For UK freelancers

UK invoicing, ready for clients anywhere.

A client in Leeds, one in Berlin, one in New York. Bilio sends each the right invoice, in pounds, euros or dollars and in their language, with the VAT wording HMRC expects. When you’re VAT-registered, it lays out your nine-box return. Free, with no caps on invoices or clients.

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Free plan, no card · Invoices in pounds or any currency · Data stored in the EU

The short answer

How do UK freelancers handle invoices and VAT?

As a sole trader you send invoices with your name, the client’s, a unique number, the date, what you did and the amount. You register for VAT once your taxable turnover over 12 months passes £90,000; then you add your VAT number and VAT to UK invoices, and file a VAT return each quarter through Making Tax Digital. Services to businesses abroad are usually outside the scope of UK VAT. Every year you file a Self Assessment by 31 January.

Checked by Stefka Ivanova, founder of Bilio and a freelancer in Amsterdam, on .

VAT registration
Over £90,000 taxable turnover in 12 months
VAT return
Quarterly, due 1 month and 7 days after the period
Business clients abroad
Usually outside the scope of UK VAT
Self Assessment
By 31 January after the tax year
MTD for Income Tax
From 6 April 2026 above £50,000
How Bilio helps

What changes when Bilio does the admin.

You’re a sole trader or freelancer in the UK, often with clients in Europe or the US.

  • 01

    Free, with no caps

    Unlimited invoices, quotes and clients on the free plan, nine designs with your logo and colours, in pounds or any currency. No card to start.

  • 02

    The right wording for clients abroad

    Billing a business in the EU or the US? Bilio marks the invoice outside the scope of UK VAT and prints the reverse-charge line, so your client knows to account for the VAT. Private clients abroad get UK VAT where it applies.

  • 03

    Your VAT return, nine boxes

    VAT-registered? Bilio lays out boxes 1 to 9 for each VAT period with the deadline, and works out the reverse charge on services you buy from abroad, like software subscriptions, in boxes 1 and 4.

  • 04

    Not VAT-registered yet?

    Switch it on and your invoices go out without VAT, with the line that says you’re not registered for VAT in the UK.

  • 05

    Invoices in your client’s language

    English, German, Spanish, Dutch or Bulgarian, per client, with credit notes and e-invoices (UBL and XRechnung) when a European client asks.

  • 06

    Hours, proposals and your assistant

    Track hours and invoice them, send proposals clients accept online, and ask Claude or ChatGPT who owes you (Pro).

Natively AI

Ask about your own numbers, in plain English.

Bilio’s AI financial advisor answers from your invoices and expenses (Pro). Or connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor to Bilio and ask there (Pro and Business); nothing is sent or changed without your OK.

AI does

Read receipts, suggest categories, add up the VAT period, explain the nine boxes of the VAT return, draft invoices and credit notes.

You do

Check the figures and submit them. Bilio isn’t MTD-recognised software and doesn’t file with HMRC or give tax advice; for a complex situation, see an accountant.

Connect your assistant
  1. Who hasn’t paid me this month?
  2. Draft an invoice for Larkspur Inc in New York: $4,000 for October.
  3. What did I invoice in the last 12 months?
  4. Add this receipt as an expense.
  5. Invoice Brightfold’s unbilled hours.
The UK tax year

Four VAT returns and one Self Assessment.

If you’re VAT-registered, each VAT return is due one month and seven days after the VAT period ends. Self Assessment for the tax year to 5 April is due by 31 January. Not VAT-registered? Then there are no VAT returns, only Self Assessment, and from April 2026 quarterly MTD updates if your qualifying income is over £50,000.

  • £90,000VAT registration threshold, taxable turnover over 12 months
  • £1,000trading allowance: below it, no need to register
  • £12,570personal allowance for 2026–27
  • £50,000qualifying income that brings MTD for Income Tax from 6 April 2026

Figures for the 2026–27 tax year from GOV.UK and HMRC. Check them before you file.

UK tax terms

HMRC’s jargon, in plain English.

VAT registration threshold
You must register for VAT when your taxable turnover over the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or will in the next 30 days on its own. Below that, registering is optional.
Outside the scope of UK VAT
Most services to a business abroad are supplied where the customer is, so you charge no UK VAT; the customer accounts for any VAT in their own country (the reverse charge).
Making Tax Digital for VAT
VAT-registered businesses keep digital records and submit VAT returns to HMRC through MTD-compatible software, or bridging software that sends figures prepared elsewhere.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
From 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC through compatible software. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.
Self Assessment
The yearly tax return for the self-employed. The tax year runs to 5 April; the online return and the tax due are due by 31 January after it.
Payments on account
Advance payments towards next year’s tax bill, each half of last year’s, due on 31 January and 31 July, if your last bill was over £1,000.
Trading allowance
The first £1,000 a year of self-employment income is tax-free, and below it you don’t need to tell HMRC.
UTR
Unique Taxpayer Reference: the 10-digit number HMRC gives you when you register for Self Assessment.
Questions

Common questions.

Is Bilio MTD compatible?
No, Bilio is not on HMRC’s list of MTD-compatible software and doesn’t submit to HMRC. It lays out the nine boxes of your VAT return; to submit, use MTD bridging software or your accountant’s software. If MTD for Income Tax applies to you (from 6 April 2026 above £50,000 of qualifying income), you’ll need compatible software for the quarterly updates too; Bilio’s exports give it the figures.
How do I invoice an EU client from the UK?
For most services to a business in the EU, the supply is outside the scope of UK VAT: you charge no UK VAT, add the client’s VAT number, and note that the customer accounts for the VAT (reverse charge). Bilio prints that line for you. Private clients abroad usually pay UK VAT if you’re registered, and some services, like digital services to consumers, have their own rules.
Do I need to register for VAT?
You must register when your taxable turnover over the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or will in the next 30 days on its own. Sales outside the scope of UK VAT, like most services to businesses abroad, don’t count towards it. Below the threshold you can register voluntarily.
Can I invoice in pounds?
Yes, in pounds or any currency. Your books and VAT return stay in pounds, with other currencies converted at the ECB reference rate, which HMRC accepts.
What does Bilio cost in the UK?
Starter is free with no caps. Pro is €7 a month or €60 a year, billed in euros, for Pay now links, bank statement import, receipt scanning and your AI assistant.
Does Bilio do my Self Assessment?
No. It keeps the figures: what you invoiced, your expenses and your profit, ready to export for your return or your accountant. It doesn’t file anything with HMRC or give tax advice.

Guides

Bilio is also for

Get started

Your first invoice takes four minutes.

Create an account with your email and follow the five-step setup: business details, VAT and KvK, IBAN, first client, first invoice. No card, no setup fee, no downloads. Cancel any time and take your data with you.

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