Business Energy Bill Checker
Find out if you are paying the right VAT and Climate Change Levy, and whether your rates are fair.
Free business energy bill checker
VAT, Climate Change Levy, standing charge and unit rate, checked in about 20 seconds.
Your bill is read once to run the checks and is never stored. We look the account name up on Companies House and the address on the government's EPC register. Gas and electricity bills for UK businesses only.
What the checker looks at
The two lines businesses most often overpay are the ones nobody reads: VAT and the Climate Change Levy. Both depend on how the building is used, not on who the customer is. A care home, a flat above a pub, a church hall that is not hired out and a small unit using under 33 kWh of electricity a day should all pay less than an office, but the supplier only knows that if someone tells it. The checker reads your bill, works out the average daily use, looks the account up on Companies House and checks the EPC register for homes in the same building, then applies HMRC's VAT Notice 701/19 and the Climate Change Levy rates for the exact dates on the bill.
Timing matters this winter. Since 1 October 2026, qualifying electricity in Great Britain carries 0% VAT instead of 5%, until 30 June 2027. A care home or a flat that was correctly on 5% last month should now be on 0% for its electricity, and a bill that runs across 1 October should only zero rate the October days. Our guide to VAT and the Climate Change Levy on business energy bills explains the rules in full.
The checker also compares your standing charge and unit rate with the indicative fixed rates on our business electricity prices and business gas prices pages, flags estimated reads (the usual cause of a surprise catch-up bill) and tells you when your contract has ended or is about to, because out-of-contract rates are the most expensive way to buy energy. Need your meter number first? Our electricity supplier and MPAN finder will find it. When you are ready, get a business energy quote and we will tender the supply across 30+ suppliers.
Frequently asked questions
- Should my business pay 20% VAT on its energy?
- Most businesses pay 20%. The reduced rate applies to qualifying use: homes and flats, residential accommodation such as care homes, children's homes, hospices and student or pupil rooms, and a charity's non-business activities, meaning activities it does not charge for. Any supply small enough to fall under the de minimis also qualifies, whoever the customer is. Hotels, inns, hospitals and prisons do not count as residential accommodation, so they pay 20%. HMRC sets this out in VAT Notice 701/19.
- What is the 0% VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026?
- From 1 October 2026 to 30 June 2027, electricity in Great Britain that qualifies for the reduced rate is zero rated instead, so it carries 0% VAT rather than 5%. The supplies that qualify have not changed. Gas stays at 5% for qualifying use, and Northern Ireland stays at 5%. Where a billing period runs across 1 October, the VAT follows the dates the energy was used. If your electricity bill since October still shows 5%, the checker will flag it.
- Do I pay VAT and the levy on a flat above my pub or shop?
- Not on the part the flat uses. If 60% or more of the energy goes to the living space, the whole supply gets the reduced VAT rate and no Climate Change Levy. Below 60%, the home's share is relieved and the business share pays 20% VAT and the levy. You claim it by giving your supplier a VAT declaration that states the percentage, and a fair estimate such as the share of floor space is the usual basis.
- Do care homes pay VAT and the Climate Change Levy on energy?
- Homes that provide residential care for older or disabled people count as residential accommodation, so their energy is qualifying use: the reduced VAT rate (0% on electricity from 1 October 2026) and no Climate Change Levy. The supplier needs a VAT declaration for each site. A care home company's head office does not qualify, because nobody lives there.
- What is the de minimis for business energy?
- A supply that averages no more than 33 kWh of electricity a day (1,000 kWh a month) or 145 kWh of gas a day (4,397 kWh a month) is treated as domestic use whoever the customer is. It should get the reduced VAT rate and no Climate Change Levy automatically, without a declaration. The de minimis never applies to electric vehicle charging. Small shops, kiosks and lock-ups often fall under it, and supplier systems do not always apply it.
- How far back can I claim overpaid VAT or Climate Change Levy?
- Suppliers can usually correct up to four years of bills. The claim goes through your supplier, who needs a VAT declaration for the site and evidence that the use was the same over the period you are claiming for. Leave your details after the check and we will send the declaration and chase the refund for you.
- What happens to my bill when I upload it?
- It is read once by an AI model to pick out the figures, then discarded. Nothing from the bill is stored on our website. The model only copies figures; every check is a fixed rule written from HMRC's guidance, so the same bill always gives the same answer, and you can see and correct every figure we read. We also look the account name up on Companies House and the address on the government's EPC register, which helps us tell how the building is used.
- How do you judge my standing charge and unit rate?
- We compare them with our indicative fixed rates for a business of your size, the same figures published on our business electricity and business gas price pages and refreshed every month. They are a guide to what a new contract costs today, not a quote. Half-hourly supplies pay capacity and network charges as well, so for those we compare like for like with a quote instead.
Leave the bills to us
Tell us about your sites and we will check the VAT and levy on each one, send your suppliers the right declarations and tender the supply across 30+ suppliers. Free, no obligation, and we work for you, not the suppliers.