By the yourtinyoffice team · Published 02/10/2026 · updated 30/10/2026

EU invoice VAT rules 2026: reverse charge, small business thresholds and what goes on the invoice

Four situations decide the VAT on a freelancer's invoice in the EU. A business customer in your own country pays your local VAT. A business customer in another EU country with a valid VAT ID gets an invoice without VAT under reverse charge. A customer outside the EU usually gets no EU VAT. As a small business under your country's exemption you charge no VAT at all, up to a turnover threshold between €10,000 (Greece) and €85,000 (Italy). Spain is the only EU country without such an exemption.

Key takeaways

For services between businesses the VAT follows the customer's country (Article 44 of the VAT Directive). Inside the EU that means reverse charge, as long as the customer's VAT ID is valid.
26 of 27 EU countries have a small business exemption. The thresholds range from €10,000 to €85,000, and several countries allow a tolerance before VAT becomes due.
In most countries the invoice that crosses the threshold is already fully taxable. Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Slovenia give you a tolerance band.
Every invoice needs your VAT ID. Without one (typical for small businesses), use your national tax number, for example the German Steuernummer.
"VAT exempt" and "0 % VAT" are not the same thing. An exempt invoice needs a note citing the rule that exempts it.

Which VAT rule applies to my invoice?

Ask two questions: where is your customer, and are they a business? For services, which is what most freelancers sell, the answer leads to one of four cases.

Customer	VAT on the invoice	Note on the invoice
Business in your own country	Your local standard rate, e.g. 19 % in Germany, 20 % in Austria and France (EU VAT rates)	None
Business in another EU country with a valid VAT ID	None. The customer accounts for the VAT in their country (reverse charge, Article 196).	"Reverse charge", plus both VAT IDs
Customer outside the EU (e.g. Switzerland, UK, US)	Usually none: the service is not taxable in the EU (Your Europe). Check whether the customer's country expects you to register.	A note that the service is not taxable in your country
Any customer, while you use the small business exemption	None, as long as the exemption applies to the supply	Reference to the exemption, e.g. "§ 19 UStG" or "TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI"

Two details trip people up:

The place of supply is not always the customer's address. Services connected with a property (Article 47), admission to events (Article 53) and passenger transport (Article 48) follow their own rules (European Commission, place of taxation). A workshop held in Vienna for a German company can be taxable in Austria.
Private customers are different. For consumers in other EU countries the VAT normally stays in your country. Digital services to consumers follow the customer's country once your EU-wide sales exceed €10,000 (Article 59c), usually handled through the One-Stop Shop (OSS).

Before you invoice with reverse charge, check the customer's VAT ID in VIES, for example with the free EU VAT number checker, and keep the result. Reverse charge needs a valid VAT number (Your Europe); a customer who gives you an invalid one does not turn your invoice into reverse charge.

What must a full EU invoice contain?

Article 226 of the VAT Directive lists the details every full invoice needs:

Date of issue and a unique, sequential invoice number
Your VAT ID. Without one, your national tax number where the country allows it (Germany does under § 14 Abs. 4 UStG).
The customer's VAT ID for reverse charge and intra-EU supplies
Full name and address of both parties
Quantity and nature of the goods, or extent and nature of the services
Date of supply, if it differs from the invoice date
Net amount per VAT rate, unit price, VAT rate and VAT amount
For exempt or reverse charge invoices, the note that says why no VAT is charged

Small invoices may be simplified: up to €250 in Germany (§ 33 UStDV) and up to €400 gross in Austria (§ 11 (6) UStG, USP), with fewer details. This does not apply to intra-EU supplies or reverse charge invoices. The e-invoice standard EN 16931 checks the same rule in machine form: an invoice with VAT-exempt lines must carry the seller's VAT ID or tax registration number (rule BR-E-02), or validators reject it. You can check a file with the free e-invoice validator.

What are the small business VAT thresholds in all 27 EU countries?

