E-Invoicing in the EU: Country-by-Country Deadlines from 2026 to 2030

There is no single EU date for domestic e-invoicing. Each country sets its own. As of October 2026, structured B2B e-invoices are already mandatory in Italy, Romania, Belgium, Croatia, Poland and, for receiving and for large companies, France. Slovakia and Germany (for larger issuers) follow on 1 January 2027, Spain after that, and from 1 July 2030 the EU's ViDA package makes e-invoicing mandatory for B2B transactions between member states. A PDF sent by email is not an e-invoice under any of these rules.

This article lists the deadlines country by country, explains what counts as an e-invoice, and sets out what a freelancer or small company actually needs to do, which is usually less than the vendor marketing suggests.

What counts as an e-invoice

An e-invoice is a structured, machine-readable file that software can process without a human retyping it. In the EU that means data following the European standard EN 16931, sent in a syntax such as UBL or CII. Common national flavours are Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 (Belgium, the Nordics, Slovakia), XRechnung and ZUGFeRD (Germany), Factur-X (France), FatturaPA (Italy) and the FA(3) schema in Poland's KSeF.

A PDF, a scanned image or a Word file is not an e-invoice, even if it is sent electronically. ZUGFeRD and Factur-X are hybrids: a readable PDF with the structured XML embedded inside.

Three ways countries move the invoice

• Peppol network (four or five corner). You and your customer each use an access point provider, and the invoice travels between them. In the five corner variant the tax authority also receives the data. Belgium uses four corners; Slovakia uses five.

• Central clearance. Every invoice passes through a government platform that validates it and gives it an ID. Italy (SDI) and Poland (KSeF) work this way.

• Approved platforms. France routes invoices through private platforms approved by the tax authority, which also report data to it.

Country deadlines at a glance

Spain's dates run from a ministerial order that was still pending at the time of writing. Separately, Spain's Verifactu rules for invoicing software apply from 1 January 2027 for companies and 1 July 2027 for the self-employed.

Country notes

Belgium

Since 1 January 2026, invoices between Belgian VAT-registered businesses must be structured e-invoices, with Peppol BIS as the default route. Reporting to the tax authority is planned for a later stage. The Belgian government's e-invoicing portal has the official guidance.

Poland

Every domestic B2B invoice goes through the national KSeF platform, which assigns it an identifier. Large taxpayers started on 1 February 2026, other VAT payers on 1 April 2026, and the smallest businesses have until 1 January 2027. The official KSeF site has the schedule and a free taxpayer app.

Croatia

Fiscalization 2.0 made e-invoicing mandatory for VAT-registered businesses on 1 January 2026, with invoice data reported to the tax administration. Businesses outside the VAT system had to be able to receive from the same date and must issue from 1 January 2027. Croatia's mandate covers domestic transactions; foreign suppliers without a Croatian VAT registration are generally outside it.

France

Since 1 September 2026 every French business must be able to receive e-invoices through an approved platform (plateforme agréée), and large and mid-sized companies must issue them and report transaction data. SMEs and micro-businesses follow on 1 September 2027. The tax authority's page on e-invoicing and approved platforms lists the platforms.

Slovakia

Slovakia's amended VAT Act makes eFaktúra mandatory from 1 January 2027 for VAT payers on domestic B2B and B2G transactions, with invoice data reported to the Financial Administration almost in real time. Exchange runs over Peppol through certified delivery service providers. Taxable persons who are not VAT payers still need to be able to receive. From July 2030 the regime extends to intra-EU transactions. If you are a Slovak VAT payer, the practical step for this year is to pick a certified provider and register before January.

Germany

Every German business has had to accept e-invoices since 1 January 2025. Issuing is phased: from 1 January 2027 if your previous year's total turnover was above €800,000, and from 1 January 2028 for everyone else. Businesses using the small business scheme (Kleinunternehmer) are exempt from issuing but must still be able to receive. For a typical German freelancer, 2028 is the relevant issuing date, not 2027.

