No PT or CV — can you issue your own kwitansi in Indonesia?

No rule requires a legal entity to issue a kwitansi or an invoice. The confusion usually sits in three other places: when your kwitansi needs a meterai, why you must not create a Faktur Pajak, and how a corporate client books its payment to you. This guide covers all three.

By the Tagihin team · Updated 10 Jun 2026

General information for understanding only — not tax or legal advice. Your case may differ; check with DJP (Kring Pajak 1500200), your tax office, or a tax consultant before deciding.

The short answer: what you may and may not issue

Why an individual can issue a kwitansi

A kwitansi is a document the payee makes for the payer, as written proof that payment was received. It is not tied to a business form, a business licence, or PKP status — anyone who receives money may (and should) issue one. For freelancers and sole-trader UMKM, a tidy kwitansi works double duty: it is the payment record for your client, and your own income record when you total up omzet and fill in your annual return.

What separates a sloppy kwitansi from a proper one is not a company letterhead — it is whether the contents are complete.

What a proper kwitansi contains

• A number and the date (plus place) of issue
• The payer’s name — who handed over the money (“Received from …”)
• The amount in figures, e.g. Rp1,500,000
• Terbilang — the amount in words, e.g. “Satu Juta Lima Ratus Ribu Rupiah”, so the figure cannot be altered
• What the payment was for — “For payment of …” (name the work or the invoice number)
• The payee’s (your) full name and signature
• Ideally: your NPWP — now 16 digits, and your NIK can serve as one — so the client’s finance team can book it easily
• A Rp10,000 meterai if the amount exceeds Rp5,000,000 (next section)

The full set of documents clients usually ask for is in our freelancer documents guide.

The Rp10,000 stamp duty — when your kwitansi needs a meterai

Law 10/2020 levies a single-rate Rp10,000 stamp duty on certain documents — including documents stating the receipt of money worth more than Rp5,000,000. A kwitansi falls squarely in that category. So the rule is simple:

• A kwitansi up to Rp5,000,000 → no meterai needed.
• A kwitansi above Rp5,000,000 → affix a Rp10,000 meterai (an adhesive stamp on paper, an e-Meterai on PDFs).
• Plain invoices and quotations → not dutiable, because they do not acknowledge receipt of money.

How to affix an e-Meterai to a PDF kwitansi

1. Buy an official PERURI e-Meterai at e-meterai.co.id or an authorised distributor (not from shady “cheap meterai” sellers — fake e-Meterai will not validate).
2. Upload your kwitansi PDF to the portal, then place the e-Meterai stamp near the signature area.
3. Sign beside the e-Meterai — do not overlap the stamp, so its validation code stays readable.
4. Download the stamped final PDF and send that version to your client.

Note: a missing meterai does not void the payment itself — stamp duty is a tax on documents, and what suffers most is the document’s strength as evidence. A document that should have been stamped can still be regularised through late stamping (pemeteraian kemudian), with an administrative penalty. The details depend on the case — ask your tax office or consultant. Kwitansi above Rp5 million generated in Tagihin automatically show a meterai placeholder box with this notice, so you do not forget to affix one.

A kwitansi is not a Faktur Pajak — and you must not create one yourself

A Faktur Pajak is specific to the PPN system: proof that PPN was collected on a supply, which the buyer uses to credit its input tax. Only a PKP (a PPN-registered business) may issue one, and even then only through e-Faktur in DJP’s Coretax — not from a Word template, and not from any invoicing app, Tagihin included. If you have not been confirmed as a PKP, you have no right to issue a Faktur Pajak, and fabricating one is a serious offence with sanctions — do not do it; talk to an accountant if someone insists.

When must you become a PKP? Once annual omzet passes Rp4.8 billion; below that, registration is voluntary. The consequences: collecting effective 11% PPN (the 12% rate times an 11/12 base for non-luxury goods/services, PMK 131/2024), issuing Faktur Pajak through e-Faktur, and depositing and filing a monthly PPN return. For most freelancers that is rarely worth it just to satisfy one client request.

Read more: Do freelancers need PKP and PPN? · Filing the monthly PPN return

A PT client asks for an “invoice for the books” — how companies book payments to individuals

This is the situation that panics freelancers most: the client’s finance team asks for an “official” document so the expense can be booked. The good news: to pay an individual they do not need a Faktur Pajak from you. What they actually need:

1. An invoice in your name with the work description and amount — plus your NPWP/NIK so the withholding is recorded correctly.
2. PPh 21 withholding (non-employee) by the client: a deemed base of 50% × gross times the Article 17 rate (first bracket 5%) — effectively 2.5% of the invoice (PMK 168/2023). Without an NPWP it is multiplied by 120%. Example: a Rp10,000,000 invoice → Rp250,000 withheld, you receive Rp9,750,000.
3. A bukti potong the client issues via e-Bupot (Coretax DJP) — that is your tax credit on the annual return, so always ask for your copy.
4. A kwitansi or transfer proof showing the payment was received — this is where your kwitansi (stamped when above Rp5 million) closes the document loop.

Just walk the client’s finance team through that chain: invoice + bukti potong + kwitansi is the complete set for booking an individual’s services. Your own income-tax side depends on your scheme — many freelancers outside the “pekerjaan bebas” professions use the 0.5% final UMKM rate (PP 55/2022, made permanent by PP 20/2026, with the first Rp500 million of omzet tax-free for individuals) — discuss it with your consultant.

Go deeper: The bukti potong guide · PPh withholding rates · The 0.5% final UMKM tax · Free PPh calculator

Issue a proper kwitansi in 20 seconds with Tagihin

Tagihin is built for individuals and unincorporated UMKM. Issue invoices, kwitansi, and surat penawaran in your own name from day one — complete with your NPWP/NIK, sequential document numbers, and the terbilang filled in automatically (e.g. “Satu Juta Lima Ratus Ribu Rupiah”). Kwitansi above Rp5 million automatically carry the meterai placeholder required by Law 10/2020, and every invoice ships with an exact-amount dynamic QRIS QR derived from your own static QRIS — payments land straight in your account via your PJP, never through Tagihin. And if one day you are confirmed as a PKP, just switch the PKP status on: your documents add the 11% PPN line plus a note that the Faktur Pajak is issued separately through e-Faktur (Coretax DJP).

Start free — tidy kwitansi in your own name →

No credit card required — start on the free plan.

See also: Choosing an invoicing app · How QRIS works for freelancers

Scope of service: Tagihin is a document and billing tool. It does not issue Faktur Pajak (only a PKP can, through e-Faktur in Coretax DJP), does not issue official withholding slips (only the withholder can, through e-Bupot), does not sell e-Meterai, and does not file or remit tax on your behalf.

Sources

Primary sources (regulations, DJP, PERURI) followed by secondary sources (tax press).

• Law 10/2020 — Stamp Duty: the Rp10,000 rate and money-receipt documents above Rp5 million
• PMK 131/2024 — the 11/12 tax base for non-luxury goods/services (effective 11% PPN)
• PMK 168/2023 — PPh 21 withholding rules, including the non-employee scheme (50% deemed base)
• PP 20/2026 — the 0.5% final UMKM income tax made permanent for individuals & single-owner companies
• PERURI — the official portal for buying and affixing e-Meterai
• Coretax DJP — the official portal where e-Faktur (Faktur Pajak) and e-Bupot (withholding slips) are issued
• Directorate General of Taxes — official DJP portal
• DDTC News — coverage of tax-regulation developments (secondary source)

Information as reviewed on 10 Jun 2026. Tax rules may change — verify with DJP (pajak.go.id / Kring Pajak 1500200) or your tax consultant before relying on this.