Germany
Sections 14 and 14a UStG list every mandatory field. A missing supply date or a broken number sequence can cost your client the right to deduct the VAT. Since January 2025 every business must be able to receive structured e-invoices.
What to Include on an Invoice
The ten fields almost every invoice needs, then the rules for your country: its required fields, the mistakes that get invoices rejected and the law behind them.
What an invoice should include
Ten things almost every country expects. Point at a field to see where it sits on the sheet.
- 1The word “Invoice”A clear title so nobody mistakes it for a quote or a receipt. Australia goes further and asks for the words “Tax invoice”.
- 2A unique invoice numberSequential and never reused. Gaps and duplicates are the first thing an auditor looks for.
- 3Issue dateThe day you issue it. It starts the clock on the payment term.
- 4Supply dateWhen the goods or services were delivered, if that differs from the issue date.
- 5Your detailsLegal business name, address and tax number: VAT, GST or business number.
- 6Your client's detailsTheir legal name and address, plus their VAT number for business sales to another EU country.
- 7Line itemsWhat was supplied, in words someone else can check, with quantity, unit price and line total.
- 8Tax breakdownThe rate and amount of tax for each rate used, or the reason no tax is charged.
- 9TotalsSubtotal, tax and the amount due, all in one currency.
- 10Payment termsThe due date, how to pay, such as bank details, and any late-payment terms.
Ask an accountant what an invoice must include and you will hear these ten. National law then adds its own details, which is what the country profiles below are for.
Choose country for invoice requirements
Select a country to load the exact invoice requirement checklist and legal references used for that market.
United States (US) invoice details
This profile is US-focused. In the US, invoice layout rules are usually driven by contracts, state/local tax rules, and accounting controls rather than one single federal invoice template.
Seller and customer identification
Business legal name, address, customer name, and billing address. Keep identities clear for tax and audit support.
Invoice number and dates
Unique invoice number, issue date, and service/supply date when different.
Clear line-item detail
Description, quantity, unit price, discounts, and line totals for each item/service.
Tax treatment and totals
Show subtotal, tax charged (if applicable), and total due. State/local rules may require additional tax details.
Payment terms
Due date, accepted payment methods, and remittance instructions.
Recordkeeping support
Retain invoices and supporting documents as part of your business records.
Common mistakes to avoid
These are the mistakes that most often lead to rejected invoices, payment delays, or tax corrections.
Invoice numbering
No unique invoice numbering scheme.
Service date
Missing service date or delivery date context.
Tax line
No clear tax line when tax is charged.
Customer details
Incomplete customer details that block payment approval.
Legal references
The official pages behind the United States (US) profile. Read the source before relying on a summary for a large invoice.
Important: Informational only, not legal or tax advice. US state/local requirements can differ.
Why invoice requirements differ by country
An invoice is a tax document, so the country whose tax system applies decides what it must contain. Inside the EU most of the rules come from one law, the VAT Directive (2006/112/EC), which is why EU profiles share a common core: both parties, a unique number, dates, itemised lines, tax rates and totals, and notes for special cases such as the reverse charge.
National law then adds detail. Germany lists its mandatory fields in sections 14 and 14a of the UStG, France covers the same ground in articles 242 nonies A and 289 of the CGI, and Italy adds the fields that invoices need to pass through its SdI platform.
Outside the EU the frame is looser. The United States has no federal invoice format, and state rules and your records do most of the work. Australia defines a “tax invoice” that lets the buyer claim GST, Canada splits rules between the federal GST/HST and the provinces, and the United Kingdom kept VAT after Brexit, so its rules look like the EU's but live in HMRC guidance.
Requirements of an invoice, country by country
The detail each profile above adds to the ten essentials.
France
Articles 242 nonies A and 289 of the CGI govern invoices. From September 2026 all businesses must be able to receive e-invoices through the national system, and large and mid-sized companies must send them.
