Required Information on Invoices: What Section 14 of the German Value-Added Tax Act (UStG) Requires

What mandatory information must an invoice include?

The requirements are set forth in § 14(4), first sentence, of the German Value-Added Tax Act (UStG), in items 1 through 10. Anyone who provides services to another business owner for that owner’s business must issue the invoice within six months of the provision of services (§ 14(2) UStG). The same applies to services provided to a legal entity that is not a business, and to taxable supplies of goods and services related to real property, regardless of the recipient. This obligation applies only if the transaction is not tax-exempt. As a small business owner, this requirement does not apply to you; however, you may still issue the invoice. The information may be spread across multiple documents, provided that one document summarizes the consideration and the tax amount and references the others (Section 31(1) of the German Value-Added Tax Implementation Regulation (UStDV)). The name and address are considered to have been provided if they can be clearly determined (Section 31(2) of the UStDV).

What are the rules for small invoices up to €250?

Invoices whose total amount does not exceed €250 require only four pieces of information (Section 33 UStDV): the name and full address of the service provider, the date of issuance, the quantity and type of service, as well as the total amount (including both the payment and the tax) along with the tax rate; if the transaction is tax-exempt, a corresponding note must be included. The recipient does not need to be named, and the tax identification number, invoice number, and date of service are not required.

The limit applies to the total amount, i.e., the gross amount. This exemption does not apply to services provided under Sections 3c, 6a, and 13b of the German Value-Added Tax Act (UStG). In addition, a small-amount invoice may always be submitted as a standard invoice, i.e., without using e-invoicing.

What does an invoice look like for a small business owner?

For sales that are tax-exempt under Section 19(1) of the German Value-Added Tax Act (UStG), Section 34a of the German Value-Added Tax Implementation Regulation (UStDV) has been in effect since January 1, 2025. The invoice must include at least the names and addresses of both parties, the tax number, the VAT ID number, or the small business identification number of the service provider, the date of issuance, the quantity and type of service, and the total amount of the consideration, with a note indicating that the small business tax exemption applies. If the invoice is issued by the recipient, the word “credit note” must be included.

This list does not include an invoice number or the date of service. The invoice does not show VAT. In addition, small business owners may always submit their invoices as “other invoices” (Section 34a, Sentence 4, UStDV).

What note should be included on the invoice when using the reverse charge method?

If a business owner provides a service pursuant to Section 13b(2) of the German Value-Added Tax Act (UStG) for which the recipient is liable for the tax, the invoice must include the statement “Tax liability rests with the recipient of the service.” In such cases, there is no separate tax breakdown (§ 14a(5) UStG).

If a German business provides services in another EU country where the recipient is liable for the tax, the same notice applies, along with the VAT ID numbers of both parties. For other services under Section 3a(2) of the German Value-Added Tax Act (UStG), the invoice must be issued by the 15th day of the following month (Section 14a(1) UStG).

How do you assign invoice numbers correctly?

The law requires “a sequential number consisting of one or more series of numbers” that the issuer assigns on a one-time basis to identify the invoice (Section 14(4), first sentence, No. 4 of the German Value-Added Tax Act (UStG)). Multiple series of numbers are expressly permitted.

Gaps in the number sequence are not a problem; a continuous sequence is not required. If you skip a number—for example, because you created an invoice and then canceled it—that’s fine. The only important thing is that each number is assigned only once.

A common format is year, hyphen, sequential number: 2026-0001, 2026-0002.

How do you correct an incorrect invoice?

An invoice may be corrected if information is missing or incorrect. A document that clearly refers to the invoice and contains only the missing or incorrect information is sufficient; its form and content must meet the requirements of § 14 of the UStG (§ 31(5) of the Value-Added Tax Implementation Regulation (UStDV)). For purposes of the German Fiscal Code, the correction is not considered a retroactive event (Section 14(4), fourth sentence, of the UStG).

If the invoice shows more VAT than the issuer owes on the transaction, the issuer also owes the excess amount (Section 14c(1) of the UStG). This constitutes an incorrect tax statement, and this also includes VAT on an invoice issued by a small business owner. To correct this, it is sufficient to issue a correction to the recipient. The reduction applies for the period covered by the correction. The recipient’s input tax deduction is contingent upon an invoice in accordance with Sections 14 and 14a of the UStG (Section 15(1), first sentence, No. 1, UStG); see the article on input tax deduction for more details.

What's different about e-invoices and record retention?

The required information remains the same; only the format changes. An e-invoice is a structured data record (Section 14(1) of the German Value-Added Tax Act (UStG)). Until the end of 2026, invoices may still be issued on paper or, with the recipient’s consent, as a PDF; the deadlines starting in 2027 are outlined in the article on e-invoicing. Small business owners and invoices for small amounts may always be submitted as “other invoices.”

Invoices must be retained for eight years, beginning at the end of the calendar year in which they were issued (Section 14b(1) of the German Value-Added Tax Act (UStG)). If a private individual receives a supply of goods or services related to real property, they must retain the invoice for two years (Section 14b(1), sentence 5, UStG). The invoice indicates this requirement (No. 9).