Tax · template 09 of 12
Invoice template with tax withheld (WHT, TDS, EWT)
When your client is required to hold back part of your fee and pay it to their tax authority, the invoice has to show it — as a deduction from the total, not a discount and not an error. This template does that, and still prints as a clean one-pager.
Free, no sign-up, nothing stored. It opens filled in so you can see the shape.
When to use it
Use it when a corporate or government client tells you they will deduct withholding tax at source — common in Kenya, Nigeria, India, the Philippines, Indonesia and much of Latin America. Your fee is unchanged; what arrives in your account is smaller, and the difference is credited against your own tax bill when the client issues the certificate. If you leave the deduction off the invoice, their accounts payable will either reject it or pay you the net without explanation.
Don't use it for VAT or GST — those are added, not held back. If both apply, this template carries them together: tax up, withholding down, amount due at the bottom.
Field by field
PIN, TIN, PAN, GSTIN — whatever your authority issues. Without it the client cannot file the deduction against you, and they will chase.
Set by law and by service type, and it varies by country and by the kind of work. Your client's finance team knows the rate they're obliged to apply — ask before you send, rather than guessing.
Usually the pre-tax subtotal, not the tax-inclusive total. The template computes it from the subtotal and prints the base beside the rate so the client can check it.
One line asking for the withholding certificate. It is the only proof you can claim the credit with, and it is far easier to get before you're paid than after.
The net figure — what will actually arrive. Showing the gross here is the single most common cause of a short payment being treated as a dispute.
Questions people ask
Is withholding tax the same as a discount?
No. You earned the full fee; your client is remitting part of it to the tax authority on your behalf. It is a payment, just not to you.
Can I have VAT and withholding on the same invoice?
Yes, and it is normal. VAT is added to the subtotal; withholding is deducted after. The totals block keeps them in that order.
Does this work for a foreign client?
Sometimes. Cross-border withholding depends on the treaty between the two countries and often on a residency certificate. The template will show the row; whether it applies is between you and your client's finance team.
Is it really free?
Yes. No account, no watermark you can't switch off, no export limit. The invoice is built in your browser and never sent to us.
What this is, and what it isn't
This creates an invoice document — the kind you send a client and attach to a payment. It is not a fiscalised e-invoice. Many countries now require invoices to be registered with the tax authority through an approved system, which returns an official number and QR code. We don't do that. If your business is in scope where you are, this document is still yours to send — but the official filing happens elsewhere. We'd rather tell you than let you find out.
We don't validate tax IDs or registration numbers, and nothing here is tax advice. Rates and labels are yours to set; we don't maintain rate tables for every country and won't pretend to.