Claims & proof

Overview

Learn the rules and processes around making claims, appealing a refusal and allowances when working late, as well as check the IPSA funding handbook.

You can also complete IPSA Online tasks on attaching evidence and receipts to a claim and submitting claims in simple and advanced modes.

Scheme rules

To make a claim, you must:

  • use IPSA Online

  • have claims approved by an MP or the Proxy

  • claim within 90 days of the expenditure

  • provide evidence at the time of claiming – evidence must be submitted no later than seven days after you submit the claim [1.1]

IPSA may set out other methods of payment in guidance, including requirements which MPs must meet in order to use those methods. [1.4]

A claim will not be paid if the supporting evidence is redacted or insufficient, the business costs aren’t allowable, or the claim doesn’t meet the submission deadline. [1.5]

IPSA may make provision at the end of a financial year, or in exceptional circumstances, to vary the period specified. [1.6]

For more information about how to make claims in IPSA Online, visit Making reimbursement claims.

For certain expenditure, MPs may claim payment in advance on the production of an invoice or may request IPSA to make payments directly to a supplier.

MPs may also use the payment card provided by IPSA. [1.3]

This works for:

  • Rail and air travel (using the trainline.com IPSA account, or the House of Commons travel provider). Note, there’s no need to complete a form, reconcile the business cost or send any receipts. We will collect all the information required from Trainline when you book.

  • Office supplies (using IPSA accounts through these suppliers: Commercial, Banner and XMA). Note, there’s no need to complete a form, reconcile the business cost or send any receipts. We will collect all the information required from the suppliers when you book – and we will allocate the costs to the MP’s office costs budget (you are advised to keep track for budgeting purposes, as any overspend must be repaid).

  • Rent of accommodation and constituency offices – for payments direct to landlords complete the Property Registration Form and send a signed copy to us, allowing 28 days for the first payment to be set up, which will then continue until the end of the rental agreement (for more information, visit Completing a property registration form .

  • Pooled staffing services – we can pay annual subscriptions direct to the relevant organisation, as long as we have an agreement in place.

Following receipt of a claim, IPSA will determine whether to allow or refuse it. [2.1]

If we accept it, we determine how much of the claim qualifies for payment – and arrange for that amount to be paid. [2.2]

IPSA supports MPs and their staff to comply with the rules of the Scheme by providing advice on the rules and whether a particular claim is likely to fall within the Scheme.

Such advice does not amount to a decision to allow or refuse a claim.

That decision can only be made when the claim is submitted, together with the supporting evidence.

No decision to allow or refuse a particular claim will bind IPSA in subsequent claims of the same nature. [2.3]

If we refuse the claim or decide to only allow part of the amount claimed, we will notify the MP together with reasons for refusal. [2.4]

Where IPSA determines either to refuse a claim or to allow only part of the amount claimed, MPs may, within 14 days of IPSA issuing that notification, request IPSA to review its determination.

You can ask for a review of a refused or part-refused claim if you believe :

  • the rules have been applied incorrectly

  • an administrative error has been made by IPSA, and/or

  • you have further evidence to support your claim

You have 14 days from being notified of the refusal to use IPSA Online to request such a review. [2.5]

For more information, visit Requesting a claim review and Request for repayment .

Upon receiving a request for a review, we will review whether the original decision was properly made, referring to any further evidence submitted in support of the claim.

Then we will:

  • confirm or change the amount allowed under the original decision

  • notify the MP of our decision

  • arrange payment of any additional amount now allowed [2.6]

IPSA may review its own determinations. [2.7]

No staff member of IPSA who was involved in making the original determination will be involved in any review of that determination. [2.8]

If you still disagree with our decision, you can ask for the outcome to be reviewed by the Compliance Officer for IPSA. [2.9]

IPSA will make any payments or adjustments necessary to give effect to the decisions of the Compliance Officer, provided that all relevant appeals on the matter have been withdrawn or determined and it is no longer possible for there to be a further relevant appeal. [2.10]

If MPs have been working after 10pm on parliamentary matters they may claim for a taxi to their London Area residence or for an overnight stay in a hotel.

MPs who claim for an overnight stay in a hotel may also claim for the cost of a taxi to the hotel. [9.30]

Claims for hotels are subject to the nightly cost limit for hotels in London.

If in exceptional circumstances, MPs are unable to find a hotel within the cost limit, they may claim for the total cost, provided they have evidence to show why it was not possible to find a hotel within the price limit. [9.31]

For more information on how to claim using IPSA Online, visit Getting reimbursed for accommodation.

Using IPSA Online

IPSA Online allows you to add receipts to claims electronically.

You can upload your receipts in three different ways:

Receipts will be uploaded to the account of the person/email they are sent from.

  1. Note!

    Make sure you have all the receipts you want to upload to hand, and open IPSA Online.

  2. Step1

    When you are in a Reimbursement Claim Form, save receipts in Your documents with a name that will help you identify them at a later date.

  3. Step2

    Make sure the images are clear so IPSA can read them. The maximum size image for receipts is 100mb.

  4. Step3

    In the receipts section on the right-hand side of the screen, select Upload receipts.

