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UK VAT invoice template and requirements

For standard-rated or reduced-rated supplies between VAT-registered businesses, a normal invoice is not enough. Here is what HMRC expects on a full VAT invoice, when the shorter version is allowed, and a free template for straightforward invoices.

What a full VAT invoice must show

VAT Notice 700 sets out the details a full VAT invoice has to carry. Miss one and your customer may not be able to reclaim the VAT, which is how a missing field turns into a phone call and a late payment.

  • A sequential number that uniquely identifies the invoice
  • Your name, address and VAT registration number
  • The customer's name and address
  • The time of supply (the tax point)
  • The date of issue, when it differs from the tax point
  • A description sufficient to identify the goods or services
  • The quantity of goods or extent of the services
  • The unit price excluding VAT
  • The rate of any cash discount offered
  • The rate of VAT chargeable
  • The total before VAT
  • The total VAT chargeable, expressed in sterling
  • The total amount payable, including VAT

The tax point matters. The time of supply is not always the same as the invoice date — it decides which VAT period the sale falls into. If they differ, show both.

Simplified VAT invoices

You can issue a simplified VAT invoice when the value of the supply is£250 or less and the customer agrees. If your business is based in Northern Ireland, this option is not available for a customer in an EU member state. The invoice still has to identify you as the supplier, show the tax point, describe the goods or services, and show the VAT-inclusive total and rate for each applicable VAT rate.

If any of those conditions do not apply, issue the full version. When in doubt, issue the full version.

Rates and how to show them

Show VAT separately rather than folding it into a single figure. If you are invoicing a mix of rates — some standard-rated work and some zero-rated — split the lines so each rate is visible, and show a VAT total for each.

If you are not VAT registered, do not show VAT as charged and do not add a VAT registration number. You can state that you are not VAT registered, but the total must not imply that it includes VAT you collected from the customer.

Fill in a VAT invoice now

The free invoice template has fields for your VAT number, the supply date, unit prices and one VAT rate that calculates the VAT amount and total. It is intended for straightforward GBP invoices where every line uses the same VAT rate. Nothing is uploaded and there is no signup.

For mixed VAT rates, foreign-currency VAT invoices, margin schemes or other special cases, use invoicing software that supports those rules or ask an accountant. If you send straightforward invoices regularly, Invoice Easy saves your clients, sequences invoice numbers automatically and keeps a view of what is still unpaid.

Related guides

General information, not tax advice. The requirements above are drawn from VAT Notice 700 sections 16.3 and 16.6. Rules change — check the current guidance, or ask your accountant, before relying on this.