Reverse Charge Invoice Wording for UK and EU Freelancers: What to Put on the Invoice

When reverse charge applies to B2B services

You invoice a business client in another country. Do you add VAT? For many cross-border B2B services the answer is no. The customer accounts for the VAT in their own country under the reverse charge. Your invoice shows no VAT, says that the reverse charge applies, and carries both VAT numbers.

Getting the wording right is also about getting paid. An invoice with the wrong tax line goes back to you from the client's accounts team, and the payment clock stops until you send a corrected one.

This guide is for UK and EU freelancers and small businesses selling services to business clients abroad. It covers when the reverse charge generally applies, the wording to print on the invoice, the UK position after Brexit, the VAT number check, two worked examples in GBP and EUR, and the mistakes accountants see most often.

This is general information, not tax advice. Place-of-supply rules have exceptions, member states implement details differently, and the right treatment depends on your facts. For large or unusual sales, check with your accountant or tax adviser before you invoice.

The EU general rule

Within the EU, the starting point for B2B services is the VAT Directive 2006/112/EC. Article 44 places the supply where the business customer is established, and Article 196 makes that customer liable for the VAT. In plain terms: if you are a taxable business in one EU country and your client is a taxable business established in another, the VAT is generally due in the client's country and the client accounts for it there. You invoice the net amount with no VAT and add the reverse-charge wording described below.

Three conditions usually have to hold at once: both sides act as businesses for this sale, the sale is a service rather than goods, and no special rule moves the place of supply elsewhere. If any of these is doubtful, stop and check. The reverse charge is not a default for every foreign invoice.

Services only, and the exceptions

This guide covers services only. Intra-EU supplies of goods follow different rules, with their own exemption conditions and reporting, so do not copy a services treatment onto a goods sale.

Even for services, the general rule has exceptions. Articles 47 to 59a of the Directive set special place-of-supply rules, for example for services connected with land and buildings, passenger transport, admission to events, restaurant and catering services, and short-term hire of vehicles. Digital services to private consumers follow yet another set of rules. If your work falls into one of these categories, confirm the treatment for that category before you rely on this guide.

The exact wording to put on the invoice

The short mention the Directive asks for

Article 226(11a) of the VAT Directive says that where the customer is liable for the VAT, the invoice must contain the mention "Reverse charge". Those two words are the core of the wording. Keep them in English on cross-border invoices so any accounts team recognises them.

Member states also have their own version of the mention, and your national rules may expect it. A German supplier writes "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" (section 14a(1) of the German VAT Act). A French supplier writes "Autoliquidation". Printing your local mention next to the English "Reverse charge" costs nothing and keeps both your tax office and your client happy. Never replace the wording with a vague line such as "no VAT" or "VAT exempt": those describe different treatments and confuse the client's bookkeeping.

A fuller sentence the client's accounts team can process

The two words meet the Directive, but a fuller sentence lets the client's accounts payable team approve the invoice without emailing you. A practical line is:

"VAT EUR 0.00. Reverse charge: VAT to be accounted for by the customer under Article 196 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC."

Adapt the currency and keep the article reference. Show the tax line as 0.00 with the reverse-charge note, never as a blank: a blank line looks like a forgotten calculation, while "0.00, reverse charge" reads as a deliberate treatment.

Print both VAT numbers in full with their country prefixes, for example DE123456789 and FR12123456789 (made-up numbers). Article 226 requires your VAT number and, for a reverse-charge supply, the customer's VAT number on the invoice. Give every invoice a unique number from one sequence, such as 2026-014.

Intra-EU checklist: VAT numbers and the VIES check

Before you send an intra-EU reverse-charge invoice, work through this checklist. It takes five minutes and prevents most disputes.

• Confirm the client is a business. Ask for their VAT number, including the two-letter country code, before you invoice.
• Check the number on the European Commission's VIES service. VIES tells you whether an EU VAT number is valid for cross-border trade on the day you check.
• Save the evidence: the number checked, the date and the result. Keep it with the invoice.
• Print both numbers on the invoice, yours and the customer's, exactly as validated.
• Add the "Reverse charge" mention and the Article 196 reference as shown above.
• Report the supply. Article 262 of the Directive requires EU suppliers to list these services on a recapitulative statement (EC Sales List). Each country sets its own form and deadline, so ask your adviser which one applies to you.

Why the check matters: under Article 18 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011, you may treat your customer as a business when they have given you their VAT number and you have confirmed it is valid. If VIES says the number is invalid, do not apply the reverse charge on trust. Recheck the format, ask the client to confirm the number with their tax office, and ask your adviser how to invoice in the meantime. Without a valid number, the sale may be treated as a sale to a private person, with VAT due in your own country.

The UK after Brexit

The UK left the EU VAT area on 1 January 2021, so the intra-EU reverse charge no longer operates between the UK and EU member states. Each side applies its own place-of-supply rules instead. For most B2B services the outcome looks similar, with no VAT charged by the supplier and tax accounted for by the customer, but the legal basis and the paperwork differ. Do not copy EU-only references onto UK invoices without adjusting them.

