Invoicing abroad
Invoicing to Poland: VAT, reverse charge and mandatory details
To a business in Poland you invoice without VAT and add the reverse-charge note. Your customer accounts for the tax in Poland; you need their valid VAT ID for that.
This page is written for freelancers and small businesses in Germany and Austria. Pick your country below — the rules differ.
Do you charge VAT?
From Germany to a business in Poland: no VAT, with the reverse-charge note. The basis is § 3a Abs. 2 in Verbindung mit § 14a Abs. 1 UStG. The standard rate in Poland is 23 % — but your customer accounts for it, not you.
From Austria to a business in Poland: no VAT, with the reverse-charge note. The basis is § 3a Abs. 6 UStG 1994 in Verbindung mit Art. 196 MwStSystRL. The standard rate in Poland is 23 % — but your customer accounts for it, not you.
Private customers: Reverse charge never applies to consumers. Up to €10,000 in total you charge your own domestic VAT; above it you owe the destination country’s VAT and report it through the One-Stop Shop (§ 3a Abs. 5 UStG). Note the €10,000 is cumulative across the whole EU, not per country.
The sentence for the invoice
No exact wording is prescribed; the note only has to be unambiguous. This is the customary form:
Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers (Reverse Charge)
Both VAT IDs belong on the invoice: yours and your customer’s. Without a valid recipient VAT ID the reverse-charge mechanism does not apply.
Do you have to report it?
Yes. The supply belongs in the recapitulative statement, with your customer’s VAT ID and the net amount — by the 25th day after the end of the reporting period. It is a report rather than a tax return, but it is forgotten regularly, and it is the most common reason a tax office asks about EU supplies.
Yes. The supply belongs in the recapitulative statement, with your customer’s VAT ID and the net amount — by the end of the following month. It is a report rather than a tax return, but it is forgotten regularly, and it is the most common reason a tax office asks about EU supplies.
Does Poland’s e-invoicing mandate apply to you?
Poland runs KSeF, a mandatory state clearing system: since 1 February 2026 for taxpayers above PLN 200m turnover, since 1 April 2026 for the rest, and from 1 January 2027 for the smallest. It binds Polish taxable persons. A German or Austrian business with no seat and no fixed establishment in Poland does not have to invoice through KSeF — the Polish authority says so explicitly for the self-billing case.
In short: the duty is your customer’s, not yours. You send a normal invoice; they do whatever their own system requires of them.
The most common mistake
Careful with self-billing: if your Polish client bills on your behalf they may be inside KSeF — that does not put you there. The exemption turns on whether the issuing buyer is identified with a Polish NIP.
Sources
- Ministerstwo Finansów — KSeF — https://www.podatki.gov.pl/ksef/
- EU Commission — VAT rates — https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation/vat/vat-rates_en
Verified on 2026-09-06. VAT rates and e-invoicing timetables change several times a year — this article is general information and does not replace tax advice.