Invoicing
VAT on invoices
Vatly team · August 2026 · Confirm exact requirements with your tax authority
A VAT invoice is the document your customer needs to reclaim the VAT you charged, so the rules exist to make that possible. This guide walks through the standard fields used across the EU and UK, with a complete example at the end. Requirements vary slightly by country, and your tax authority's guidance is the final word.
The essential fields
- your full name or business name and address,
- your VAT registration number,
- the date of issue and a sequential invoice number,
- your customer's name and address (and their VAT number for business customers),
- a description of the goods or services,
- the quantity and unit price,
- the net amount, the VAT rate, and the VAT amount, and
- the total payable.
The VAT number matters most. An invoice without it is not a valid VAT invoice, and your customer cannot reclaim the tax. If you are not registered, you cannot issue a VAT invoice at all, because there is no number to put on it.
Showing the tax
When you charge more than one rate (say 20% and 5%), list the net amount and VAT separately per rate rather than mixing them. A single line per rate, or a summary table at the bottom, both work. The requirement is that the tax authority can see exactly how much VAT sits in the total.
Zero rated supplies appear with a 0% line, clearly labelled. Exempt supplies are outside the VAT system and usually get their own line without VAT. Confusing the two is one of the most common invoice errors.
A complete example
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Supplier | Northlight Studio Ltd, 14 Market Row, Leeds LS1 2AB, GB 123 4567 89 |
| Customer | Harbour Coffee Co, 3 Dock Street, Liverpool L1 4AA |
| Invoice | INV-2026-0148, issued 12 August 2026 |
| Line 1 | Brand identity, 1 x 900.00 net (20%) |
| Line 2 | Print production, 40 x 12.50 net (5%) |
| Net | 1,400.00 |
| VAT | 180.00 + 25.00 = 205.00 |
| Total | 1,605.00 |
The invoice calculator builds the totals for you line by line, with your country's standard rate and currency, and a copy button for the summary. The formatting and the fields are yours to arrange; the numbers will be right.
Digital and simplified invoices
Electronic invoices are standard now, and most authorities accept PDFs and structured formats as long as the content is complete and unaltered. Some countries allow simplified invoices for small amounts, with fewer fields. None of this changes the core: the invoice must identify the supplier, the customer and the tax.