Invoice Requirements by Country: US, UK, EU, UAE, Australia, Canada and India

Fields every invoice needs

Whatever country you are in, these fields make an invoice complete and easy to pay:

• A unique, sequential invoice number.
• The issue date, and the date of supply if it is different.
• Your business name, address and contact details.
• The client's legal name and address, and a purchase order number if they gave you one.
• A clear description of the services, with quantities, unit prices and line totals.
• The subtotal, any discounts, tax, and the total due, with the currency.
• The due date, payment terms and how to pay, such as a payment link or bank details.

If you are registered for VAT or GST, you add your registration number and the tax details. The free invoice generator includes all of these fields and lets you choose the currency.

Requirements at a glance

United States

The US has no federal VAT or GST, and no federal list of mandatory invoice fields for private businesses. Sales tax is set by states and local areas, and whether services are taxable varies a lot: many states tax few professional services, while others tax specific ones such as some digital or data services. If you sell into a state where you have an obligation to collect, show the sales tax as a separate line.

Beyond tax, US clients mainly care about practical details: a clear invoice number, their purchase order number, and payment terms such as Net 30. US businesses that pay contractors usually ask for a Form W-9 from US contractors, or a Form W-8BEN from foreign individuals, before paying. Have those ready so the first invoice is not held up.

United Kingdom

If you are VAT registered, a full VAT invoice must include: a unique sequential number, your name, address and VAT registration number, the invoice date, the time of supply if different, the customer's name and address, a description of the services, the quantity and unit price, the VAT rate, the amount excluding VAT, and the total VAT. HMRC sets this out in VAT Notice 700.

For supplies of £250 or less including VAT, a simplified invoice with fewer details is allowed. If you invoice in another currency, the VAT total must still be shown in sterling. A proforma is not a VAT invoice and should be marked as such; see the proforma invoice generator for when to use one. If you are not VAT registered, issue a normal invoice and do not show VAT.

Services to business customers outside the UK are often outside the scope of UK VAT, because the place of supply is where the customer belongs. Check HMRC's place of supply rules for your service, and add a note explaining why no UK VAT is charged.

European Union

Article 226 of the EU VAT Directive sets the core fields for a VAT invoice across all member states: date of issue, a sequential number, the supplier's VAT ID, the customer's VAT ID where the customer accounts for the VAT, both parties' names and addresses, the quantity and nature of the services, the date of supply if different, the taxable amount per rate, the unit price, the VAT rate and amount, and specific wording where it applies.

That wording matters for cross-border work. When you supply services to a VAT-registered business in another EU country, the general rule is that the customer accounts for the VAT under the reverse charge. Your invoice shows no VAT, includes the customer's VAT ID, and must say "Reverse charge". Check the customer's VAT ID in the European Commission's VIES service before you rely on it.

Each country sets its own VAT rates, registration thresholds, small business rules and language rules, and many are introducing domestic e-invoicing. Treat the Directive as the baseline and check local guidance for the country you are registered in.

United Arab Emirates

VAT in the UAE is 5%. A registered business issuing a full tax invoice must include the words "Tax Invoice", the supplier's name, address and Tax Registration Number (TRN), the recipient's name, address and TRN if they are registered, a sequential invoice number, the date of issue and of supply if different, a description of the services, the unit price, quantity, rate and amount of VAT, any discount, the total payable, and the VAT amount in dirhams with the exchange rate used if you invoice in another currency.

A simplified tax invoice can be used when the recipient is not VAT registered, or when a registered recipient's supply is AED 10,000 or less. Tax invoices should generally be issued within 14 days of the date of supply. Services exported to clients outside the UAE can be zero-rated if the conditions are met. The UAE is also rolling out mandatory e-invoicing in phases from 2026, starting with larger businesses, and simplified invoices will not be available once a business is in scope, so check the Ministry of Finance timeline for your business.

