Guides

Invoicing when you're not GST registered

Last updated 10 September 2026

The short answer: a non-GST invoice is a normal invoice with three things left off — no GST number, no GST line, and no “Tax Invoice” heading. Everything else is the same. Charging or showing GST when you are not registered is the one mistake here that genuinely matters.

Most invoice templates assume you are GST registered, which leaves everyone under the $60,000 threshold deleting rows and wondering whether they have broken something. You have not. Below the threshold, invoicing is simpler, not more complicated — there is just less on the page.

What to include

  • Your name or business name. As a sole trader your own name is fine, and your trading name if you use one.
  • Contact details. Email or phone, so the customer can query it without hunting.
  • An invoice number. Sequential. It is how you notice one has gone missing, and how you find it again in three years.
  • The date you issued it.
  • Who it is for. Your customer's name, plus their address for anything substantial.
  • What the work was. Specific enough that they recognise the job — “Replace kitchen mixer tap, incl. parts”, not “labour”.
  • The total, in New Zealand dollars. One figure. There is no subtotal-plus-GST structure to build, because there is no GST.
  • A due date and how to pay. A real date, not “due on receipt”.

What to leave off

This is the part that matters, and it is short.

  • No GST number. You do not have one. Nothing goes in that space — not “N/A”, not your IRD number, which is a different number entirely and not for sharing.
  • No GST line and no 15%. Not as a separate line, not as “incl. GST”, not as “GST $0.00”. A zero GST line still says you are registered and this supply happened to be zero-rated, which is a different thing entirely.
  • Not headed “Tax Invoice”. Just “Invoice”. The tax invoice heading tells your customer's accountant there is GST here to claim, and there is not.

The mistake worth being careful about

Adding 15% to your prices while unregistered is not a paperwork slip. You would be collecting tax with no mechanism to hand it over, and IRD can still require you to account for it — meaning you pay over money you already spent. Your customer, meanwhile, holds a document supporting a GST claim that is not valid, which surfaces at their accountant months later and is their problem before it is yours.

It usually happens by accident, from a template with a GST row nobody removed. If it has happened, credit the invoice, reissue it without GST, and talk to an accountant before it compounds.

What your price actually means now

Not being registered means the price you quote is the price you keep. A $500 job is $500 in your pocket, where a registered tradie quoting $500 plus GST bills $575 and hands $75 to IRD.

That is a genuine advantage with household customers — you are effectively 13% cheaper than an identical registered competitor at the same headline price. It reverses with business customers, who claim GST back and therefore do not care what the GST portion is, while you cannot claim back the GST on your own materials.

It also means one thing to watch: you cannot claim GST back on tools, materials or fuel. Every purchase costs you the full sticker price. On a job with heavy materials that gap is worth doing the arithmetic on before you decide registering is not worth the paperwork — see whether to register for GST.

Watch the $60,000 line

Registration becomes compulsory once your turnover passes $60,000 in any rolling 12-month period, or as soon as you expect to pass it in the next 12 months. Turnover is total sales, not profit — a builder billing $70,000 with $30,000 of materials is over the line.

The rolling part is what catches people. It is not the tax year: a busy nine months can put your trailing 12 months over the threshold in November as easily as in March. Register before you cross rather than after — register late and IRD can treat you as registered from the date you should have been, which means GST owed on invoices you never added it to and cannot now go back and collect.

A free template that already gets this right

Our free invoice template has a GST-registered switch. Turn it off and the GST number field, the GST line and the “Tax Invoice” heading all disappear — you get a clean invoice with one total and a PDF to send. No signup, nothing stored, nothing emailed to you.

When you do cross the threshold, the same switch puts all of it back.

Common questions

Can I invoice if I'm not GST registered?

Yes. There is no registration, licence or minimum turnover needed to send an invoice in New Zealand. If you have done work and agreed a price, you can bill for it. GST registration only becomes compulsory once your turnover passes $60,000 in any 12-month period.

What do I put on an invoice if I'm not GST registered?

Your name or business name, your contact details, an invoice number, the date, a clear description of the work, the total in New Zealand dollars, a due date and how to pay. That is the whole list. No GST number, no GST line, no percentage, and the word “Invoice” at the top rather than “Tax Invoice”.

Can I write 'Tax Invoice' if I'm not GST registered?

No. “Tax invoice” — and the taxable supply information rules that replaced the term in 2023 — describes a document supporting a GST claim. If you are not registered there is no GST to claim, so the heading is simply wrong and it invites your customer's accountant to try to claim GST that was never charged. Head it Invoice.

What happens if I charge GST when I'm not registered?

This is the one genuinely serious invoicing mistake. You would be collecting a tax you have no way to pass on, and IRD treats it as money owed to them regardless — so you can end up paying over 15% you already spent, and you have given your customer a document supporting a claim that is not valid. If you have done it by accident, credit the invoice, reissue it correctly, and talk to an accountant.

Do I need to say I'm not GST registered on the invoice?

You do not have to, and there is no prescribed wording. Some people add a short line — “No GST charged; not GST registered” — and it does save questions from business customers who are looking for a GST number to claim against. Silence is equally correct.

Do I still need to keep the invoices?

Yes — seven years, GST registered or not. Your invoices are the record of your income for your income tax return, and that obligation has nothing to do with GST. Digital copies are fine.

Or stop retyping it every time

PayMint remembers whether you are registered and every invoice follows — no GST anywhere while you are under the threshold, 15% shown properly with your number the day you register, and one switch in Settings between them. Invoices go out with a pay-by-card link and chase themselves when they go overdue. 1% per paid invoice (plus Stripe's card fee), no monthly cost.

Try PayMint free

Related guides

General information, not tax advice — for your specific situation, talk to an accountant or check ird.govt.nz.