Invoices in business transactions
Whether an invoice must be issued and what information it must contain are governed in particular by the German VAT Act (UStG), the type of supply and the recipient concerned.
If an entrepreneur makes a generally taxable supply to another entrepreneur for their business, the invoice must normally be issued within six months of the supply being made. Different rules apply to certain exempt transactions and special circumstances.
What information must an invoice contain?
Unless a special statutory rule applies, a proper invoice must contain the following information in particular:
- the full name and full address of the supplying entrepreneur and the recipient,
- the supplying entrepreneur's tax number or VAT identification number,
- date of issue,
- sequential invoice number,
- nature and extent of the delivery or other supply,
- date of delivery or supply,
- consideration,
- applicable tax rate and tax amount or, where applicable, a reference to a tax exemption.
The mandatory statutory information follows in particular from § 14(4) UStG.
Small-value invoices
Simplified requirements apply to invoices with a total amount of no more than €250 including VAT.
A small-value invoice must contain in particular the supplying entrepreneur's name and address, the date of issue, the nature and extent of the supply, and the total amount and applicable tax rate or a reference to a tax exemption.
An invoice number and the recipient's name and address are generally not required for a small-value invoice.
Electronic invoices since 2025
Since 1 January 2025, new electronic invoicing requirements have applied to invoices between domestic businesses.
An e-invoice is an invoice in a structured electronic format enabling electronic processing. A simple PDF file generally does not satisfy this condition and has been classified as an “other invoice” since 2025.
Since 1 January 2025, domestic entrepreneurs must generally be technically able to receive e-invoices. An email inbox may already be sufficient for this purpose. This obligation to receive e-invoices also applies to small businesses using the small business VAT scheme.
Transitional rules apply to issuing e-invoices:
until and including 31 December 2026, an “other invoice” can generally still be issued;
if the invoice issuer's previous-year turnover was no more than €800,000, this transitional period extends to 31 December 2027;
a paper invoice may continue to be used during the transitional period;
a simple electronic invoice, such as a PDF file, may generally be used during the transitional period only with the invoice recipient's consent.
Exceptions to the obligation to issue an e-invoice exist for certain cases. These include in particular small-value invoices up to €250, travel tickets and supplies by small businesses using the small business VAT scheme.
Retention of invoices
Entrepreneurs must generally retain issued and received invoices for eight years. The retention period begins at the end of the calendar year in which the invoice was issued.
For electronic invoices, the requirements for proper electronic retention must also be observed.
Special rules
Additional or different rules may apply depending on the activity or particular transaction. These concern, for example:
small businesses using the small business VAT scheme,
tax-exempt transactions,
cross-border deliveries and services,
the reverse charge procedure,
self-billing invoices,
advance and final invoices, and
invoices to public contracting authorities.
Entrepreneurs should therefore check which VAT and tax law requirements apply to the business transaction concerned.
Invoices on Suchen.Expert
Suchen.Expert is not a party to transactions concluded between users.
Suchen.Expert therefore does not issue invoices for deliveries or services between users and does not check their tax correctness or completeness.
The entrepreneur concerned is responsible for properly preparing, transmitting and retaining an invoice.
If there is uncertainty about tax requirements, expert tax or legal advice should be obtained.
