What an invoice must show
The statutory lines on a German VAT invoice.
What a full invoice carries
§ 14 of the Umsatzsteuergesetz lists what a VAT invoice must show: the firm's name and address, your name and address, the tax number or VAT identification number, the date, a unique invoice number, the quantity and the usual description of the work, the date of the work, the net amount, the VAT rate and the VAT amount, and any discount agreed beforehand.
Text viewed 9 October 2026: § 14 UStG.
A small invoice
For an invoice under 250 €, § 33 of the Umsatzsteuer-Durchführungsverordnung allows a shorter set of details. The threshold and the list are in the statute, not in a rule of thumb on this page.
Text viewed 9 October 2026: § 33 UStDV.
Keep it if someone else should pay
If you are a tenant who paid a bill the landlord should reimburse, keep the invoice with the firm's name matching the card. A cash note with no invoice is hard to pass on. The who-pays guide says whose duty the repair is.