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E-invoicing in Germany: what changes for a small business, and when.

Since 1 January 2025 every business in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices from other businesses. Sending them becomes required in two steps, in 2027 and 2028. Here are the dates, what counts as an e-invoice, the exceptions, and what to do this year.

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Updated 16 October 2026

The dates.

For invoices from one business to another, both in Germany. Invoices to consumers do not change.

WhenReceivingSending
Since 1 January 2025Every business must be able to receive e-invoices.Paper is still allowed, and so is another electronic format, such as a PDF, if your customer agrees.
2026The same.The same, until 31 December 2026.
2027The same.E-invoices are required if your total turnover in 2026 was above 800,000 euros. Below that, paper or an agreed other format is still allowed for one more year.
From 1 January 2028The same.E-invoices are required for every business invoicing another business in Germany.

What counts as an e-invoice.

An e-invoice is issued, sent and received in a structured electronic format that software can read without a person typing it in. The format must follow the European standard for e-invoicing, or be one both sides agreed that carries the same data.

In practice that means XRechnung, or ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 in a profile that carries the full invoice. A ZUGFeRD or Factur-X invoice looks like a PDF, but the data file inside it is what counts.

A plain PDF, a scan, a photo or the text of an email is not an e-invoice. It is an "other invoice", still allowed during the transition above and in the exceptions below.

Not an e-invoice

  • A PDF made in a word processor
  • A scan or a photo of a paper invoice
  • An invoice written in the body of an email
  • A printout of an XRechnung

The exceptions.

  • Consumers. Invoices to private customers are not covered.
  • Small invoices. An invoice whose total is 250 euros or less may always be sent as an other invoice, on paper or as a PDF.
  • Small businesses. A business under the small business rule (Kleinunternehmer, § 19 UStG) may keep sending other invoices. Like every business, it must still be able to receive e-invoices.
  • Customers abroad. The duty covers invoices between businesses that are both established in Germany.

Receiving one, and keeping it.

To receive e-invoices, an email address is enough. Tell your suppliers which one to use. The harder part is reading them: an XRechnung is a data file, not a page, so you need a viewer or a tool that shows it as an invoice.

Keep the file itself, as it came, for eight years. A printout or a PDF view of an XRechnung is a picture of the invoice, not the invoice, and your accountant or archive needs the original.

Before you pay one

  • The sums add up
  • Your own name and tax number are right
  • You have not paid the same invoice before
  • The bank account is the one the supplier always used

A checklist for this year.

  1. Name one address for invoices and send it to your suppliers.
  2. Make sure you can read what arrives. Open one XRechnung now, before a supplier sends the first.
  3. Keep the original files, not printouts, and agree with your accountant how they reach them.
  4. Check before you pay. A structured file can carry a wrong bank account as easily as a PDF. Read what to do when a supplier's bank details change.
  5. Ask your invoicing tool whether it sends XRechnung or ZUGFeRD, and switch before your date.
  6. Look at your 2026 turnover. Above 800,000 euros, your date for sending is 1 January 2027; otherwise 1 January 2028.

Where Neaion helps.

E-invoices that reach your mailbox are filed by your office as data: XRechnung, ZUGFeRD and Factur-X, from an XML file, a ZIP or the file inside a PDF. No AI reads the numbers. The invoice's own sums are checked and anything that does not add up is flagged, the original file is kept for you to download, the same invoice is counted once however often it arrives, and a supplier's new bank account is flagged before you pay.

Neaion does not issue invoices. Your invoicing tool does, such as lexoffice or sevDesk, and your office follows the invoices you issued there until they are paid. See how your office keeps receipts and invoices.

Questions

Asked before you start.

Is a PDF invoice an e-invoice?

No. An e-invoice is a structured file that software can read, in a format that follows the European standard, such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. A PDF on its own is an "other invoice", still allowed during the transition and in the exceptions.

Do I have to send e-invoices in 2026?

No. Until the end of 2026 you may still send paper invoices or, if your customer agrees, another electronic format such as a PDF. You must already be able to receive e-invoices.

When must a small business send e-invoices?

From 1 January 2027 if its total turnover in 2026 was above 800,000 euros. Otherwise from 1 January 2028, when the rule applies to every business invoicing another business in Germany.

Do small businesses under § 19 UStG need e-invoices?

They may keep sending other invoices, on paper or as a PDF. Like every business, they must be able to receive e-invoices.

Is an email address enough to receive e-invoices?

To receive them, yes. You also need a way to read them, because an XRechnung is a data file, and you must keep the file itself for eight years.

Does Neaion issue e-invoices?

No. Your invoicing tool issues them. Neaion reads the e-invoices you receive, checks their sums, and follows the invoices you issued in your invoicing tool until they are paid.

Sources

The rules and dates on this page come from these sources, read on the day shown. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice: rules change and your case may differ, so ask your adviser before you rely on it. If something here is out of date, write to us at hello@neaion.com and we will correct it.

  1. Federal Ministry of Finance: questions and answers on e-invoicing, checked 16 October 2026
  2. § 14 UStG: invoices, and what an e-invoice is, checked 16 October 2026
  3. § 27 (38) UStG: the transition for 2025 to 2027, checked 16 October 2026
  4. § 14b UStG: keeping invoices for eight years, checked 16 October 2026
  5. § 33 UStDV: invoices up to 250 euros, checked 16 October 2026
  6. § 34a UStDV: invoices of small businesses, checked 16 October 2026

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