Invoicing International Clients: Currency, Tax, and Getting Paid

Invoicing a client in another country adds three layers of complexity on top of the usual: which currency to bill in, which tax rules apply, and how to actually receive the money without losing 3% to bank fees. None of it is hard, but each layer has a default that quietly costs you money if you do not think about it. This guide covers the decisions to make before you send the invoice and the wording to put on it.

Pick the currency — and say it on the invoice

Decide upfront which currency you are billing in, and put the ISO currency code (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD) on the invoice, not just a symbol. A '$' alone is ambiguous — it could be US, Canadian, Australian, Singapore, or Hong Kong dollars. If you are billing in your home currency, you carry no exchange risk but the client may push back; if you bill in theirs, you accept the risk that the rate moves between invoicing and payment.

A common compromise is to bill in your client's currency but quote a fixed exchange rate on the invoice, valid for the payment term. This shifts the timing risk back to them — if they delay, they pay the rate you set, not the rate on the day they finally pay.

Tax: which country's rules apply?

For services, the general rule in VAT/GST countries is that B2B supplies are taxed where the customer is, and B2C supplies are taxed where the supplier is. In practice, that means a UK freelancer selling design services to a German VAT-registered business applies the reverse charge — no UK VAT, the German customer accounts for it. Selling the same service to a German consumer means you charge UK VAT (or use OSS to charge German VAT) under the EU's €10,000 cross-border threshold.

Reverse charge wording to include

When reverse charge applies, your invoice should show no VAT line and include a clear statement, such as 'Reverse charge: VAT to be accounted for by the recipient.' Include the customer's VAT number on the invoice and your own. Without the customer's VAT number, the reverse charge does not apply — you would have to charge your local VAT instead.

Getting paid: choose your method carefully

Bank SWIFT transfers are reliable but slow (3–7 days) and expensive — your client's bank, your bank, and any intermediary banks can each take a cut, and the exchange rate is rarely favourable. For amounts under a few thousand in any currency, a specialist service like Wise, Payoneer, or Revolut Business is almost always cheaper and faster. They give you local account details in your client's country, so they pay locally and you receive the converted amount with a transparent fee.

• Wise (formerly TransferWise): mid-market rate, small fixed fee, ideal for one-off transfers
• Payoneer: built for freelancers, integrates with marketplaces, slightly higher fees
• Revolut Business: multi-currency accounts, good for frequent international billing
• Stripe: card payments, great for clients who prefer to pay by card, roughly 2.9% plus a fixed fee
• SWIFT/wire: traditional bank transfer, best for very large amounts where the fixed fees are a tiny percentage

State clearly who pays the fees

Cross-border payments almost always incur fees somewhere. State on the invoice who bears them: 'All bank charges, including intermediary and receiving fees, are to be paid by the client' (called a OUR instruction), or split them. Without this, the default varies by bank and country, and you can lose 1–3% of the invoice value to fees you did not expect.

Practical checklist for international invoices

Before sending an international invoice, run through this list: currency code stated, client's VAT/GST number included where applicable, reverse charge wording if relevant, payment method specified with account details, and a clear statement of who pays bank fees. Getting these right before you send prevents the most common delays — invoices held up because the client needs more information to make a payment.