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Reverse Invoice Template

A reverse invoice is an invoice the customer prepares for goods or services it has bought, instead of waiting for the supplier to send one. Tax authorities call it a self-billed invoice. It suits purchases where the buyer knows the value first: a publisher calculating an author's royalties from its own sales data, a dairy pricing milk by volume and quality, a recycler weighing and grading scrap, or a platform working out commission owed to its sellers. The buyer issues the invoice in the supplier's name, sends a copy with the payment, and the supplier does not issue its own invoice for the same supply. Reverse invoicing is not the same as the reverse charge: the reverse charge is a VAT rule that makes the customer account for the tax, whoever writes the invoice. Self-billing needs a prior agreement with the supplier and, in the UK and EU, the invoice must say "self-billing". The download is an editable HTML file; fill it in your browser, then print it or save it as PDF.

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

  • "SELF-BILLING" marking (or the wording your country requires)
  • Supplier (seller): name, address and VAT registration number
  • Customer issuing the invoice (self-biller): name, address and VAT number
  • Self-billing agreement reference, start date and expiry date
  • Invoice number from the self-biller's sequence for this supplier
  • Date of supply or period covered
  • Basis of value: royalty statement, weighbridge ticket, delivery or sales report
  • VAT rate and VAT amount for each rate
  • Statement: "The VAT shown is your output tax due to HMRC" (UK)
  • Payment date and remittance reference

How to fill in this Reverse Invoice

  1. Download the template. It opens as an editable HTML file in your browser.
  2. Replace each bracketed field with your details. Totals are not calculated for you, so check the arithmetic.
  3. Print it or save it as a PDF from your browser. InvoiceQuickly does not create or store this document type.

Recommended Payment Terms

Because the buyer prepares the invoice, payment usually goes with it: the self-biller calculates the amount at the end of each period set in the agreement (weekly, monthly or quarterly), issues the self-billed invoice and pays it on the same run, sending the supplier a copy with the remittance. Put the period, the pricing method and the payment timing in the self-billing agreement or the commercial contract, so the supplier knows when to expect each invoice and how its value is worked out. HMRC's guidance notes that self-billing can make invoicing easier when the customer determines the value after delivery. If a figure later turns out to be wrong, do not adjust the next invoice: HMRC says the self-biller should issue a debit note for the change in value.

Tax Information

In the UK, HMRC's VAT Notice 700/62 lets a customer self-bill a VAT-registered supplier without asking HMRC, but only under a written self-billing agreement made before self-billing starts. The agreement must include the supplier's consent to the customer raising its invoices and accepting each one, the supplier's promise not to issue its own VAT invoices for those supplies, a start and expiry date, and the supplier's promise to report changes to its VAT registration. Each self-billed invoice must carry every detail of a full VAT invoice plus the reference "SELF-BILLING" (a requirement with the force of law), and HMRC advises adding "The VAT shown is your output tax due to HMRC". In the EU, Article 224 of the VAT Directive allows invoices drawn up by the customer where there is prior agreement and a procedure for the supplier to accept each invoice, and Article 226(10a) requires the mention "Self-billing". Where a supply is under the reverse charge instead, Article 226(11a) requires the mention "Reverse charge".

Industry context (2026)

Self-billing is set in law rather than left to industry practice. In the UK the rules come from section 29 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 and regulations 13(3) and 13(3A) to 13(3F) of the VAT Regulations 1995, explained in HMRC's VAT Notice 700/62, parts of which have the force of law. HMRC does not need to authorise self-billing, but the self-biller must hold a valid agreement, keep the names, addresses and VAT numbers of the suppliers it self-bills, and produce them on request; if the rules are broken, the self-billed invoices are not proper invoices and the supplier must issue its own. In the EU, Council Directive 2006/112/EC sets the framework: Article 224 allows invoices drawn up by the customer with prior agreement and an acceptance procedure, and lets member states require that they be issued in the supplier's name and on its behalf, and Article 226 lists "Self-billing" and "Reverse charge" as separate mentions an invoice may need. The European Commission's invoicing guidance repeats that a self-billed invoice must carry the words "self-billing". National rules add detail, so check the tax authority's guidance where the supplier is registered.

Worked example

Brightwater Press Ltd publishes three editions of a book by Maya Lindqvist, a VAT-registered author. Their self-billing agreement SBA-2026-031 runs from 1 January to 31 December 2026, and the publishing contract sets royalties per copy sold. At the end of the July to September 2026 quarter, Brightwater's sales report shows 1,240 hardbacks at a royalty of £2.10 (£2,604.00), 860 ebooks at £1.35 (£1,161.00) and 310 audiobooks at £1.80 (£558.00). Brightwater issues self-billed invoice LIND-0007, marked SELF-BILLING, showing Maya Lindqvist as the supplier with her name, address and VAT number, and Brightwater as the customer. Net royalties: £2,604.00 + £1,161.00 + £558.00 = £4,323.00. VAT at 20%: £864.60. Total: £5,187.60. The invoice carries the statement "The VAT shown is your output tax due to HMRC", quotes the agreement and the sales report reference, and is emailed to Ms Lindqvist with the remittance on 15 October 2026. She records £864.60 as output VAT and does not issue her own invoice. When 40 returned hardbacks are reported the following month, Brightwater issues a debit note for 40 × £2.10 = £84.00 plus £16.80 VAT against LIND-0007, rather than reducing the next quarter's invoice.