UK freelancer invoicing an EU business client

A UK supplier selling B2B services to a business customer established in the EU generally treats the supply as outside the scope of UK VAT, because the place of supply is where the customer belongs. HMRC explains the rules, including the exceptions, in VAT Notice 741A. You charge no UK VAT. A practical invoice line is:

"Outside the scope of UK VAT. Reverse charge: customer to account for VAT in Germany."

Replace Germany with the client's country. HMRC does not prescribe a formula for this line, so this is a common practical wording rather than an official one. Your EU client then accounts for VAT under their own country's rules. Keep proof of the client's business status and address on file.

EU freelancer invoicing a UK business client

The mirror case works the same way. An EU supplier selling B2B services to a business customer established in the UK generally treats the place of supply as the UK and charges no EU VAT. The UK customer accounts for any UK VAT due under the UK reverse charge, which HMRC also describes in VAT Notice 741A. A practical line is:

"Reverse charge: customer in the United Kingdom to account for VAT. No EU VAT charged."

Two Brexit details catch people out. First, UK VAT numbers, which start with GB, cannot be checked in VIES. Use the GOV.UK service "Check a UK VAT number" instead. Second, the EC Sales List only covers customers in other EU countries, so a UK client does not go on it. The sale still belongs in your VAT return, usually on a line for supplies taxed abroad; your adviser will know which line.

Worked examples

Example 1: UK designer invoices a Berlin agency (GBP)

Amara is a freelance brand designer in Manchester, registered for UK VAT. On 12 March 2026 she invoices a design agency in Berlin, a taxable business, for a brand package delivered in February 2026. The fee is GBP 4,800.00 net. Payment terms are Net 30, so payment is due on 11 April 2026. All names and VAT numbers below are made up.

Amara charges no UK VAT and keeps the agency's VAT number confirmation on file. The Berlin agency accounts for German VAT itself. If her next client wants to be billed in euros, she can invoice in EUR and keep a documented rate; QuickBilling's multi-currency invoicing uses ECB exchange rates, so the conversion can be traced later.

Example 2: Spanish developer invoices a French client (EUR)

Diego is a freelance developer in Valencia, registered for Spanish VAT. On 5 May 2026 he invoices a software company in Lyon, a taxable business, for 40 hours of back-end work in April 2026 at EUR 80.00 per hour. The net total is EUR 3,200.00. He checked the client's French VAT number on VIES on 4 May 2026 and saved the result. All names and VAT numbers below are made up.

Diego charges no Spanish VAT, and the Lyon company accounts for French VAT itself. Diego lists the sale on his Spanish recapitulative statement, the modelo 349, and keeps the VIES record with the invoice.

Common mistakes that cause trouble

Accountants see the same reverse-charge errors every year. Most come from rushing the invoice, not from difficult law.

• Charging your own VAT "to be safe". If the reverse charge applies, adding your local VAT is wrong, not safe. The client cannot reclaim VAT that should never have been charged, and you have to reissue the invoice.
• Using the reverse charge for private consumers. It is a B2B rule. Sales to private individuals follow the B2C place-of-supply rules, which often point back to your own country. Confirm business status first.
• Skipping the VAT number check. An unchecked, mistyped or expired number undermines the whole treatment. Check EU numbers on VIES, save the result, and print the number exactly as validated.
• Leaving the tax line blank or writing "VAT exempt". A blank line looks like an error, and an exemption is a different legal concept. Write "0.00" plus the reverse-charge mention.
• Copying reverse-charge wording while you use a small-business scheme. If you are not VAT-registered, or you use an exemption scheme such as the German Kleinunternehmer rule, different invoice rules apply. Check with your adviser before you copy a template.
• Forgetting Brexit. GB numbers do not validate in VIES, the UK is outside the EU VAT area, and EU-only wording needs adjusting on UK invoices.
• Forgetting to report and keep records. The invoice is only half the job. File the recapitulative statement where it applies, and keep the contract, the VIES record and the invoice together. In the UK, HMRC asks you to keep VAT records for at least six years; Germany requires eight years for invoices.
• Mixing up cross-border and domestic reverse charges. Some countries also use a domestic reverse charge in specific sectors. The UK has one for specified building and construction services. That is a separate regime with its own wording and does not belong on ordinary cross-border service invoices.

How QuickBilling helps with reverse-charge invoices

Reverse-charge invoices are mostly about routine: the right treatment, both VAT numbers, the mention, and a clean record. In QuickBilling, the tax presets suggest a treatment for each invoice line and show the reasons, so the reverse charge is a decision you can see rather than a guess. On a German, French or Spanish tax profile, the reverse-charge note from the preset is printed on the invoice. On a UK profile, add your outside-the-scope line in the invoice notes once and reuse the template.

Then get paid. Add your bank details, or your own Stripe, PayPal or Wise link, and it appears as a Pay button on the invoice link you send. Multi-currency invoicing with ECB exchange rates keeps EUR and GBP amounts traceable, and the VAT summary helps you review each period before you or your accountant file. Which treatment applies stays your decision, made with your tax adviser; QuickBilling keeps the record tidy.