VAT Invoice Template — Free UK Template
A VAT invoice is the document that lets your customer reclaim the tax, which is why HMRC is precise about what goes on it: your VAT registration number, the rate applied to each line, and the VAT total shown as its own figure — not folded into one price. This free VAT invoice template carries every required field, so a VAT-registered sole trader, partnership, or limited company can send a compliant bill without building one from scratch. It also covers the cousins people search for under other names: the simplified invoice for sales of £250 or less, the "VAT receipt" a business customer asks for after paying, and the plain no-VAT invoice for businesses that are not registered at all.
The generator below is pre-filled with a realistic GBP example that charges VAT at the standard 20 percent — edit the names, line items, and rate to match your own sale and download the finished PDF in a minute. Prefer to work in Word or Excel? The same template is free to download in both formats further down the page, with the VAT arithmetic built into the spreadsheet. Under the sample sits a field-by-field walkthrough plus notes on simplified and modified invoices, foreign-currency VAT, the 30-day rule, and selling overseas, so the details that trip people up are all in one place.
What this template looks like
| Description | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitted oak shelving — supply & install | 1 | £640.00 | £640.00 |
| Site survey and measuring visit | 1 | £90.00 | £90.00 |
A sample invoice — every field, from the line items to the tax and notes, is yours to edit in the free generator.
Get this template
How to fill out a VAT invoice
Check that you can issue a VAT invoice
Only a VAT-registered business can issue a VAT invoice, and only a registered business is allowed to charge VAT or show a VAT number. If you are not registered, use the no-VAT invoice template instead and simply bill your price. If you are registered, carry on — every field this walkthrough covers is one HMRC expects to see.
Add your business name, address, and VAT number
Start the supplier block with your business name and address — the registered name for a limited company, your own name plus any trading name for a sole trader. Then add your VAT registration number exactly as HMRC issued it. This is the field a customer's finance team checks before reclaiming the VAT, so a typo here will get the invoice bounced back.
Add the customer's name and address
Bill the entity that actually pays, using its registered name for a business customer rather than the trading name over the door. A full VAT invoice must carry the customer's name and address for them to reclaim the VAT. Add a purchase order or contract reference where the customer uses them, because many accounts teams will not enter an invoice into the payment run without one.
Number it and get the dates right
Give the invoice a unique number from a sequential series — no gaps, no repeats. Show the invoice date, and the tax point where it differs, because the tax point decides which VAT period the sale falls into. Remember the deadline too: a VAT invoice normally has to be issued within 30 days of the supply.
Describe each supply and price it excluding VAT
Give every item or service its own line with a plain description of what you supplied. Show the unit price excluding VAT, the quantity, and the VAT rate for that line. Keep supplies at different rates — standard, reduced, or zero — on separate lines, so the customer can see exactly how the tax on each was worked out.
Total the net, the VAT, and the amount payable
A VAT invoice shows three figures, not one: the total excluding VAT, the VAT amount itself, and the total payable. The generator does the arithmetic once you set the rate — 20 percent for standard-rated work. Resist the urge to show a single VAT-inclusive figure; the separate VAT total is exactly what the customer needs to reclaim it.
Set the payment terms and your bank details
Give the invoice a specific due date rather than "on receipt," and state any late-payment terms you intend to rely on. Add the account name, sort code, and account number the customer should pay, and ask them to quote the invoice number as the reference, so the payment matches itself when it lands.
Keep a copy in your VAT records
Every VAT invoice you issue and receive belongs in your VAT records, kept for six years. Under Making Tax Digital those records are kept digitally, and your VAT return is filed through compatible software. A numbered PDF per invoice in one folder does the job — the failure mode HMRC penalises is missing paperwork, not the tool you kept it in.
Billing tips for VAT invoices
Full, simplified, or modified?
There are three VAT invoice layouts. A full VAT invoice — the one on this page — works for any sale. Where the total including VAT is £250 or less, a simplified invoice with fewer fields is allowed: your details and VAT number, the date, a description, the rate, and the amount payable including VAT. A modified invoice is a retail variant for sales over £250 that shows VAT-inclusive amounts, and the customer has to agree to it. When in doubt, issue the full version — it is never wrong.
A VAT invoice is not quite a VAT receipt
Customers often ask for a "VAT receipt" — proof of a purchase that shows the VAT, so their business can reclaim it. In practice a VAT invoice does that job, and for small amounts a simplified VAT invoice is exactly what shops and cafés hand over. If someone asks you for a VAT receipt after paying, send them the VAT invoice for the sale, or a copy marked as paid, and they have everything HMRC needs.
