Germany VAT Invoice Template

What German VAT law requires on the document

8 things have to appear before this counts as a valid invoice in Germany. The detail people miss most often is the tax number or VAT ID, which must appear on the invoice.

• Your full business name and address
• The customer's full name and address
• Your tax number or VAT identification number
• A unique, sequential invoice number
• The invoice issue date and the date the supply was made
• The quantity and commercial description of the goods, or the scope of the service
• The amount before VAT, split by rate or exemption
• The VAT rate and the VAT amount, or a note that the supply is exempt

Verified against German VAT law on 2026-11-11.

VAT is Umsatzsteuer, and 19% is not the only rate

The standard German VAT rate is 19%. A reduced rate of 7% applies to a defined list that includes most food, books, newspapers, cultural events and short-term accommodation. Zero rating applies to exports and intra-Community supplies. Use the rate that matches what you supply, not the rate on your last invoice.

The reduced list sits in Annex 2 to the UStG and changes with legislation. A caterer, a publisher and a software consultant can bill German clients at different rates, and an invoice that mixes rates must show each one separately. If a supply is exempt, §14 expects a note saying so instead of a VAT amount.

• Standard rate: 19% on supplies that are not reduced, zero-rated or exempt.
• Reduced rate: 7% on the list in Annex 2, including most food and printed publications.
• Zero rate: exports and intra-Community supplies, with the customer's VAT ID and transport evidence.
• Mixed invoice: show the net amount, rate and VAT amount for each rate separately.

Verified against §12 UStG on 11 November 2026.

A German invoice needs a tax number or a VAT ID, not a guess

§14 UStG requires the supplier's tax number issued by the tax office or the VAT identification number issued by the Federal Central Tax Office. Put it near your business details. A made-up number, or a number belonging to another entity, undermines the invoice and the customer's input VAT claim.

The two numbers are not interchangeable. The Steuernummer is issued by your local Finanzamt. The USt-IdNr. is issued by the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern and is the one used for intra-EU trade. Many freelancers quote the tax number on domestic invoices and the VAT ID on cross-border ones.

• Steuernummer: issued by your local tax office, used on domestic invoices.
• USt-IdNr.: issued by the Federal Central Tax Office, used for intra-EU trade.
• Put the number near your business name and address, where a client's accounts team looks for it.
• For an intra-EU B2B invoice, show the customer's VAT ID as well.

The customer can only reclaim input VAT if the invoice identifies the supplier. A wrong number is not a small formatting issue.

E-invoicing is already mandatory to receive

Since 1 January 2025 every German business must be able to receive a structured electronic invoice for domestic B2B supplies. Issuing becomes mandatory on 1 January 2027 for businesses with turnover above €800,000 in 2026, and on 1 January 2028 for everyone else.

A structured e-invoice follows EN 16931 or an agreed interoperable format such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. A PDF is a human-readable document, not a structured invoice, so it does not satisfy the mandate for an in-scope B2B supply. Paper remains acceptable during the transition only for businesses below the threshold and only until the end of 2027.

• Receive: structured e-invoices for domestic B2B supplies since 1 January 2025.
• Issue: from 1 January 2027 if 2026 turnover was above €800,000.
• Issue: from 1 January 2028 for every other business.
• A PDF does not satisfy the structured-format requirement for an in-scope B2B supply.

Verified against §14 and §27(38) UStG on 11 November 2026. This tool produces a PDF, not an XRechnung or ZUGFeRD file.

Kleinunternehmer: no VAT line, and no VAT to reclaim

The small business rule in §19 UStG exempts businesses with turnover up to €25,000 in the previous calendar year and €100,000 in the current one. If you use it, do not show VAT on the invoice. The invoice should still identify the parties and the supply clearly.

Kleinunternehmer status is not the same as being unregistered for tax. You still have a tax number and still file. What changes is that you charge no VAT and cannot reclaim input VAT on most purchases. Crossing the €100,000 current-year limit ends the exemption for that year, so monitor turnover rather than waiting for the year-end return.

• Previous calendar year: no more than €25,000 turnover.
• Current calendar year: no more than €100,000 turnover.
• Do not show a VAT rate or VAT amount while the rule applies.
• Crossing the current-year limit ends the exemption, so keep a running total.

The limits rose on 1 January 2025. Older guides still quote €22,000 and €50,000.

Keep invoices for eight years, and keep them readable

§14b UStG requires businesses to keep a copy of every invoice for eight years, starting at the end of the calendar year in which it was issued. Electronic invoices must stay readable and machine-readable for that period. A scanned PDF is acceptable if it is a complete and faithful copy.

The retention rule covers invoices you issue and invoices you receive. It is shorter than the ten-year period that applies to some other accounting records, which is why invoice retention is often quoted wrongly. If you store invoices in a bookkeeping system, make sure you can export them in a readable form for the whole period.

• Eight years from the end of the calendar year of issue.
• Keep both issued and received invoices.
• Keep electronic invoices in a form that stays readable and searchable.
• Do not rely on a screenshot when a complete copy is required.

Verified against §14b UStG on 11 November 2026.

VAT registration and the value thresholds

These rules usually matter only once turnover crosses a threshold, which is what makes them easy to miss: an invoice that was fine last month can trigger registration and collection duties the first time it crosses the line.

• The Kleinunternehmer rule in §19 UStG applies while turnover was no more than €25,000 in the previous calendar year and is no more than €100,000 in the current one.
• Since 1 January 2025 every domestic B2B customer must be able to receive a structured electronic invoice.
• Issuing a structured e-invoice becomes mandatory on 1 January 2027 for businesses whose 2026 turnover exceeded €800,000, and on 1 January 2028 for everyone else.
• Invoices must be kept for eight years from the end of the calendar year of issue.