Getting NatWest transactions into your books
Two routes, and it is worth knowing which you need. Upload a CSV statement and Taxmo recognises the NatWest 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 NatWest layout, recognised on sight
Taxmo detects a NatWest statement from its own column names rather than asking you to map fields. For NatWest that means Description, with the Type column used as a fallback, and a single signed column named Value rather than 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 NatWest export
None of these are reasons not to import. They are the things worth knowing before you assume a number is right.
- The amount column is called Value, not Amount. This single naming difference is the most common reason a NatWest statement fails to import into software that expects the usual name
- The payee is often split between the Type and Description columns, so the useful text can be spread across two fields
- RBS exports follow the same shape and are detected by the same rules, so there is nothing extra to do for a Royal Bank of Scotland account
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 NatWest'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 NatWest 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 NatWest transactions into Taxmo?
Yes, two ways. Export a CSV statement and upload it, and the NatWest layout is detected automatically with no column mapping. Or connect the account through Open Banking, which is read-only and authorised at NatWest 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 NatWest 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.
Does this cover Royal Bank of Scotland as well?
Yes. NatWest and RBS export the same statement layout, including the Value column, and Taxmo detects both with the same rules. There is no separate setting to choose between them.
Do I have to categorise every NatWest 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 NatWest 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.
Last updated 2026-08-10. Thresholds, rates and allowances are indexed or reset at fiscal events and are deliberately not quoted here; check GOV.UK for current amounts.
NatWest is a trademark of National Westminster Bank plc. Taxmo is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by National Westminster Bank plc. This page describes what Taxmo does with a statement you export or an Open Banking connection you authorise yourself.