DocsOriginPreventivo
Un'offerta con prezzo. Non è un documento fiscale e non è registrata nei tuoi libri fino all'accettazione.
DE
Value added tax
Invoicing in Germany
A business registered in Germany charges VAT at a standard rate of 19%, invoices in EUR, and issues documents under names and numbering rules that are specific to Germany. DocsOrigin carries all of that as registry data, so choosing Germany once configures the tax, the document set, the numbering and the layout together.
Invoicing in Germany is free forever with DocsOrigin: every document type, every export, no card and no trial.
Tax in Germany
VAT
19%
Reduced and zero rates
7%
0%
How reliable is this figure
Graded high: this rate has been checked against a tax-authority or official source. It is still your responsibility to confirm it before you rely on it.
Last checked against a source: 2026-08.
Whatever the grade, your own setting always wins — a rate you enter overrides the registry everywhere, including on documents already dated in the past.
Document types recognised in Germany
These are the documents DocsOrigin will offer a business registered in Germany, under the names used there. A type that has no meaning locally is not offered at all.
Fattura pro forma
Una richiesta di pagamento. Non dà diritto al cliente di detrarre l'imposta.
Fattura
Il documento fiscale vero e proprio. Bloccato una volta emesso.
Fattura-ricevuta
Fattura e pagamento in un unico documento, per quando ricevi il pagamento al momento.
Ricevuta
Conferma il denaro ricevuto a fronte di una fattura.
Nota di credito
L'unico modo legale per annullare o ridurre un documento già emesso.
Documento di trasporto
Beni consegnati senza addebito.
Tax identifier
On a document issued in Germany the identifier is labelled VAT number. It is printed in the header of every tax document, isolated left-to-right so it reads correctly in any interface language.
Expected format
^DE\d{9}$
DocsOrigin checks this identifier's structure as you type — a wrong number on an issued document cannot be corrected by editing it.
As an EU member state, a Germany number follows the EU VAT pattern and can be checked for structure before you rely on it for a reverse-charge supply.
Numbering
Documents in Germany are expected to run in an unbroken sequence. DocsOrigin allocates the number at the moment of issue — never earlier — so a draft that is abandoned does not burn a number and leave a gap you have to explain.
Prefix, padding and yearly reset are configurable per document type, and the series is kept separately for each type.
How Germany writes dates and money
Set the country and these stop being settings you have to think about. The examples below are rendered by the same formatter the documents use.
- Date
- 21.09.2026
- Amount
- 12.345,67 €
- Currency
- EUR
- Minor units
- 2
EUR is written with 2 decimal places, and every amount is stored as a whole number of minor units. ⛔ Money never touches floating point.
Selling from Germany to another EU member state
A business customer in another member state with a valid VAT number is a reverse-charge supply: no tax is charged and the document has to say so, with the customer's number on it. A private customer in another member state is not. DocsOrigin suggests the treatment and prints the legal wording and the reason.
Special rules in Germany
Structured e-invoicing
E-Rechnung (EN 16931)
Since 2025 every German business must be able to receive structured e-invoices (XRechnung / ZUGFeRD).
A worked example in Germany
Three lines, priced identically everywhere, run through the real tax engine with the Germany registry entry applied. This is what the document looks like there.
Preventivo
Fattura pro forma
Fattura
Fattura-ricevuta
Ricevuta
Nota di credito
Northwind Studio
VAT number 000000000 · Germany
Fattura
N. 2026-0042
| Descrizione | Qtà | Prezzo unitario | Totale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lavoro di design | 12 | 45,00 € | 540,00 € |
| Linee guida del marchio | 1 | 380,00 € | 380,00 € |
| Assistenza continuativa | 3 | 60,00 € | 180,00 € |
Imponibile
1.100,00 €
VAT 19%
209,00 €
Totale
1.309,00 €
Invoicing in Germany — questions
What tax rate do I charge in Germany?
The standard VAT rate recorded for Germany is 19%. Reduced rates may apply to particular supplies, and your own setting always overrides ours.
Which document do I issue to a customer in Germany?
The document set recognised in Germany is listed above, under the names used locally. For a paid sale the usual document is Fattura, and a mistake on an issued document is corrected with a credit note rather than an edit.
Does DocsOrigin cost anything in Germany?
No. DocsOrigin is free forever for businesses in Germany as everywhere else: no subscription, no card, no trial, no per-document fee and no export fee. Optional professional services are the only thing that is ever charged for, and they are quoted per project.
What if the rate for Germany is wrong or changes?
Set your own rate in the business settings and it overrides the registry immediately, for new documents and for any date. Rates are applied by document date, so an old document keeps the rate that applied when it was issued.
Also billing in EUR
The currency is shared, but the tax, the document names and the numbering rules are not. Each of these has its own entry.
Issue your first Germany document
Choose Germany once. The tax, the document names, the numbering, the date order and the currency format are configured together, and it costs nothing.
Free forever for businesses Crea la tua prima fatturaThis page describes what DocsOrigin does with the registry entry for Germany. It is not tax advice, and it is not a statement of Germany law. Confirm your obligations with your accountant or the tax authority. Registry data as of 2026-08.