A disbursement is a form of

payment A payment is the voluntary tender of money or its equivalent or of things of value by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods, or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation. The party making the ...

from a public or dedicated fund. Alternatively, it means a payment made on behalf of a client to a third party for which reimbursement is subsequently sought from the client. It is a term most commonly used by solicitors in the UK to refer to payments which they have made or will make to third parties in connection with the matter they are dealing with on behalf of the client. Section 67 of the

Solicitors Act 1974 The Solicitors Act 1974 (c 47) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom governing the regulation and responsibilities of practicing solicitors, and the firms for whom they work, as well as stipulating under what circumstances one can pr ...

refers to disbursements as "costs payable in discharge of a liability properly incurred by he solicitoron behalf of the party to be charged with the bill". These may include court fees, counsel's fees, fees for medical or other expert reports or search fees in a property transaction. Disbursements paid by an

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as ...

on behalf of a bereaved family generally include

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

crematorium A crematorium or crematory is a venue for the cremation of the dead. Modern crematoria contain at least one cremator (also known as a crematory, retort or cremation chamber), a purpose-built furnace. In some countries a crematorium can also b ...

costs, costs for religious worship and any newspaper announcements. For

VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

purposes, disbursements are defined more narrowly and distinguished from recharges like travelling expenses and postage which are incurred by the business for its own requirements rather than for the customer. VAT is applied to recharges but not to disbursements.HMRC
VAT: costs or disbursements passed to customers
published 1 July 2014, accessed 6 November 2016

References

Taxation in the United Kingdom {{Business-term-stub