What SARS actually requires on a tax invoice
Section 20 of the VAT Act sets out the fields. Getting one wrong can cost your customer their input claim — and cost you the relationship.
A tax invoice is not a design decision. It is a legal document that lets your customer claim input VAT, and if a required field is missing, SARS can disallow that claim. The rules are short and worth knowing by heart.
The non-negotiable fields
The words “Tax Invoice”, a unique sequential number, the date of issue, your name, address and VAT registration number, and — for supplies above R5 000 — the customer’s name, address and VAT number. Then a description of what was supplied, the quantity, and the VAT charged.
Where the VAT goes
You may show the VAT per line, or show the total excluding VAT with the VAT amount separately, or state the total including VAT with a note that it includes VAT at the standard rate. What you cannot do is leave the reader guessing which of those you meant.
Mixed rates on one invoice
If you supply standard-rated and zero-rated items together, the VAT rate has to be identifiable per line and summarised by rate. This is where hand-built spreadsheet templates most often fall over.
Corrections
Never edit a tax invoice you have already issued. Issue a credit note that references the original invoice number, then issue a corrected invoice. The audit trail is the point.