Invoice Generator for New Zealand

New Zealand has a single national GST at 15%, administered by Inland Revenue. There are no regional rates and no separate sales taxes, which makes an NZ invoice one of the simpler documents to get right.

What changed from 1 April 2023 is the framework: the prescriptive tax invoice rules were replaced with taxable supply information requirements. The practical effect for most small businesses is modest — the same details still appear — but the required information now scales with the value of the supply, and it no longer has to sit on a single document called a tax invoice.

If you are not GST registered, none of this applies to you. You issue an ordinary invoice with no GST, no GST number and no GST wording.

Every invoice needs a unique number, and keeping them sequential is what makes your GST returns reconcilable. Plain numbering — 001, 002, 003 — is fine, and the generator increments it for you.

Businesses invoicing the same customers monthly often use a period-based format such as 2026-09-014, which makes the return period obvious at a glance when you reconcile.

When you need to correct an invoice, Inland Revenue's supply correction information rules apply: issue a correcting document that references the original rather than editing and resending the first one.

An invoice date is essential and a due date saves arguments. GST-registered businesses should also keep the date of supply in mind, since it determines which return period the GST falls into.

New Zealand has two payment conventions running side by side: straight day-count terms, and the 20th of the following month. Both are normal, but they produce very different cash flow, so be explicit about which applies.

GST is charged at 15% on most goods and services supplied in New Zealand and is administered by Inland Revenue. There is one rate nationwide, which removes the location-based complexity found in the United States and Canada.

Registration is required once your turnover reaches the threshold Inland Revenue sets, and voluntary registration is possible below it. Registering voluntarily lets you claim GST on business purchases, but it also commits you to filing returns and charging GST on everything you sell.

Certain supplies are zero-rated, including exported goods and some services supplied to non-residents, and a few are exempt, such as most financial services and residential rent. Zero-rated supplies still belong on your return; exempt supplies are outside the GST system.

New Zealand invoices are issued in New Zealand dollars, written as $1,250.00 or NZD 1,250.00. Use the NZD prefix whenever the reader might be in Australia or the United States, where a bare dollar sign means something else.

If you invoice in a foreign currency while GST registered, the GST amount generally needs to be converted to New Zealand dollars for your records. Inland Revenue publishes guidance on acceptable conversion methods.

For overseas customers, show your account name, bank, account number and SWIFT code. The New Zealand account number format is unfamiliar abroad, and a missing SWIFT is the most common reason an international payment stalls.

Inland Revenue guidance covers straightforward invoicing well, and most sole traders will not need more. An accountant is worth the fee when the question turns on your situation: whether to register voluntarily, how to treat exported services, or whether a contracting arrangement attracts withholding.

It is also the right call if you are approaching the registration threshold, because the timing of registration affects both your pricing and what you can claim back.