Spain

Royal Decree 238/2026 set out mandatory B2B e-invoicing under the Crea y Crece law, with private exchange platforms and a public repository. The start dates depend on a ministerial order; on current drafts, large businesses would start in October 2027 and everyone else a year later.

Czech Republic

As of October 2026 no mandatory domestic B2B e-invoicing has been legislated. ISDOC remains a widely used voluntary format. Czech businesses that invoice clients in the countries above will mostly feel the change through their customers' requests, and from July 2030 through ViDA.

ViDA: the 2030 EU layer

The VAT in the Digital Age package was adopted on 11 March 2025. Two parts matter for invoicing:

• Since it entered into force in April 2025, member states can introduce domestic e-invoicing mandates without asking the Commission for permission. That is why national mandates are multiplying now.

• From 1 July 2030, invoices for B2B supplies between member states must be e-invoices following EN 16931 by default, and their data is reported to tax authorities transaction by transaction. This replaces today's recapitulative statements (EC Sales Lists).

Do these rules apply if I invoice from another country?

Usually not yet. The national mandates above cover domestic transactions between businesses established in that country. A Czech freelancer invoicing a Belgian company, for example, is not directly bound by the Belgian mandate, and until July 2030 a cross-border B2B invoice can still be a PDF. Two caveats:

• If you are VAT-registered in the other country (because you sell goods there or have an establishment), its domestic rules may catch you. Check that country's scope rules.

• Your customers' systems are being rebuilt around e-invoices. A Belgian or German accounts payable team may ask for a Peppol or XRechnung file even when the law does not force you to send one. Being able to provide it is becoming a sales question as much as a compliance one.

What a freelancer or small company should do now

1. List the countries where you are established or VAT-registered. Those are the mandates that can bind you.

2. Check whether you only need to receive (Germany today, France and Croatia for small businesses) or also issue.

3. If you must issue, choose software that produces EN 16931 output and, where the country requires it, a connection to Peppol, KSeF or an approved platform.

4. Make sure your master data is clean: your VAT number, your customers' VAT numbers and addresses. Structured invoices get rejected for missing fields that a human would have ignored.

5. Keep archives in the structured format, not just the PDF.

Where MoneySky fits, honestly

MoneySky lets you download any issued invoice as Peppol BIS 3.0 UBL for EU business customers and as ISDOC for Czech accounting software, and it checks for missing details such as your VAT number or the buyer's before you download. It does not yet transmit invoices over the Peppol network or connect to KSeF or French platforms, so where a country requires delivery through an access point or clearance platform, you still need a provider for that step. More on the invoicing side is on the invoicing page.

This article summarises public information as of October 2026. Dates have moved repeatedly, especially in Spain and Poland, so confirm with the national tax authority or an adviser before planning around a specific day.

FAQ

Is a PDF invoice an e-invoice?

No. Under EU mandates an e-invoice is a structured data file, typically following EN 16931. A PDF can accompany it, and hybrid formats like ZUGFeRD and Factur-X embed the data inside a PDF.

When does e-invoicing become mandatory across the EU?

For B2B transactions between member states, from 1 July 2030 under ViDA. Domestic mandates are set by each country and already apply in several.

I am a small business in Germany. Do I have to issue e-invoices in 2027?

Only if your total turnover in 2026 exceeded €800,000. Otherwise issuing becomes mandatory from 1 January 2028, and small business scheme users are exempt from issuing. Everyone must already be able to receive.

Does Slovakia's mandate apply to non-VAT payers?

The obligation to issue applies to VAT payers. Other taxable persons established in Slovakia must be able to receive e-invoices.

What is Peppol?

An international network and set of specifications for exchanging business documents. You connect through an access point provider, and your invoice reaches your customer's provider in a standard format.

Will the recapitulative statement disappear?

For intra-EU B2B supplies, yes, from July 2030, when transaction-level digital reporting replaces it.