What Makes a Valid UK VAT Invoice? HMRC's Required Fields Explained
A VAT invoice that is missing a single mandatory field can cause your customer to lose their input VAT recovery. The full list of HMRC requirements, plus the simplified-invoice and reverse-charge exceptions.
If you are VAT-registered, every taxable supply you make to another UK business must be accompanied by a valid VAT invoice. Get a field wrong or leave one out and you risk your customer being unable to recover their input VAT — which can mean a frosty conversation, a re-issued invoice, or in the worst case, a slow-paying customer becoming a non-paying one.
The 11 mandatory fields
A full VAT invoice must show: (1) a unique sequential invoice number, (2) the invoice date, (3) the time of supply (the tax point) if different from the invoice date, (4) the supplier's name, address, and VAT number, (5) the customer's name and address, (6) a description sufficient to identify the goods or services, (7) for each line, the quantity, unit price, VAT rate applied, and amount excluding VAT, (8) the rate of any cash discount, (9) the total amount excluding VAT, (10) the total VAT payable in sterling, and (11) the total amount including VAT.
Simplified VAT invoice (under £250)
For retail-style sales of £250 or less including VAT, you can issue a simplified invoice. The customer's name and address are not required, and the VAT amount does not need to be broken out — just show the VAT-inclusive total and the rate(s) applied. This is a real time-saver for over-the-counter sales but cannot be used for B2B invoices over £250.
Modified VAT invoice
For retail sales over £250 including VAT to a non-business customer, you can show all amounts inclusive of VAT (rather than separating net and VAT) provided the VAT rate is shown clearly and your customer agrees to the format. Most B2C UK invoices use this style.
Reverse charge
Domestic CIS construction services and certain cross-border B2B supplies use the reverse charge: the customer accounts for the VAT to HMRC instead of paying it to you. The invoice must show £0 VAT and a clear statement such as "Reverse charge: customer to pay VAT to HMRC" or "Reverse charge: VAT Act 1994 section 55A applies". Forgetting this notice is one of the most common ways CIS sub-contractors fall foul of HMRC.
How long to keep invoices
You must keep VAT records, including copies of all sales and purchase invoices, for at least 6 years. From April 2026, sole traders and landlords with combined business and property income above £50,000 must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — meaning records have to be kept in compatible software (the threshold falls to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028). payslipmaker.uk produces compliant VAT invoices but does not file returns or keep records for you.