Charging in euros or dollars? Show the VAT in sterling
You can invoice a customer in any currency, but a UK VAT invoice must also show the total VAT in pounds sterling, converted using an acceptable method such as the market rate or HMRC's published period rates. The cleanest layout keeps the line items in the sale currency and adds a line under the totals stating the sterling VAT amount and the rate used.
Selling to overseas businesses
Many services supplied to business customers overseas are outside the scope of UK VAT, and some cross-border sales fall under a reverse charge, where the customer accounts for the VAT instead of you. In both cases the invoice changes: no UK VAT is added, and a reverse-charge invoice states that the customer accounts for the VAT. The rules turn on what you sell and where the customer belongs, so check the place-of-supply guidance on GOV.UK before you zero a cross-border invoice.
The 30-day clock
A VAT invoice is normally issued within 30 days of supplying the goods or services — or within 30 days of payment, where you were paid first. Miss the window and the tax point rules start working against you, pinning the sale to a period you did not plan for. Invoicing the day the work finishes keeps the deadline, and your cash flow, out of trouble.
What a full VAT invoice must include
- A unique, sequential invoice number
- Your business name, address, and VAT registration number
- The invoice date, and the tax point if it differs
- The customer's name and address
- A description of the goods or services supplied
- For each line: the unit price excluding VAT, quantity, and VAT rate
- The total amount excluding VAT
- The total VAT amount, shown in sterling
- The total amount payable
- The rate of any cash discount offered
A simplified VAT invoice is allowed where the total including VAT is £250 or less, and a VAT invoice should normally be issued within 30 days of the supply. Only a VAT-registered business may issue one.
Frequently asked questions
What is a VAT invoice?
It is an invoice issued by a VAT-registered business that shows the seller's VAT number, the rate of VAT applied to each line, and the VAT total as its own figure alongside the net and gross amounts. The customer needs that document to reclaim the VAT they paid. This template carries every required field — fill it in and the generator totals the net, VAT, and amount payable for you.
Can I issue a VAT invoice if I am not VAT registered?
No. A business that is not registered for VAT must not charge VAT or show a VAT number on any invoice — issuing a document styled as a VAT invoice without being registered is a mistake HMRC takes seriously. Bill your price with no VAT instead; the invoice template without VAT on this site is built for exactly that.
What is the difference between a VAT invoice and a VAT receipt?
A VAT invoice is a request for payment; a VAT receipt is proof of a purchase showing the VAT paid. In practice the same document usually serves both: a full or simplified VAT invoice contains everything a customer needs to reclaim the VAT, whether they pay on terms or paid on the spot. If a customer asks for a VAT receipt, a copy of the VAT invoice marked as paid answers it.
When do I have to issue a VAT invoice?
Whenever you make a standard or reduced-rated sale to another VAT-registered business, and normally within 30 days of the supply. You do not have to issue one for exempt or zero-rated supplies, or to a customer who is not registered — though nothing stops you, and most businesses invoice everyone the same way for consistency.
Which VAT rate do I charge?
Most goods and services take the standard rate of 20 percent. A reduced rate of 5 percent covers a short list — home energy among it — and zero-rated supplies such as most food and children's clothing charge VAT at 0 percent but still count as taxable. The rate belongs to the supply, not to your business, so check the VAT rate lists on GOV.UK for each thing you sell and keep different rates on separate lines.
Can I get this VAT invoice template in Word or Excel?
Yes. Alongside the online generator, this page offers the same template as a Word document you can edit in Word, Pages, or Google Docs, and as an Excel spreadsheet where the net, VAT, and total payable calculate themselves as you type. All three formats are free.
How long do I need to keep VAT invoices?
Six years, as part of your VAT records — copies of every invoice you issue and every one you receive. Under Making Tax Digital those records have to be kept digitally and your returns filed through compatible software, so a tidy folder of numbered PDFs alongside your accounting tool is the practical minimum.
Is this VAT invoice template really free?
Yes — fill it in and download the PDF, Word, or Excel version with no signup and no watermark. If you later want saved customers, repeat invoices, and paid/unpaid tracking on top, the Paid app on iPhone adds those when you need them.
Related templates
United Kingdom
Sole trader and VAT invoices with the fields HMRC expects — free to fill in and download.
No-VAT Invoice
A clean invoice with no VAT and no VAT number — for UK businesses that are not VAT registered.
Limited Company
Registered name, company number, and VAT fields the Companies Act expects — free to fill in and download.
The app goes further
Invoice from your pocket
The free tool here makes a clean one-off PDF; the Paid app on iPhone adds what it deliberately leaves out — saved clients, estimates that convert to invoices in a tap, and tracking for what's paid and what's still owed.