What an Australian tax invoice must include

The seven details every tax invoice needs, what changes at $1,000, GST-free lines, RCTIs and the ABN rule, summarised from the ATO for service businesses.

6 min read

A tax invoice for a sale under $1,000 must show seven things: that it is a tax invoice, who you are, your ABN, the date, what you sold with quantity and price, the GST, and how much of the sale is taxable. From $1,000 it must also show the buyer's identity or ABN. The rest of this page explains each item, when you have to issue one, and the mistakes that make an invoice invalid.

Everything here comes from the Australian Taxation Office's tax invoices guidance, checked on 15 September 2026. It is a summary for service businesses, not tax advice; if your situation is unusual, the ATO page and your accountant are the authority.

When do you have to give a tax invoice?

If a customer asks for one, you must provide a tax invoice within 28 days, unless the sale was $82.50 or less including GST. Tax invoices are what a GST-registered customer needs to claim the GST back, so business customers will usually ask.

You only issue tax invoices if you are registered for GST. You must register once your GST turnover reaches $75,000 a year, or when you start a business you expect to reach that in its first year (see Registering for GST). A business that is not registered cannot charge GST, so its invoice asks to be paid but is not a tax invoice.

What must a tax invoice for under $1,000 include?

The ATO lists seven details. The invoice must include enough information to clearly work out each one:

  1. That it is intended to be a tax invoice. In practice, the words “Tax invoice” at the top.
  2. The seller's identity. Your business or trading name.
  3. The seller's ABN.
  4. The date the invoice was issued.
  5. A brief description of what was sold, including the quantity where it applies, and the price. For a service business that usually means the service, the date it was done, and the hours or units.
  6. The GST amount payable, if any. Show it separately, or, when the GST is exactly one-eleventh of the total, with a statement such as “Total price includes GST”.
  7. The extent to which each sale on the invoice is taxable. If everything is taxable, “Total price includes GST” covers it.

What changes at $1,000 or more?

A tax invoice for a sale of $1,000 or more must also show the buyer's identity or the buyer's ABN. An invoice laid out to meet the $1,000 rules is also valid for smaller sales, so the simplest habit is to always put the customer's name on it.

What if an invoice has taxable and GST-free items?

When one invoice mixes taxable items with GST-free or input-taxed ones, it must clearly show which items are taxable, the amount of GST, and the total to be paid. Mark each line, or group the taxable lines together, so a reader can see what the GST was charged on.

Can a tax invoice be a PDF or an email?

Yes. A tax invoice does not need to be on paper; a PDF sent by email is fine, as long as the document itself carries all of the required information. Australia also uses the Peppol network for eInvoicing between accounting systems, which has its own data rules.

How is GST rounded?

With one taxable item, round the GST to the nearest cent, with half a cent rounding up. With several, the ATO allows two methods: round the GST for the invoice as a whole, or work out each line's GST and round the total. You and your customer do not have to use the same method.

What is a recipient-created tax invoice (RCTI)?

Normally the seller issues the tax invoice. With an RCTI, the buyer issues it instead, which is common when a funder or large customer pays many suppliers. Both parties must be registered for GST, must agree in writing that the buyer will issue RCTIs and the seller will not issue tax invoices, and the goods or services must be of a type the ATO allows. An RCTI must say it is a recipient-created tax invoice, show both ABNs, and be given to the supplier within 28 days.

If you are paid by RCTI, the document you receive is effectively your invoice and your remittance at once. Matching it back against the jobs you did is covered in how to match a remittance advice to your invoices.

What happens if you leave your ABN off?

For a business customer it can cost you real money. If a supplier does not quote an ABN and the payment is more than $75 excluding GST, the payer generally has to withhold 47% of the payment and send it to the ATO, unless an exception applies. An ABN on every invoice avoids the question entirely.

A checklist to run against your template

  • “Tax invoice” at the top (only if you are registered for GST)
  • Your business name and ABN
  • Invoice date, and an invoice number so both sides can refer to it
  • Customer name, and their ABN if you have it — required from $1,000
  • What was done, when, how much of it, and the price
  • GST shown as an amount, or “Total price includes GST”
  • Which lines are taxable, if any are not
  • The total to pay, and how to pay it

An invoice number, due date and payment details are not on the ATO's list, but an invoice without them gets paid later.

How Calendar Force fills these in

If you generate invoices from your calendar with Calendar Force, the business details are entered once and filled into every invoice: business name, ABN, contact details and the bank details for payment. Each invoice also carries its invoice number, invoice date, due date, the client, the date and type of service, and the GST, excluding-GST and total amounts. The wording at the top, including “Tax invoice”, belongs to the template you choose, so check it matches your GST registration before you send the first one.

How to generate invoices from Google Calendar events walks through the whole flow. Invoicing NDIS participants has extra requirements on top of these: see what an NDIS invoice must include.

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