Improving best practice in VAT reviews – how we saved NHS trusts over £18m in 2024/25
As our annual VATplus re-reviews are submitted, Liaison Financial is delighted to have been able to support NHS organisations across the UK to save over £18million which would otherwise have been lost.
29 September 2025
Liaison Financial’s VATplus reviews are a secondary VAT re-review completed for NHS organisations that use a different VAT supplier for their day-to-day VAT advice. Applying the same process as our VAT service, VATflow, and benefitting from the extensive experience and knowledge of our team of VAT expert advisors, we re-review an NHS organisation’s transactions to identify additional VAT, so that it can be reclaimed before the HMRC annual August deadline.
In 2025, we completed 49 reviews across Acute Hospitals, Community Care, ICBs, Health Boards and Mental Health Services across the NHS, with recovery ranging from £6,000 to £3.1million, an average of approximately £376,000 per review and collectively, recovery of more than £18million to be reinvested into the organisations.
Lessons Learned
As this year’s re-review season comes to a close, we asked our VAT Advisors for the advice they’d give to NHS finance teams ahead of the 2026 HMRC deadline. Ewan Macdonald, Operations Director, says…
VAT return workings should be easy to interpret and as straightforward as possible. We most commonly identify errors in VAT return workings where there is significant manual intervention, complex formulas, linked spreadsheets, and only one person at the Board or Trust who operates and understands the process. VAT journals in particular should be in a common format and held centrally.
Don’t leave it too late. We know how busy NHS bodies are. Between year-end, annual accounts, audit, and annual leave, it can often be mid-July before a VAT re-review is considered. This leaves a small window of opportunity. Creating a timetable for the VAT ‘July deadline’ earlier in the year allows for a structured plan.
Lean on your advisors. Their role is to support the NHS. If you are having a re-review, instruct your advisor on the required finish date, including the resolution of any outstanding queries. This should be comfortably achievable with advanced notice and allow for a smooth re-review process without placing undue pressure on your finance team.
Finally, seek out a structured training programme to support internal expertise. VAT in the NHS is complex and ever-changing. An effective and readily available training programme supports self-sufficiency and increases VAT compliance.
As these tips show, timely reviews, specialist input, and regular training can reduce risk and maximise legitimate VAT recovery. To find out if we can find additional VAT savings for your organisation in 2025/26, please get in touch.