Can I Claim Amazon Prime Business as a Business Expense?
Amazon Business Prime is fully deductible. Personal Prime is only claimable for the business-use proportion.
What HMRC Says
Business subscriptions are allowable. Mixed-use subscriptions should be apportioned.
When You Can Claim
- Amazon Business Prime (100% deductible)
- Prime Video if used for business research
- AWS cloud services
When You Cannot Claim
- Personal Prime for household shopping
- Prime Video for entertainment
Understanding Amazon Prime Business Expenses
Amazon Prime is one of those expenses that trips up many directors because the subscription bundles business-useful features (fast delivery, business pricing) with clearly personal benefits (Prime Video, music streaming, Kindle lending library). How you claim it depends entirely on which Amazon account and subscription type you use.
If your company has an Amazon Business account with a Business Prime subscription, the position is straightforward. Amazon Business Prime is designed for companies, provides VAT-exclusive pricing, business-only deals, and spend analytics. The full cost is deductible against your Corporation Tax because the service is designed for and used by businesses. Business Prime starts at around £49 per year for a single user.
If instead you use a personal Amazon Prime account for both household shopping and business purchases, you have a mixed-use subscription. The strict HMRC position is that you can only claim the proportion that relates to business use. In practice, apportioning a £95-per-year subscription is rarely worth the administrative effort, and many accountants take a pragmatic view — but technically, if half your orders are personal, only half the subscription is deductible. The bigger issue is that personal Prime receipts do not show VAT separately, so you lose the ability to reclaim VAT on purchases made through a personal account.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is a completely separate matter. Cloud hosting, computing, and storage services purchased through AWS are 100% deductible business expenses regardless of whether you also have a Prime subscription. These are billed separately and have their own VAT invoices.
The strongest advice for any director buying regularly through Amazon is to set up a dedicated Amazon Business account for the company. You get proper VAT invoices on eligible purchases, business pricing, the ability to set approval workflows, and a clean separation between personal and business spending. This eliminates any apportionment headaches and gives you better records for your accounts.
Real-World Examples
Dedicated Amazon Business account
A consultancy sets up an Amazon Business account and subscribes to Business Prime Essentials at £49 per year. All purchases through this account are for office supplies and equipment. The full £49 subscription and all purchases are deductible, and VAT invoices are available for VAT-registered businesses.
Mixed personal and business Prime account
A director uses their personal Amazon Prime account (£95/year) for both household groceries and business supplies. Approximately 40% of orders are business-related. Strictly, only £38 of the subscription is deductible. Their accountant advises switching to a separate Business account to get proper VAT invoices and cleaner records.
AWS cloud services
A tech startup pays £350 per month for AWS hosting services. This is fully deductible as a business operating cost, completely separate from any Amazon Prime subscription. The AWS invoice includes VAT which can be reclaimed.
Prime Video for market research
A film production company director claims that Prime Video is used for competitor research. While there may be a genuine business element, HMRC is likely to view Prime Video as primarily entertainment. The safer approach is to claim only the Business Prime delivery component and not attempt to deduct the entertainment streaming services.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Claiming the full personal Prime subscription through the company when most usage is personal household shopping — only the business proportion is deductible
- Using a personal Amazon account for business purchases and losing the ability to reclaim VAT because personal accounts do not provide proper VAT invoices
- Not setting up an Amazon Business account, which provides VAT invoices, business pricing, and cleaner expense separation at no extra cost
- Attempting to claim Prime Video or Music subscriptions as business research — HMRC will view these as personal entertainment in almost all cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my limited company pay for Amazon Prime?
Yes, but how much is deductible depends on usage. Amazon Business Prime is fully deductible as a business subscription. A personal Prime account used for both business and personal shopping should be apportioned, with only the business-use percentage claimed.
Is Amazon Business Prime worth it for a small company?
Yes, even for small companies. At £49 per year for the Essentials plan, you get fast delivery, proper VAT invoices on eligible items, business-only pricing, and a clean separation from personal purchases. The VAT invoices alone can save you more than the subscription cost if you are VAT-registered.
Can I reclaim VAT on Amazon purchases?
Only if you have a proper VAT invoice. Amazon Business accounts provide VAT invoices for items sold by Amazon and participating sellers. Personal Amazon accounts do not issue VAT invoices, so you cannot reclaim VAT on those purchases even if the items are for business use.
Should I put AWS costs through my company?
Absolutely. AWS hosting, computing, and storage costs are 100% deductible business expenses. AWS provides proper VAT invoices and is completely separate from your Amazon shopping account. There is no ambiguity about the business purpose.
Can I claim Amazon purchases as business expenses without Prime?
Yes, the Prime subscription and the individual purchases are separate questions. Any item bought for genuine business use is a deductible expense regardless of whether you have Prime. Prime just gives you faster delivery and potentially better pricing.
Source: HMRC Business Income Manual BIM35000 - BIM35085 (Business expenses - general) and BIM46400 (Subscriptions)
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