Under the small business exemption (Articles 282 to 292 of the VAT Directive, reformed by Directive (EU) 2020/285 from 1 January 2025, see the European Commission's SME VAT portal) you charge no VAT and cannot deduct input VAT. Thresholds count your domestic turnover, net of VAT unless noted. As of 1 October 2026:

Country	Threshold	Tolerance and crossing	Legal basis for the note
Austria	€55,000 gross, previous and current year	Up to €60,500 the exemption continues for that year; above €60,500 VAT from the crossing invoice	§ 6 Abs. 1 Z 27 UStG
Belgium	€25,000	Up to €27,500 VAT from 1 January of the next year; above that from the crossing invoice	Art. 56bis VAT Code
Bulgaria	€51,130, previous and current year	No tolerance; apply for registration within 7 days	National wording
Croatia	€60,000	No tolerance; the exemption ends when the threshold is exceeded	čl. 90 Zakona o PDV-u
Cyprus	€15,600, rolling 12 months	No tolerance; notify within 30 days	National wording
Czechia	CZK 2,000,000	Above CZK 2,536,500 VAT payer from the next day; otherwise from 1 January	National wording
Denmark	DKK 50,000	No tolerance; the crossing sale is taxable	Momsloven § 71 e
Estonia	€40,000	No tolerance; liable from the crossing date	National wording
Finland	€20,000, previous and current year	No tolerance; the crossing supply is taxable	AVL 3 §
France	€37,500 services / €85,000 goods (previous year)	Above it VAT from 1 January of the next year; above the current-year ceiling of €41,250 / €93,500 VAT from the day it is crossed	Art. 293 B du CGI
Germany	€25,000 previous year and €100,000 current year	No tolerance; the invoice that crosses €100,000 is already taxable	§ 19 UStG
Greece	€10,000, previous and current year	No tolerance; the crossing transaction is taxable	Άρθρο 44α ΚΦΠΑ
Hungary	HUF 20 million (2027: 22 million, 2028: 24 million)	No tolerance	Áfa tv. 188. §
Ireland	€42,500 services / €85,000 goods	No tolerance; register once you are likely to exceed it	National wording
Italy	€85,000 previous year (regime forfettario)	€85,000 to €100,000: exit next year; above €100,000 VAT from the crossing invoice	Art. 1, c. 54–89, L. 190/2014
Latvia	€50,000	Up to €55,000 registration can wait	PVN likuma 59. pants
Lithuania	€45,000, previous and current year	No tolerance; the crossing supply is taxable	PVM įstatymo 71 str.
Luxembourg	€50,000, previous and current year	Up to €55,000 tolerated; above that the exemption ends the next day	Art. 57 LTVA
Malta	€35,000, previous and current year	No tolerance	Art. 11 VAT Act
Netherlands	€20,000, previous and current year (KOR, on application)	No tolerance; the crossing supply is taxable	Art. 25a Wet OB 1968
Poland	PLN 240,000 (since 1 January 2026)	No tolerance; the crossing transaction is taxable	Art. 113 ust. 1 ustawy o VAT
Portugal	€15,000 previous year	Up to €18,750 VAT from 1 January of the next year; above that immediately	Art. 53.º do CIVA
Romania	RON 395,000	No tolerance; VAT from the crossing transaction	Art. 310 Cod fiscal
Slovakia	€50,000	Above €50,000 in the previous year VAT payer from 1 January; above €62,500 in the current year VAT payer on the crossing supply	National wording
Slovenia	€60,000	Up to €66,000 tolerated within the year	94. člen ZDDV-1
Spain	No small business exemption. Every business charges VAT from the first invoice.		–
Sweden	SEK 120,000, current and two previous years	No tolerance; the crossing sale is taxable	National wording

"National wording" means we found no verified statute to cite; state on the invoice that VAT is not charged under the small business scheme, in the language your country requires. Conditions beyond the threshold apply in many countries (Italy, for example, only for natural persons). The European Commission's SME VAT portal has a page per country.

What happens when I cross the small business threshold?

It depends on whether your country has a tolerance band.

No tolerance (Germany above €100,000, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Denmark, Greece, Lithuania, Romania and others): the invoice that takes you over the threshold already carries VAT, for its full amount. Every later invoice does too.
With tolerance (Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Latvia, Portugal, Slovenia, and the two-step rules in France, Italy, Czechia and Slovakia): between the limit and the ceiling you stay exempt for the rest of the year, but lose the exemption from the next year. Above the ceiling VAT is due from the crossing invoice.

