Skip to main content
document type

Expense Invoice Template

An expense invoice bills a client for costs you paid while working for them: a hotel for an on-site visit, miles driven to their premises, printing, a licence bought for their project, a filing fee paid in their name. It is not an employee expense report. An expense report is an internal claim from an employee to an employer; an expense invoice goes from your business to a client and is a request for payment like any other invoice. What makes it different from a fee invoice is the evidence behind each line. For every cost it shows the date, what it was, who you paid, a receipt or supplier invoice reference, what you paid and whether you are billing it at cost or with a markup your contract allows. Mileage shows the trips, the miles and the rate per mile. The download is an editable HTML invoice with an invoice number, dates, a line table and totals, plus labelled fields for these details. Fill it in your browser, then print it or save it as PDF.

Draft this invoice
Preview this editable document

Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.

What This Template Includes

  • Project, engagement or period the costs relate to
  • Contract clause or written approval that allows these costs to be rebilled
  • Client PO number or cost centre, if they use one
  • Category: travel, lodging, mileage, materials, third-party fee
  • Amount paid, and the receipt currency if it differs
  • Billing basis: at cost, or the markup percentage the contract allows
  • Mileage: dates, start and end points, miles and rate per mile
  • Costs paid as the client's agent (UK disbursements), listed apart from recharged costs
  • How copies of receipts are provided to the client

How to Create Your Expense Invoice

  1. 01

    Describe your work

    Type a plain English description of the services you provided, the client, and the amount.

  2. 02

    AI generates your invoice

    InvoiceQuickly's AI drafts the client, line items, dates, and totals for you to review before saving.

  3. 03

    Review, download, and send

    Check every detail, download the PDF, or use Pro to email the PDF directly to your client.

Recommended Payment Terms

Use the same terms as your fee invoices unless the contract says otherwise. Two choices matter more for expenses. First, timing: bill expenses with the fee invoice for the same period, or on a separate expense invoice as soon as a large cost lands, such as flights booked months ahead, so you are not carrying the client's costs for 60 days. Agree a threshold in the contract, for example 'costs over $500 are billed when incurred'. Second, approval: many clients require pre-approval for travel or any single cost above a set amount, and their accounts-payable team will reject a line that has no approval behind it. Put the approval date or email reference in the line description or the notes. Print the actual due date on the invoice rather than only 'net 30'.

Need help writing payment terms? Read our guide to invoice payment terms for best practices and templates.

Tax Information

Tax on a rebilled cost usually follows your own service, not the supplier's receipt. United Kingdom: under HMRC VAT Notice 700, section 25, you can leave a payment out of the value of your own supply as a disbursement only if all the listed conditions are met, including that you paid as the client's agent, the client received and used the goods or services, the client authorised the payment and was responsible for it, the outlay is itemised separately and you recover only the exact amount you paid. HMRC says this usually rules out your own travel, subsistence, phone and postage costs. Those are recharges: part of your supply, so a VAT-registered business adds VAT at the same rate as its fee. United States: whether reimbursed expenses are taxed depends on the state and on whether your service is taxable. The Texas Comptroller, for example, says airfare, meals and hotel costs passed on to a customer in connection with a taxable service are part of the taxable sales price. Check your own state's revenue department. InvoiceQuickly applies one tax percentage to the whole invoice and copies saved tax IDs to new invoice PDFs. If only some lines are taxable, calculate that tax yourself and enter it as its own line with the invoice tax set to 0%. General information, not tax advice.

Industry context (2026)

Two official figures changed in 2026 that affect expense invoices. In the United States, the IRS set the business standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents per mile from 1 January 2026, then raised it to 76 cents per mile for business driving on or after 1 July 2026 because of fuel prices; the 2025 rate was 70 cents. Contracts that say 'mileage at the IRS rate' therefore need the trip date on every mileage line. In the United Kingdom, HMRC VAT Notice 700, section 25, lists eight conditions a payment must meet to be treated as a disbursement for VAT, and states that the condition that the client received and used the goods or services usually prevents a supplier's own travel, subsistence, phone and postage costs from qualifying. Neither country prescribes a layout for an expense invoice: the receipt references, the billing basis and the dates are what let a client approve it. Figures checked on 28 October 2026 on irs.gov and gov.uk; general information, not tax advice.

