Free South Africa VAT Invoice Generator — SARS Section 20 Compliant
Full Tax Invoice (>R5,000), Abridged (R50–R5,000), Export (0%), Credit & Debit Notes. Auto-adjusts required fields by tier.
Real-time check: 10 digits starting with 4. Both supplier and customer validated. Invalid VAT numbers disqualify input VAT claims.
Per-line VAT at 0%, 15%, or Exempt. ZAR equivalent shown for foreign currency invoices using SARB exchange rate.
Company registration number from the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission — required for all registered companies.
Full English amount in words: Rand and Cents Only — standard SARS best practice to prevent alteration.
A4 PDF with SA flag stripe, all Section 20 fields, bank details, 5-year retention note, 21-day issue rule, SARS compliance footer.
South Africa VAT Invoice Mandatory Fields — Section 20 VAT Act
| Field | Full Tax Invoice (>R5,000) | Abridged Invoice (R50–R5,000) |
|---|---|---|
| Document heading | "TAX INVOICE", "VAT INVOICE" or "INVOICE" prominently displayed | Same requirement |
| Supplier name & address | Full registered name and address | Required |
| Supplier VAT number | 10-digit number starting with 4 (e.g. 4480152117) | Required |
| Recipient name & address | Mandatory — required for buyer to claim input VAT | NOT required |
| Recipient VAT number | Mandatory if recipient is a VAT vendor | NOT required |
| Serial (invoice) number | Unique sequential number | Required |
| Date of issue | Must be within 21 days of supply date | Required |
| Description of goods/services | Specific — "services rendered" not acceptable | Required |
| Quantity and unit price | Required per line item | Optional for abridged |
| Amount excl. VAT | Mandatory — show subtotal excluding VAT | May show VAT-inclusive total only |
| VAT rate and amount | 15% rate and ZAR amount shown separately | VAT amount or "VAT included" statement required |
| Total incl. VAT | Mandatory | Mandatory |
South Africa VAT Rates 2025/2026
| Rate | Applies To | Input VAT |
|---|---|---|
| 15% (Standard) | Most goods and services: consulting, IT services, construction, retail, manufacturing, F&B, telecoms, advertising | Fully recoverable as input VAT |
| 0% (Zero-rated) | Exports; international transport; selected basic foodstuffs (brown bread, maize meal, milk, eggs, edible oils); paraffin for domestic use; agriculture inputs; municipal services (water/electricity under threshold) | Input VAT recoverable even at 0% |
| Exempt | Financial services (interest, life insurance); residential rents; passenger transport by road/rail; educational services by approved institutions; donated goods sold by welfare orgs | No input VAT recovery |
Frequently Asked Questions — South Africa VAT Invoicing
South Africa's standard VAT rate remains 15%. The National Treasury proposed increases to 15.5% from 1 May 2025 and to 16% from 1 April 2026, but both increases were reversed by Parliament through clause 13 of the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill, passed on 24 April 2025. VAT was introduced in South Africa on 30 September 1991 at 10%, raised to 14% in 1993, and increased to 15% in April 2018. Mandatory VAT registration threshold is R1 million annual taxable turnover; voluntary registration from R50,000.
A South African VAT registration number is a unique 10-digit number always starting with the digit 4, issued by SARS upon successful VAT registration (e.g. 4480152117). It must appear on every tax invoice from that vendor. An invoice missing this number is non-compliant and cannot be used to claim input VAT. You can verify any VAT number on the SARS eFiling portal (efiling.sars.gov.za) under "VAT Vendor Search". Register for VAT via SARS eFiling or at any SARS branch — registration is free.
Under Section 20 of the VAT Act, South Africa uses a three-tier invoice system based on VAT-inclusive transaction value. Full Tax Invoice: required for any supply exceeding R5,000 (VAT inclusive). Must include both supplier and recipient details, their VAT numbers, and full line-item breakdown. Abridged Tax Invoice: may be used for R50 to R5,000. Recipient details (name, address, VAT number) are not required. Total consideration and VAT amount are sufficient. Till Slip / Receipt: for supplies of R50 or less. Only applies when the buyer wants to claim input VAT.
Under Section 20(1) of the VAT Act, a tax invoice must be issued within 21 days of the date of supply (when goods are delivered or services are completed). Failure to issue within 21 days does not void the invoice, but it can create compliance issues and your customer may be unable to claim input VAT on that period's return. The supply date (date goods/services were provided) may differ from the invoice date — if so, both must be shown on the invoice.
CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission) is the South African equivalent of a company register. When a company is incorporated, CIPC issues a registration number in the format YYYY/XXXXXX/XX (e.g. 2019/123456/07), where the last two digits indicate the company type: 07 = private company (Pty Ltd), 06 = public company (Ltd), 21 = non-profit company (NPC). Including it on invoices confirms the legal existence and type of your business entity. It is not legally required on tax invoices by SARS, but is best practice and required for some government procurement and banking purposes.
Not yet mandatory. As of April 2025, SARS is in the pilot phase of a Peppol-based 5-corner e-invoicing model (similar to France and Belgium), with mandatory implementation currently targeted for 2028. A second public consultation was expected in late 2025. The system will require structured XML invoices to be validated through SARS in real time before sharing with buyers. Paper and electronic PDF invoices remain fully valid if they contain all Section 20 mandatory fields. This free tool generates a compliant PDF invoice — no software registration required.
Yes, completely free. No registration, no subscription, no watermarks. All calculations and PDF generation happen in your browser — nothing is uploaded to any server. Create unlimited SARS-compliant tax invoices at ThinkForU.org. All your data stays private on your own device.