Germany is special: the €25,000 limit applies to the previous year (§ 19 (1) UStG). If your turnover was above €25,000 last year, you cannot use the exemption this year at all, even if this year will be quieter.

The thresholds count your whole turnover in that country, not just the invoices in one app. Count cash sales and invoices from other tools as well.

Can a small business invoice customers in other EU countries?

Yes. For services to EU businesses the place of supply is the customer's country, so your home exemption does not apply. Instead you invoice without VAT under reverse charge, and the customer pays the VAT. For that you need a VAT ID even as a small business. In Germany the USt-IdNr is issued by the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt). Depending on your country you may also have to report these services in the recapitulative statement (EC Sales List).

Since 1 January 2025 the EU also has a cross-border SME scheme (Directive 2020/285). If your EU-wide turnover stays under €100,000 in the current and previous year (European Commission), you can use the small business exemption of other member states for supplies taxable there, through an "EX" number from your home tax office. This mainly matters for sales to private customers abroad.

What are the most common VAT mistakes on freelancer invoices?

"0 % VAT" instead of an exemption note. A small business invoice is exempt (category E in e-invoices, VAT category codes), not zero-rated. Cite the exemption, for example "VAT exempt under § 19 UStG".
Reverse charge without a valid VAT ID. If the customer's number fails in VIES, the home rule applies and you owe the VAT.
Thinking a VAT ID ends the exemption. A small business can hold a VAT ID for EU work and still be exempt at home.
Missing identifier. Every invoice needs your VAT ID or, without one, your tax number.
Counting only part of the turnover. The threshold covers all domestic sales, not only those in one invoicing tool.

How does yourtinyoffice handle EU VAT rules?

Country rules in the settings: choose your country and the app suggests its standard rate and shows the small business option only where the country has one.
A suggested VAT case per customer: domestic, reverse charge with a validated VAT ID, non-EU or small business. It is only a suggestion; you can change it on every invoice.
VAT ID or tax number: enter one of the two. It is printed on the invoice and written into the e-invoice.
Threshold warning: the dashboard shows how close your small business invoices in yourtinyoffice are to your country's threshold.
Validated before it goes out: every invoice is a Factur-X/ZUGFeRD PDF with EN 16931 XML and is checked before it is issued. More on formats and deadlines in E-invoicing mandates in Europe 2026.

Status 1 October 2026. This overview is not legal or tax advice; thresholds and conditions change, so check your country's official source or your tax advisor.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Do I charge VAT to a business customer in another EU country?

Usually not. For services between businesses the place of supply is the customer's country, so you invoice without VAT under reverse charge and the customer accounts for it. You need the customer's valid VAT ID, checked in VIES, and both VAT IDs plus the note "Reverse charge" on the invoice.

What are the small business VAT thresholds in Germany and Austria?

Germany: turnover up to €25,000 in the previous year and up to €100,000 in the current year (§ 19 UStG). Austria: up to €55,000 gross in the previous and current year, with a tolerance up to €60,500 (§ 6 Abs. 1 Z 27 UStG).

Which EU country has no small business VAT exemption?

Spain. Every business in Spain charges VAT from the first invoice. The other 26 EU countries have a small business exemption, with thresholds from €10,000 in Greece to €85,000 in Italy.

Do I need a VAT ID as a small business, or is a tax number enough?

For domestic invoices a tax number is enough where the country allows it, as Germany does under § 14 Abs. 4 UStG. For reverse charge invoices to businesses in other EU countries you need a VAT ID, even as a small business.

What happens when I exceed the small business threshold?

In most countries, such as Germany above €100,000, the Netherlands or Poland, the invoice that crosses the threshold already carries VAT for its full amount. Countries with a tolerance, such as Austria, Belgium or Portugal, keep you exempt for the rest of the year below a ceiling and end the exemption the next year.

Is "0 % VAT" the same as VAT exempt?

No. A small business invoice is VAT exempt and must cite the exemption, for example "VAT exempt under § 19 UStG". 0 % is a tax rate for specific zero-rated supplies. In e-invoices the two are different categories (E and Z).