Bahrain VAT Invoice Requirements: 10% Rate and NBR Rules

Bahrain VAT is charged at a standard rate of 10%, and a VAT-registered business must issue a tax invoice showing its VAT number, the customer's details, a sequential number, dates, a description of the supply, the VAT rate and the VAT amount in Bahraini dinars. Registration with the NBR is mandatory once annual taxable supplies exceed BHD 37,500.

This guide covers the Bahrain VAT invoice requirements in practical terms: the rate, who registers with the National Bureau for Revenue (NBR), the fields a tax invoice needs, when you can use a simplified invoice, and a worked example. It is general information, not legal or tax advice, so check the NBR's current guides or a qualified adviser for your own case.

Bahrain VAT basics

Bahrain introduced VAT on 1 January 2019 under the GCC VAT framework, at 5%. The standard rate rose to 10% from 1 January 2022. The tax is administered by the National Bureau for Revenue. Like VAT elsewhere, a registered business charges VAT on its taxable sales, recovers VAT on its business purchases, and pays the difference to the NBR through periodic returns.

Item	Position at the time of writing
Standard VAT rate	10% (since 1 January 2022)
Tax authority	National Bureau for Revenue (NBR)
Mandatory registration	Annual taxable supplies above BHD 37,500
Voluntary registration	Supplies or expenses above BHD 18,750
Non-residents	Generally no threshold
Simplified invoice limit	Commonly cited as BHD 500 including VAT
Invoice deadline	By the 15th day of the month after the supply
Mandatory e-invoicing	Not in force at the time of writing

If you are comparing Gulf systems, the rate is the main difference: the UAE and Oman charge 5%, Saudi Arabia 15%, and Bahrain 10%. Our guide to sales tax vs VAT vs GST explains how VAT differs from a sales tax.

NBR registration: who must register

You must register with the NBR if you are resident in Bahrain and your taxable supplies in the last 12 months exceeded BHD 37,500, or you expect them to exceed BHD 37,500 in the next 12 months. Taxable supplies include standard-rated and zero-rated sales, but not exempt ones. You may register voluntarily once supplies or taxable expenses exceed BHD 18,750, which can make sense if you buy a lot of equipment with VAT or sell mainly to registered businesses.

Non-resident businesses that make taxable supplies in Bahrain, where they are responsible for the VAT, generally have to register regardless of value, sometimes through a tax representative. Registration is done online through the NBR portal. Expect to provide your commercial registration, the owner's or signatory's ID, contact details, bank details, activity details and turnover figures. Once approved, you receive a VAT account number to show on your invoices.

The same mandatory and voluntary threshold structure applies across the GCC. Our guide to Saudi VAT registration walks through a similar process in more depth.

Bahrain VAT invoice requirements: the full tax invoice

A full tax invoice is the standard document for supplies to VAT-registered customers. It is what your customer needs to recover input VAT, so missing fields can delay payment. Based on the VAT Executive Regulations and adviser guidance, a full tax invoice should show:

1. The words "Tax Invoice", clearly displayed.
2. Your name, address and VAT account number.
3. The customer's name and address, and the customer's VAT number if they are registered.
4. A unique, sequential invoice number.
5. The date of issue, and the date of supply if it is different.
6. A description of the goods or services, with quantity or volume.
7. The unit price and the taxable amount excluding VAT, with any discount shown.
8. The VAT rate applied to each line.
9. The VAT amount in Bahraini dinars.
10. The total amount payable.
11. Where relevant, a note that the reverse charge applies or that a supply is zero-rated or exempt.

If you need help with numbering, our invoice number generator creates sequential numbers, and our guide to tax IDs on invoices explains where to place your VAT number so it is easy to find.

Language and currency

Adviser guidance indicates that Bahrain VAT invoices can be issued in Arabic or English. Many businesses use English, or a bilingual layout for government and local customers; our Arabic and English invoice guide shows how. You may invoice in a foreign currency, but the VAT amount should also be shown in Bahraini dinars, converted at an acceptable exchange rate.

Simplified tax invoices

A simplified tax invoice carries less detail. Advisers commonly describe it as available where the customer is not VAT registered, or where the invoice value including VAT does not exceed BHD 500. A simplified invoice generally still needs:

• Your name, address and VAT account number.
• The date of issue.
• A description of the goods or services.
• The total consideration and either the VAT amount or a statement that the price includes VAT.

Retailers, cafes and service businesses selling to the public mostly issue simplified invoices from their point of sale system. If your customer is VAT registered and asks for a full tax invoice, give them one, because they need it to reclaim VAT.

