Tax Invoice vs Regular Invoice: UK, Australia, NZ, US

The difference is not the paper, it is who issues it and what it proves. Only a business registered for VAT or GST can issue a tax invoice, and only the tax invoice lets a registered customer claim the tax back. If you are not registered, every invoice you send is a regular invoice, however it is laid out. This guide sets the rules for the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the US side by side, works one job through all four, and is precise about what an InvoiceQuickly PDF can and cannot be used as today.

What is the difference between a tax invoice and a regular invoice?

A tax invoice is a regular invoice plus the tax details the law requires, issued by a seller registered for VAT or GST. It does two jobs: it asks for payment, and it is the evidence a registered buyer keeps to reclaim the VAT or GST they paid. A regular invoice only does the first job.

	Regular invoice	Tax invoice (VAT or GST invoice)
Who can issue it	Any business	Only a business registered for VAT or GST
Main purpose	Request payment and record the sale	Request payment and let a registered buyer claim the tax back
Shows tax	No VAT or GST (a US invoice may show state sales tax)	VAT or GST rate and amount
Seller's tax number	Not required	Required (UK VAT number, Australian ABN, NZ GST number above NZ$200)
Legal content rules	Few or none, though good practice applies	Set by the tax authority; missing details can stop the buyer's claim
When it is needed	Whenever you want to be paid	When a registered customer needs it, within a set time

The naming varies more than the substance. HMRC says "VAT invoice", the Australian Taxation Office says "tax invoice", and New Zealand's Inland Revenue now says "taxable supply information". For a wider view of the two tax systems, see VAT vs GST.

Which countries require a tax invoice, and what is it called?

Jurisdiction	Name	Who must issue it	Must the document say "tax invoice"?	Time limit	Official source
United Kingdom	VAT invoice	VAT-registered sellers, for standard- or reduced-rated supplies to VAT-registered customers	No	Normally within 30 days of the time of supply	HMRC VAT Notice 700, section 16
Australia	Tax invoice	GST-registered sellers, for taxable sales over A$82.50 including GST, or on request	Yes	Within 28 days of a request	business.gov.au: Invoicing; ATO: Tax invoices
New Zealand	Taxable supply information (TSI)	GST-registered sellers, for supplies over NZ$200 to a GST-registered buyer who asks	No; "tax invoice" may still be used	Within 28 days of a request	Inland Revenue: How TSI works
United States	No federal equivalent	n/a	n/a	n/a	Sales tax is set by each state

The EU applies its own VAT invoice rules through each member state; our VAT invoicing guide covers the UK and EU in more depth.

What must a UK VAT invoice show?

HMRC's VAT Notice 700 (section 16, last updated 25 June 2026) says that whenever you supply standard-rated or reduced-rated goods or services to another VAT-registered person, you must give them a VAT invoice, normally within 30 days of the time of supply. You do not have to issue VAT invoices for zero-rated supplies or to customers who are not VAT-registered, and HMRC notes that an invoice for a zero-rated supply is not a VAT invoice.

A full VAT invoice must show:

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.
Your customer's name and address.
A description that identifies the goods or services.
For each description: the quantity or extent, the VAT rate and the amount excluding VAT.
The total amount excluding VAT.
The rate of any cash discount offered.
The total VAT, shown in sterling even if the invoice is in another currency.
The unit price, where the supply can be counted (an hourly rate counts).

For supplies of £250 or less, and only if your customer agrees, you can issue a simplified VAT invoice with your name, address and VAT number, the time of supply, a description, and for each VAT rate the total including VAT and the rate. Retailers must issue a full VAT invoice for sales over £250, or for smaller sales when the customer asks. HMRC does not require the heading "VAT invoice" or "tax invoice"; a document is a VAT invoice because of what it contains. The standard VAT rate is 20% (GOV.UK: VAT rates). For the wider list of what any UK invoice should carry, see UK invoice requirements.

What must an Australian tax invoice show?

In Australia the label matters. The Australian Government's business.gov.au guidance says a GST-registered business needs a tax invoice when a taxable sale is more than A$82.50 including GST, and that if a customer asks for one, whatever the amount, you have 28 days to provide it. GST is 10% on most goods and services, and registration is required once GST turnover reaches A$75,000 (business.gov.au: Register for GST).

