Sole trader invoicing in NZ

Q: Can a sole trader issue an invoice in New Zealand?

Yes. A New Zealand sole trader can issue invoices immediately, with no company, registered business name, GST number or NZBN required.

Q: Do sole traders pay GST in New Zealand?

Sole traders only charge and pay GST once registered. Registration is compulsory once turnover passes $60,000 in any 12-month period and optional below that. The business structure does not change the threshold.

Q: Do I put my IRD number on an invoice?

No. Your IRD number should not go on an invoice. Only a GST number belongs on an invoice, and only if you are GST registered.

Q: Do I need a business bank account as a sole trader?

There is no legal requirement for a sole trader to have a business bank account, but a separate account makes tax returns far easier and keeps tax money separate. A second personal account is sufficient.

Q: How much should I set aside for tax as a sole trader?

Many sole traders set aside roughly 30% of income after expenses for income tax and ACC levies, plus GST separately if registered. The correct figure depends on total income, so confirm it with an accountant.

Q: How long do I keep my invoices?

Inland Revenue requires business records including invoices to be kept for seven years. Digital copies are acceptable.

Last updated 10 September 2026

The short answer: you can invoice from day one with nothing but your own name and an IRD number. No company, no registered business name, no NZBN, and no GST number until your turnover passes $60,000 in a 12-month period.

Being a sole trader is the simplest way to work for yourself in New Zealand and it is what most tradies, contractors and side-business owners start as. The paperwork is genuinely light — but there are four things worth getting right early, because all four are harder to fix backwards than forwards.

1. Invoicing with no company behind you

An invoice from a sole trader looks like any other invoice. Your own name is your business name unless you have chosen a trading name, and a trading name needs no registration — you can simply use it, provided you are not passing yourself off as an existing business.

If you do use one, put both on the invoice: Sam Reid trading as Southern Sparky. It means the name on the invoice matches the name on the bank account the customer is paying into, which removes the most common reason a payment gets queried or delayed.

For what belongs on the document itself, see how to invoice as a sole trader or tradie.

2. Which numbers go on it, and which don't

GST number — on the invoice, but only if you are registered. If you are not, leave the whole subject off; see invoicing when you're not GST registered.
IRD number — never. It is personal tax information and a customer has no use for it.
NZBN — optional. Sole traders can get one free, and some larger customers and government agencies ask for it. Harmless to show, not required.
Bank account number — yes, if you want to be paid by transfer. There is no risk in publishing it; an account number alone cannot be used to take money out.

3. The money that isn't yours

This is the thing that catches out nearly every first-year sole trader. The amount that lands in your account is not what you earned — some of it is income tax, some is ACC, and some is GST if you are registered. Spend it and you will be finding it again in April.

Income tax. Nobody is deducting PAYE for you. You file an IR3 after 31 March and pay what you owe, and once you are earning properly you move onto provisional tax — paying in instalments through the year rather than one lump afterwards.
ACC levies. Invoiced separately from your tax and genuinely surprising the first time, because they arrive as their own bill months after the income they relate to.
GST, if registered. 15% of what you collected was never yours. See GST due dates for when it has to be handed over.

A rough working figure is 30% of income after expenses for tax and ACC, plus GST on top and separate. Put it in a second account the day an invoice is paid. The precise number depends on your total income for the year, and half an hour with an accountant in your first year is the cheapest thing you will buy.

4. Records, and the seven-year rule

IRD requires business records to be kept for seven years — invoices, receipts for anything you claim, bank statements, and your quotes. Digital is fine and better: a folder that syncs survives a van break-in and a house move, and a shoebox does not.

Sequential invoice numbers matter more than they look. They are how you notice that invoice 47 was never paid, and how you find it when someone queries a job from two winters ago.

Getting paid, which is the actual job

Sole traders carry a specific cash-flow risk: there is no finance department chasing on your behalf, and a customer who pays 40 days late is borrowing from you interest-free. Three habits fix most of it.

Invoice the same day. The strongest single predictor of how fast you are paid is how fast you send it.
Deposits on anything with materials in it. Do not fund someone else's job out of your own account.
Make paying take one tap. A bank account number in the footer means opening a banking app and typing a reference. A card link gets paid from the sofa.

When it goes wrong anyway, what to do when a customer won't pay covers chasing, interest and the Disputes Tribunal.

Common questions

Can a sole trader issue an invoice in New Zealand?

Yes, from day one. You do not need a company, a registered business name, a GST number or an NZBN. Your own name and an IRD number are enough to trade and to bill for it.

Do sole traders pay GST in New Zealand?

Only once registered, and registration is compulsory above $60,000 of turnover in any 12-month period. Below that it is optional. Being a sole trader makes no difference to the threshold — it is the turnover that decides, not the structure you trade under.

Do I put my IRD number on an invoice?

No. Your IRD number is personal tax information and does not belong on a customer-facing document. The only tax number that goes on an invoice is a GST number, and only if you are registered — they are different numbers, though a registered sole trader's GST number is often their IRD number.

Do I need a business bank account as a sole trader?

Not legally, but in practice yes. A separate account makes your income tax return an export rather than an archaeology project, and it is the only realistic way to keep tax and GST money apart from your own. It does not have to be a business account — a second personal account works.

How much should I set aside for tax as a sole trader?

A common rule of thumb is around 30% of what you earn after expenses, covering income tax and ACC levies, plus 15% of your GST-inclusive sales separately if you are registered. It is a starting point, not advice — your actual rate depends on your total income, and an accountant will give you a real number cheaply.

How long do I keep my invoices?

Seven years, registered or not. Digital copies are fine, and are safer than paper — a shoebox does not survive a house move, and IRD asking for 2021 in 2028 is a normal request, not an accusation.

Built for exactly this

PayMint is made for sole traders and small trades businesses: your details and GST status set once, sequential invoice numbers, quotes that become invoices in a click, a pay-by-card link on every invoice, automatic overdue chasing, and a GST report when the return is due. 1% per paid invoice (plus Stripe's card fee), no monthly cost — so a quiet month costs you nothing.

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Related guides

General information, not tax advice. Rates, thresholds and levies are IRD's and ACC's — check ird.govt.nz, acc.co.nz, or ask an accountant about your situation.