e-Invoicing in Germany: who and when
The two phase-in dates, the exemptions, and the obligation that already applies to everybody.
The date that already passed
Since 1 January 2025, businesses in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices.
That is not phased and has no small-business exemption. If a supplier sends you an XRechnung today, "we cannot process that" is not a position you are entitled to take.
The phase-in below is entirely about issuing.
The two issuing dates
| From | Who |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | Businesses whose total turnover in 2026 was above EUR 800.000. |
| 1 January 2028 | Everybody else. |
Two dates, not one, and the threshold looks at 2026 turnover specifically. Steerd derives the answer from the invoice's own issue date, so an invoice dated in a previous year is judged by that year's rules rather than today's.
Who is exempt from issuing
- Small businesses under Paragraph 19 UStG are permanently exempt from issuing. They must still receive.
- Invoices up to EUR 250,00 may stay ordinary invoices under Paragraph 33 UStDV.
- Private individuals as recipients. The mandate covers business customers. Steerd records whether a client is a business or a consumer, and an unrecorded one is treated as unknown rather than assumed.
- Some exempt supplies, depending on the exemption.
In every one of these cases you may still issue an e-invoice voluntarily, and Steerd offers the option.
The formats
XRechnung is the format German public-sector bodies require. ZUGFeRD is a hybrid: a PDF you can read with the structured data embedded inside it.
Public-sector clients typically identify themselves with a Leitweg-ID, which goes in the client's electronic address field.
What this means practically
If you invoice public-sector bodies, you already need this. If you invoice businesses, your date depends on your 2026 turnover. If you invoice consumers, the mandate does not reach those invoices at all.
None of that removes the obligation to receive.
See e-Invoicing for how it works on an actual invoice.