A tax invoice must include:

The words "tax invoice" (the ATO frames this as showing the document is intended to be a tax invoice).
Your business name.
Your ABN.
The date of issue.
A short description of what you sold, including quantity and price.
The GST amount payable, if any.
The extent to which each sale on the invoice is taxable.

For sales of A$1,000 or more, the invoice must also show the buyer's identity or ABN. If you are not registered for GST, business.gov.au says your invoices should use the word "invoice" and must not use "tax invoice". That is the clearest dividing line of any country on this page. More detail sits in Australian invoice requirements.

How did New Zealand change tax invoices in 2023?

From 1 April 2023, New Zealand replaced the requirement to issue tax invoices with a general requirement to provide and keep "taxable supply information" (TSI). Inland Revenue says you can keep calling the document a tax invoice if you like; the label is no longer what counts. GST is 15% (Inland Revenue: GST).

What the TSI must contain depends on the value of the supply (Inland Revenue, page last updated 31 March 2026):

Supply value	Seller details	Amounts	Buyer details
NZ$200 or less	Name or trade name, date, description	The consideration (price)	Not required
Over NZ$200 to NZ$1,000	As above plus your GST number	GST-exclusive amount, GST amount and GST-inclusive amount, or the GST-inclusive amount with a statement that GST is included	Not required
Over NZ$1,000	As above	As above	If the buyer is GST-registered: their name plus at least one identifier (address, phone, email, NZBN or website)

For supplies over NZ$200, you must provide TSI to a GST-registered buyer within 28 days of their request, or by another date you both agree.

Is there a tax invoice in the United States?

No. The US has no federal VAT or GST, so there is no federal "tax invoice" and no federal rule on invoice content for tax purposes. Sales tax is set by individual states, and local areas can add their own. A US invoice that shows a sales tax line is still a regular invoice; its purpose is to bill the customer and record the tax you collected, not to let the buyer claim it back. If you sell into a state where you collect sales tax, check that state's revenue department for what your records must show. A US business billing a VAT-registered client abroad is usually not registered for that country's VAT and so issues a regular invoice.

Worked example: one job invoiced four ways

Inputs: 8 hours of consulting at 125 per hour, so 1,000 before tax, sent to a business customer who is registered for VAT or GST where relevant. Each column assumes the seller is registered in that country except the last.

	UK VAT invoice	Australian tax invoice	NZ taxable supply information	Regular invoice (seller not registered)
Net amount	£1,000.00	A$1,000.00	NZ$1,000.00	£1,000.00
Tax rate	20% VAT	10% GST	15% GST	None
Tax amount	£200.00	A$100.00	NZ$150.00	None
Total due	£1,200.00	A$1,100.00	NZ$1,150.00	£1,000.00
Heading	Any ("Invoice" is fine)	Must say "tax invoice"	Any	"Invoice"; in Australia must not say "tax invoice"
Seller's tax number	VAT registration number	ABN	GST number (over NZ$200)	Not required
Buyer details	Name and address	Identity or ABN (sale is A$1,000 or more)	Name plus one identifier (over NZ$1,000, registered buyer)	Name, as good practice
Time limit	Within 30 days of the tax point	Within 28 days of a request	Within 28 days of a request	None, but invoice promptly
What the buyer can do with it	Reclaim £200 input VAT	Claim A$100 GST credit	Claim NZ$150 input tax	Pay; nothing to reclaim

Two things stand out. The same A$1,100 job is above Australia's A$1,000 line, so the buyer's identity or ABN becomes mandatory; at A$900 it would not be. And the regular invoice is £200 cheaper for the customer only if they could not have reclaimed the VAT; a VAT-registered buyer is largely indifferent, apart from cash flow, because they claim it back.

What can an InvoiceQuickly invoice be used as?

InvoiceQuickly produces a PDF headed "INVOICE" with your business name, invoice number, issue and due dates, your name, email and address, the customer's name, email and address, line items with quantity, rate and amount, a subtotal, one discount line, one "Tax (x%)" line, the total, and free-text Notes and Terms. New invoice PDFs copy the business tax ID from settings and the selected saved client's tax ID, and you cannot change the "INVOICE" heading. With that in mind:

Use	Works today?	What to do
Regular invoice anywhere	Yes	No extra steps; the PDF has the usual payment details
US invoice with sales tax	Yes, for one rate	Enter the sales tax as the invoice's single tax percentage
UK VAT invoice	Possible, with manual additions	Type your VAT registration number (and the time of supply, if it differs from the issue date) into Notes. The tax line reads "Tax (20%)", not "VAT", and one rate applies to the whole invoice, so mixed-rate or partly zero-rated invoices cannot be produced. Invoice in GBP so the VAT total is in sterling
Australian tax invoice	Not suitable today	The heading cannot say "tax invoice" and the ABN is copied to new invoice PDFs. Writing them into Notes may not meet the ATO's requirements; check with the ATO or your adviser before relying on it
NZ taxable supply information	Limited: no NZ dollars	The editor has no NZD currency option, so NZ$ invoices cannot be produced. For single-rate supplies invoiced in a supported currency, save your GST number as the business tax ID before creating the invoice; the PDF shows the GST-exclusive subtotal, the tax amount and the total, and the buyer name and address print in Bill To
E-invoices (Peppol and similar)	No	InvoiceQuickly produces PDFs only

Two more details matter for record keeping. InvoiceQuickly numbers are unique and run in sequence, and new estimates and credit notes now have separate counters; historical gaps remain. And credit notes against an invoice are available on Pro. If you need software that handles per-line tax rates or structured tax-authority formats, compare options on our comparison pages before you choose. See what InvoiceQuickly does include on the features page.

Common mistakes when issuing tax invoices

The errors that cause most trouble are simple ones:

Charging VAT or GST before you are registered. Until you are registered, your invoices are regular invoices. In Australia, labelling one "tax invoice" is specifically ruled out.
Leaving out your tax number. A UK VAT invoice without your VAT registration number, or an Australian tax invoice without your ABN, is missing a required detail.
Missing the buyer's details above the threshold. Australia from A$1,000; New Zealand over NZ$1,000 for a registered buyer.
Treating a proforma as a tax invoice. A proforma invoice is a quote or advance notice, not a tax document.
Deleting a wrong invoice. Correct it with a credit note and a new invoice so your numbering stays traceable; see invoice numbering systems.
Showing VAT in a foreign currency only. HMRC requires the total VAT in sterling.

Limitations of this guide

This guide covers business-to-business sales by sellers registered in the UK, Australia or New Zealand, and US sellers generally. It does not cover reverse charge, margin schemes, imports and exports, self-billing, retail till receipts in detail, or e-invoicing mandates, all of which change what an invoice must show. It is not legal or tax advice: check the current guidance from HMRC, the ATO, Inland Revenue or your state revenue department, or ask an accountant, before you rely on a format. Thresholds and rates are as published on the pages linked above when we last reviewed this guide on 27 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is a VAT invoice the same as a tax invoice?

Yes, in practice. "VAT invoice" is the UK and EU term and "tax invoice" is the Australian and Asian GST term for the same idea: an invoice from a registered seller that shows the tax so a registered buyer can claim it back. The required details differ by country, so follow the rules where you are registered.

Do I need to issue a tax invoice if I am not registered for VAT or GST?

No. Until you are registered for VAT or GST you do not charge it, and your invoices are regular invoices. In Australia, business.gov.au says a business that is not registered must not use the words "tax invoice".

Does a tax invoice have to say "tax invoice"?

Only in some countries. Australia requires it. The UK does not require any particular heading for a VAT invoice, and New Zealand stopped requiring the label on 1 April 2023, although you can still use it.

What is the difference between an invoice and a receipt?

An invoice asks for payment; a receipt confirms payment was made. In the UK, HMRC lets a retailer use a retailers' VAT invoice for sales of £250 or less and adapt a card payment voucher to serve as one. See invoice vs receipt for more.

Can a US business issue a tax invoice?

Not in the federal sense, because the US has no national VAT or GST. A US invoice can show state sales tax and is still a regular invoice. If a US business is registered for VAT or GST in another country, it follows that country's invoice rules for those sales.

How long do I have to issue a tax invoice?

In the UK, normally within 30 days of the time of supply. In Australia and New Zealand, within 28 days of the customer asking for one. Check the authority's guidance for the exceptions.

Can I use InvoiceQuickly to issue a UK VAT invoice?

You can include the required details by typing your VAT registration number into the Notes field, invoicing in GBP and using one VAT rate for the whole invoice. The PDF labels the tax line "Tax" and copies the business tax ID from settings to new invoice PDFs. Invoices that mix VAT rates or include zero-rated lines need separate invoices or other software.