Italy
Business invoices must clear the SdI platform in FatturaPA format. A PDF on its own is not a valid Italian B2B invoice.
Spain
Real Decreto 1619/2012 sets the rules. Simplified invoices are allowed up to €400; above that, the full EU set of fields applies.
Netherlands
The Belastingdienst expects the standard EU fields. Invoices up to €100 can use a simplified format.
Austria
Section 11 UStG mirrors the German structure with Austrian details. Simplified invoices are allowed up to €400.
Ireland
Revenue's rules follow the EU VAT Directive closely. Watch the reduced 13.5% rate, which applies to many services.
United Kingdom
HMRC's VAT Notice 700/21 sets the fields. UK VAT invoices look like EU ones but follow UK law since Brexit; simplified invoices are allowed up to £250.
United States
No federal format. States with sales tax expect enough detail to support the tax line, and the IRS expects records behind every invoice.
Australia
A tax invoice must say “Tax invoice”, show your ABN and the GST amount, so the buyer can claim the GST credit.
Canada
Federal GST/HST rules plus provincial ones: PST in British Columbia, QST in Quebec, RST in Manitoba. Quebec invoices need both GST and QST numbers.
Mistakes that get invoices rejected
The same handful of slips cause most rejected invoices. Each one, and what it should have said:
Vague description
Wrong: Consulting services · €5,000
Right: Brand strategy workshop, 2 days (12–13 May 2026) · €5,000
No supply date
Wrong: Invoice date 3 June
Right: Invoice date 3 June · Delivered 28 May
Silent zero VAT
Wrong: VAT 0%
Right: VAT 0% · Reverse charge, Article 196 VAT Directive
Client VAT number missing
Wrong: Tannwald Druck GmbH, Berlin
Right: Tannwald Druck GmbH, Berlin · VAT DE996030824
For business sales into another EU country, check your client's number with the VAT number checker before you rely on the reverse charge.
Small invoices, and how long to keep them
Many countries let you issue a shorter invoice for small sales. A simplified invoice can leave out your client's details, but it still needs your own details, the date, what was supplied and the tax. It suits shops and quick sales to consumers; business clients who reclaim VAT will want the full version.
Keep every invoice you issue and receive, along with the records behind it: contracts, delivery notes and bank statements. Digital copies are accepted everywhere, as long as they stay readable and unchanged. Longer periods can apply to property or while an audit is open.
| Country | Simplified invoice up to | Keep for |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | €250 | 8 years |
| Austria | €400 | 7 years |
| Netherlands | €100 | 7 years |
| Italy | €400 | 10 years |
| Spain | €400 | – |
| France | – | 10 years |
| United Kingdom | £250 | 6 years |
| Canada | – | 6 years |
| Australia | A$1,000 | 5 years |
A dash means the country has no general threshold or period listed here.
Questions about what to include in an invoice
Your own country's rules decide the format of the invoice; your client's location decides the VAT treatment. A German company billing a French business issues a German-style invoice with a reverse-charge note, and the French client accounts for the VAT in France.
Usually not. EU law lets you invoice in any language, as long as the tax office can ask for a translation. English is widely accepted for business clients; for domestic sales, use the local language.
No. The EU dropped signature requirements in 2010, provided the invoice's origin and content can be trusted, and the US never had one. An unsigned PDF is a valid invoice in every country on this page.
For supplies to businesses in other EU countries, by the 15th day of the month after the supply (Article 222 of the VAT Directive). At home the deadlines vary: Germany allows six months, the UK expects 30 days, and many countries want it at the time of supply.
Do not edit and resend it. Issue a credit note that refers to the original number and cancels it, then send a new invoice with the right figures. Both documents follow the same rules as any invoice.
Yes. Include your details, a unique number, the date, the lines and the totals, plus your client's name, address and VAT number. For services to an EU business add a reverse-charge note; your client accounts for the VAT, and you do not register for EU VAT for that sale.
Create a compliant invoice now
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