Germany is preparing XRechnung 4.0, the next major version of its national e‑invoice standard, to align with the revised EN 16931‑1:2026. The new standard will break the one‑order‑one‑delivery rule, add B2B‑specific fields, and will not be backward compatible with XRechnung 3.0. Businesses must plan for the transition as the German e‑invoicing mandate requires all e‑invoices by 1 January 2028, likely using XRechnung 4.0.
The VATfaqs digest
Global VAT news, delivered Tuesday and Thursday. Free, curated from 50+ official sources, no spam.
No spam · Unsubscribe any time
NWB · 11 days ago
The German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) issued revised template forms for VAT reverse‑charge and registration purposes effective 9–23 April 2026. The updates remove the service‑seal field and the phrase “This letter was machine‑generated and is valid without signature,” and set a maximum validity of three years for the certificates. Forms USt 1 TH, USt 1 TG and USt 1 TQ can be issued on application or by authority; USt 1 TS and USt 1 TN only on application.
VatCalc · 12 days ago
Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance has issued a new guidance letter effective 1 April 2026 that narrows the scope of intra‑group VAT exemptions for Organschaft. The update expands situations where intra‑group transactions may trigger VAT, particularly for supplies linked to non‑economic activities, and allows taxpayers to use the old approach until 31 December 2026. Businesses must reassess charging models, input VAT recovery and ERP logic for German VAT groups.
VATCalc · about 1 month ago
ZUGFeRD 2.5 will be released on 20 May 2026 for Germany and France, adding native support for gross invoicing and aligning with the latest EN 16931 code lists. The update also expands reference templates for construction, leasing, reverse charge and simplified invoices, and reinforces cross‑border participation through an English version of the ZR framework.
Comarch · about 2 months ago
Germany has released new versions of its e‑invoicing standards, including Peppol, KoSIT, and ZUGFeRD, to improve cross‑border interoperability and simplify implementation. The updates introduce a Central Settlement (ZR) framework, gross invoice processing for specific sectors, and updated reference templates for various transaction types.
VATCalc · 2 months ago
Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance updated its e-invoicing FAQs in March 2026, tightening the definition of a compliant E‑Rechnung. The guidance requires that 100 % of mandatory VAT data be embedded in structured XML, mandates embedding of supporting documents, and confirms that monthly summary invoices remain valid if the supply period is clearly defined. These clarifications signal enforcement intent ahead of the 2027 B2B e‑invoicing mandate and the 2030 EU Digital Reporting Requirements.
The Invoicing Hub · 2 months ago
Germany has launched the German Electronic Business Address (GEBA) standard, allowing every business to use a government‑assigned electronic address for Peppol. The GEBA specification, based on the automatically assigned W‑IdNr, is globally interoperable and supports optional sub‑addressing for large enterprises. The rollout is part of Germany’s e‑invoicing roadmap and aligns with upcoming EU e‑invoicing standards.
Put your brand alongside trusted tax-tech intelligence across 150+ countries.
Key Takeaways
EN 16931‑1:2026 is expected to be formally published by mid‑2026, after which KoSIT will release a pre‑release XRechnung 4.0 specification; the full production‑ready package will be available once CEN delivers updated syntax bindings, with a formal vote scheduled for July 2026.
It removes the one‑order‑one‑delivery rule, redesigns the data model to support B2B requirements, adds new B2B fields (bank account info, cash discounts, payment terms, penalties, buyer identifiers), and introduces an extensions framework for industry‑specific fields.
The mandate requires all businesses to issue e‑invoices by 1 January 2028, and XRechnung 4.0 is expected to be the operative format by that date, so companies must transition from older versions before then.
No; invoices that validate under XRechnung 3.0 will not necessarily validate under 4.0, and vice versa, so systems and providers must update their e‑invoice modules accordingly.
Primary source
Read the full article at e-Invoice.appThis summary was published on VATfaqs.com on 26 March 2026. It relates to VAT developments in Germany. The original source is e-Invoice.app.
