How to Create a VAT Invoice in South Africa: SARS Checklist and Example

To create a VAT invoice in South Africa you must be registered as a VAT vendor with SARS, charge 15% VAT on your taxable supplies, and put a specific set of fields on the document. The VAT amount goes on top of your base price and must be shown separately.

This guide covers when to charge VAT, how to calculate it, exactly which fields SARS requires on full and abridged tax invoices, a worked example, and a checklist to run before you send.

What is VAT in South Africa?

Value Added Tax is a consumption tax levied at a standard rate of 15%. SARS introduced it in 1991 to replace sales tax. As a VAT vendor you collect VAT from customers on SARS’s behalf and pay it over, usually every two months on a VAT201 return, less the VAT you paid on business expenses.

You can only charge VAT if your business is registered as a VAT vendor. Registration is mandatory once taxable turnover exceeds R1 million in any 12-month period. Voluntary registration is allowed once turnover passes R50,000.

When must you charge VAT?

A registered vendor charges VAT on every taxable supply of goods or services. Most commercial work is taxable. Some supplies are zero-rated at 0%, such as basic foodstuffs and exported goods and services, and some are exempt, such as financial services and residential rent.

If you are not registered you must not charge VAT and must not issue a document called a tax invoice. You issue a standard invoice instead. The difference is explained in invoice vs tax invoice in South Africa.

How to calculate VAT on an invoice

VAT is 15% of the price before VAT, the “exclusive” amount.

Adding VAT to an exclusive price:

• VAT amount = price before VAT x 0.15
• Total including VAT = price before VAT + VAT amount

If you charge R2,000 for a design project: VAT is R300 and the total is R2,300.

Extracting VAT from an inclusive price:

• Price before VAT = total / 1.15
• VAT amount = total minus price before VAT

If an all-in price is R2,300: price before VAT is R2,000 and VAT is R300.

Full vs abridged tax invoice

Section 20 of the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 sets two levels of detail depending on the value of the transaction, VAT included.

Most business-to-business invoices clear R5,000, so most vendors should treat the full list as the default.

What must a full tax invoice include?

For transactions of R5,000 or more, a full tax invoice must include all of the following:

1. The words “Tax Invoice” prominently displayed
2. Your business name as registered
3. Your business address
4. Your VAT registration number (10 digits, starts with 4)
5. A unique, sequential invoice number
6. The invoice date
7. Your client’s name
8. Your client’s address
9. Your client’s VAT registration number, if they are a vendor
10. A description of the goods or services
11. The quantity or volume supplied
12. The value excluding VAT (the subtotal)
13. The VAT rate, currently 15%
14. The VAT amount in rands, shown separately
15. The total including VAT

What must an abridged tax invoice include?

For transactions from R50 to R4,999.99 the abridged form needs only:

1. The words “Tax Invoice”
2. Your name or trading name and your VAT number
3. A unique, sequential invoice number
4. The invoice date
5. A description of the goods or services
6. The total including VAT
7. Either the VAT amount shown separately, or a statement that the total includes VAT at 15%

Abridged tax invoices do not need the client’s details at all, which is why till slips qualify.

Worked example: a complete VAT invoice

Here is how a full tax invoice looks for a South African web designer billing a client:

TAX INVOICE

From: Cape Digital Design (Pty) Ltd 12 Loop Street, Cape Town, 8001 VAT Reg: 4123456789

To: Sunrise Retail (Pty) Ltd 45 Main Road, Johannesburg, 2000 VAT Reg: 4987654321

Invoice number: INV-2026-0042 Invoice date: 16 January 2026 Payment due: 30 January 2026

Banking details: First National Bank Account: 62123456789 Branch: 250655 Reference: INV-2026-0042

SARS tax invoice checklist

Run this before sending any invoice to a VAT-registered client:

What happens if an invoice is non-compliant?

The person who loses first is your client. SARS can disallow their input tax claim if the supporting invoice is missing required fields, so they cannot recover the VAT they paid you. That is a fast way to damage a relationship with a corporate customer whose accounts team checks every invoice.

SARS can also raise an assessment against you if your own returns rely on non-compliant documents, and apply penalties and interest for repeated or deliberate failures. Isolated errors on otherwise sound invoices rarely attract penalties, but the risk is easy to remove with software that produces the right document every time.

Never edit an issued tax invoice to fix a mistake. Issue a credit note and a fresh invoice. Altering an issued tax invoice is an offence. SARS also requires you to keep invoices and related records for five years.

Step-by-step: creating a VAT invoice in Rebill

Rebill handles the calculation and the layout. VAT invoicing is part of the Premium plan.

1. Add your VAT number in Business Profile under Settings. From then on every new invoice is titled Tax Invoice and carries the number.
2. Create a new invoice and pick the client. Their VAT number, if you have captured it, prints on the document.
3. Add line items with amounts excluding VAT. Rebill applies 15% per line, or 0% for zero-rated lines.
4. Check the totals. Subtotal, VAT and total including VAT are shown separately, as SARS requires.
5. Send by email or WhatsApp. Numbering is sequential with no gaps.

The VAT report then totals output and input VAT for the period so your VAT201 figures are ready.

Common VAT invoicing mistakes to avoid

Mixing up inclusive and exclusive pricing. If you quote R1,000 and the client expects that to be the final figure, adding 15% on top will surprise them. State in every quote whether prices include VAT.

Not separating the VAT amount. “R1,150 (VAT included)” is not enough on a full tax invoice. Show the VAT in rands on its own line.

Leaving off your VAT number. Without it your client cannot claim input VAT.

Charging VAT before registration, or after deregistering. Only a registered vendor may charge VAT or issue a tax invoice.

Using the wrong rate. The standard rate is 15%. Exported services and goods are usually zero-rated. Apply the right rate per line. If you work with overseas clients, read how to invoice international clients from South Africa.

New to invoicing altogether? Start with the freelancer invoicing guide.