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Can I claim input VAT without a tax invoice?

Generally no. Section 16(2) of the VAT Act requires a valid tax invoice to support an input tax claim, and a bank statement line or a card slip is not one.

Section 16(2) of the VAT Act requires you to hold a valid tax invoice before claiming input tax. A bank statement showing the payment, a card slip, or an order confirmation are not tax invoices, and a claim supported only by those is one SARS can reverse on audit.

A full tax invoice has to carry specific things: the words "tax invoice", the supplier's name, address and VAT number, your name and address, a serial number and date, a description of what was supplied, and the amount showing VAT separately. For supplies under R5,000 an abridged invoice is acceptable, which drops the recipient's details but keeps everything else.

Below R50 no tax invoice is required at all, though you still need some record of the expense.

The practical point is that the claim is only as good as the paperwork behind it. If a supplier has not given you a compliant invoice, ask for one while they still remember the transaction. Chasing documents at audit, sometimes years later, is where these claims are actually lost.

General information about South African rules as they stood on 2026-08-23. It is not tax or legal advice and it knows nothing about your circumstances. Where your situation turns on facts not covered here, speak to a registered tax practitioner or a labour lawyer.

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