What to put on an invoice, country by country

The list that works almost everywhere

If your invoice has the items below, it will be accepted by most business clients in most countries. The country sections after this add what local tax rules ask for on top.

• The word "Invoice", and in some countries "Tax invoice" (see Australia).
• A unique invoice number from one unbroken sequence.
• The issue date, and the due date or payment terms.
• Your name or business name, address and contact email.
• Your tax registration number, if you have one (VAT, GST, sales tax, ABN).
• The client's legal name and address.
• A description of each item of work, with quantity, unit price and line total.
• The subtotal, any tax shown separately with its rate, and the total due.
• The currency.
• How to pay: bank details or a payment link, and the reference to use.

This guide is general information based on what the tax authorities in each country publish. Rules change, thresholds move and your situation may have exceptions. For anything that decides how much tax you charge, check with your tax office or an accountant.

United States

There is no federal law that lists what a business-to-business invoice must contain. In practice, clients expect the items above, and the real requirements come from state sales tax rules and from the paperwork your client needs.

Sales tax is set by each state, and in many places by cities and counties too. Many states do not tax most professional services, but some tax a wide range of them, and digital products are treated differently from state to state. If you do charge sales tax, show it as a separate line with the rate.

Paperwork that sits around the invoice matters more than the invoice layout:

• US clients will usually ask a US freelancer for a Form W-9 before the first payment, so they can report what they paid you to the IRS on a Form 1099.
• If you are outside the US and bill a US company, they will often ask for a Form W-8BEN instead.
• Some clients set you up in a vendor portal and only accept invoices uploaded there. Ask before the first invoice.

Late fees in the US depend on state law and on what you agreed in writing. Put the fee or interest rate in your contract and on the invoice, not only in a reminder.

United Kingdom

If you are not registered for VAT, a normal invoice with the items in the first list is fine. Do not show a VAT line and do not invent a VAT number. You have to register once your VAT-taxable turnover goes over the threshold, which has been £90,000 since April 2024. GOV.UK's VAT registration page has the current figure.

If you trade as a sole trader under a business name, the business names rules ask you to show your own name and an address on invoices as well. A limited company must show its registered name, and the Companies House disclosure rules also cover the company number and registered office on business documents.

Once you are VAT registered, a full VAT invoice needs:

• A unique, sequential invoice number.
• The invoice date, and the time of supply (tax point) if it is different.
• Your name, address and VAT registration number.
• The customer's name and address.
• A description of the goods or services.
• For each type of item: the quantity, the price excluding VAT, and the VAT rate.
• The total excluding VAT, the total VAT charged, and any discount.

HMRC allows a simplified VAT invoice for retail sales of £250 or less, including VAT, but most freelance work goes to businesses and uses the full version. You normally have 30 days from the time of supply to issue a VAT invoice.

For late payment between businesses, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you claim statutory interest and a fixed sum. My payment terms guide covers the numbers.

European Union

VAT invoice content across the EU comes from Article 226 of the VAT Directive (2006/112/EC). Each country writes it into its own law and may add details, but the shared core is:

• The date of issue and a sequential number that identifies the invoice uniquely.
• Your VAT identification number.
• The customer's VAT number where they are liable for the tax, which covers reverse-charge sales to businesses in other EU countries.
• Both parties' full names and addresses.
• The quantity and nature of the goods or the extent and nature of the services.
• The date of supply, if it differs from the invoice date.
• The taxable amount per rate or exemption, the unit price excluding VAT, and any discounts.
• The VAT rate and the VAT amount payable.
• When you do not charge VAT, the reason, for example an exemption or "Reverse charge".

The reverse charge is the one freelancers meet most. If you are VAT registered in one EU country and bill a VAT-registered business in another, for most services you do not charge your local VAT. The client accounts for VAT in their country instead. Your invoice shows a VAT amount of zero, both VAT numbers, and the words "Reverse charge". Check the client's VAT number on the European Commission's VIES service before you rely on it.

Small business schemes exist in most EU countries. If you use one, you usually charge no VAT and add a note that cites the exemption. The wording is set nationally.

