Guide
Tax invoice requirements in New Zealand
Exactly what IRD needs on an invoice, broken down by the value of the sale — written for tradies and sole traders, not accountants.
If you are registered for GST, every sale you make has to come with what IRD calls taxable supply information. That phrase replaced the old "tax invoice" rules on 1 April 2023. The change was mostly about wording and flexibility rather than adding work: the information you have to hand over is much the same, but it no longer has to sit on a document headed "Tax Invoice", and it can be supplied electronically.
What matters in practice is that the buyer ends up with enough detail to claim the GST back. Get that right and you are compliant, whatever you call the document.
What you must show, by sale value
| Up to $200 (GST inclusive) | Your business name, your GST number, the date, a description of what you supplied, and the total payable with an indication that GST is included. |
| Over $200 | Everything above, with the GST clearly identifiable — either shown as its own line, or stated as "total includes GST". |
| Over $1,000 | Everything above, plus information identifying the buyer: their name and address, or other details sufficient to identify them (a trading name and site address is usually enough). |
The thresholds are GST-inclusive. Most trade jobs land in the over-$1,000 band, so the safe habit is simply to record the customer's name and address on every invoice and stop thinking about which band you are in.
The seven things worth putting on every invoice
- Your business name and GST number. The GST number is the single most common omission, and without it your customer cannot claim the GST back — which is when you get the phone call.
- An invoice number. Not legally required, but sequential numbering is how you prove your records are complete if IRD ever asks, and it is how your customer refers to the job when paying.
- The date of issue. This starts the clock on your payment terms.
- Who the customer is. Name and address. Required over $1,000, sensible always.
- A description of the work. "Labour and materials" is legal but invites argument. "Replace hot water cylinder, 180L mains pressure, 14 Oak St" does not.
- The money, with GST identified. Either subtotal, GST and total as three lines, or a single total with "includes GST" stated. Three lines causes fewer questions.
- How and when to pay. Bank account number and an actual due date. "Due 7 days" is weaker than "Due Friday 3 October".
Mistakes that cause real problems
- Charging GST when you are not registered. This is not a paperwork slip, it is illegal — you are collecting tax you have no right to collect. If you are under the $60,000 turnover threshold and not registered, your invoices carry no GST at all. See our non-GST-registered invoice guide.
- Taking 15% off a GST-inclusive total. GST is 15% of the exclusive amount, which makes it 3/23 of the inclusive one. The GST calculator does it properly, and shows the formula.
- No customer details on a big job. Over $1,000 this makes the document non-compliant, and your customer's bookkeeper will bounce it back.
- Vague descriptions on variations. Extra work that appears on the invoice but was never quoted is the single biggest cause of payment disputes in the trades. Confirm variations in writing before you do them.
- Invoicing weeks late. Legally you have 28 days from a request. Commercially, every week you wait makes the job less fresh in the customer's mind and the bill easier to argue with.
Records and retention
You need to keep the taxable supply information you issue, and the information you receive from suppliers when claiming GST back, for seven years. Digital copies are fine — IRD does not require paper. A folder of PDFs, or any system that stores them for you, satisfies this.
The practical version for a one-person trade business: send invoices as PDFs from something that keeps a copy, and never rely on the sent folder of an email account you might lose access to.
This is general information, not tax advice.
The rules summarised here are the ones that apply to most small NZ trade businesses. Edge cases — second-hand goods, zero-rated land, imported services — have their own treatment. IRD's own guidance at ird.govt.nz is the authority, and an accountant is worth the hour if your situation is unusual.
Related
- Free NZ invoice template — a layout you can copy
- Buyer-created tax invoices — when the customer raises the invoice instead of you
- GST calculator — add or remove 15%
Common questions
- What are the tax invoice requirements in New Zealand?
- Since 1 April 2023 the rules are called taxable supply information. For any GST sale you must give the buyer your name, your GST number, the date, a description of what was supplied, and the amount with GST shown. Once the sale is over $1,000 you must also record the buyer’s name and address or other identifying details. You have 28 days from the buyer asking to provide it.
- Do NZ invoices still have to say "Tax Invoice"?
- No. The requirement to print the words "Tax Invoice" was removed on 1 April 2023. Most businesses still use the heading because buyers and bookkeepers expect it, and keeping it is perfectly fine.
- What are the invoice thresholds in NZ?
- There are three bands. Up to $200 you need only the basics — your name, GST number, date, description and the GST-inclusive total. Over $200 the same information applies with the GST clearly identified. Over $1,000 you must additionally record who the buyer is: their name and address, or other details that identify them.
- How long do I have to give someone an invoice?
- Taxable supply information must be provided within 28 days of the buyer requesting it. In practice, invoicing the day you finish the job is far better for getting paid — the longer the gap, the weaker your position.
- Do I need to keep copies of my invoices?
- Yes. IRD requires business records, including the taxable supply information you issue and receive, to be kept for seven years. Electronic copies are acceptable.
- What if I am not registered for GST?
- Then none of the GST rules apply to you. You must not show a GST number, must not add 15%, and must not describe the document as a tax invoice. You still send an invoice — it just has no GST on it.