Receive and read e-invoices: how it works

You have had to be able to receive an e-invoice since 1 January 2025. An e-mail inbox is enough for that. The real work comes afterwards: you make the file readable, check the invoice and keep the structured part intact for eight years. With a ZUGFeRD invoice the PDF alone is not the part that counts.

Last updated: October 27, 2026

In brief

Receiving: applies to all domestic businesses, small businesses included; an e-mail inbox is enough.
Reading: ZUGFeRD shows a PDF, for XRechnung you need a viewer.
Keeping: eight years, at least the structured part, unchanged.

What do you have to be able to do since 2025?

A supplier sends you an invoice and you wonder whether you have to set something up. Since 1 January 2025 domestic businesses must be able to receive an e-invoice. The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) provides no exceptions; small businesses must be able to do it too, although they do not have to issue e-invoices themselves. The law does not say how the file reaches you: e-mail, a download from a portal or an interface are all possible.

Invoices as a plain PDF still arrive. As long as your supplier may issue an other invoice, it remains a proper invoice for the input VAT deduction. Who has to issue when is in E-invoice obligation in Germany 2027.

What this means for you: Be able to receive an e-invoice now; a PDF invoice remains a proper invoice for the input VAT deduction.

What do you do with the invoices that are arriving right now?

An example from one week of purchasing: your packaging supplier e-mails a plain PDF, your software provider a ZUGFeRD file, a wholesaler an XRechnung as XML. Here is how to sort them:

What arrives	What it is legally	What you do
Plain PDF by e-mail	an other invoice in another electronic format	treat it as before as an invoice for the input VAT deduction, keep a copy for eight years
ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 (without the profiles MINIMUM and BASIC-WL)	e-invoice	make the XML part visible, keep the structured part unchanged
XRechnung (XML)	e-invoice	open a viewer, keep the XML file unchanged
Paper invoice	an other invoice	as before

The plain PDF is allowed because transition periods apply to issuing: from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026 every invoice issuer may choose an other invoice, and if the issuer's turnover in the previous year was up to 800,000 euros, until the end of 2027. During this time a paper invoice is always possible. Your supplier may send you a PDF by e-mail only if you have agreed to that format. Even after the transition periods an other invoice stays allowed in some cases, for example for small amounts up to 250 euros gross (section 33 UStDV) or if your supplier is a small business (section 34a UStDV).

What this means for you: Sort incoming invoices by type using the table, and act as the last column says.

How do you read an XRechnung or ZUGFeRD?

ZUGFeRD consists of a readable PDF and embedded data. If they differ, the data in the structured part applies, not the PDF. The BMF therefore recommends making the XML part visible yourself instead of only looking at the picture.

XRechnung has no PDF. You need software that displays the XML file, a so-called viewer. Free viewers exist on the market; the tax administration also offers one at e-rechnung.elster.de that shows XRechnung and ZUGFeRD. This service is non-binding and a reading tool, not a seal of quality.

The differences between the formats: XRechnung or ZUGFeRD.

What this means for you: Read the structured part of a ZUGFeRD or XRechnung, because the data decide if they differ from the PDF.

How do you check an incoming invoice?

You also check an e-invoice yourself for completeness and correctness. A validation does not replace that; with due care you may rely on the technical result of a suitable validation application, though. As proof it is a good idea to keep the validation report. If the file has format errors, it does not meet the requirements for an e-invoice and counts as an other invoice (BMF letter of 15 October 2025, margin no. 6a). Input VAT deduction from invoices is explained in Input VAT deduction: conditions.

What this means for you: Check each e-invoice yourself for completeness, and keep the validation report as proof.

What do you look for in the structured part?

An e-invoice must carry all mandatory VAT details in the structured part. If the structured part only refers to an attachment in which the mandatory details appear unstructured, that is not enough according to the BMF. Supplementary details may sit in an attachment, for example a breakdown of timesheets as a PDF. When you open the file in the viewer, look at the invoice number, date, quantity and type of the service, the net amount and the tax in the data record itself, not only in the attachment.

What this means for you: Look at the mandatory VAT details in the structured part, not only in an attachment.

Do you have to process e-invoices electronically?

No. The recipient does not have to process more electronically than the retention rules require anyway. You do not need special software for filing either: the BMF writes that storing and archiving e-invoices outside a data processing system that complies with the GoBD does not, as a rule, breach section 14b (1) UStG or the integrity of the content, for VAT purposes. What matters is that the structured part is available intact in its original form.

What this means for you: You do not need special software for processing or filing e-invoices.

How do you keep e-invoices?

You keep incoming and outgoing invoices for eight years (section 14b (1) UStG). For an e-invoice at least the structured part must be kept intact in its original form. The current BMF letter on the GoBD of 14 July 2025 says: for e-invoices it is enough to keep only the structured part. You only have to keep the PDF part of a ZUGFeRD invoice as well if it contains additional or differing information that matters for taxation, for example booking notes.

The tax office may request e-invoices. You can then submit them through ELSTER with the function "Belegnachreichung zur Steuererklärung".

What this means for you: Keep incoming and outgoing invoices for eight years, with the structured part intact.

Common mistakes

Filing only the PDF of a ZUGFeRD invoice and losing the embedded data.
Being unable to open the XML file of an XRechnung. A viewer is basic equipment.
Changing the file after checking it. The structured part must stay intact.
Throwing away the validation report. It helps as proof.
Leaving the checking of the invoice to the validation. You remain responsible for completeness and correctness.

What this means for you: Keep the XML part, have a viewer ready and keep the validation report.

How VAT GPT helps

You upload incoming invoices as ZUGFeRD PDF or XRechnung XML (CII or UBL) on the "Expenses" page; the app reads the details on upload.

The VAT GPT method has three steps:

Upload: You upload your sales reports (for example Amazon or eBay CSV files) and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check: VAT GPT calculates your returns from this data and flags invoices with low confidence for manual review. You check and confirm.
Send: With VAT GPT Pro, the VAT returns and the other returns go through ELSTER to the tax office, the OSS return directly to the BZSt.

Open "Expenses" and upload the file.
VAT GPT reads the details from the structured part.
If you upload the same invoice again, VAT GPT does not take it over a second time and shows the note "This invoice is already recorded (same invoice number, date and amount)", so that it does not count twice.

And because VAT GPT also processes your Amazon and eBay reports for the OSS return and the VAT return, your income and expenses are in one place. There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro. Try for free now

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to receive e-invoices already? Yes, since 1 January 2025. An e-mail inbox is enough.

Does it apply to small businesses? Yes. Small businesses do not have to issue them, but they must be able to receive.

Is a PDF invoice by e-mail an e-invoice? No, a plain PDF is an other invoice. A ZUGFeRD file looks like a PDF but contains structured data.

How do I read an XRechnung? With a viewer, for example the tax administration's at e-rechnung.elster.de.

Do I still have to accept a plain PDF by e-mail? Your supplier may send an other invoice in another electronic format such as a PDF only if you have agreed to the format. During the transition period a paper invoice is always possible. The transition period for issuing runs to the end of 2026, and to the end of 2027 if the issuer's turnover in the previous year was up to 800,000 euros.

Is every ZUGFeRD file an e-invoice? The BMF names XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1, except the profiles MINIMUM and BASIC-WL, as formats that meet the VAT requirements.

Do I have to archive the invoice in a special program? No. According to the BMF, filing outside a GoBD-compliant system does not, as a rule, breach section 14b UStG on its own.

How long do I keep them? Eight years; at least the structured part, unchanged.