Invoicing abroad

Invoicing abroad: what applies, country by country

To a business elsewhere in the EU you invoice without VAT and add the reverse-charge note — your customer owes the tax. To a third country there is likewise no VAT, but for a different reason and with a different note. The rest are details that genuinely differ per country.

Elsewhere in the EU — reverse charge and reporting

The same pattern applies to all of them: no VAT, reverse-charge note, recapitulative statement. What differs is what the destination additionally demands of its own businesses — and whether that reaches you.

CountryStandard rateE-invoicing mandate there
Germany19 %XRechnung / ZUGFeRD (from 2025) — does not bind you
Austria20 %none
Italy22 %FatturaPA (SdI) — does not bind you
France20 %Factur-X / UBL / CII über eine zugelassene Plattform (from 2026) — does not bind you
Belgium21 %Peppol BIS (from 2026) — does not bind you
Poland23 %KSeF (from 2026) — does not bind you
Spain21 %Facturae / UBL / CII (Ley 18/2022, RD 238/2026) (from 2026) — does not bind you
Slovakia23 %yes (from 2027) — does not bind you
Hungary27 %none
Slovenia22 %yes (from 2028) — does not bind you
Netherlands21 %The EU standard case: reverse charge, EC Sales List, no B2B e-invoicing mandate and none announced. Nothing distinguishes it from the general EU answer.
Czechia21 %The EU standard case with no e-invoicing mandate. The one specific: Billy cannot issue an invoice in Czech koruna.

The Netherlands and Czechia deliberately have no page of their own: for VAT they are the plain EU standard case, and a page that differs only in its heading helps nobody.

Third countries — no reverse charge, no reporting

Outside the EU the mechanism does not apply. You will usually still invoice without VAT, but the reason on the invoice is different — and there is no recapitulative statement.

Frequently asked questions

Do I charge VAT when invoicing elsewhere in the EU?
To a business with a valid VAT ID: no. The liability shifts to the recipient (§ 3a Abs. 2 with § 14a Abs. 1 UStG in Germany, § 3a Abs. 6 UStG 1994 with Art. 196 of the VAT Directive in Austria). The invoice carries the reverse-charge note and both VAT IDs. This never applies to private customers.
How is this different from § 13b UStG?
§ 13b is the DOMESTIC reverse charge — construction work, subcontractors and the like inside Germany. For a supply to a business in another EU country the basis is § 14a Abs. 1 UStG. The two are constantly confused.
Does the destination’s e-invoicing mandate apply to me?
Almost never. The mandates in Italy, France, Belgium, Poland and Spain bind businesses established there — not foreign suppliers without a fixed establishment. Your customer does something in their system; you send a normal invoice. Each country page says who the duty binds.
Do I have to file a recapitulative statement?
For EU supplies yes, with your customer’s VAT ID and the net amount — by the 25th day after the reporting period in Germany, by the end of the following month in Austria. For third countries it does not apply at all.

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