Every business must be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025, including small businesses under § 19 UStG. Issuing becomes mandatory on 1 January 2027 for prior-year turnover above €800,000 and on 1 January 2028 for everyone.
| Size band | Receive since | Issue from |
|---|---|---|
| Prior-year turnover up to €800,000 | law Source: IHK Hannover · undated · verified 15 Oct 2026 · secondary | law Source: Banqup · 8 Oct 2026 · verified 15 Oct 2026 · secondary |
| Prior-year turnover above €800,000 | law Source: IHK Hannover · undated · verified 15 Oct 2026 · secondary | law Source: AVASK · 17 Sept 2026 · verified 15 Oct 2026 · secondary |
Verified:
Scope: All businesses established in Germany for domestic B2B invoices; no buyer consent needed.
Domestic B2B invoices between businesses established in Germany
Wachstumschancengesetz, § 14 UStG; BMF letters of 15 Oct 2024 and 15 Oct 2025. On schedule as of Oct 2026; the ZDH request of 22 Jun 2026 to delay this date was not adopted. Exempt from issuing: invoices up to €250, tickets, Kleinunternehmer, B2C.
Domestic B2B invoices between businesses established in Germany
Until 31 Dec 2027 businesses with prior-year turnover up to €800,000 may still send paper or PDF (PDF needs recipient consent). EDI formats that cannot be fully mapped to EN 16931 are tolerated until 31 Dec 2027.
Small-business regime: Kleinunternehmer (§ 19 UStG)
Must receive e-invoices: yes · Must issue e-invoices: nounverified
We found this in secondary sources or sources disagree; we have not yet confirmed it in the official text. See unverified items
Must be able to receive e-invoices since 1 Jan 2025. Exempt from the duty to issue e-invoices according to most sources; one vendor (Qonto) says the opposite.
Post-audit (decentralised, no clearance)
Platform: None for B2B (decentralised post-audit model)
No central platform and no clearance for B2B. Public-sector invoices go through ZRE / OZG-RE portals or Peppol.
| Format | Syntax | Version | Must be accepted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XRechnung | UBL 2.1 or UN/CEFACT CII D16B | 3.0.2 | yes | German CIUS of EN 16931 maintained by KoSIT. Version 3.0.2 is current; a 4.0 preview was published 2026-09-15 with release planned for spring 2027 (secondary sources only). Source: KoSIT · 2 Sept 2026 · verified 15 Oct 2026 · official |
| ZUGFeRD / Factur-X | CII in PDF/A-3 (hybrid) | 2.5.2 / 1.09.2 (2026-08-04); 2.4 / 1.08 effective 2026-01-15 | yes | Accepted from version 2.0.1 in the BASIC, EN16931 and EXTENDED profiles. MINIMUM and BASIC-WL do not count as e-invoices. On conflict the XML prevails over the PDF. Source: FNFE-MPE · 4 Aug 2026 · verified 15 Oct 2026 · official |
| Any EN 16931-conformant format | UBL 2.1 or CII D16B, e.g. Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 | EN 16931-1; EN 16931-1:2026 published Mar 2026, OJ reference pending | yes | A format error means the file is not an e-invoice; a business-rule error can endanger the buyer's input VAT deduction. Source: Bundesministerium der Finanzen · 15 Oct 2025 · verified 15 Oct 2026 · official |
| Other formats by agreement | e.g. EDIFACT | n/a | no | Allowed if all EN 16931 data can be extracted correctly. EDI that is not fully mappable is tolerated until 31 Dec 2027. |
| Channel | Kind | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| no | Allowed for sending and receiving. An ordinary mailbox satisfies the receiving duty. | ||
| Peppol | Peppol | no | Allowed for B2B; accepted by the federal B2G portals. KoSIT is the German Peppol Authority. |
| ZRE / OZG-RE portals | Portal | no | Public-sector invoices to federal bodies and participating Länder; Leitweg-ID required. |
| EDI | EDI | no | Allowed; non-mappable EDI formats only until 31 Dec 2027. |
| API or download | API / platform | no | Any transmission that delivers the structured file is allowed, including download links and interfaces. |
No accreditation · Required: no
No accreditation for software vendors or transmission providers. Peppol Access Points need OpenPeppol membership and an agreement with KoSIT. Source: OpenPeppol · undated · verified 15 Oct 2026 · official
Receiving duty: law Source: IHK Hannover · undated · verified 15 Oct 2026 · secondary
Includes Kleinunternehmer (§ 19 UStG). A plain email inbox is legally sufficient to receive.
Formats to produce: XRechnung · ZUGFeRD / Factur-X · Any EN 16931-conformant format
Public-sector e-invoicing since law Source: Bundesverwaltung · undated · verified 15 Oct 2026 · official
ZRE (federal) and OZG-RE (participating Länder) portals, or Peppol; Leitweg-ID required on every invoice
Formats: XRechnung
E-Rechnungsverordnung applies to federal suppliers. The Länder have their own rules and portals.
Corporate buyers on SAP Business Network, Coupa, Tungsten or Basware: see Integrations.
no date yet announced Source: internal research · 15 Oct 2026 · verified 15 Oct 2026 · secondary unverified
We found this in secondary sources or sources disagree; we have not yet confirmed it in the official text. See unverified items
Real-time VAT reporting announced on 16 Jul 2026 without a date; no e-reporting obligation exists today.
Secondary source only; nothing in the legal text yet.
Retention period: 8 years Source: Bundesministerium der Justiz, gesetze-im-internet.de · undated · verified 17 Oct 2026 · official
The period starts: End of the calendar year in which the invoice was issued (§ 14b (1) UStG, § 147 (4) AO)
DATEV (via tax advisers) · Lexware Office · sevDesk · Sage · BuchhaltungsButler · easybill · FastBill · Billomat · orgaMAX · Papierkram · Accountable · Qonto · Finom
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Check my obligationsWe found this in secondary sources or sources disagree; we have not yet confirmed it in the official text.