What makes an invoice compliant? Invoice requirements by country

Key takeaways

• In most markets, an invoice is a tax document, not just a request for payment. If a required detail is missing, your customer may not be able to subtract the tax they paid, and you may have to issue the invoice again.

• Most markets run two versions of an invoice. A business buyer needs the full document with every required field, while a small consumer sale can use a shorter one.

• What counts as compliant is set locally. The fields, the deadline for issuing the invoice, and the number of years you have to keep it all change from market to market.

In most of the world, an invoice does more than ask for payment. It is the document a tax authority relies on to confirm tax was charged correctly, and the document your business customer relies on to subtract the tax they paid. That is why its contents are set by law rather than by your accounting software.

Those requirements differ by market, and so do the deadlines for issuing an invoice and the years you have to keep it on file. Keeping track of what each market requires, and what each region within a market adds on top, is a job in itself. Get a field wrong and the invoice still looks fine to you, but your customer cannot subtract the tax, so you reissue it and wait longer to be paid.

What makes an invoice compliant?

What a market requires on an invoice depends on who receives it and what they do with it.

Sell to another business and your invoice is what lets them subtract the tax they paid. The tax authority has to see who sold what to whom and how much tax was charged. You need both parties named, both tax registration numbers, a description of what was sold, and the tax shown on its own line. That is the full invoice, and it is the version that applies to most B2B sales.

Sell something small to a consumer and none of that is needed, because the buyer has nothing to subtract. Most markets allow a shorter list below a set value, which is why a shop receipt can satisfy the rules. That is the simplified invoice.

The catch is that the value limits and the shortened field lists are set market by market, so neither version is one format you can reuse everywhere.

Invoice requirements by country

What follows is a sample of what each market requires, not the complete list. Every market publishes its own, and some run longer than what you see here. The point is to show how much the detail differs from one market to the next, so check each tax authority’s own list before you build a template for that market.

What the EU requires

The EU VAT Directive sets out 15 details a full VAT invoice must show. Among them are the date of issue, a sequential number that identifies the invoice, your VAT number and your customer's, the name and address of both parties, a description and quantity of what was sold, the amount being taxed, the rate applied, the VAT amount, and, where no VAT is charged, the reason why.

Member states can add requirements on top of those 15. A template built to satisfy Germany is not automatically right for Italy. The EU also allows simplified invoices for low-value sales, with a shorter list of fields.

What the UK requires

The UK list is close to the EU's but not identical. A full VAT invoice needs a sequential number, the tax point, the date of issue where that differs, your name, address and VAT number, your customer's name and address, a description of what was supplied with quantity and unit price, the rate applied, the amount excluding VAT, and the total VAT shown in sterling.

That last one surprises businesses that invoice in another currency. You can bill your customer in euros or dollars, but the VAT total still has to appear in sterling.

What Australia and Singapore require

Australia asks for seven details on a tax invoice for sales under AUD 1,000, including that the document is clearly intended to be a tax invoice, your identity and ABN, the date, a description of what was sold, and the GST amount or a statement that the price includes GST. At AUD 1,000 and above, the buyer's identity or ABN has to appear as well.

Singapore requires your GST registration number on tax invoices, along with the words Tax Invoice, the date, a description of the supply, and the GST shown separately. Totals of SGD 1,000 or less including GST can use a simplified tax invoice.

Where the US differs

The US has no national invoice requirement, because it has no national sales tax. Tax appears on the receipt rather than turning the invoice itself into a tax document. The document that carries real weight is the resale or exemption certificate your business customer gives you. With that on file, the sale is exempt. Without it, you are liable for tax you never charged.

Where e-invoicing is becoming mandatory

In a growing number of markets, sending the invoice as a document is no longer enough. An e-invoice is structured data passed between systems through an approved platform, which is why emailing a PDF does not satisfy the rule. France’s mandate has applied since 2026, Italy’s since 2019, and other member states are following, because the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age package now lets them require domestic e-invoicing without needing separate EU approval. The dates and the scope differ by market, so this is a rollout to track rather than a single deadline.

