Professional Invoice Template for the UK

For VAT-registered businesses, every full VAT invoice issued to a VAT-registered customer must contain these fields. Missing any one of them can invalidate your client's VAT reclaim.

• Your business name and address
• Your VAT registration number — format: GB followed by 9 digits
• A unique, sequential invoice number — HMRC requires an unbroken sequence; gaps can raise compliance questions
• Invoice date
• Date of supply (tax point) if different from the invoice date
• Client's name and address
• Description of goods or services
• Total amount excluding VAT
• VAT rate and VAT amount for each line item
• Total amount including VAT

If you are not VAT-registered, you must not show VAT on your invoice. Issue a standard invoice with your business details and the total amount due.

Since leaving the EU, the UK sets its own VAT rules independently of EU directives. The three rates are:

• 20% (standard rate) — most goods and services: professional services, consulting, software, advertising, general B2B services
• 5% (reduced rate) — domestic energy, children's car seats, some health and welfare products
• 0% (zero-rated) — food (most), children's clothing, books and newspapers, public transport, prescription medicines

Exempt supplies (financial services, insurance, certain education) are different from zero-rated — they are not VAT supplies at all. You cannot reclaim input VAT on costs related to exempt supplies.

Post-Brexit, UK VAT and EU VAT are now separate systems. If you supply goods or services into the EU, EU VAT rules apply on the EU side — and vice versa for EU businesses selling into the UK.

You must register for VAT with HMRC when your taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period. Once registered:

• You must charge VAT on taxable supplies
• You must issue VAT invoices to VAT-registered customers
• You must submit VAT returns (typically quarterly) through Making Tax Digital (MTD) compatible software — HMRC no longer accepts manual VAT return submissions for registered businesses
• You can reclaim VAT on business purchases (input tax)

MTD for Income Tax (MTD IT) expands the digital record-keeping requirement further: from April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000 must keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC through MTD-compatible software. The threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027.

Below the VAT threshold, registration is voluntary but can be worthwhile if your costs carry significant VAT you want to reclaim.

Sole traders and freelancers in the UK have clear invoicing obligations:

• Non-VAT registered: Issue a simple invoice with your name (or trading name), address, invoice date, unique number, description of services, and the amount owed. No VAT should appear.
• VAT registered: Issue a full VAT invoice as detailed above. For retail supplies under £250, a simplified VAT invoice (showing VAT-inclusive total and rate) is acceptable.
• Self Assessment record keeping: Keep copies of all invoices for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year.
• Construction Industry Scheme (CIS): Subcontractors working under CIS have 20% (or 30%) deducted at source by the contractor. Mark this clearly on the invoice as "CIS deduction".
• Limited companies: Must show the registered company name, company number, and registered office address on all invoices — this is a Companies Act requirement separate from VAT rules.