EU VAT Invoice Generator

EU invoicing is a two-layer system. The VAT Directive sets the basic rules that apply everywhere: when an invoice is compulsory, what it must contain, and that electronic invoices count the same as paper. Each member state then adds national rules on top — rates, deadlines, retention periods and language requirements.

For business-to-business supplies an invoice is required in almost all cases, because it is the basis of your VAT liability and of your customer's right to deduct. For business-to-consumer supplies an invoice is only required for certain transactions, though issuing one is often good practice anyway.

The question that decides everything else is the place of supply: which country's VAT applies. Get that right first, then the rate, the wording and the return follow from it.

The Directive requires a sequential number, based on one or more series, that uniquely identifies the invoice. A single continuous run is the simplest way to satisfy that, and a per-entity or per-country series is acceptable provided every full number appears once.

Avoid restarting the sequence mid-year without a series prefix. If you restart annually, make the year part of the number — 2026-001 — so two invoices can never share an identifier.

Corrections are made by credit note referencing the original invoice, never by editing or reissuing a number that has already been sent. Cross-border audits reconcile your sequence against your customer's deduction claims.

An EU invoice shows the date of issue and, where different, the date the supply was made or completed. The supply date determines the VAT period; the issue date determines whether you met the national deadline.

Issuing deadlines are set nationally, and intra-Community supplies have their own timing rules, so check the deadline in the country whose VAT applies rather than assuming your own.

There is no single EU VAT rate. Each member state sets its own standard and reduced rates within the limits of the Directive, so the correct rate depends on where the supply is taxed and what you are supplying. Never copy a rate from one country's invoice onto another's.

For goods sent to a VAT-registered business in another member state, the supply is zero-rated as an intra-Community supply provided the customer has a valid VAT number; the customer accounts for the VAT in their own country. For most business-to-business services the general place-of-supply rule taxes the service where the customer belongs, again handled by the reverse charge.

For sales to consumers in other member states, an EU-wide threshold of EUR 10,000 per calendar year applies to intra-Community distance sales of goods and cross-border digital services. Above it, VAT is due at the customer's national rate and is normally declared through the One Stop Shop instead of registering in each country.

The euro is the common currency of the euro area, written as €1,250.00. Several member states use their own currency — including Poland, Sweden, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Denmark and Bulgaria — so confirm the currency with the customer before invoicing.

You may issue an invoice in any currency, but the VAT amount must be converted into the currency of the member state where the VAT is due, using an accepted exchange rate. Show that converted VAT figure on the invoice.

For payment, quote IBAN and BIC. SEPA credit transfers cover the euro area and beyond, and naming the currency you expect to receive avoids a conversion dispute when the payment lands.

Cross-border VAT is the area where general guidance stops being enough soonest. The place-of-supply rules have exceptions for land, events, transport, digital services and goods that move through more than one country, and the cost of getting it wrong sits with you rather than the customer.

Take professional advice before you set up a recurring cross-border arrangement, not after the first return is filed. This page is general information, not tax advice.