When you have to issue it, and how long to keep it

Issuing runs on a clock in some markets. For cross-border supplies between EU member states, the invoice is due by the 15th day of the month following the sale, and starting in July 2030 that tightens to 10 days under the EU’s VAT in the Digital Age reforms. In Australia, if a customer asks for a tax invoice, you have 28 days to provide it.

Retention is set locally as well, and the numbers do not line up. The UK requires six years of VAT records. Singapore and Australia both require five. Across the EU alone the period runs from four to 10 years, because the directive leaves the number to each member state. Specific schemes and record types can run longer in each of these markets, so the safe answer is the longest period that applies to you.

What happens when an invoice is not compliant

The first consequence lands on your customer, and then it comes back to you. A business customer who cannot subtract the tax on your invoice will ask for a corrected one, and payment usually waits until they have it. Multiply that across a few hundred invoices and you have a backlog on your hands.

The bigger risk shows up later. If you are audited, an invoice that does not meet local requirements may not count as proof that you charged tax correctly.

How Airwallex Billing helps businesses invoice the way each market requires

Airwallex Billing builds each invoice to the rules of the market you are selling into, using your tax registrations and your customer's location to apply the right fields, tax breakdown and wording. That means you are not maintaining a template for every country or checking field lists by hand. Where a market requires structured e-invoicing, Airwallex issues it through approved networks, so there is no separate provider to add. Learn more about Airwallex Billing.

Frequently asked questions

Does an invoice have to say "invoice" or "tax invoice"?

In some markets, effectively yes. Australia requires the document to be clearly intended as a tax invoice, and Singapore requires the words "Tax Invoice". The EU and the UK do not mandate particular wording, but they do require the full list of fields, so a document called a receipt will not do the job of a VAT invoice.

What happens if an invoice is missing a required detail?

Your customer may not be able to subtract the tax until you send a corrected invoice, and payment usually waits until they have it. If you are audited, an incomplete invoice is weaker proof that you charged tax correctly, so the risk sits with you too.

Can you issue an invoice in another language?

Usually, yes. Most markets accept invoices in a working language for cross-border sales, though a tax authority can ask for a translation during an audit, and some expect the local language on domestic sales. Check the rule in each market.

Do you need a separate invoice template for every country?

Not necessarily. A single template carrying every field the strictest market on your list requires will typically satisfy the others. It stops working when a market requires specific wording, such as a reverse charge statement or the reason tax was not charged, or when it requires a structured electronic format rather than a document.

Is an e-invoice just a PDF of an invoice?

No. An e-invoice is structured data exchanged between systems in a format the tax authority recognises, usually through an approved network. A PDF is a document, which is why emailing one does not satisfy a market that mandates e-invoicing.

How long do you have to keep invoices?

It depends on the market. The UK requires six years, Singapore and Australia five, and across the EU alone the period runs from four to 10 years. If you sell into several markets, keep everything for the longest period that applies to you.

Sources

Council Directive 2006/112/EC, Articles 222, 226, 226b, 238 and 247, via EUR-Lex. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2006/112/oj

Council Directive (EU) 2025/516 of 11 March 2025, amending Article 222, via EUR-Lex. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32025L0516

European Commission, VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA). https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation/vat/vat-digital-age-vida_en

European Commission, eInvoicing in France. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/wikis/display/DIGITAL/eInvoicing+in+France

European Commission, eInvoicing in Italy. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/wikis/display/DIGITAL/eInvoicing+in+Italy

GOV.UK, VAT guide (VAT Notice 700). https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-guide-notice-700

GOV.UK, Record keeping (VAT Notice 700/21). https://www.gov.uk/guidance/record-keeping-for-vat-notice-70021

Australian Taxation Office, Tax invoices. https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/gst/tax-invoices

Australian Taxation Office, GST records. www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/preparing-lodging-and-paying/record-keeping-for-business/…/gst-records

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Responsibilities of a GST-registered business. https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/goods-services-tax-(gst)/basics-of-gst/responsibilities-of-a-gst-registered-business

Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Keeping records. https://www.iras.gov.sg/taxes/goods-services-tax-(gst)/basics-of-gst/invoicing-price-display-and-record-keeping/keeping-records