Free credit note generator for UK businesses

Make a UK credit note free, with no account, as a PDF on your own letterhead. Start from your invoice in one tap, credit all of it or part, with VAT at the rate first charged and everything HMRC asks a credit note to show. Nothing you type leaves your device.

Saved on this device as you type. Nothing is sent to us.

Your business

This goes on the letterhead. A credit note shows who is giving the credit.

Only a limited company has one. It is printed at the foot of the page.

Your logo (optional)
Are you registered for VAT?

Each line gets its own rate: 20%, 5% or 0%.

Printed at the foot of the page.

Your customer

The invoice it corrects

HMRC asks a credit note to name the invoice it corrects, with its date, and to credit VAT at the rate that invoice charged.

What you are crediting

Take away any line that is not being credited, and change a quantity or price to credit part of it.

Line 1£0.00
Amount£0.00
Credit before VAT
£0.00
VAT credited
£0.00
Total credited
£0.00

Number, date and terms

Its own series, apart from your invoices.

Terms
VAT is credited at the rate charged on the original invoice. Always printed first, and follows your answers.

One term per line. Each one is numbered for you.

Your credit note

Your credit note appears here as you fill it in.

Total credited£0.00

Free, with no account. Fill in the form and your credit note is ready.

Every invoice and credit, in one place

Know what each customer really owes

Psalm keeps your invoices, payments and credit notes together, so what a customer owes is always the true figure. Free for 14 days, no card needed.

Your credit note stays saved on this device while you sign up.

A short guide

What is a credit note?

A credit note reduces what a customer owes on an invoice you have already sent: goods came back, you charged too much, you agreed a discount afterwards, or part of the work was cancelled. HMRC says it must reflect a genuine mistake, overcharge or agreed reduction, and give the customer a real right to the money, refunded or taken off what they owe.

Source: HMRC, VAT Notice 700, section 18.2.3, Valid credit notes, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.

What must a credit note show?

  • Its own number and the date it is issued.
  • Your name, address and VAT registration number.
  • Your customer's name and address.
  • A description of the goods or services credited, with the quantity and amount of each.
  • The total credited, before VAT.
  • The rate and amount of VAT credited, in pounds.
  • The number and date of the original VAT invoice.

Source: HMRC, VAT Notice 700, section 18.2.3, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.

Which VAT rate does a credit note use?

The rate in force when the original supply was made, not today's. Any zero-rated or exempt items credited are totalled on their own, and the note makes clear that no VAT credit is allowed on them: the tool adds that line for you whenever a zero-rated line is credited.

Source: HMRC, VAT Notice 700, sections 18.2.4 and 18.2.5, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.

Correcting a mistake on an invoice

A credit note that corrects an error in a VAT invoice should refer to that invoice's number and date and show both the correct and the incorrect amounts of VAT. Choose Overcharged in error and start from an invoice made here, and the terms state the VAT the invoice showed and the VAT it should have shown.

Source: HMRC, VAT Notice 700, section 19.8, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.

When must it be issued?

Within 14 days of the refund being paid to the customer. If you and your customer agree not to adjust the VAT, the note should say “This is not a credit note for VAT”, and you still adjust your own records for your VAT Return.

Source: HMRC, VAT Notice 700, section 18.2.3, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.

Plain figures, not minus signs

Every figure on the credit note is what is being credited, written as an ordinary amount. The title says it is a credit, so a minus sign as well would read as a double negative in your customer's books. Crediting a whole invoice gives back its VAT to the penny, because the same lines go through the same arithmetic.

Questions

Asked about credit notes

Is this credit note generator free?

Yes. There is nothing to pay, no account and no limit on how many credit notes you make. Each PDF carries one small line at the foot saying it was made with Psalm.

Do you keep a copy of my credit note?

No. It is put together in your browser and nothing you type is sent to us. It is saved on this device only, so it is still here if you close the page and come back.

What must a UK credit note show?

For VAT, HMRC lists: its own number and date, your name, address and VAT number, your customer's name and address, a description of what is credited with the quantity and amount of each, the total credited before VAT, the rate and amount of VAT credited, and the number and date of the original invoice. The tool holds the PDF back until each of these is in.

Should the amounts on a credit note be negative?

No minus signs are needed. A credit note lists what is credited as plain figures, and its title makes it a credit. If you type a minus out of habit, the tool takes it off and says so.

Which VAT rate goes on a credit note?

The rate that applied when the original supply was made. If you start from an invoice made in the free invoice generator, each line keeps the rate it was invoiced at.

Can I credit only part of an invoice?

Yes. Start from the invoice, then take away the lines you are not crediting, or lower a quantity or a price. When the invoice was made here, the tool will not let the credit come to more than the invoice did.

When should a credit note be issued?

HMRC says a credit note must reflect a genuine mistake, an overcharge or an agreed reduction, and be issued within 14 days of the refund being paid to the customer.

I am not VAT registered. Can I still issue a credit note?

Yes. Choose No when asked about VAT. The credit note then has no VAT column or VAT number, and says that no VAT is credited.

Invoices and credits, always in step

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