Contractor invoice template: labor, materials and the tax on each
Bill the hours and the materials apart, mark which lines are taxable, and deduct what the customer already paid.
From: your business
Bill to: your customer
Number, dates and terms
Total due
$4,610.00
no tax added
Juniper Lane Studio LLC
418 Congress Ave, Suite 200
Austin, TX 78701
billing@example.com
Invoice
| Invoice no. | INV-2026-0001 |
| Date | October 17, 2026 |
| Terms | Net 15 |
| Due date | November 16, 2026 |
Bill to
Bluebonnet Coffee Co.
2200 S Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78704
| Description | Qty | Unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor: kitchen remodel, phase 2 | 38 | $65.00 | $2,470.00 |
| Materials: cabinets and fixtures | 1 | $2,140.00 | $2,140.00 |
| Subtotal | $4,610.00 |
| Total | $4,610.00 |
Payment details
ACH: routing 000000000, account 0000000000 Please include the invoice number with your payment.
Work completed as per the agreed scope. Retainage, if any, is shown as a payment received.
United States: no federal invoice format
All required details present
State sales tax rules apply to what you charge, not to the invoice layout.
- Present: An invoice number
- Present: Your business name and address
- Present: Customer name and billing address
- Present: A description of each item
- Present: Due date or payment terms
- Present: Sales tax shown as its own line, with the rate
Made in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to a server; your business details are kept on this device only, for the next invoice.
Total due
$4,610.00
A contractor's invoice has one habit that sets it apart from a freelancer's: labor and materials are billed on separate lines, because they are often taxed differently, priced differently and, in the UK construction industry, treated differently for deductions. This template opens on a kitchen remodel phase: 38 hours of labor at $65 and $2,140 of cabinets and fixtures, $4,610 before any tax. In the United States each state decides whether installation labor, materials or both are taxable, so each line carries its own taxable switch and the state and local rate apply only where you turn it on. In the UK the same job invoiced to a building contractor under the Construction Industry Scheme loses £494 of CIS deduction at 20%, taken on the labor only, and carries no VAT in the total because the domestic reverse charge moves it to the customer. A deposit already received is subtracted at the bottom so the balance due is the figure the customer pays.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Methodology
Writing the labor line
Customers dispute labor more than materials, because they cannot see it on a receipt. Put the number of hours and the hourly rate on the line rather than a lump sum, name the phase or the room, and keep a daily log you can send if asked. Where two trades worked, one line per trade reads better than a blended rate. If you quote fixed prices instead, describe the milestone reached and leave the quantity at 1.
Materials: cost, markup and tax
List materials as one line per supplier order or per major item. Whether you show the markup separately is a commercial choice, but the materials line is the one a careful customer checks against the supplier's receipt. In the US, a contractor who buys materials tax-paid and installs them may be treated as the final consumer in some states and as a reseller in others; the per-line taxable switch lets you follow whichever your state applies, and the state's revenue department is the place to confirm it.
The UK construction case
A subcontractor working for a building contractor in the UK usually invoices under two rules at once. The domestic reverse charge means no VAT is added to the total; the invoice states the VAT the customer accounts for and carries the wording HMRC lists. The Construction Industry Scheme means the contractor pays you less than the invoice total and sends the difference to HMRC as an advance on your tax. Only a contractor in the sense of the scheme deducts: a business whose trade is construction, or one that has spent more than £3 million on construction in 12 months, as GOV.UK's page on who is covered by CIS sets out.
| Same job, UK | VAT added | CIS deducted | Customer pays you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building contractor, CIS and reverse charge | £0.00 | £494.00 | £4,116.00 |
| Homeowner, VAT-registered contractor | £922.00 | £0.00 | £5,532.00 |
The CIS invoice template opens with both rules already set, and the CIS deduction guide explains the 20%, 30% and gross payment rates. The scope of the reverse charge, including the end-user exception, is in the reverse charge guide.
Deposits and final invoices
For jobs that start with a deposit, invoice the deposit first, then on the final invoice enter what was received in "Deposit paid": the generator prints the full total, the payment already made and the balance due, so the two documents reconcile. The deposit invoice guide shows the tax on each part.