Here is a simple case. A florist in Riffa sells a bouquet to a walk-in customer for BHD 22.000 including VAT. The VAT inside that price is 22.000 multiplied by 10/110, which is BHD 2.000, so the net price is BHD 20.000. A simplified invoice showing the florist's name, address and VAT number, the date, "flower bouquet", the total of BHD 22.000 and the VAT of BHD 2.000 is enough. If a hotel buys BHD 750 of arrangements, the value is above BHD 500 and the hotel is a registered business, so the florist should issue a full tax invoice instead.

Setting up your invoice step by step

If you are newly registered, setting up a compliant invoice layout once saves time on every invoice after. A practical sequence:

1. Check your registration certificate. Copy your legal name and VAT account number exactly as the NBR shows them.
2. Choose a heading. Use "Tax Invoice" for full invoices. Keep a separate simplified format for retail sales if you need one.
3. Set a numbering scheme. A prefix and a running number, such as BH-2026-0001, keeps the sequence clear across years.
4. Build the customer block. Include space for the customer's name, address and VAT number.
5. Add dates. Show the issue date and, where different, the date of supply.
6. Lay out the lines. Description, quantity, unit price and line total, with the VAT rate visible.
7. Show the totals. Taxable amount, VAT at 10%, and total payable, in dinars to three decimals.
8. Add payment terms. State the due date and bank details. Our guide to invoice payment terms has wording you can adapt.

Save the layout as a template and review it whenever the NBR updates its guidance. A short internal checklist, covering the customer VAT number, dates and the VAT amount in dinars, catches most errors before an invoice goes out.

Worked example: a Manama consultancy

A Manama IT consultancy is registered for Bahrain VAT and bills a registered client for a system audit in October.

Line	Amount (BHD)
System audit, 24 hours at BHD 45	1,080.000
Software licence resold	300.000
Discount 5%	-69.000
Taxable amount	1,311.000
VAT at 10%	131.100
Total payable	1,442.100

The dinar is divided into 1,000 fils, so amounts are usually shown to three decimal places. The invoice is dated 31 October and the supply finished on 28 October. Under the timing rule, the consultancy could issue the invoice as late as 15 November, but invoicing promptly gets the client's payment clock running sooner.

If the client later disputes part of the bill, the consultancy should not edit and resend the original. It should issue a credit note that references the original invoice number. Our credit note guide explains how.

Zero-rated, exempt and reverse charge invoices

Not every supply carries 10%. Bahrain zero-rates some supplies, including listed basic food items, many healthcare and education services, local transport, the construction of new buildings and exports, among others. Some supplies are exempt, such as certain financial services and the rental of residential property. The difference matters: zero-rated supplies count toward the registration threshold and let you recover input VAT, while exempt supplies do not. Our article on zero-rated vs exempt VAT explains it in more detail.

When you buy services from a foreign supplier, you may have to account for VAT yourself under the reverse charge. When you supply a registered customer in a situation where the reverse charge applies, your invoice should say so instead of charging VAT. Check the NBR's guides for which cases apply, because the lists are detailed.

Returns, records and e-invoicing outlook

Registered businesses file Bahrain VAT returns through the NBR portal. Larger businesses, commonly described as those with annual supplies over BHD 3 million, file monthly, and others usually quarterly. Returns and payment are generally due by the last day of the month after the period ends.

Keep invoices and VAT records for at least five years, or longer for real estate. Electronic storage is fine if the records stay readable and accessible.

On e-invoicing, Bahrain is behind Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman. At the time of writing there is no mandatory e-invoicing system in force and no confirmed start date from the NBR, although it removed the need for prior approval to issue and keep electronic invoices in late 2023, and advisers expect a structured system later. Our e-invoicing guide explains what that shift usually involves.

Common Bahrain VAT invoice mistakes

• Charging VAT before registration. Do not show VAT or a VAT number until the NBR has approved your registration.
• Missing the customer's VAT number on a full tax invoice to a registered business.
• Showing VAT only in a foreign currency. Show the VAT amount in dinars too.
• Rounding to two decimals. The dinar uses three, so totals can drift.
• Editing issued invoices. Use credit or debit notes instead.
• Breaking the number sequence. Gaps or duplicates attract questions in an audit.
• Using the wrong tax point. An advance payment can create a VAT liability before the work is done, so invoice deposits correctly.

Most of these problems come from rushing. A business that issues a handful of invoices a month can check each one by eye. A business issuing hundreds should use accounting or point of sale software with VAT built in, and run a monthly reconciliation between the sales ledger and the VAT return before filing.

Conclusion

Bahrain VAT invoicing is straightforward once the basics are in place: register with the NBR when supplies pass BHD 37,500, charge 10% unless a zero rate or exemption applies, and include every required field on each tax invoice, with the VAT amount in dinars. Because Bahrain has no mandatory e-invoicing yet, a well-built PDF invoice is still acceptable. Our free invoice generator lets you set a 10% tax rate, add your VAT number and logo, choose a currency and download a PDF, all in your browser. Check the NBR's guidance or a qualified adviser for anything specific to your business.