Amazon Invoice: Seller VAT Invoices and Uploads (2026)

Quick answer: An Amazon invoice is the billing document for an order sold on Amazon. Buyers download it from Your Orders. Third-party sellers either let Amazon generate VAT invoices through the VAT Calculation Service (UK and EU) or create their own PDF invoices and upload them for each shipment, which matters most for Amazon Business customers who reclaim VAT.

People searching for an Amazon invoice are usually in one of two situations. Either you bought something and need an invoice for expenses or VAT, or you sell on Amazon and need to know what invoices you owe your customers. This guide covers both, with a focus on sellers: what an Amazon seller invoice must contain, when Amazon creates it for you, how uploads work, and a sample invoice you can copy.

What is an Amazon seller invoice?

An Amazon seller invoice is the invoice a seller issues to the buyer for goods sold through an Amazon marketplace. When Amazon itself is the seller (items sold by Amazon), Amazon issues the invoice. When a third-party seller is the seller of record, the invoice obligation sits with that seller, even if Amazon fulfills the order (FBA).

In the US, consumers rarely need more than an order receipt. In VAT countries such as the UK, Germany, France and Italy, business buyers need a valid VAT invoice to reclaim input tax, and Amazon Business tracks whether sellers provide one. That is where most of the rules below come from. For the general requirements of a VAT invoice, see our VAT invoice guide.

How do buyers download an invoice from Amazon?

1. Sign in and go to Your Orders (Returns and Orders).
2. Find the order and select Invoice or View invoice.
3. Download or print the order summary or invoice. On Amazon Business, look for the VAT or tax invoice where available.
4. If the item came from a third-party seller and no invoice appears, use the request invoice or contact seller option, depending on your marketplace.

The exact menu names vary by marketplace and app version. Remember that a simple order summary may not count as a VAT invoice for reclaiming tax.

VAT Calculation Service vs uploading your own invoices

Amazon's VAT Calculation Service (VCS) documentation describes three ways European and UK sellers can handle invoices. As of October 2026 they are:

Option	Who creates the invoice	Best for	Watch out for
1. Amazon creates invoices	Amazon, using your VAT registration and tax settings	Most sellers who want hands-off compliance	Your tax settings and product tax codes must be right
2. Your invoices, Amazon's tax data	You or your software, using Amazon's tax calculation, then uploaded	Sellers who need their own invoice numbering or layout	Requires a solution provider or SP-API integration
3. Fully your own invoices	You, outside VCS, uploaded through Seller Central or SP-API	Sellers with established ERP or accounting invoicing	Upload for every shipment, on time

Amazon's best-practices page sets the key upload rules: PDF only, the seller invoice number in the upload metadata, one invoice per shipment (so split FBA shipments need separate invoices), and upload within one business day after shipment. Sellers who regularly miss uploads can be removed from VCS. Enrolling in VCS also lets Amazon Business sellers show VAT-exclusive prices and the downloadable VAT invoice badge, which business buyers look for.

What must an Amazon VAT invoice include?

For a UK or EU business buyer, a full VAT invoice generally needs:

• A unique, sequential invoice number and the invoice date
• The time of supply (tax point) if different from the invoice date
• Your business name, address and VAT registration number
• The buyer's name and address (and VAT number for cross-border B2B supplies)
• A description of the goods and quantity
• The unit price excluding VAT, the VAT rate and the VAT amount per rate
• The total excluding VAT and the total including VAT
• Reverse charge wording where the buyer accounts for VAT (see reverse charge invoices)

Credit notes follow the same logic for refunds and must reference the original invoice. Sellers shipping B2C across EU borders should also understand the VAT One Stop Shop, and the EU VAT rates for 2026 since each country's rate applies.

Sample Amazon seller invoice (UK B2B order)

This illustrative invoice is for a UK seller shipping office supplies to a VAT-registered Amazon Business customer at the 20% standard rate.

Seller: Northlane Supplies Ltd, Unit 4, Mill Road, Leeds LS1 4AB. VAT No. GB123456789.
Buyer: Corbin Architects Ltd, 22 King Street, Manchester M2 4WU. Amazon order 205-1234567-7654321.
Invoice #: NLS-AMZ-10482. Invoice date / tax point: 29 October 2026 (date of shipment).