  5. Step4

    A new window will open, select the Upload receipts icon.

  6. Step5

    Select the document you want to upload.

  7. Step6

    Select Open.

  8. Step7

    The receipt is added to the Receipt bank.

  9. Step8

    Repeat steps two to four until you have uploaded all receipts.

Once you have uploaded your receipts, you need to add them to a claim.

  1. Note!

    Make sure you have loaded all the receipts you want to add, and open IPSA Online.

  2. Step1

    With your claim open, select the Available icon in the Receipt bank on the right-hand side of the claim.

  3. Step2

    Use the Arrows to navigate to the relevant receipt.

  4. Step3

    Tick the Checkbox next to the matching claim line.

  5. Step4

    Select Match to receipt.

  6. Step5

    Repeat steps two and three until all claim lines are matched to receipts. Select the X icon to close the Receipt bank.

  7. Step6

    You can add multiple receipts to one claim line.

  8. Step7

    If you need to attach the same receipt to multiple lines, upload the receipt as many times as required.

  9. Step8

    You can now Submit the claim.

When dealing with claim approval, you can approve or reject them using two formats:

  • simple mode

  • advanced mode

These views are available in quick or full view.

Simple mode allows you to approve or reject the entire claim with one or two clicks of the mouse.

  1. Note!

    You will need information about the claim you are being asked to approve to hand, and have IPSA Online open.

  2. Step1

    Select the task you wish to complete.

  3. Step2

    The General section will give you a summary of who raised the claim and its reference.

  4. Step3

    The Workflow log section gives you information on the path the task took to reach you and any comments people have added to the task.

  5. Step4

    The Expenses section gives you a quick summary of each claim line.

    Check them carefully, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  6. Step5

    The Expenses details section gives you detailed information on the highlighted expense in the Expenses section above.

    For claims with multiple lines, selecting different lines in the Expenses section will display different information in the Expenses details section.

    Check this carefully for each line, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  7. Step6

    Select the Approve button. The task is now complete.

When dealing with claim approval, you can approve or reject them using two formats:

  • simple mode

  • advanced mode

These views are available in quick or full view.

Simple mode allows you to approve or reject the entire claim with one or two clicks of the mouse.

  1. Note!

    You will need details of the claim to hand, and have IPSA Online open.

  2. Step1

    Select the task you wish to complete.

  3. Step2

    The General section will give you a summary of who raised the claim and its reference.

  4. Step3

    The Workflow log section gives you information on the path the task took to reach you and any comments people have added to the task.

  5. Step4

    The Expenses section gives you a quick summary of each claim line.

    Check them carefully, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  6. Step5

    The Expenses details section gives you detailed information on the highlighted expense in the Expenses section above.

    For claims with multiple lines, selecting different lines in the Expenses section will display different information in the Expenses details section.

    Check this carefully for each line, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  7. Step6

    Select Send for correction.

  8. Step7

    Type an explanation as to why the claim is being sent back to the staff member for correction.

  9. Step8

    Select the Send for correction button. The task is now complete.

When dealing with claim approvals, you can approve or reject them using two formats: simple mode or advanced mode. These views are available in quick or full view.

Advanced mode is useful when you have multiple lines of claims some of which you wish to approve and some you wish to reject.

  1. Note!

    You should have details of the claim to hand, and have IPSA Online open.

  2. Step1

    Select the claim you wish to complete.

  3. Step2

    The General section will give you a summary of who raised the claim and its reference.

  4. Step3

    The Workflow log section gives you information on the path the task took to reach you and any comments people have added to the task.

  5. Step4

    The Expenses section gives you a quick summary of each claim line.

    Check them carefully, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  6. Step5

    The Expenses details section gives you detailed information on the highlighted expense in the Expenses section above.

    For claims with multiple lines, selecting different lines in the Expenses section will display different information in the Expenses details section.

    Check this carefully for each line, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  7. Step6

    Along the bottom of the screen, select Advanced mode.

  8. Step7

    In the Expenses section, select the check box of the line or lines you wish to approve.

  9. Step8

    Select Submit anyway directly below.

  10. Step9

    Select Send for correction.

  11. Step10

    In the Workflow log, type an explanation as to why each line is being sent back to the staff member for correction.

  12. Step11

    When all lines have been addressed, scroll to the bottom and select Save. The task is now complete.

Sometimes claims will be returned to you for amendment because they appear to fall outside of the scheme rules but you may wish to submit them with reasons. For example, there may be a good reason you missed the 90-day limit.

In these cases you can send the task back to IPSA with a comment explaining why you are submitting the claim.

  1. Note!

    Before you start you should have details of the claim, and IPSA Online open.

  2. Step1

    Select the claim you wish to complete.

  3. Step2

    The General section will give you a summary of who raised the claim and its reference.

  4. Step3

    The Workflow log section gives you information on the path the task took to reach you and any comments people have added to the task.

  5. Step4

    The Expenses section gives you a quick summary of each claim line.

    Check them carefully, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  6. Step5

    The Expenses details section gives you detailed information on the highlighted expense in the Expenses section above.

