How to Write a VAT Invoice (UK and EU): Required Details and a Worked Example
Published 5 November 2026 · Sources linked inline
If you are VAT-registered and sell standard-rated or reduced-rated goods or services to another VAT-registered business, you normally must issue a VAT invoice within 30 days of the supply (HMRC VAT Notice 700/21, section 3). Only VAT-registered businesses can issue VAT invoices.
What a full UK VAT invoice must show
According to HMRC Notice 700/21, section 4.1:
- A sequential number that uniquely identifies the invoice
- The time of supply (tax point)
- The date of issue, if different from the time of supply
- Your name, address and VAT registration number
- The customer's name and address
- A description that identifies the goods or services
- For each description: the quantity, the unit price, the VAT rate and the amount excluding VAT
- The total excluding VAT
- The rate of any cash discount offered
- The total VAT, shown in sterling
Current UK rates are 20% standard, 5% reduced and 0% zero (gov.uk VAT rates).
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Open the Invoice VAT Calculator →Simplified invoices (£250 or less)
If the total including VAT is £250 or less, you may issue a simplified invoice showing your name, address and VAT number, the time of supply, a description, and the total payable including VAT for each VAT rate. Above £250 you must issue a full or modified VAT invoice (HMRC 700/21, sections 4.4–4.5).
Worked example
A UK web designer invoices a VAT-registered client:
| Description | Qty | Unit price | VAT rate | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website design | 1 | £1,200.00 | 20% | £1,200.00 |
| Monthly hosting | 3 | £25.00 | 20% | £75.00 |
| Printed brochure (zero-rated) | 100 | £1.50 | 0% | £150.00 |
- Net total: £1,425.00
- VAT at 20% on £1,275.00: £255.00
- VAT at 0% on £150.00: £0.00
- Total due: £1,680.00
Showing VAT per rate makes the invoice easy for your client to check and claim.
EU invoices
Across the EU, the required contents are set by the VAT Directive 2006/112/EC, Article 226 (EUR-Lex). They are similar to the UK list: date of issue, sequential number, supplier's VAT number, names and addresses, quantity and nature of goods or services, date of supply, taxable amount per rate, unit price, VAT rate and VAT amount. The customer's VAT number is also required for intra-EU supplies and reverse-charge sales, and reverse-charge invoices must say "Reverse charge". Member states add their own details, so check your national tax authority's guidance.
This guide is general information, not tax advice.