vendor did not provide one, assemble a corroborating paper trail:

  • Bank or Credit Card Statements: Proves the date, transaction amount, and the merchant's trading name.
  • Supplier Order Confirmations: Emails showing the order details, delivery address, and itemized descriptions.
  • Contemporaneous Diary Entries: Notes written at the time of purchase explaining what was bought and the specific client or project it was used for.
  • Photos of the Item: For tools, materials, or equipment, a photo of the item on site establishes that the asset was acquired.

If records are missing, reconstruct the transaction as completely as possible. HMRC says to try to obtain copies from banks or suppliers and to identify figures that are estimated or provisional on the return where relevant.

Unsupported cash expenses and broad estimates are harder to substantiate and increase the risk of a correction, interest or penalty if a return is inaccurate.

Use HMRC's simplified expenses to avoid keeping receipts

For certain common business costs, HMRC provides simplified expenses — flat-rate allowances that eliminate the need to collect and calculate every single receipt:

  1. Business Mileage:
    • Cars and goods vehicles: 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles, and 25p per mile thereafter. The first-10,000 rate rose from 45p on 6 April 2026 — any guide still quoting 45p is a tax year behind.
    • Motorcycles: 24p per mile.
    • You only need to keep a journey log (dates, destinations, and business miles), not petrol and repair receipts.
  2. Working From Home Allowance:
    • A flat monthly allowance (£10 to £26 per month depending on hours worked) to cover business utility usage without calculating energy bills.

The critical VAT exception

If your business is VAT registered, VAT rules are far more rigid than income tax rules:

  • To reclaim input VAT on purchases over £250, you must possess a full VAT invoice showing the supplier's 9-digit VAT registration number, the date, a description of the goods, and the VAT breakdown.
  • For purchases of £250 or less (including VAT), a "simplified VAT invoice" (such as a petrol receipt or supermarket slip) is acceptable, but it must still display the supplier's VAT number and the applicable tax rate.

A bank statement alone may not show that VAT was charged or provide the details needed to support an input-tax claim. Keep the valid VAT invoice or other evidence required by the applicable VAT rules.

Sources

Common questions

Can I claim a business expense on my Self Assessment without a receipt?

Yes, in reasonable circumstances. If a receipt was lost or not issued, HMRC allows you to claim the expense if you have secondary evidence (such as a bank statement and contemporaneous notes) proving the cost was incurred wholly and exclusively for business.

Can I reclaim VAT without a valid VAT receipt?

Generally no. Under Regulation 29(2) of the VAT Regulations 1995, you must hold the VAT invoice the supplier is required to provide. For purchases of £250 or less, a simplified VAT invoice is acceptable. The same regulation lets HMRC accept other evidence of the charge to VAT at its discretion, but that is a concession to ask for, not something to rely on in advance.

What secondary proof does HMRC accept for lost receipts?

Bank or credit card statements, email order confirmations, delivery notes, supplier correspondence, calendar entries, and contemporaneous logs explaining what was bought and why.

What are simplified expenses?

Simplified expenses are HMRC flat-rate allowances that don't require keeping receipts for actual costs, such as the flat rate per business mile (55p per mile for cars and goods vehicles on the first 10,000 business miles from 6 April 2026, up from 45p) or flat-rate working from home allowances.

Every figure on this page is checked against HMRC's own guidance and linked in the sources above. Last checked . Thresholds change each tax year, so if you are reading this well after that date, confirm the current figures before you rely on them. Terms.

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