Cash receipt format — every field, explained plainly.

What a cash receipt is for

A cash receipt — also called a money receipt — is your written proof that a payment was received. It's used far beyond cash sales: advances from customers, loan repayments, security deposits, donations, or any time money changes hands and both sides want a record. Unlike an invoice, which demands payment, a receipt confirms payment already happened.

The format isn't prescribed by law, but a few fields are what make a receipt actually useful — as proof in a dispute, for your own bookkeeping, or if a tax officer asks where a deposit came from.

What a cash receipt must contain

• Receipt number & date — sequential numbering is what makes a receipt book auditable; skipped or duplicate numbers raise questions.
• Received from — the full name of the person or business paying.
• Amount — in figures (₹25,000) and in words (Rupees Twenty-Five Thousand Only) — both, to avoid any dispute over the sum.
• Being payment towards — a short description: advance against invoice, rent, loan repayment, deposit, and so on.
• Mode of payment — cash, UPI, cheque or bank transfer, so both parties know how the money moved.
• Signature — of the person or business issuing the receipt, acknowledging the amount received.

Example cash receipt

Here's a filled example showing the layout and every required field.

The ₹2 lakh cash limit — Section 269ST

Under Section 269ST of the Income Tax Act, no one can receive ₹2 lakh or more in cash — from a single person, in a single day, for a single transaction, or across transactions tied to one event — without attracting a penalty equal to the amount received. It doesn't matter if you split the receipt into smaller amounts; the aggregate is what counts. If a payment is approaching that value, insist on bank transfer, UPI or cheque instead. This is separate from GST invoicing — a cash receipt is proof of payment, not a substitute for a tax invoice; see the invoice format page for what a GST-compliant invoice needs.

This limit is a point-in-time statutory figure — verify the current threshold and penalty on the Income Tax e-filing portal before relying on it.

Numbered receipts without the receipt book

Duplicate or skipped receipt numbers are the most common problem with paper receipt books — and the easiest to avoid. TatvaBooks Solo (₹0) auto-numbers every receipt voucher and keeps a running ledger of what's been received and against what; the ₹599/month Business plan adds multi-user access so your whole team issues receipts from the same sequence. See cloud accounting software for the full picture, or the rent receipt format page for the HRA-specific version of this document.

Frequently asked questions