Mandatory fields
| Field | When it applies |
|---|---|
| No federal requirement | Always IRS Publication 583 states that the law does not require any specific kind of records. What matters federally is that your records are complete enough to support the income and deductions on your return, not that an invoice carries particular fields. |
The rules at a glance
| Rule | In the United States | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tax | No federal sales tax or VAT; sales and use tax is set by each state | IRS |
| Sequential number required | No | IRS |
| Keep records for | 3 years | IRS |
| Reverse charge wording | Not verified | n/a |
| Simplified invoice threshold | Not verified | n/a |
| E-invoicing | Not verified | n/a |
"Not verified" means we could not read the value off a primary source, so we do not state one. It is not a claim that no rule exists. See our methodology.
How long to keep invoices
3 years. Three years is the baseline period of limitations, rising to six years where income is understated by more than 25 percent, and with no limit where a return is fraudulent or was never filed.
There is no such thing as a legally required US invoice format
This page exists mostly to correct an assumption. Anyone arriving from Europe expects a list of mandatory invoice particulars, and federally there is not one. IRS Publication 583 puts it directly: the law does not require any specific kind of records. The obligation is that your records substantiate what you put on your return, not that a document carries prescribed fields.
That does not mean nothing applies. Sales and use tax is set state by state, so whether you charge it, at what rate, and what your invoice has to show can all differ across a state line. There is no federal answer to those questions and this page does not offer one: check with the revenue department of the state you are selling into.
The practical effect for a freelancer or small business is freedom with a catch. You can format an invoice however you like, and you still want an unbroken number series, a clear description and a stated payment term, because those are what get you paid and what get you through an audit. They are simply good practice here rather than law.
Making the invoice
Once you know what your invoice needs, the invoice generator builds it in your browser. It has a tax field, a discount field, VAT number fields for both parties and a notes field for wording such as a reverse-charge statement. Nothing you type is uploaded.
This page describes published requirements. It is not advice on your own situation, and whether a rule applies to you depends on facts we do not have. For that, go to IRS directly or talk to an accountant.