Invoice requirements in Germany: the § 14 UStG checklist

Under § 14 (4) of the German VAT Act (UStG), an invoice must contain ten details: your name and address and your client's, your tax number or VAT ID, the issue date, a unique invoice number, the quantity and type of what you supplied, the date of supply, the net amount broken down by VAT rate, the VAT rate and amount, and, in two special cases, an extra note. Up to €250 gross, a small-amount invoice is enough (§ 33 UStDV). Between businesses in Germany, the structured e-invoice has been the default since 2025, with transition periods until the end of 2027.

What has to be on a German invoice?

Example: Kinetik Studio in Leipzig invoices Nordlicht GmbH in Hamburg for 30 hours of development.

A typical freelance or agency invoice needs nos. 1 to 8. Nos. 9 and 10 only apply in their special cases.

In practice:

• Tax number or VAT ID (no. 2): one is enough. Many use the VAT ID, because the tax number is also used for other taxes.
• Invoice number (no. 4): it must be unique. In Germany it does not have to be gap-free (UStAE 14.5 (10)). More in Invoice numbers: the rules.
• Deadline: invoices to businesses must be issued within six months of the service (§ 14 (2) sentence 2 no. 1 UStG).

Keep every invoice you issue and receive for eight years from the end of the year it was issued (§ 14b (1) UStG).

What applies to small invoices up to €250?

If the total does not exceed €250 gross, four details are enough (§ 33 UStDV):

1. full name and address of the business supplying the service
2. issue date
3. quantity and type of goods, or extent and type of service
4. net amount and VAT as one sum, plus the VAT rate, or for an exemption, a note saying so

Example: One hour of support at €180 net is €214.20 gross with 19% VAT. "€214.20 incl. 19% VAT" is enough. No invoice number, no client address.

§ 33 UStDV does not apply to distance sales (§ 3c UStG), intra-community supplies (§ 6a UStG) or reverse charge (§ 13b UStG). Between businesses, small-amount invoices may still go out as a PDF or on paper.

Service date or service period?

No. 6 is the detail most often missing. The issue date does not replace it, even on the same day. Always write it down, as one of these:

• a day: "Service date: 18 March 2026"
• a period: "Service period: 1–31 March 2026", typical for ongoing support or retainers
• a month: "Service date: March 2026". § 31 (4) UStDV expressly allows the calendar month.

For advance payments, state the date you received the money instead, if it is known and differs from the issue date.

What do "invoice" and "e-invoice" mean since 2025?

Since 1 January 2025, § 14 (1) UStG distinguishes two kinds of invoice:

• E-invoice: an invoice in a structured electronic format that allows electronic processing and meets the European standard EN 16931, for example XRechnung or ZUGFeRD in a compliant profile.
• Other invoice: everything else, meaning paper and other electronic formats such as a normal PDF.

For supplies between two businesses in Germany, the e-invoice is the rule (§ 14 (2) UStG). Since 2025 every business has to be able to receive them. For sending there are transition periods (§ 27 (38) UStG):

You don't need an e-invoice for invoices to private individuals, for small-amount invoices up to €250, or as a small business under § 19 UStG (§ 34a UStDV).

What about reverse charge, small businesses and self-billing?

Reverse charge (§ 14a UStG). If you provide a service to a business in another EU country, the client owes the VAT there. The invoice then needs your VAT ID, the client's VAT ID and the words "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" (reverse charge) (§ 14a (1) UStG). It must be issued by the 15th of the following month. § 14a (5) UStG requires the same wording for domestic cases under § 13b UStG; in both cases you don't charge VAT. More in Reverse charge on the invoice.

Small businesses (§ 19 UStG). If your total turnover was no more than €25,000 in the previous year and stays at or below €100,000 in the current year, your sales are VAT-exempt. Since 2025, § 34a UStDV sets out what your invoices need: both parties' names and addresses, tax number, VAT ID or small-business ID, issue date, quantity and type of service, the amount, and a note that the small-business exemption applies, such as "Steuerfrei als Kleinunternehmer nach § 19 Abs. 1 UStG". § 34a UStDV doesn't require an invoice number. Use one anyway for your own records. Details in Small-business invoices.

Self-billing (§ 14 (2) sentence 5 UStG). In German VAT law, a "Gutschrift" is an invoice your client issues on your behalf, if you agreed on it beforehand. It must carry the word "Gutschrift" (no. 10). When you cancel or correct your own invoice, call the document a cancellation invoice (Stornorechnung) or invoice correction, so nobody mistakes it for self-billing.

Which mistakes are common?

1. No service date. The issue date is not enough. Add the day, period or month.
2. Too much VAT shown. If you show a higher VAT amount than you owe, you also owe the difference (§ 14c (1) UStG) until the invoice is corrected. Typical cases: 19% instead of 7%, or VAT on a reverse-charge service.
3. VAT shown although you may not charge it. If you show VAT as a small business, you still owe it (§ 14c (2) UStG), and your client may not deduct it.
4. Client named imprecisely. "Nordlicht" is not enough; "Nordlicht GmbH" with the full address is right.
5. Number used twice. Happens fast when several people write invoices in Word. Each number exists once.
6. Sent invoice changed quietly. If a detail is missing or wrong, you correct the invoice with a document that refers specifically and clearly to the original (§ 31 (5) UStDV). The original stays as it is. Where an e-invoice is required, the correction must be an e-invoice too.