How does the invoice issuance for individuals process work? Three compliance steps to avoid pitfalls in 2026

How does the invoice issuance for individuals process work? Three compliance steps to avoid pitfalls in 2026

Invoice issuance for general labor services can be broken into six collaboration nodes: registering an account, real-name verification by the individual, submitting invoice information, tax authority review, paying taxes and fees according to the review result, and downloading the invoice and tax payment materials. Internally, enterprises can summarize this as three steps: "confirm the business first, then complete the handling, and finally check withholding and archiving," but the individual's own cooperation and tax review cannot be omitted.

General labor services for individuals such as expert consulting, teaching, review, and design are not the same process as invoicing for freight drivers, housing leasing, and reverse invoicing for resource recycling. The handling entry points, items eligible for issuance, material lists, and tax treatment vary by region and business type. The actual pages of the electronic tax bureau and the current requirements of the competent tax authority shall prevail.

▍1. Before handling, first confirm the real business and the nature of the income

Enterprises should first confirm that the service has actually occurred, and that the contract, work results or acceptance records, payment recipient, and amount can corroborate each other. When an employment relationship exists between the individual and the payer, wages and salaries cannot be rewritten as labor service invoice issuance; independent service provision also cannot be directly deemed business income based solely on the invoice item name. The category of wages and salaries, labor remuneration, business income, or other income must first be determined based on the real business.

▍2. Register an account and have the individual complete their own verification

Individuals need to establish an identity for handling matters in the electronic tax bureau and complete real-name authentication or facial verification according to the requirements of the handling entry point. Some regions support the paying entity initiating the labor remuneration invoicing process in the "unit tax handling" section of the individual electronic tax bureau, which the individual then confirms; in other regions, the individual applies through the invoice business entry point. Specific paths cannot be copied across regions. The system can send reminders and assist with filling in information, but personal verification cannot be replaced by an enterprise or platform.

▍3. Submit invoice information and genuine transaction materials

Usually required are the individual's identity, the purchaser's invoicing information, the item name, the tax-inclusive amount, and authenticity materials such as contracts, orders, and service results. Different businesses may require supplementary information such as the place of occurrence, service period, quantity unit, or other proof. Before submission, verify whether the invoice items are consistent with the contract, acceptance, and payment arrangements, and avoid using vague item names to conceal transactions of different natures.

▍4. Wait for tax review and supplement as required

After submission, it enters tax authority review. The tax authority may require supplementary materials, adjustment of item codes, or explanation of business facts. Whether it is accepted, when it is completed, and the final taxes and fees are subject to the review result. No collaboration platform can describe "submitted" as "approved," nor can it guarantee that all applications will necessarily be issued successfully.

▍5. Pay taxes according to the review result and download materials

Where the VAT threshold is reached and invoice issuance is applied for, the competent tax authority collects VAT at the time of issuance; where the threshold is not reached or reductions and exemptions apply, handle according to current rules. After completing tax handling, download the invoice and any obtainable tax payment materials. The payer should verify whether VAT has been paid at the invoice issuance stage; from November 1, 2026, for transactions that comply with domestic entity withholding provisions and where VAT has not yet been paid, the entity's VAT withholding obligation must also be determined.

▍6. The payer separately completes individual income tax withholding and archiving

When resident individuals obtain labor remuneration, the entity or individual paying the income shall withhold and prepay individual income tax as required and declare it within the 15th day of the following month. Invoices and VAT tax payment materials cannot replace individual income tax withholding records. Enterprises should also archive contracts, performance, applications, review, invoices, tax payments, payments, and withholding materials in a linked manner to ensure that the complete business can be reconstructed in subsequent inquiries.

▍Reasonable boundaries of Kailing Technology's solution

Kailing Technology's solutions related to invoice issuance for individuals can, within the confirmed project scope, assist with account registration, material collection, information submission, status tracking, tax payment reminders, result download, and archive linking; individuals still need to complete real-name authentication themselves, review is handled by the tax authority, and the specific taxes and fees and handling results are subject to the tax authority. Before launching batch scenarios, real business samples should be selected to verify the region, item codes, material lists, return and correction, and archiving processes.

Conclusion: Invoice issuance for individuals is not "an enterprise issuing an invoice on behalf of an individual," but rather a collaborative process in which the individual, the payer, and the tax authority separately complete identity confirmation, document submission, review and tax payment, withholding filing, and archiving.

Disclaimer: This article takes invoice issuance for general labor services as the main scenario and does not apply to all freight, housing leasing, real estate transfer, or reverse invoicing business. For actual handling, please refer to the current requirements of the competent tax authority.

Official basis:Shanghai Tax 2026 Q&A on invoice issuance for labor remuneration；State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 4 of 2026；Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 28 of 2026；Q&A on individual income tax for invoice issuance for individuals on labor remuneration。

Give registration, verification, submission, review, tax payment, and archiving their own responsibility boundaries: www.kailingteck.com .

About Kailing Technology

As a national high-tech enterprise, Kailing Technology focuses on the digital and intelligent transformation of enterprise business-finance-tax and operations management, providing software products, system integration, implementation and delivery, and operational services for various government agencies, institutions, group enterprises, and SMEs.

The company has now formed ten core product lines, including: AI digital employee system, enterprise expense control management system, customer relationship management system, reverse invoicing management system, invoice issuance for individuals management system, electronic archives management system, tax fully digitalized e-invoice Leqi system, tax invoice management system, group tax filing system, and AI OCR recognition system. It is committed to connecting enterprise business, finance, tax, funds, and archive data to help customers improve operational efficiency, business-finance-tax compliance capabilities, and digital management levels.

If you have any business-finance-tax digital transformation needs, welcome to contact us. Beijing Kailing Technology will serve you wholeheartedly.

Keywords: invoice issuance for individuals process, labor remuneration invoice issuance, individual invoicing materials, individual invoice issuance, tax review, Kailing Technology