How to invoice without VAT

Plenty of freelancers and small businesses send invoices with no VAT or GST on them, and that is perfectly legal when there is a reason. In several countries, though, the invoice has to say what the reason is, in words the tax office recognises. Here is when you can leave the tax off and what to print instead.

When an invoice can go out without tax

• You are under the registration threshold and haven’t registered, as most new freelancers in the UK, Canada or Australia are.
• You use a small-business scheme, such as Germany’s Kleinunternehmerregelung or France’s franchise en base, which lets you stay out of VAT below a turnover limit.
• You sell services to a business in another EU country. The client accounts for the VAT, and the invoice says so. That is the reverse charge, which has wording of its own.
• You export services outside your country, which many countries zero-rate. India is the best-known case where the invoice needs a set statement.

Spain is the exception worth knowing: it has no general small-business exemption, so almost every self-employed person there charges IVA from the first invoice.

Countries where the wording is required

These countries expect the invoice to name the rule that lets you skip the tax. Copy the wording exactly, or let the generator print it for you.

Everywhere else, a plain statement works

In these countries there is no set phrase. Leave the tax line off, don’t show a tax number you don’t have, and add a short line so your client isn’t left wondering.

What still has to be on the invoice

Leaving the tax off doesn’t shorten the rest of the invoice. You still need your name and address, your client’s details, a unique invoice number, the date, what you supplied and the total. Each country page has the full checklist.