Item	Qty	Unit price (ex VAT)	VAT rate	Net
A4 copier paper, 5 reams	4	£18.50	20%	£74.00
Desk organiser, black mesh	2	£12.00	20%	£24.00
Shipping	1	£6.00	20%	£6.00
Total excluding VAT				£104.00
VAT at 20%				£20.80
Total including VAT				£124.80

Check: £74 + £24 + £6 = £104 net; £104 × 0.20 = £20.80 VAT; £104 + £20.80 = £124.80. Shipping follows the VAT treatment of the goods in this example. Save it as a PDF named with the invoice number and upload it against the shipment.

How to upload an invoice to Amazon (seller steps)

1. Check which orders need one. In the VAT invoice data report or the order details, look for shipments where the invoice status is pending.
2. Create the invoice per shipment. Use the shipment date as the tax point and include all the fields above.
3. Export to PDF. Other formats are rejected. Keep the invoice number visible on the document.
4. Upload. In Seller Central, open the order and use the upload invoice option, or send it through an integrated tool via SP-API with the invoice number in the metadata.
5. Watch for rejections. A rejected upload must be fixed and resubmitted.
6. Monitor your invoice metrics. Amazon Business reports late or missing invoices, and poor performance can affect your business offers.

Invoices sent only through buyer-seller messages may not satisfy the Amazon Business invoicing policy, so use the formal upload route. Confirm the latest steps in Seller Central, since screens change.

What about US Amazon sellers?

US sellers have a lighter invoicing load. Amazon acts as the marketplace facilitator and collects and remits state sales tax on most marketplace orders in states that require it, and buyers get order documents from Amazon. Still:

• Business buyers sometimes ask for a formal invoice with your business name and address for their records.
• Your own bookkeeping should record gross sales, tax collected by Amazon, fees and payouts separately.
• Sales on your own website or other channels follow your own sales tax nexus and registration rules, covered in sales tax by state.
• Payment platforms report sales on Form 1099-K once you pass the federal threshold; see the 1099-K threshold.

For off-Amazon orders, a free invoice generator is enough to produce a professional PDF. Multi-channel sellers can compare approaches in our guide to ecommerce invoices for Shopify, WooCommerce and Amazon.

How should Amazon sellers number invoices and credit notes?

VAT rules in the UK and EU require invoice numbers to be unique and follow a sequence, with no gaps you cannot explain. Amazon sellers often trade in several marketplaces and sell through other channels too, so plan the numbering before the volume grows.

Approach	Example	Pros	Cons
One series for every channel	INV-10482, INV-10483	Simple, no duplicates	Harder to see which channel an invoice came from
Prefixed series per marketplace	AMZ-UK-0482, AMZ-DE-0119, WEB-0233	Easy filtering and reconciliation	Each series must stay sequential on its own
Separate credit note series	CN-AMZ-UK-0031	Clear audit trail for refunds	Must always reference the original invoice number

Whichever you choose, write it down and stick to it. If you let Amazon generate invoices through VCS, Amazon's invoices follow its own numbering, so keep any manual invoices you issue for other channels in a separate, clearly prefixed series. Our invoice number generator can help you design a format.

Refunds deserve the same care. When an Amazon Business customer returns goods from an invoiced order, issue a credit note for the refunded amount, showing the net value, the VAT rate and the VAT reversed, and quote the original invoice number and date. Upload it the same way you upload invoices. Partial refunds, such as a refund for one damaged item out of four, need a credit note only for that portion.

Keep copies of every invoice and credit note with the matching order and settlement reports. HMRC and EU tax authorities generally expect VAT records to be kept for several years, and good records make your VAT returns, and any later questions from a tax office or a business customer, much easier to deal with.

Common Amazon invoice mistakes

• One invoice for a split shipment. Each shipment needs its own invoice.
• Uploading images or Word files. Amazon accepts PDFs.
• Missing VAT number or VAT breakdown. Business buyers cannot reclaim VAT without them.
• Wrong tax point. Use the shipment date unless your rules say otherwise.
• Reusing invoice numbers across marketplaces. Keep one sequential series, or separate prefixed series per marketplace, with no duplicates.
• Late uploads. Missing the one-business-day window can cost you VCS access and Business badges.
• Not issuing credit notes for refunds. A refund on an invoiced order needs a matching credit note.

Make Amazon invoices that business buyers accept

A good Amazon invoice is a standard VAT or sales invoice tied to one shipment: your legal and tax details, the buyer's details, itemized net prices, the tax rate and amount, and a unique number, uploaded as a PDF on time. For high volumes, let VCS or your software handle it; for off-Amazon or occasional orders, use our free invoice generator. It is free, needs no sign-up, and downloads a PDF built in your browser. This is general information, not tax advice; check your VAT position with an adviser.