Receive e-invoices

Since 1 January 2025 every business in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices. According to the Ministry of Finance, an e-mail inbox is enough.

What that means in practice

There is no transition period for receiving. Your suppliers may send you e-invoices, and you must be able to accept them. From 2027 (for suppliers with more than €800,000 turnover in the previous year) and from 2028 at the latest, almost all invoices from other businesses arrive as e-invoices.

Step by step

1. Choose an inbox: give your suppliers an e-mail address for invoices.
2. Read and validate: XRechnungen are XML files. Open them with our free check, for example, which shows the invoice in readable form and validates it under the official rules.
3. Keep them: keep the e-invoice for eight years, at least its structured part unaltered in its original form – the XML file or the ZUGFeRD PDF with embedded XML (§ 14b(1) UStG; Federal Ministry of Finance FAQ, question "How must an e-invoice be kept?").
4. Automate: with many invoices, software that reads e-invoices pays off. Software vendors can use our API for that.

Frequently asked questions

May I refuse an e-invoice and ask for a PDF?

No. An e-invoice under the mandate needs no consent from you (§ 14(1) sentence 5 UStG). Whether the supplier issues a paper invoice instead during the transition (supplies until the end of 2026, with lower turnover until the end of 2027) is the supplier's decision according to the Federal Ministry of Finance's FAQ; a PDF invoice, however, needs your consent (§ 27(38) UStG). You can also agree something else with them.

Do I need special software?

No, an e-mail inbox fulfils the obligation. To read the files you need a viewer – our check is free and needs no account.

Do small businesses have to receive e-invoices?

Yes. Small businesses may keep issuing other invoices under § 34a UStDV, but they must be able to receive e-invoices (Federal Ministry of Finance FAQ).

Sources

• FAQ on the e-invoice (Federal Ministry of Finance, German)
• § 14 UStG, § 14b UStG, § 27(38) UStG, § 34a UStDV

As of 19 October 2026. This guide is not tax advice.