A tax invoice is not a design choice. UAE VAT law prescribes what it has to contain, and an invoice missing any of it is not a valid tax invoice — which matters most to your customer, because it is what they need to recover the input VAT you charged them.
UAE tax invoice generator
Fill the fields and the preview below updates into a tax invoice carrying the content Article 59 of the VAT Executive Regulation requires. Nothing is uploaded — it runs entirely in your browser.
Supplier
Customer
Invoice
Lines
A template, not advice. Simplified tax invoices, reverse charge supplies, exports, multi-currency and rounding all have their own requirements. Check your own position before relying on this format.
What a UAE tax invoice must contain
The content requirements sit in Article 59 of the VAT Executive Regulation. In practice:
- The words “Tax Invoice”, clearly displayed
- The supplier’s name, address and TRN
- The recipient’s name and address, and their TRN where they are registered
- A sequential invoice number that identifies the document uniquely
- The date of issue, and the date of supply where it differs
- A description of the goods or services
- For each line: unit price, quantity, rate of tax and the amount payable in AED
- Any discount offered
- The gross amount payable in AED
- The tax amount in AED, with the exchange rate applied where another currency is used
- Where the reverse charge applies, a statement to that effect and a reference to the relevant provision
The commonest failure is not a missing field. It is an invoice addressed to a trade name or an individual rather than to the legal entity that is claiming the input tax. That alone can cost your customer the recovery — see conditions to claim input VAT.
Simplified tax invoices
A shorter form is permitted in limited circumstances — broadly, where the recipient is not VAT registered, or where the consideration does not exceed AED 10,000 and the recipient is registered but the full form is not required. A simplified invoice shows the tax-inclusive total and the tax amount rather than a full line-by-line breakdown.
Use the full form unless you are sure the simplified one applies. A full invoice is never wrong; a simplified one sometimes is.
The 14-day issuing rule
A tax invoice must be issued within 14 days of the date of supply. That is a real deadline rather than a convention, and a business that invoices monthly in arrears for supplies made throughout the month needs to check it is on the right side of it.
Related documents follow the same discipline: credit and debit notes have their own content requirements and their own timing — see UAE VAT credit and debit notes.
What changes with e-invoicing
The UAE is moving to mandatory electronic invoicing on a published timeline. When it applies to you, invoices will have to be issued, transmitted and stored in a prescribed structured format through accredited channels — a PDF emailed to a customer will no longer satisfy the requirement.
This generator is a format tool for today. It is not an e-invoicing solution and will not be one. See the e-invoicing timeline and the readiness checklist for what to prepare.
Keep the invoice, and keep it findable
Issued invoices have to be retained and producible if the FTA asks — see record retention requirements. A sequential numbering system that nobody can reconcile to the sales ledger is a finding waiting to happen in a tax audit.
If invoicing is currently done in a word processor, that is the real thing to fix. This tool will get the format right; it will not give you a numbered, reconcilable sales ledger. Choosing accounting software covers that, and we have no commercial interest in which one you pick.
Frequently asked questions
The words Tax Invoice, the supplier name, address and TRN, the recipient name and address with their TRN where registered, a sequential invoice number, the date of issue and the date of supply where different, a description of the goods or services, unit price, quantity, tax rate and amount payable per line in AED, any discount, the gross amount payable, the tax amount in AED, and a reverse charge statement where that applies.
Within 14 days of the date of supply. Businesses that invoice monthly in arrears for supplies made across the month should check they are on the right side of that deadline.
Broadly where the recipient is not VAT registered, or where the consideration does not exceed AED 10,000 and a full invoice is not required. A simplified invoice shows the tax-inclusive total and the tax amount rather than a full line breakdown. If in doubt, issue the full form, because a full invoice is never wrong.
You should address it to the legal entity. An invoice addressed to a trade name or to an individual rather than to the registered entity is one of the commonest reasons a customer input VAT claim is challenged, and it is entirely avoidable.
No. It produces a correctly formatted tax invoice you can print or save today. UAE e-invoicing will require invoices to be issued, transmitted and stored in a prescribed structured format through accredited channels, which is a different system entirely.
No. The generator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server and nothing is retained when you close the page.