    For claims with multiple lines, selecting different lines in the Expenses section will display different information in the Expenses details section.

    Check this carefully for each line, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  7. Step6

    Select Submit anyway.

  8. Step7

    Type an explanation as to why the claim is being submitted without correction.

  9. Step8

    Select the Submit anyway button. The task is now complete.

Sometimes claims will be returned to you for amendment because they appear to fall outside of the scheme rules but you may wish to submit them with reasons. For example, there may be a good reason you missed the 90-day limit.

In these cases you can send the task back to IPSA with a comment explaining why you are submitting the claim.

  1. Note!

    Make sure you have the details of the claim to hand, and have opened IPSA Online.

  2. Step1

    Select the task you wish to complete.

  3. Step2

    The General section will give you a summary of who raised the claim and its reference.

  4. Step3

    The Expenses section gives you a quick summary of each claim line.

    Check them carefully, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  5. Step4

    The Expenses details section gives you detailed information on the highlighted expense in the Expenses section above.

    For claims with multiple lines, selecting different lines in the Expenses section will display different information in the Expenses details section.

    Check this carefully for each line, once approved the expenditure is your responsibility.

  6. Step5

    Along the bottom of the screen, select Advanced mode.

  7. Step6

    In the Expenses section, select the check box of the line or lines you wish to submit.

  8. Step7

    Select Submit anyway.

  9. Step8

    Select the check box of the line or lines you wish to send back to correct.

  10. Step9

    Select Send for correction.

  11. Step10

    Select Send for correction directly below.

  12. Step11

    In the Workflow log, type an explanation as to why each line is being sent back to the staff member for correction.

  13. Step12

    The lines that were sent for correction will appear in your Task manager with Correction in the title.

  14. Step13

    When all lines have been addressed, scroll to the bottom and select Save. The task is now complete.

The MP Expenses Cost Report enables you to view receipts and other evidence attached to past claims.

The report also allows you to view any notes you have written in the “Add Information” section of a claim.

It is available to MPs and business costs proxies.

  1. Note!

    Open IPSA Online.

  2. Step1

    Navigate to the Time and Expenses tab on your IPSA Online main menu.

  3. Step2

    Click the chevrons to the right of the shared folder listed under Reports and select the MP Expenses Cost Report.

    The report may take a couple of minutes to load.

  4. Step3

    The report lists all the completed claims made against your IPSA budgets.

  5. Step4

    Use the report filters to find the claim that you want to view in more detail.

    You can do this by selecting the column heading/s you want to filter by.

    The filters provide an option to search for a specific item or to select from a list of all possible options.

  6. Step5

    To filter by transaction number you must search for the precise transaction number to generate a result.

  7. Step6

    When you have located the transaction for which you want to view the attached evidence, select the transaction number.

  8. Step7

    This opens a separate Transaction Details page.

  9. Step8

    The Comment box displayed on this page includes any comments made in Add information when the claim was submitted.

  10. Step9

    To access any documentation attached to the claim, select the third tab: 3 – Expenses.

  11. Step10

    Select the specific claim line listed in the table under Expense items.

    You will still need to select the claim line even if there is only one line on the claim.

  12. Step11

    A Workflow Log will appear.

    It displays any comments made by the originator of the claim or the validator when submitting, approving, or returning the claim on IPSA Online.

  13. Step12

    If evidence was attached to the claim, the paperclip in the top right corner of your screen will show as blue and be available to select.

  14. Step13

    Select the blue paperclip to open the document folder linked to this claim line.

  15. Step14

    To download a copy of the document to your device, select Actions and Print.

  16. Step15

    When presented with the Print screen, from the ‘Destination dropdown list select Save as PDF and then Save.

Guidance

IPSA ensures MPs are resourced appropriately to carry out their parliamentary duties and assures the public that taxpayers’ money is well regulated.

All expenditure of public money must be accounted for and all individuals who spend public money are responsible for providing a suitable audit trail for every purchase.

Our funding handbook (previously called 'evidence requirements') is designed to support all individuals who purchase goods and services with funding from IPSA, either via reimbursement, on the payment card or via another of our services.

IPSA will not pay claims without the appropriate evidence. If a claim does not have enough or the right information, we will return the claim to you and ask for further information.

Our funding handbook outlines what we need for each type. They don't include claims from the security, disability or applied-for contingency budgets. For information about these, contact your account manager.

For guidance on what information should be included on an invoice, please consult the government-produced guidance.

Scheme 2025-26

Check the IPSA funding handbook for claims from 1 April 2025.

Previous scheme

Check evidence requirements for 2024-25.

Most organisations or sole traders who process personal information need to pay a data protection fee to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

On 1 April 2019, elected representatives became exempt from paying the fee, or registering with the ICO, in relation to their functions as an elected representative. This includes when using CCTV for the purpose of crime prevention at their home or office due to their role as an elected representative.

If an elected representative processes personal information for purposes other than those related to their role as an elected representative, they may be required to pay the ICO fee.

Visit the ICO website for further information.

Contact IPSA

To get additional support, contact us.