UK Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks with VAT Codes (Free)

This is a UK chart of accounts built for QuickBooks Online, using QuickBooks’ own VAT code names. It comes as a readable CSV file that maps every account to its QuickBooks VAT code, plus an import CSV for the account structure. Because of how QuickBooks handles the import, the two files do different jobs, and it is worth knowing which before you start.

Why the structure and the VAT codes are separate

QuickBooks Online’s chart-of-accounts import only carries four columns: Account Number, Account Name, Type, and Detail Type. There is no tax column in the import. That does not mean QuickBooks ignores account-level VAT, it has account defaults, but you set them separately from the import.

So the workflow is two steps:

1. Import the structure with the CSV, which creates the accounts with the right Type and Detail Type.
2. Set the VAT codes from the CSV mapping. QuickBooks Online lets you bulk-assign default VAT codes to your chart of accounts, so you select the accounts and apply the code shown in the CSV.

The CSV file is therefore the important one for VAT: it lists every account with its default QuickBooks VAT code and the allowed alternatives, ready to apply in bulk.

The default VAT code prefills, it does not lock

A default VAT code on an account prefills the transaction line; you can override it per line whenever a transaction needs a different treatment. That is why the CSV lists allowed alternatives: a travel account defaults to 0.0% Z because rail and bus are the common case, but 20.0% S is the allowed alternative for a hotel or taxi in the same account.

The UK VAT defaults that matter (QuickBooks names)

The mapping encodes the treatments UK bookkeepers most often get wrong, using QuickBooks’ codes:

• 20.0% S on most sales and purchases.
• Exempt on insurance, bank charges, and residential rent, where input VAT cannot be recovered. Not the zero code, because the recovery rules differ.
• 0.0% Z on travel (rail, air, bus) and books.
• No VAT on wages, depreciation, and client entertainment, where input VAT is blocked.
• 20.0% RC SG flagged as the allowed code on services bought from overseas vendors.

How to use it

1. Open the CSV, which maps each account to its QuickBooks VAT code, and adapt the account names to the business.
2. In QuickBooks Online, go to Settings, then Import data, then Chart of Accounts, and upload the CSV for the structure.
3. On the import wizard, confirm the Type and Detail Type for each account.
4. After import, bulk-assign the default VAT codes from the CSV mapping in the chart of accounts.

Keeping the codes right on every transaction afterwards is the recurring work:

• Dext extracts the VAT and suggests a code from the supplier.
• ExpenseFlow reads each receipt and bill, applies the correct UK VAT code for the supply including the exempt and reverse-charge cases, and posts it into QuickBooks Online against the right account, so coding stays consistent as volume grows.
• Hubdoc pulls recurring bills in with their VAT itemised.

A note on numbering and detail types: the chart uses range-based codes (assets 1000s, liabilities 2000s, equity 3000s, income 4000s, cost of sales 5000s, expenses 6000s), and the import already sets each account’s QuickBooks Type and Detail Type. On the import wizard QuickBooks shows those as dropdowns, so if a Detail Type label differs in your region you confirm it on screen rather than editing the file blind. Once the structure is in, the VAT bulk-assign is a one-time step from the CSV mapping.

Using Xero instead? See the UK chart of accounts for Xero, where the import sets the VAT codes directly. For the codes themselves, see the UK VAT codes in QuickBooks reference.