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Invoicing a UK client from the EU
Since Brexit the UK is a third country for VAT purposes. For most freelance services that makes the invoice simpler, not harder.
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Currency and tax
Not sure which applies? Three questions and you will know.
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What changed
Before Brexit, invoicing a UK business from an EU country was an intra-EU supply: you applied the reverse charge, quoted both VAT numbers, and reported it as an EU sale. That framework no longer applies. The UK is now a third country, and services to a UK business are generally outside the scope of EU VAT.
In practice the invoice gets shorter: no EU VAT, no reverse charge statement, no EU sales reporting for that client. What replaces it is a different sentence.
What to put on the invoice
Rather than the reverse charge wording, state why no VAT is charged:
No VAT charged — supply of services to a business established
outside the EU, outside the scope of EU VAT.You can still print your client's UK VAT number if they give it to you; it is useful for their records, though it no longer plays the role an EU number does. What matters more is evidence that they are a business established in the UK: address, contract, their company number.
Does your UK client have to do anything?
Usually they account for the VAT themselves under the UK's own reverse charge rules for services bought from abroad, and if they are fully taxable they recover it in the same return. From your side, that is their obligation and not yours — but it is worth knowing, because a UK client occasionally asks why there is no VAT on the invoice and this is the answer.
Northern Ireland
Treat this as a question for an accountant rather than something to reason about yourself. Northern Ireland has special arrangements for goods that do not apply the same way to services, and getting it wrong in either direction is easy. If you supply services to a business in Northern Ireland, ask; do not assume it follows either the EU or the Great Britain treatment.
The practical things that actually cost you money
The VAT is the easy part. What changed in day-to-day terms:
- Currency. UK clients expect GBP. That is a third currency for a
euro-area freelancer, and a currency that moves. Price accordingly, and state
GBPin letters. - Payment. A euro SEPA transfer no longer covers you. Get GBP local details through a multi-currency account so your client makes a domestic Faster Payments transfer — for them it arrives in seconds and costs nothing.
- Contracts. Older template contracts may reference EU law or EU dispute resolution in ways that no longer make sense. Worth one read-through.
- Data. If your work involves personal data moving between the EU and the UK, that is a separate question from invoicing and it has its own answer. Do not conflate the two.
If you are in the UK invoicing the EU
The mirror image, and just as simple: services to an EU business are generally outside the scope of UK VAT, your client self-accounts in their country, and your invoice carries a statement to that effect rather than a UK VAT charge. Your domestic registration threshold still governs whether you charge UK VAT to UK clients.
From the makers of InvoiceAbroad
Three currencies, one set of books
EUR, GBP and whatever comes next. Flowzivo bills in the client’s currency, reports in yours, and keeps the right VAT wording per client.
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Frequently asked questions
Does reverse charge still apply to UK clients after Brexit?
No. The UK is no longer an EU member state, so the intra-EU reverse charge does not apply. Services to a UK business are generally outside the scope of EU VAT, which needs different wording on the invoice.
What wording should I use on an invoice to a UK client?
A statement that no VAT is charged because the supply is to a business established outside the EU and is therefore outside the scope of EU VAT.
Do I need my UK client's VAT number on the invoice?
It is no longer required the way an EU VAT number is, though it does no harm. Evidence that the client is a business established in the UK matters more.
How is Northern Ireland treated?
Differently, and specifically for goods rather than services. It is genuinely a question for an accountant rather than something to infer — do not assume it follows either the EU or the Great Britain treatment.
Should I invoice a UK client in pounds or euros?
UK clients generally expect GBP. Getting GBP local bank details lets them pay by domestic Faster Payments, which is instant and free at their end.