Australia

If you are registered for GST, you must give a tax invoice for taxable sales of A$82.50 or more including GST, within 28 days of the buyer asking for one. A tax invoice needs to show that it is intended to be a tax invoice, your identity and ABN, the issue date, a description of what was sold including quantity and price, the GST amount (or a statement that the total includes GST), and the extent to which each item is taxable. For sales of A$1,000 or more, it must also show the buyer's identity or ABN.

If you are not registered for GST, usually because turnover is under the A$75,000 threshold, you issue an invoice without GST and should not call it a tax invoice. Exports of services to overseas clients can be GST-free if the ATO's conditions are met.

Canada

Canada uses GST, or HST in participating provinces, and some provinces add PST or QST. The information a registrant must give a business customer increases with the size of the sale. For small amounts, the supplier's name, the date and the total are enough. Above a lower threshold, you add your GST/HST registration number and the tax charged. Above a higher threshold, you also add the buyer's name, a description of the supply and the payment terms. The thresholds were updated in 2021, so check the Canada Revenue Agency's current input tax credit guidance for the exact figures.

Services exported to non-residents can be zero-rated in many cases. If you charge interest on late invoices, state it as an annual rate: under the federal Interest Act, a rate not expressed per year can limit what you recover to 5% a year.

India

A GST tax invoice includes the supplier's GSTIN, a unique serial number, the date, the recipient's name, address and GSTIN if registered, the SAC code for services, a description, the taxable value, the tax rate and amount split into CGST and SGST for supplies within a state or IGST for supplies between states, and the place of supply. E-invoicing through the Invoice Registration Portal is mandatory for businesses whose aggregate annual turnover is above ₹5 crore.

Exports of services can be zero-rated. Many exporters supply under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) without paying IGST, and the invoice states that the supply is meant for export under LUT without payment of IGST.

Invoicing clients abroad

A short checklist for international invoices:

• Decide the tax treatment first. Is the service taxed where you are, where the client is, or zero-rated as an export? The answer decides what the invoice shows.
• Add the right note. "Reverse charge" for EU and UK B2B services where the customer accounts for VAT, or an export or zero-rating note where that applies.
• Collect the client's tax ID at onboarding, and check EU VAT IDs in VIES.
• Be clear about currency. State it on the invoice, and show tax in local currency where your country requires it.
• Give international bank details. IBAN and BIC/SWIFT for Europe, or a payment link so the client can pay by card.
• Match your payment terms to the client's process. Large companies often need a PO number and supplier setup before they can pay.

Need a deposit before the work starts? A proforma invoice or quote is the usual first step, followed by the invoice and, once paid, a receipt. If a client pays late, the payment reminder templates and late fee calculator help.

E-invoicing is coming

More countries are moving from PDF invoices to structured e-invoices that are sent through approved networks or reported to the tax authority. In the EU, several countries are introducing domestic B2B e-invoicing mandates, and the VAT in the Digital Age package brings digital reporting for cross-border B2B transactions from 1 July 2030. India already requires e-invoicing above its turnover threshold, and the UAE is phasing in a national system. Australia supports Peppol e-invoicing on a voluntary basis.

Timelines move, so treat these as signals rather than dates to plan around, and check your tax authority's site before each financial year.

Invoicing in Arpixa

In Arpixa invoices, currency is set per invoice, so you can bill one client in GBP and another in USD from the same workspace. You can choose VAT, GST, TDS or a custom tax per invoice, add per-line discounts, and record advances. Arpixa does not convert currencies or file tax returns, and it does not decide the tax treatment for you, so check each invoice against the rules above for your country.

Invoices sit on the client record, clients can pay from the portal, and overdue reminders go out on a schedule you set.

This guide is a summary for service businesses, not tax or legal advice. Rules, rates and thresholds change, and special rules apply to consumers, digital services and some industries. Check the official guidance from HMRC, the European Commission, the UAE Federal Tax Authority, the ATO, the CRA, your US state revenue department or the GST portal, or ask an accountant.

Frequently asked questions