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🇩🇪VAT 19%

Germany VAT & Invoicing Guide for Businesses (2026)

VAT 19%, Umsatzsteuer, mandatory invoice fields, and B2B e-invoicing from 2025 — the complete guide

Last updated: 30 April 2026 · Written by the Hisabi team

TL;DR — the key facts

  • Standard VAT (Umsatzsteuer) rate is 19%; reduced rate of 7% applies to food, books, and cultural events.
  • B2B e-invoicing (EN 16931 structured XML) became mandatory for domestic transactions from 1 January 2025. Buyers must be able to receive e-invoices; senders have a transition period.
  • Every VAT invoice must include your Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer (USt-IdNr., 11 digits starting with 'DE') for cross-border EU supplies.
  • Registration threshold: none — any business making taxable supplies in Germany must register for VAT from day one (no threshold for non-residents; resident micro-businesses may use Kleinunternehmerregelung below €25,000).

What you need to know

Germanytax & invoicing — covered

VAT

German Umsatzsteuer (VAT) at 19%

Germany's standard Umsatzsteuer rate is 19%. A reduced rate of 7% applies to food, books, newspapers, cultural and sporting events, public transport, and certain other goods. Businesses must register before making their first taxable supply.

  • Standard rate: 19% — reduced rate: 7%
  • Kleinunternehmerregelung (small business exemption): turnover ≤ €25,000 in prior year and ≤ €100,000 forecast for current year
  • Monthly or quarterly Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung (advance returns) plus annual return
  • Monthly returns required in year of registration and following year regardless of turnover
E-Invoicing

Germany B2B E-Invoicing Mandate (2025)

From 1 January 2025, all businesses receiving domestic B2B invoices must be able to receive structured e-invoices (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD compliant with EN 16931). The obligation to issue e-invoices is phased by revenue.

  • From 1 Jan 2025: all businesses must be able to receive structured e-invoices
  • From 1 Jan 2027: mandatory issuance for businesses with revenue above €800,000
  • From 1 Jan 2028: mandatory issuance for all remaining businesses
  • Accepted formats: XRechnung (pure XML) and ZUGFeRD (hybrid PDF+XML)
  • Paper and PDF invoices remain valid during transition — but recipient acceptance is not required after 2025
Invoicing

Mandatory Invoice Fields in Germany

German VAT law (§14 UStG) sets strict requirements for what a VAT-compliant invoice must contain. Missing mandatory fields can deny the buyer's right to deduct input VAT.

  • Full name and address of supplier and buyer
  • Supplier's Steuernummer or USt-IdNr.
  • Sequential invoice number
  • Date of supply and date of invoice
  • Description, quantity, unit price, net amount
  • VAT rate applied and VAT amount in EUR

Timeline

Key compliance dates

  1. 1 January 2025

    All businesses must be able to receive EN 16931 structured e-invoices for domestic B2B transactions.

  2. 1 January 2027

    Mandatory e-invoice issuance for businesses with annual revenue above €800,000.

  3. 1 January 2028

    Mandatory e-invoice issuance for all remaining businesses (including small businesses).

VAT and invoicing compliance

Frequently asked questions — Germany

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19% standard rate. A reduced rate of 7% applies to food (excluding alcohol, beverages, and luxury items), books, newspapers, public transport, accommodation, cultural events, and certain other goods and services.

No threshold for non-residents — you must register before making your first taxable supply in Germany. Resident businesses can use the Kleinunternehmerregelung (small business rule) if turnover was ≤ €25,000 in the prior year and is forecast to be ≤ €100,000 in the current year, but this exempts you from charging VAT while also denying you input tax recovery.

From 1 January 2025, all German businesses must be able to receive structured electronic invoices (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD format, compliant with EN 16931) for domestic B2B transactions. The obligation to issue e-invoices is phased: businesses above €800,000 revenue from 2027, all businesses from 2028.

XRechnung is Germany's national XML e-invoice standard, compliant with the EU EN 16931 norm. It is a pure XML file with no embedded PDF. ZUGFeRD is an alternative hybrid format that combines a human-readable PDF with an embedded XML — both are accepted.

Full name and address of supplier and buyer; supplier's Steuernummer or USt-IdNr.; a unique sequential invoice number; date of supply and invoice date; description, quantity, and unit price; the applicable VAT rate; the net amount; the VAT amount; and the gross total including VAT.

Hisabi handles this for you

VAT-compliant invoices, automatically

Hisabi generates invoices with the correct tax fields, USt-IdNr. display, and currency for Germany. Start free — no credit card required.

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