The mandatory particulars of a full UK VAT invoice under VAT Regulations 1995 reg 14

A "VAT invoice" in the UK is a defined document, not a label a business can attach to any bill. Regulation 14 of the VAT Regulations 1995^[1] lists the particulars a **full VAT invoice** must contain, and only a VAT-registered supplier may issue one. The annotated invoice above labels each reg 14 field on a worked example so a business can check its own template against the regulation line by line. HMRC restates the same list in plain English in VAT Notice 700 §16.3^[3].

The supplier-and-document block comes first: a **sequential invoice number** that is unique and follows on from the last (gaps and resets are a red flag), the **time of supply (the tax point)**, the **date of issue** where it differs from the tax point, and the **supplier's name, address, and VAT registration number**. The VAT number is the field that makes the document a VAT invoice at all — without it a buyer cannot recover the VAT. Then the **customer's name and address**, identifying who the supply is made to.

The commercial detail sits in the line items. For each description of goods or services the invoice must show a **description sufficient to identify** what was supplied and, for each, the **quantity, the rate of VAT, and the amount payable excluding VAT** in sterling. The **unit price** must be shown where the supply is by reference to a unit. The totals block then carries the **total amount payable excluding VAT**, the **rate of any cash discount** offered, and the **total VAT payable, expressed in sterling**. Where different items carry different VAT rates (standard 20%, reduced 5%, zero-rated, exempt), the rate and value must be shown for each rate separately.

Two thresholds change the picture. For supplies of **£250 or less** (including VAT), a business may issue a simplified VAT invoice^[2] with fewer fields — supplier name, address and VAT number, the time of supply, a description, and, for each rate, the gross amount and the VAT rate. And a **modified invoice** can show VAT-inclusive line values for supplies over £250 by agreement. The consequence of getting a full invoice wrong is concrete: a customer relying on a non-compliant invoice to reclaim input VAT is exposed if HMRC disallows it. Note these are the **UK** rules under the VAT Regulations 1995; post-Brexit they are independent of EU VAT invoicing and may diverge over time.