Germany invoice requirements: what a German invoice must include

German VAT law lists what every invoice must contain. Miss one and the customer may lose its input VAT deduction. Invoices to foreign customers need a reverse-charge note and the customer's VAT ID.

Alexia M.Comparisons and market guides editor

Published: 23 July 2026
Reading time: 1 min read

"Germany invoice requirements" is the top suggestion after "Germany invoice", ahead of templates. German customers check invoices closely, because a missing field can cost them their input VAT deduction.

The §14 UStG fields

Field	Notes
Supplier's full name and address
Recipient's full name and address
Supplier's tax number or VAT ID	Steuernummer or USt-IdNr.
Invoice date
Unique sequential invoice number
Quantity and type of goods or scope of services
Date of supply	Or the month
Net amount by tax rate
VAT rate and amount	Or exemption note
Any agreed reduction	Discounts, rebates

Small invoices

Up to €250 gross, a Kleinbetragsrechnung needs the supplier's name and address, date, description, gross amount and VAT rate.

Invoices to foreign customers

EU business customer, B2B services: no German VAT, the customer's VAT ID, your VAT ID, and a note such as "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" or "reverse charge". Report the sale in the recapitulative statement.
Customer outside the EU: services are usually not taxable in Germany; note the reason.
Invoice in another currency: show any German VAT in euros as well.

Payment details

Put details the customer can pay locally: a euro IBAN for EU customers, USD details for US customers, GBP details for UK customers. A US client asked to pay a German IBAN sends an international wire.

Paying into Germany: the local rail

What	Detail
Local rail	SEPA Instant Credit Transfer
Run by	European Payments Council scheme, run by each bank
Settlement	Under ten seconds, 24/7
Published fee	By the EU Instant Payments Regulation, no more than the bank charges for a standard SEPA transfer

Source: European Payments Council: SEPA Instant Credit Transfer. Checked when this guide was last updated; the scheme's own page has the current figures.

Where Rivet fits

Rivet gives German companies EUR and GBP details on Growth and USD on every plan, so each invoice carries details the customer can pay locally. Rivet's invoicing creates invoices with those details and tracks payment. Rivet is not a bank; regulated partner institutions hold the funds. See how to invoice international clients.

Questions people ask

What must a German invoice include?

Under §14(4) UStG: supplier and recipient names and addresses, tax number or VAT ID, invoice date, sequential number, quantity and description, date of supply, net amounts by rate, VAT rate and amount, and any exemption note.

What is a Kleinbetragsrechnung?

An invoice up to €250 gross that needs fewer details: supplier name and address, date, description, gross amount and VAT rate.

Can I invoice in US dollars?

Yes, but if German VAT applies, the VAT amount must also be shown in euros.

What changes with e-invoicing?

The content rules stay; the format changes. From 2027 and 2028 domestic B2B invoices must be issued in a structured format.

Sources

Written by

Alexia M.

Comparisons and market guides editor

Alexia compares the accounts, cards and payment tools companies weigh before they switch, and writes Rivet's market guides for founders in a specific country. Prices in Alexia's comparisons come from each provider's own pricing page on the date given in the article, rules come from the regulator or tax authority that sets them, and every source is listed at the end.