Tax invoice requirements for Australian tradies

Updated · 6 minute read

The short answer: if you are registered for GST, a tax invoice has to show seven things, and for a sale of $1,000 or more it also needs your customer’s name or ABN. If a customer asks for one, you have 28 days to give it to them. If you are not registered for GST, you must not call your invoice a tax invoice at all.

When you have to give a tax invoice

The ATO puts it this way: “If a customer asks for a tax invoice, you must provide one within 28 days, unless it is for a sale of $82.50 (including GST) or less.”

business.gov.au describes it more broadly, saying a GST-registered business must give a tax invoice when a taxable sale is more than $82.50 including GST, or when a customer asks for one regardless of the amount. In practice, most tradies avoid the question by sending a tax invoice for every job. Your business customers need one anyway.

The seven details every tax invoice needs

For sales under $1,000, the ATO says a tax invoice must include enough information to clearly work out:

  1. That the document is intended to be a tax invoice.
  2. The seller’s identity (your business name).
  3. The seller’s ABN.
  4. The date the invoice was issued.
  5. A brief description of what you sold, including the quantity (if applicable) and the price.
  6. The GST amount, if any.
  7. The extent to which each sale on the invoice is a taxable sale.

On the GST amount, you can show it as a separate figure or, if GST is exactly one-eleventh of the total price, with a statement such as “Total price includes GST”.

If one invoice mixes taxable and non-taxable items, it has to show clearly which items are taxable.

Sales of $1,000 or more

The ATO adds one requirement: tax invoices for sales of $1,000 or more also need to show the buyer’s identity or ABN. For a tradie that usually means the customer’s name or, for a business customer, their business name or ABN.

Does it have to say “Tax invoice”?

The ATO’s rule is that the document must show it is intended to be a tax invoice, and its guidance on setting up invoices says: “If you’re registered for GST, your invoices should be called ‘tax invoice’.” business.gov.au lists the words “tax invoice” among the details you must include. Putting “Tax invoice” at the top is the simple way to satisfy both.

A tax invoice does not need to be on paper. An emailed PDF is fine.

If you are not registered for GST

The ATO is clear: “If you’re not registered for GST, your invoices should not include the words ‘tax invoice’ - you must issue standard invoices.” Do not add GST to your prices either.

There is no law setting out what a regular invoice must contain, but business.gov.au lists common practice as: the word “invoice”, your business name and ABN, an invoice number, the date, your contact details, a description of the work, payment terms and the customer’s name.

You must register for GST within 21 days of your GST turnover reaching the $75,000 threshold. GST turnover is your gross business income minus any GST.

Deposits and progress payments

For work billed in stages, such as a construction contract, the ATO says you account for GST “as if each component is a separate sale”. If you do not account for GST on a cash basis and you issue a tax invoice for a stage before you are paid, you report that amount in the reporting period you issued the invoice in. Ask your accountant which basis you use.

How long to keep them

The ATO says you need to keep most records for five years, counted from when you prepared or obtained the record or completed the transaction, whichever is later. That includes the invoices you issue and receive.

Checklist before you send

  • “Tax invoice” at the top (only if you are registered for GST).
  • Your business name and ABN.
  • The date issued and an invoice number.
  • What you did or supplied, with quantities and prices.
  • The GST amount, or “Total price includes GST”.
  • Which items are taxable, if any are not.
  • The customer’s name or ABN if the total is $1,000 or more.
  • How and when to pay.

Pricing the job in the first place? Read how to write a trade quote or work out your rate with the hourly rate calculator.