E-invoicing in Germany
Phased rollout under the Growth Opportunities Act (Wachstumschancengesetz). Businesses must be able to RECEIVE structured e-invoices since January 2025. Issuing: businesses above EUR 800,000 turnover from January 2027, all businesses from January 2028. Formats must be EN 16931-compliant (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD 2.1+).
Next obligation: 1 January 2027
turnover above EUR 800,000 must issue structured e-invoices for domestic B2B.
…System: Peppol / any EN 16931-compliant channel · Formats: XRechnung (UBL), ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X (PDF/A-3 + embedded XML), Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 · All countries
Full timeline
all businesses must be able to receive and validate structured e-invoices.
turnover above EUR 800,000 must issue structured e-invoices for domestic B2B.
all businesses must issue structured e-invoices for domestic B2B.
Formats accepted
XRechnung (UBL), ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X (PDF/A-3 + embedded XML), Peppol BIS Billing 3.0. All must conform to EN 16931.
Penalties
Paper invoices for domestic B2B become invalid for input-VAT deduction once the mandate applies; separate GoBD archiving violations.
Make a compliant invoice
Questions about e-invoicing in Germany
When does e-invoicing become mandatory in Germany?
From 1 January 2027, all businesses must be able to receive and validate structured e-invoices (from 1 January 2025); turnover above EUR 800,000 must issue structured e-invoices for domestic B2B (from 1 January 2027); all businesses must issue structured e-invoices for domestic B2B (from 1 January 2028).
Which e-invoice format is required in Germany?
Germany requires XRechnung (UBL), ZUGFeRD 2.x / Factur-X (PDF/A-3 + embedded XML), Peppol BIS Billing 3.0. All must conform to EN 16931.
What happens if a business in Germany does not comply?
Paper invoices for domestic B2B become invalid for input-VAT deduction once the mandate applies; separate GoBD archiving violations.
Source: www.bundesfinanzministerium.de. Not legal advice.