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Simplified tax invoices

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For small sales, tax law lets you issue a shorter tax invoice that leaves some details out. The limits and the details you may drop differ by country, and some businesses may use the shorter form whatever the amount. This page compares them. It is general information, not tax or legal advice: check the sources at the end or ask your accountant before you rely on it.

In short

Section titled “In short”
Country Shorter form allowed What you may leave out
Singapore Total including GST up to S$1,000 The customer’s details, and the separate tax breakdown
Australia Total price under A$1,000 The customer’s identity or ABN
New Zealand Up to NZ$1,000, in two tiers Up to NZ$200 your GST number and the GST; up to NZ$1,000 the buyer’s details
Japan Retail, restaurants, photography, travel and taxis; parking and similar businesses selling to the public The customer’s name; the rate or the tax, not both

The shorter forms are allowances: a full tax invoice meets the rules too.

Country by country

Section titled “Country by country”

Singapore

Section titled “Singapore”

You may issue a simplified tax invoice if the total payable, including GST, is not more than S$1,000. It needs only your name, address and GST registration number, the date, an identifying number, a description, the total including GST and a statement such as “Price payable includes GST”. It may show only supplies at the same rate, and no zero-rated or exempt supplies. To customers who are not GST-registered you may give a receipt instead; it is serially printed and shows the date, your business name and GST registration number, the total and the words “Price payable includes GST”.

Hong Kong

Section titled “Hong Kong”

There is no tax invoice. The Inland Revenue Department recommends sequentially numbered invoices that show at least the invoice number, the date of issue, the date of the transaction, the customer’s name and address, your business name and address, a description with quantities and prices, and the total.

Australia

Section titled “Australia”

A tax invoice shows your identity and ABN, what is sold with its quantity and price, the extent to which each sale is taxable, the date and the GST. The customer’s identity or ABN is needed only when the total price is A$1,000 or more. For a sale whose value is A$75 or less, excluding GST, you do not have to give a tax invoice.

New Zealand

Section titled “New Zealand”

Since 1 April 2023 the details depend on the value of the supply. Up to NZ$200 you keep your name, the date, a description and the amount. Above NZ$200 you add your GST number and the GST, or the GST-inclusive amount with a statement that GST is included. Above NZ$1,000 you add the buyer’s name and one identifier, such as an address, phone number, email or NZBN, if the buyer is GST-registered.

Japan

Section titled “Japan”

A simplified qualified invoice (適格簡易請求書) may be issued by retail, restaurant, photography, travel and taxi businesses for any of their sales, and by parking operators and similar businesses for sales to large numbers of unspecified customers. It may leave out the customer’s name and show either the rate or the tax amount. There is no amount limit; the type of business decides.

Malaysia and Brunei

Section titled “Malaysia and Brunei”

No value-based simplified service tax invoice was found in Malaysian law. The Director General may, on a written request, allow particulars to be left off an invoice. Brunei has no GST or VAT.

In easySales

Section titled “In easySales”
  • easySales issues the full form of invoice for every sale, with your details, the customer’s name and address, each line, the tax per rate and the totals. It serves below and above every threshold. See Invoice PDF.
  • The heading follows your tax registration when the design’s title is Automatic (by tax registration). See GST and tax invoices.
  • A receipt PDF records each payment with its own number. See Receipt PDF.

Examples

Section titled “Examples”

Lim & Co sells a SGD 545.00 lamp (SGD 500.00 plus GST of SGD 45.00) to a GST-registered customer in Singapore. The total is under S$1,000, so a simplified tax invoice would be enough. Mei Tan issues the full invoice from easySales anyway, which also meets the rule.

A SGD 1,090.00 order to a GST-registered customer is over S$1,000 including GST, so it needs the full tax invoice with the customer’s name and address and the GST shown separately.

Common questions

Section titled “Common questions”
  • What is a simplified tax invoice? A shorter tax invoice allowed for small sales or certain businesses, which leaves out some details such as the customer’s name.
  • What is the simplified tax invoice limit in Singapore? S$1,000, including GST.
  • Do I need the customer’s ABN on an Australian tax invoice? Only when the total price is A$1,000 or more, and then the customer’s identity or ABN is enough.
  • What must a New Zealand invoice for NZ$200 or less show? Your name, the date, a description and the amount. You do not have to provide taxable supply information on request at that value.
  • Who can issue a simplified invoice in Japan? Retail, restaurant, photography, travel and taxi businesses for any sale, and parking operators and similar businesses for sales to large numbers of unspecified customers.
  • Can I always issue a full tax invoice instead? Yes. The shorter forms are allowances, not requirements.

Sources

Section titled “Sources”

Last checked: 21 October 2026.

Section titled “Related”