Invoice StudioGST invoice guide

What a New Zealand GST invoice needs

Since 1 April 2023, IRD calls the details on a GST invoice "taxable supply information", and what you need depends on the value of the sale. For sales over $200, show your name or trade name, GST number, the date, a description, and the GST-inclusive amount with either the GST-exclusive and GST amounts or a statement that GST is included. Over $1,000, a GST-registered buyer's name and at least one identifier, such as their address or email, are also required.

Last reviewed 23 October 2026 against Inland Revenue's GST pages

This isn't tax advice. It restates Inland Revenue's published rules in plain English, with a link to the IRD page under each section. IRD also has rules for agents, supplier groups and approved changes to taxable supply information, which this guide doesn't cover. If you're not sure what applies to you, check with IRD or your accountant.

What a GST invoice must show at each sale value

The information you provide or keep depends on the value and type of supply. These are IRD's requirements for each value band.

Taxable supply information required, by value of the supply
Information	$200 or less	More than $200 and up to $1,000	More than $1,000
Seller's details	Name or trade name	Name or trade name GST number	Name or trade name GST number
Buyer's details	Not required	Not required	If the buyer is GST-registered: Name 1 or more of these identifiers: Address (physical or postal) Phone number Email address Trading name, if different from the buyer's name New Zealand Business Number Website URL
Date	Date of invoice Where no invoice is issued, the time of supply	Date of invoice Where no invoice is issued, the time of supply	Date of invoice Where no invoice is issued, the time of supply
Goods or services	Description of the goods or services	Description of the goods or services	Description of the goods or services
Payment information	The consideration for the supply	Either: the GST-exclusive amount, the GST amount and the GST-inclusive amount, or the GST-inclusive amount and a statement that GST is included, when GST is charged at the standard rate on all the goods or services listed	Either: the GST-exclusive amount, the GST amount and the GST-inclusive amount, or the GST-inclusive amount and a statement that GST is included, when GST is charged at the standard rate on all the goods or services listed

Source: Inland Revenue, How taxable supply information for GST works (page updated 31 March 2026)

When you have to provide it

For supplies over $200, you must give a GST-registered buyer taxable supply information within 28 days of their request, or by another date you both agree. You must keep taxable supply information for any goods and services you buy or sell.

It doesn't have to be a single document. Invoices, bank statements, supplier agreements and contracts can be used on their own or together to support the figures in your GST returns. You can also provide it through an automated exchange between your software and the buyer's, such as PEPPOL eInvoicing.

Source: Inland Revenue, How taxable supply information for GST works (page updated 31 March 2026)

What changed on 1 April 2023

New rules replaced the requirement to use tax invoices with a more general requirement to provide and keep taxable supply information. What counts as a taxable supply and how GST is calculated didn't change, only the rules for invoicing and record keeping. Three terms changed.

Old and new IRD terms
Old term	New term
Tax invoice	Taxable supply information
Debit note or credit note	Supply correction information
Buyer-created tax invoice	Buyer-created taxable supply information

Invoicing that met the old rules meets the new ones. You don't need to change the wording on your documents, so a single document marked “tax invoice” still works.

Source: Inland Revenue, Taxable supply information for GST (page updated 27 November 2024)

Secondhand goods and imports

IRD lists different information for these two types of supply.

Taxable supply information required for secondhand goods and imports
Information	Secondhand goods	Imported goods and services
Seller's details	Name or trade name Address	Name or trade name Address
Buyer's details	Not required	Not required
Date	Date on which the goods were supplied	Date of invoice Where no invoice is issued, the time of supply
Goods or services	Description of the goods Quantity or volume of the goods	Description of the goods or services
Payment information	The consideration for the supply	The consideration for the supply Any amount that represents salary or wages paid to an employee of the seller, or of a company in a commonly owned group with the seller Any amount that represents interest incurred by the seller, or by a company in a commonly owned group with the seller

Source: Inland Revenue, How taxable supply information for GST works (page updated 31 March 2026)

Buyer-created invoices

A GST-registered buyer can provide the taxable supply information instead of a GST-registered seller, if both agree. You don't need IRD's approval. IRD gives two cases where it helps: when the buyer is better placed to set the price, and when a buyer buys the same goods or services from many sellers and wants a standard format.

