Free Invoice Generator for the United Kingdom

You only need to charge VAT if you're VAT-registered with HMRC. Registration becomes compulsory once your VAT-taxable turnover crosses £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period. Below that threshold you can register voluntarily, but you don't have to.

The standard UK VAT rate is 20%. Some goods sit at a reduced 5% rate (such as domestic energy), some are zero-rated (most food, children's clothes), and others are exempt (financial services, education, postage). Most freelance and small-business services fall under the 20% standard rate, but always check HMRC's rules for your specific sector.

In Invoicara's tax field, choose VAT and set the rate to 20% (or whichever rate applies). If you're not VAT-registered, simply leave tax off, there's no legal requirement to charge it.

HMRC requires VAT-registered businesses to include specific information on every invoice: a unique sequential invoice number; your business name, address, and VAT registration number; the date the invoice is issued (and the supply date if different); your customer's name and address; a description of the goods or services supplied; the total amount excluding VAT, the VAT amount charged, and the total including VAT; and the rate of VAT applied to each item.

If you're not VAT-registered, you can skip the VAT lines and registration number, but the rest is still good practice and keeps your bookkeeping clean.

Sole traders: use your own name (or trading name) and address. Your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) isn't required on the invoice itself, but you can add it to the Tax ID field if you prefer.

Limited companies: include your registered company name, company registration number, and registered office address. If VAT-registered, add your VAT number too.

Self-employed contractors and freelancers: a clean invoice with your name, address, the work performed, and your bank details (or other payment method) is enough, VAT only if you're registered.

There's no legal payment-term standard in the UK, you set what you want on each invoice. The most common terms are "Payment due within 14 days" or "30 days net" (often written as Net 30). Many small businesses adopt 30 days as their default.

The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 allows you to charge statutory interest (currently 8% above the Bank of England base rate) plus a fixed fee on overdue B2B invoices, so long as your terms allow for it.