Tax & Invoicing Guides
Practical, sourced guides on Making Tax Digital, VAT invoicing, and South African tax invoice requirements — for freelancers who need the specific fields, dates, and thresholds.
All guides
Three in-depth guides covering the most common compliance questions freelancers search for.
Making Tax Digital for Freelancers
The £50,000/£30,000/£20,000 income thresholds and start dates for MTD for Income Tax, what quarterly updates involve, and how to prepare.
Read the guide →UK VAT Invoicing Requirements
Full vs simplified invoice thresholds, VAT number format, reverse charge wording, and worked examples with real numbers.
Read the guide →South Africa Invoice Requirements
Full vs abridged tax invoice thresholds (R5,000/R50), every required field, and the 2026 VAT vendor registration thresholds.
Read the guide →Why these guides exist
Tidybill builds compliant invoices for UK and South African freelancers automatically, but the underlying rules — who must register, what a valid invoice needs, and when digital submission becomes mandatory — change often enough that it helps to have them written down in one place, with sources, and reviewed regularly.
Each guide is reviewed against HMRC and SARS guidance and dated. Where a rule is genuinely unclear or in transition, the guide says so rather than guessing. None of this is personalised tax advice; check your specific position with HMRC, SARS, or a qualified accountant.
Related tools
For quick calculations rather than full guides, see the free calculators: UK VAT calculator, SA VAT calculator, and late payment interest calculator. For region-specific invoicing detail beyond these three guides, see the UK invoicing hub and South Africa invoicing hub.
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