UK VAT, Australian GST, and US sales tax are not the same legal regime — but freelancers still want one invoice form. Our job was to ship labels and math that do not invent compliance theater, while still letting people produce documents their clients recognize.
What we model
- Tax name / label (user-facing string: “VAT 20%”, “GST”, “Sales Tax”).
- Rate as a percentage.
- Optional tax registration numbers on seller and buyer.
- Line-level amounts that can be taxed consistently with the document total.
We do not claim the PDF is a government-certified tax form for every country. We do claim the fields are explicit enough for humans and accountants to verify.
Why a single schema beats per-country forks
Forking templates per jurisdiction explodes QA. A shared structure with localized labels keeps PDF themes maintainable. When someone needs a GST invoice, they set the label and rate, add their ABN/GST number in business details, and export.
Edge cases we document for users
- Reverse charge / zero-rated scenarios still need clear notes on the invoice.
- Buyers in another country may require the seller’s tax ID even when the rate is 0%.
- Mixed taxable and non-taxable lines should not silently apply one rate to everything.
Product stance
Software can make it easy to fill the right boxes. It cannot replace advice from a tax professional. We link educational guides, keep wording careful, and prioritize clarity on the PDF over clever automation that hides the math.
See also: GST/VAT field checklist and what is a tax invoice.