Germany

German invoice rules are in section 14 of the VAT Act (UStG). On top of the EU list, the points that trip people up are:

• Your tax number (Steuernummer) or your VAT ID (USt-IdNr.). One of them must be on the invoice.
• The date of supply or service (Leistungsdatum or Leistungszeitraum), even if it is the same month as the invoice. Many invoices state "Leistungsdatum entspricht Rechnungsdatum" when they match.
• The net amount split by tax rate, the tax rate, and the tax amount.

If you are a small business owner under section 19 UStG (Kleinunternehmer), you charge no VAT and say so on the invoice, commonly with a line like "Gemäß § 19 UStG wird keine Umsatzsteuer berechnet." Since 2025, the scheme applies if your turnover was no more than €25,000 in the previous year and stays under €100,000 in the current year.

Invoices up to €250 gross can be issued as a small-amount invoice (Kleinbetragsrechnung) with fewer details: your name and address, the date, the description, the gross amount and the tax rate.

Two things that are often mixed up:

• DIN 5008 is a layout standard for business letters: margins, the address field for window envelopes, the position of the date and reference lines. It is not a legal requirement for an invoice, but German clients are used to it, and an invoice laid out this way fits their envelopes and filing.
• E-invoicing. Since 1 January 2025, businesses in Germany must be able to receive structured e-invoices (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD) for domestic B2B sales. The duty to issue them comes in stages: from 2027 for businesses with more than €800,000 turnover in the previous year, and from 2028 for everyone else. Small-business-scheme invoices and invoices up to €250 are exempt. Until your deadline, a PDF is still accepted when the client agrees.

Keep invoices for eight years. The period was cut from ten years in 2025, for every invoice whose old ten-year period had not run out by then. Account books and annual accounts still need ten.

Canada

If your taxable revenue goes over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over the last four consecutive calendar quarters, you have to register for GST/HST. Below that you are a small supplier and registration is optional. In Quebec, the QST is separate and has its own registration number.

The Canada Revenue Agency sets what an invoice must show for the client to claim input tax credits, and it depends on the amount:

These thresholds have applied since April 2021. Most freelance invoices are over $500, so use the full list. Show GST or HST on its own line with the rate, and add the QST line and number for Quebec clients if you are registered there.

Australia

You must register for GST once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 a year. Registration needs an ABN.

If you are registered, sales of more than $82.50 including GST need a tax invoice when the client asks for one, and you have to provide it within 28 days of the request. In practice, send a tax invoice every time. A tax invoice must show:

• That it is intended to be a tax invoice, usually with "Tax invoice" as the title.
• Your identity and your ABN.
• The date of issue.
• A brief description of what you sold, with quantity and price.
• The GST amount, if any, or a statement that the total includes GST.
• The extent to which each sale is taxable.
• For sales of $1,000 or more, the buyer's identity or ABN as well.

If you are not registered for GST, do not call it a tax invoice and do not add GST. Do put your ABN on it. If a business pays you without an ABN quoted, it may have to withhold tax from your payment at the top rate and send it to the ATO.

Billing a client in another country

Cross-border invoices are where most mistakes happen. A few habits help:

• Invoice in the currency you agreed and use the three-letter code (EUR, USD, GBP). Say who pays the bank fees. More in invoicing international clients.
• Use English, or your language plus English. If your tax office requires its own language, put both on the invoice.
• Add the client's tax or VAT number when there is one, and the reverse-charge note where it applies.
• For international transfers, give your IBAN and BIC/SWIFT, and make sure the account name matches the name on the invoice.

If a client wants to pay in cryptocurrency, the same invoice rules apply. The amount still needs a value in your reporting currency for your records. The crypto invoice generator puts the wallet address, the network and a dated rate on the PDF.

How long to keep invoices

Every country expects you to keep copies. The periods differ: six years for VAT records in the UK, six years in Canada, five years in Australia, eight years for invoices in Germany, and at least three years for most records in the US, longer in some cases. Keep the PDF you sent, not a version you regenerated later, because the copy you keep should match the one the client received.

The free invoice generator has fields for all of the above: your tax number, the client's VAT number, a tax line with your own rate, and a free-text note for reverse-charge or exemption wording. Pick your trade from the invoice templates if you want example lines to start from.

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