Germany’s e-invoice mandate: what expats and freelancers need to know

Timeline at a glance

• From 1 Jan 2025: All domestic B2B sellers must accept structured e-invoices from German buyers (receive capability).
• From 1 Jan 2027: Companies with prior-year revenue above €800,000 must issue e-invoices for domestic B2B sales.
• From 1 Jan 2028: Remaining businesses must issue e-invoices for domestic B2B sales.

B2C invoices, exports, and some special cases follow different rules. This guide focuses on typical freelancer and SMB B2B scenarios.

Receive vs issue — don’t mix them up

Receiving means your accounting can ingest EN 16931–conform invoices from suppliers — often via your tax advisor’s DATEV workflow, an ERP inbox, or invoicing software.

Issuing means when you bill a German B2B client, you send a structured invoice (e.g. ZUGFeRD or XRechnung), not only a plain PDF.

Expats and English-speaking freelancers

The law applies to your German business activity, not your nationality. If you are registered as a freelancer (Freiberufler), sole proprietor, or run a UG/GmbH in Germany, the mandate applies like any other domestic business.

• Ask large clients now which format and portal they require
• Send a test invoice before your legal issuing deadline
• Archive issued and received invoices per GoBD principles
• Use a German-speaking tax advisor (Steuerberater) for edge cases — Kleinunternehmer, EU B2B, reverse charge

Which format should you start with?

For most private B2B clients, ZUGFeRD (PDF + embedded XML) is the practical default. Public authorities and some enterprises require XRechnung (XML only). See our format overview for a comparison.

Full legal detail in German: Ratgeber E-Rechnungspflicht (DE) →