# Getting HSBC transactions into your books Canonical: https://taxmo.co.uk/hsbc-bank-feed-uk Last updated: 2026-08-10 Two routes, and it is worth knowing which you need. Upload a CSV statement and Taxmo recognises the HSBC layout without you mapping a single column, or connect the account through Open Banking for the current period. Either way the transactions land in the same review queue, and the same records go on to produce the VAT return that Taxmo files to HMRC. ## The HSBC layout, recognised on sight Taxmo detects a HSBC statement from its own column names rather than asking you to map fields. For HSBC that means the Description column, and separate Credit and Debit columns rather than one signed amount, with day-first dates. If your export has extra columns, they are ignored rather than getting in the way. ## What actually goes wrong with a HSBC export None of these are reasons not to import. They are the things worth knowing before you assume a number is right. - Money in and money out are in two different columns, so an empty cell means the row is not that direction rather than meaning zero. Taxmo reads both columns and infers the direction, which is where a naive importer turns every blank into a nil transaction - Some HSBC exports omit the header row entirely. If detection cannot find your columns, add a header line naming them Date, Description, Credit and Debit - Foreign currency card spending is converted by HSBC before it reaches the statement, so the sterling figure on the row is the one that belongs in your records ## Open Banking, and its one real limit You can connect the account instead of exporting a file. The connection is read-only account information, authorised by you at HSBC's own sign-in rather than by giving Taxmo any credentials. The limit to know about: it is an on-demand import rather than a background sync, so you re-authorise each time you pull transactions and each pull returns a recent window instead of your whole history. For older periods, the CSV route has no such window. ## Then the records do the rest Transactions arrive pending and are not in your figures until you approve them, with categorisation rules you set once applied on the way in. Once approved they feed your running tax estimate, your profit and loss, and the nine boxes of your VAT return, which Taxmo submits to HMRC directly over the Making Tax Digital API. Importing HSBC activity is the first step in that chain rather than an end in itself. ## Business and personal in one account Plenty of sole traders run business and personal spending through the same account, and there is nothing wrong with it as long as the books separate the two. Personal spending is not an allowable cost and must not reach your expense figures. Import everything so nothing is missed, then exclude the personal rows at review, which is faster and safer than trying to filter the export by hand. ## Common questions ### Can I import HSBC transactions into Taxmo? Yes, two ways. Export a CSV statement and upload it, and the HSBC layout is detected automatically with no column mapping. Or connect the account through Open Banking, which is read-only and authorised at HSBC rather than by handing over credentials. CSV is the route for older periods, because the connection returns a recent window rather than your full history. ### Does the HSBC connection sync automatically? No, and we would rather say so plainly. The UK Open Banking connection is on-demand: you re-authorise at your bank for each import. You never get a feed that quietly stopped working when a consent lapsed, but you do trigger the import yourself. ### My HSBC export has separate credit and debit columns. Is that a problem? No, it is expected. HSBC splits money in and money out rather than using one signed column, and Taxmo reads both and works out the direction from which one is populated. The failure mode to avoid is an importer that treats an empty credit cell as a zero-value receipt. ### Do I have to categorise every HSBC transaction by hand? Only the first time. Rules you set are applied to incoming transactions, so a supplier you have categorised once is categorised on every future import. What reaches you for review is the ambiguous remainder rather than the whole statement. ### Can I file my VAT return from imported HSBC transactions? Yes, once they are approved. Approved transactions feed the nine boxes, and Taxmo submits the return to HMRC directly over the Making Tax Digital API with HMRC's receipt stored against the period. Transactions still sitting unapproved are excluded from your figures, which is why the pre-filing checklist blocks on them. ### Do I still need to keep receipts? Yes. A bank line proves money moved, not what it bought or how much VAT it carried, and for a VAT reclaim the VAT invoice is the evidence rather than the bank row. Import the statement so nothing is missed, keep the receipts so the figures are defensible. ## Related pages - [Import a CSV statement from any UK bank](https://taxmo.co.uk/import-bank-transactions-csv) - [Getting Lloyds transactions into your books](https://taxmo.co.uk/lloyds-bank-feed-uk) - [Submit your VAT return to HMRC, from your own records](https://taxmo.co.uk/submit-vat-return-to-hmrc) --- This page explains how UK rules work rather than quoting thresholds, rates or allowances, which are indexed or reset at fiscal events. Check current amounts on GOV.UK. HSBC is a trademark of HSBC UK Bank plc. Taxmo is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by HSBC UK Bank plc. This page describes what Taxmo does with a statement you export or an Open Banking connection you authorise yourself.