What do you do if you lose a receipt for a business expense in the UK?

Short answer: if you lose a receipt, first ask the supplier for a copy, then rebuild the record from the bank or card line and write down what the purchase was. HMRC's rule for a limited company is to try to recreate lost records and tell your Corporation Tax office straight away. For a sole trader, it is to do your best to provide figures and say, when you file, whether they are estimated or provisional. Keeping a photograph of each receipt on the day stops the problem happening again, and Quenta posts that photograph to Xero with the transaction.

This is a plain reading of HMRC's published guidance, not accounting or tax advice. If the sums are large or the records are gone for a whole period, ask your accountant.

Can you still claim the expense without the receipt?

You can usually still claim a business expense without the receipt if you can rebuild a record of the purchase, but the bank line alone is not enough: it proves money left the account, not what it bought. So the aim is to rebuild evidence of the purchase, not to drop the expense.

HMRC does not give a list of acceptable substitutes in the pages below. What it does say is what to do when records cannot be replaced, and that differs by how you trade. The two sections that follow cover each case.

What does HMRC say if you are a limited company?

HMRC's guide to company and accounting records says that if you cannot replace lost, stolen or destroyed records, you should try to recreate them, tell your Corporation Tax office straight away, and include this information in your Company Tax Return.

The same page sets the retention period: 6 years from the end of the last company financial year the records relate to. Keep them longer if, for example, HMRC has started a compliance check.

What does HMRC say if you are a sole trader?

HMRC's page on how long to keep your records says that if lost, stolen or destroyed records cannot be replaced, "you must do your best to provide figures". You then choose between two kinds:

• Estimated figures, your best guess when the actual figures are not available.
• Provisional figures, temporary estimates you use until the actual figures arrive. You must submit the actual figures later.

Either way, tell HMRC when you file which type you used. The retention period is at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the tax year. Records for 2022 to 2023, filed by 31 January 2024, are kept until at least the end of January 2029.

What about VAT you want to reclaim?

If you are VAT registered, the receipt carries more weight. HMRC's VAT Notice 700/21 on keeping VAT records calls the VAT invoices you receive the primary evidence for recovering VAT on purchases, and says to keep them so you can find them easily when asked. A bank statement line does not show the VAT charged.

The notice does not cover lost invoices. That is a good reason to ask the supplier for a duplicate invoice before you do anything else, and to put the duplicate where the original would have been. Whether you can reclaim the VAT without one is a question for your accountant or VAT general enquiries.

How do you rebuild a lost receipt in practice?

Work from the strongest source to the weakest.

1. Ask the supplier for a copy. Some shops and online suppliers can reissue a receipt or invoice from the date, card and amount. Emailed copies are best, as they are already digital.
2. Check your email and card app. Order confirmations and card notifications often hold the date, supplier and amount.
3. Find the bank or card line. It gives the date and the amount actually charged.
4. Write a note of what was bought, who for and why. Do it now, while you remember. Keep it with the transaction.
5. Record what you could not recover. If you end up with estimated figures, keep a note of how you reached them, since HMRC asks which type you used.

Where should the copy and the note live?

Attach the replacement receipt and your note to the Xero transaction they support. A copy kept in a separate folder is found only by whoever remembers the folder. In Xero, the spend-money transaction is the natural home for the replacement receipt and the note.

Quenta is built for the habit that stops this happening. It turns a photograph of a receipt into a completed transaction in Xero with the original image attached. Its guide to how it works describes the route, and if a receipt arrives by email you can forward it instead. A photograph taken at the till means there is an image of the receipt to attach to the transaction, even if the paper goes missing.

How do you stop losing receipts?

1. Photograph the receipt before you leave the counter. Thermal paper can fade, and pockets are where receipts go to disappear.
2. Forward emailed receipts the same day.
3. Do not wait for the month end. The longer a receipt sits, the more likely it is to be missing when you reconcile.
4. Keep the image with the Xero transaction, not in the camera roll.

Quick answers

Is a bank statement enough instead of a receipt? It shows the date and amount, not what you bought or the VAT charged. HMRC calls the VAT invoice the primary evidence for reclaiming VAT.

Who do I tell if I lose records? A limited company tells its Corporation Tax office straight away. A sole trader tells HMRC, when filing, whether the figures are estimated or provisional.

How long do I keep records? A company: 6 years from the end of the last financial year they relate to. A sole trader: at least 5 years after the 31 January filing deadline. VAT records: generally at least 6 years, per VAT Notice 700/21.

What does Quenta cost? The free plan covers 10 receipts a month per organisation. Quenta Pro is £6 per user a month, or £60 per user a year, tax included, and is fair-use capped at 350 receipts a month per workspace. See pricing.

To see the whole route from photograph to posted transaction, read receipt scanning for Xero. Try it today.

Quenta is an independent app from We UC Ltd. Xero is a trademark of Xero Limited. Quenta is not affiliated with or endorsed by Xero.

Photograph it and forget it.