Common mistakes to avoid

Confusing reverse invoice with reverse charge

Writing "reverse charge" on a self-billed invoice, or leaving out VAT because the invoice was "reversed", gets the tax wrong. Self-billing changes who writes the invoice; whether VAT is charged follows the normal rules for that supply.

Self-billing without a current agreement

Invoices raised before the agreement is signed, or after it expires, are not evidence for reclaiming input VAT in the UK. Keep agreements on file and renew them before they lapse.

Self-billing a supplier that is not VAT-registered

HMRC says you must not issue self-billed VAT invoices for suppliers who are not registered or have cancelled their registration, and you cannot reclaim VAT shown on them. Check the VAT number first and ask suppliers to tell you about changes.

Leaving out the self-billing marking

Without "SELF-BILLING" the supplier may treat the document as a purchase invoice and try to reclaim the VAT on it. The marking is required in the UK and the EU.

Supplier invoices for the same supply

If the supplier also sends its own invoice, the same sale is invoiced twice. The agreement should say the supplier will not issue VAT invoices for covered supplies, and accounts payable should reject any that arrive.

Netting corrections into the next invoice

Reducing next period's invoice to fix an earlier overpayment hides the correction. HMRC expects a debit note for the change in value, referencing the original self-billed invoice.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1Sign the self-billing agreement before the first invoice and diary its expiry date. HMRC advises a review every 12 months to confirm the supplier is still VAT-registered and still agrees.
  • 2Check each supplier's VAT number before you self-bill it, for example with HMRC's online VAT number check, and never self-bill a supplier that is not VAT-registered or has changed its number without a new agreement.
  • 3Print "SELF-BILLING" prominently on every invoice, near the title, so nobody mistakes it for a supplier's invoice.
  • 4Keep a separate invoice number sequence for each supplier you self-bill, so the supplier's records have no gaps or duplicates.
  • 5Attach or reference the document that fixes the value: the royalty statement, weighbridge ticket, quality grading or sales report for the period.
  • 6Send the supplier a copy with the payment the same day, so it can record the sale and the output VAT in the right period.
  • 7Correct mistakes with a debit note referring to the original self-billed invoice, not by netting the difference off the next one.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a reverse invoice?

A reverse invoice is an invoice the customer creates for a purchase, in the supplier's name, instead of the supplier issuing one. It is the same thing as a self-billed invoice. The customer sends the supplier a copy, usually with the payment, and the supplier treats it as its own sales invoice.

Is a reverse invoice the same as a reverse charge?

No. A reverse invoice is about who writes the invoice: the customer instead of the supplier. The reverse charge is a VAT rule about who accounts for the tax: the customer instead of the supplier, typically on some cross-border or specified domestic supplies, while the supplier still issues the invoice. EU invoices are marked "Self-billing" in the first case and "Reverse charge" in the second.

When are reverse invoices used?

When the buyer is in a better position than the supplier to work out what is owed: royalties calculated from the publisher's sales, produce priced on weight and quality at the buyer's site, scrap graded on arrival, commission owed by a platform to its sellers, or regular purchases from many small suppliers. HMRC notes self-billing may make invoicing easier when the customer determines the value after delivery.

Do I need an agreement to issue reverse invoices?

Yes. In the UK, VAT Notice 700/62 requires a written self-billing agreement with each supplier, in place before self-billing begins; without one, the invoices are not evidence for reclaiming input VAT. In the EU, Article 224 of the VAT Directive requires prior agreement and a procedure for the supplier to accept each invoice.

What must a self-billed invoice say?

Everything a full VAT invoice needs, with the supplier's name, address and VAT number as the seller, plus the self-billing marking. UK self-billed invoices must show the reference "SELF-BILLING", and HMRC advises adding "The VAT shown is your output tax due to HMRC". EU invoices must carry the mention "Self-billing".

Can the supplier also issue its own invoice?

Not for supplies covered by the self-billing agreement. Under HMRC's rules the supplier agrees not to raise VAT invoices for those supplies, and a customer cannot claim input tax on a supplier's invoice for a supply it has already self-billed.

How do I correct a reverse invoice?

HMRC says not to reduce the value on a later self-billed invoice. Issue a debit note for the amount by which the value of the supply changed, quoting the original self-billed invoice number, and send it to the supplier like the original.

Can InvoiceQuickly create reverse invoices?

No. InvoiceQuickly creates invoices you issue as the seller, numbered from your own counter. It has no self-billing mode, copies saved business and selected-client VAT IDs to new invoice PDFs and has no e-invoicing formats. Use the editable HTML template on this page, and check whether your country requires structured e-invoices between businesses, which this layout is not.