It must show

The standard taxable supply information
The buyer's and seller's GST numbers
GST added to the gross supply of goods or services

It can only be used if the buyer and seller

Are both GST-registered
Agree that only the buyer will provide the taxable supply information
Record their reasons for agreeing, if it isn't part of their normal terms of business
Keep a copy of the taxable supply information

IRD may invalidate the agreement before a supply if the buyer and seller haven't complied with it, or haven't recorded their reasons when it isn't part of their normal terms. Buyer-created tax invoice arrangements IRD approved before 1 April 2023 can continue.

Source: Inland Revenue, Buyer-created taxable supply information (page updated 27 November 2024)

Credit and debit notes

IRD now calls these supply correction information. A seller must provide it to correct an error in the original taxable supply information or a filed return, even if the buyer has already paid.

When it's needed

IRD's examples:

The buyer adds more items or cancels an order
All or some of the goods are returned
Some of the goods weren't delivered
The description of the goods or services is wrong
The seller or buyer details are wrong
The date is wrong
GST is calculated at the wrong rate
The wrong amount of GST is charged

What it must include

Buyers and sellers must keep supply correction information with all of these details:

The seller's name or trade name and GST number
The date the correction was provided
Details that identify the original taxable supply information, such as an invoice number
The correction, including any correction to the GST charged

Other rules

You don't need to provide it if the correction comes from a discount or rebate whose terms were agreed in writing or set out in the taxable supply information.
Provide it once per supply. If the buyer loses theirs, you can send a copy, and it doesn't need to be marked “copy only”.
One document can hold supply correction information and taxable supply information for a different supply.
Include it in the GST return for the period you provided it in.
You can't use it to fix a mistake in a return after a set time. IRD's page links to the details.

Source: Inland Revenue, Supply correction information (page updated 1 April 2023)

How long to keep records

You must keep taxable supply information for any goods and services you buy or sell.

Source: Inland Revenue, How taxable supply information for GST works (page updated 31 March 2026)

Keep all your records, including electronic ones, for at least 7 tax years.
Records must be in English or Māori, unless IRD approves another language.
If you store records offshore, including in cloud computing, you or your cloud provider needs IRD's approval.

Source: Inland Revenue, Record keeping (page updated 14 May 2026)

Making GST invoices on your phone

Invoice Studio is our invoice and quote app for iPhone and Android. Set the tax label to GST, add your rate and GST number, and the number prints on every PDF. Choose whether prices include or exclude GST, add the client and line items, and share the PDF by email or message.

Invoices are stored on your device, and you can export them to CSV for a backup or your accountant. What each invoice needs to show is still your call, so check it against IRD's rules above.

Sources

Inland Revenue. Taxable supply information for GST, page updated 27 November 2024. ird.govt.nz/gst/tax-invoices-for-gst
Inland Revenue. How taxable supply information for GST works, page updated 31 March 2026. ird.govt.nz/gst/tax-invoices-for-gst/how-tax-invoices-for-gst-work
Inland Revenue. Buyer-created taxable supply information, page updated 27 November 2024. ird.govt.nz/gst/tax-invoices-for-gst/buyer-created-taxable-supply-information
Inland Revenue. Supply correction information, page updated 1 April 2023. ird.govt.nz/gst/tax-invoices-for-gst/credit-and-debit-notes
Inland Revenue. Record keeping, page updated 14 May 2026. ird.govt.nz/managing-my-tax/record-keeping

Last reviewed 23 October 2026 by Studio Phoenix.

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