Worked example

Worked example (illustrative costs, not market data): a US management consultant runs a two-day workshop at a client's regional office on 14 and 15 October 2026. The contract says travel and lodging are billed at cost, mileage at the IRS business standard rate, and printed materials at cost plus a 10% handling fee. Expense invoice INV-0031 is dated 20 October, net 30, so it is due 19 November, and quotes the client's PO 7740. Line 1: mileage, office to client site and back, 14 and 15 October, 184 miles × $0.76 = $139.84. Line 2: hotel, 2 nights × $189.00, folio 88213 = $378.00. Line 3: airport and site parking, receipts P-2201 and P-2207 = $42.00. Line 4: workshop packs, PrintCo invoice 5512, at cost = $96.50. Line 5: handling fee on line 4, 10% per contract = $9.65. Subtotal $665.99; tax 0%, because consulting is not taxed in this consultant's state; total due $665.99. Notes: 'PO 7740. Approved by J. Ortiz by email on 2 October. Receipt copies sent with this invoice.' Two checks come from the numbers. The trip fell after 1 July 2026, so the rate is 76 cents; at the first-half rate of 72.5 cents the mileage line would be $133.40, $6.44 less. And because the handling fee is its own line, the client sees $96.50 matches the printer's invoice. A UK VAT-registered consultant would add VAT at 20% to the travel, hotel and printing, because these were costs of the consultant's own supply, not disbursements.

Common mistakes to avoid

One line called 'expenses'

'Travel and expenses: $665.99' gives accounts payable nothing to check. List each cost with its date, supplier and receipt reference, even if the client only wants copies on request.

A markup hidden in the cost

Billing a $96.50 print job as $106.15 without saying why will be spotted against the receipt. If the contract allows a handling fee, show it on its own line with the percentage.

Calling every cost a disbursement

In the UK, your own train fares and hotel bills are usually recharges, not disbursements, so VAT applies to them. Leaving VAT off them under-charges VAT on your supply.

Last year's mileage rate

The IRS business rate was 70 cents for 2025, 72.5 cents to 30 June 2026 and 76 cents from 1 July 2026. Match the rate to the trip date, or to whatever fixed rate the contract states.

Billing costs nobody approved

If the contract requires pre-approval for travel or for costs above a limit, a line without that approval can block payment of the whole invoice. Quote the approval on the line or in the notes.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1Write the receipt reference into the line itself ('Hotel, 2 nights, Hilton Garden Inn folio 88213'). Line text survives forwarding and scanning; a separate attachment can get lost on its way to accounts payable.
  • 2Bill at the amount on the receipt. If your contract allows a handling fee, show it as its own line with the percentage, rather than raising the cost line.
  • 3Convert foreign-currency receipts at the rate on your card or bank statement and note both amounts, so the client can check the conversion.
  • 4For mileage, state the rate and its basis once in the notes ('IRS business standard rate, 76 cents per mile from 1 July 2026') and use the same method on every invoice.
  • 5Keep a cost you cannot evidence off the invoice until you find the receipt or a supplier copy. One unsupported line can hold up payment of the whole invoice.
  • 6Rebill costs in the period they belong to. An expense that turns up three months after the project closed is the line most likely to be refused.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an expense invoice?

An invoice that asks a client to pay back costs you paid on their behalf or while working for them, such as travel, mileage, materials or third-party fees. Each line shows the date, supplier, receipt reference and amount, and whether it is billed at cost or with an agreed markup. It can stand alone or sit below your fees on a normal invoice.

Is an expense invoice the same as an expense report?

No. An expense report is an internal claim from an employee to their employer under the employer's policy. An expense invoice is issued by a business, including a freelancer or contractor, to a client. It needs an invoice number, both parties' details and a due date, and the client pays it through accounts payable.

Can I add a markup to rebilled expenses?

Only if your contract or proposal says so. Many clients accept a handling fee on costs you sourced and managed, such as equipment hire or subcontracted printing, and expect travel and lodging at cost. Show any markup as a separate line with its percentage. In the UK, a cost with a markup cannot be a VAT disbursement, because you must recover only the exact amount paid.

Do I charge VAT or sales tax on reimbursed expenses?

Usually you treat them like your own service. In the UK, recharged costs such as your travel carry VAT at your normal rate; only payments that meet every disbursement condition in HMRC VAT Notice 700 section 25 are left outside the VAT calculation. In the US it depends on the state and whether your service is taxable.

What mileage rate should I put on an expense invoice?

The rate your contract states. Many US contracts use the IRS business standard mileage rate as a reference: 72.5 cents per mile for 1 January to 30 June 2026 and 76 cents per mile from 1 July 2026. That is a federal tax figure, not a legal billing rate, so agree it with the client first.

Do I need to send receipts with an expense invoice?

Send copies if your contract or the client's supplier policy asks for them, and keep the originals either way. Put a receipt or folio reference on each line so the client can match it. In the UK you must keep evidence for any cost you treat as a VAT disbursement.

Can InvoiceQuickly track expenses or add receipts to an invoice?

Partly. On Pro ($9 a month) you record expenses with the amount, date, supplier, client or project and a billable flag, then select unbilled ones into a draft invoice you review; Business ($19 a month) adds AI receipt reads that turn a receipt photo into a draft expense. InvoiceQuickly does not store receipt files and cannot attach files to an invoice, so keep the receipt reference in each line and send copies of receipts separately. Free covers 5 invoices with PDF download.