Clear, practical guides to UK self-billing — how it works, the agreement, VAT, the CIS reverse charge, CIS deductions, credit notes and more. General information, not tax advice.
Self-billing is an arrangement where the customer (the buyer) prepares the invoice on the supplier’s behalf and sends them a copy, i...
Read guide →Self-billing works in five steps: put a written agreement in place with the supplier, raise the invoice yourself from the data you h...
Read guide →A self-billing agreement is a written agreement between the customer and each supplier that must be in place before any self-billed...
Read guide →A self-billed invoice must include everything a normal VAT invoice does — both parties’ names, addresses and VAT numbers, a unique s...
Read guide →With self-billing, you add VAT to the invoice only where the supplier is VAT-registered — using the VAT number recorded in your agre...
Read guide →The CIS domestic reverse charge is a VAT rule for construction, in force since 1 March 2021. For most construction services between...
Read guide →Some construction work is reduced-rated at 5% VAT — for example certain residential conversions and renovations. Where such work fal...
Read guide →Under the Construction Industry Scheme, contractors deduct money from a subcontractor’s payment for labour and pass it to HMRC as an...
Read guide →You can self-bill a supplier who isn’t VAT-registered — self-billing isn’t only for VAT-registered businesses. The difference is sim...
Read guide →A self-billing agreement ends on its expiry date, when either party withdraws, or when the supplier stops being VAT-registered. To k...
Read guide →In traditional invoicing the supplier raises and sends the invoice; in self-billing the customer does it on the supplier’s behalf. S...
Read guide →Any UK business can use self-billing with a supplier, provided both sign a written self-billing agreement and follow the VAT invoice...
Read guide →For self-billing you must keep the signed agreements, a record of every supplier who has agreed (with their name, address and VAT nu...
Read guide →Making Tax Digital for VAT requires VAT-registered businesses to keep digital records and file returns through compatible software....
Read guide →The most common self-billing mistakes are raising invoices without a valid agreement, showing VAT for a supplier who isn’t (or is no...
Read guide →A self-billed credit note corrects a self-billed invoice — for example when an amount was overstated. Like the invoice, the customer...
Read guide →When you pay hundreds of suppliers a period, raising invoices one by one isn’t practical. Bulk self-billing lets you upload a CSV of...
Read guide →Every VAT invoice, including a self-billed one, needs a unique sequential number. In self-billing the customer assigns the number wh...
Read guide →After you raise a self-billed invoice you send the supplier a copy for their records. Most suppliers simply receive a PDF by email —...
Read guide →A supplier statement lists every invoice and credit note you’ve raised for a supplier, with amounts paid, unpaid and an outstanding...
Read guide →Put the guides into practice — raise a compliant self-billed invoice free.