Small-Value Invoice (Kleinbetragsrechnung) Germany 2026: Rules, Limits and Examples

A Kleinbetragsrechnung is a simplified German invoice for amounts up to €250 gross (VAT included). It is defined in § 33 UStDV and lets you skip several mandatory fields that a full invoice under § 14 UStG would require. For a business that processes lots of small transactions, that saves real admin time.

Key facts at a glance

• The limit is €250 gross (VAT included) and has been unchanged since 2017 – it still applies in 2026.
• Only five items are mandatory under § 33 UStDV: issuer's name/address, date, quantity/type of supply, gross total in one sum, and the VAT rate.
• You may omit the customer name, invoice number, tax number, and the separate net/VAT split, among others.
• In four cases it is not allowed: reverse charge, EU B2B, distance sales and intra-community supplies – there you need a full invoice.
• Your customer can deduct input VAT, but only if the VAT rate is stated explicitly (“19%”, not “VAT included”).

What is a Kleinbetragsrechnung?

The €250 cap is gross – VAT included. At 19% VAT that's a net of roughly €210.08; at 7% VAT roughly €233.64. One cent above €250 gross and the full § 14 UStG invoice fields apply.

This conversion trips people up because many calculate from the net amount. The table below shows exactly where the limit sits by VAT rate:

Remember: what counts is always the gross total of the invoice, not the individual line item. Three positions of €100 net each add up to €357 gross – no longer a small-value invoice.

Mandatory fields under § 33 UStDV

Every Kleinbetragsrechnung must contain these five items:

1. Full name and address of the supplier (your business as the seller)
2. Invoice date
3. Quantity and type of goods, or scope and nature of the service
4. Gross total in one sum (net + VAT)
5. Applicable VAT rate (e.g. 19% or 7%) – or, if VAT-exempt, a note explaining why

Example café receipt: “Cappuccino €4.80, includes 7% VAT” – done. For the longer field list that applies to standard invoices, see our guide on required invoice fields in Germany.

Small-value invoice or full invoice?

Whether a simplified invoice is enough comes down to two questions: the size of the amount and the type of transaction. The decision tree brings both together:

Side by side, the two invoice types look like this:

What you can leave out

Compared to a full § 14 UStG invoice, the following fields are optional on a Kleinbetragsrechnung:

• Customer name and address
• Invoice number
• Supplier's tax number or VAT ID (USt-IdNr.)
• Service delivery date (if different from the invoice date)
• Separate net and VAT amounts

That's where the time savings come from – a bakery doesn't need to capture each customer's address at the till.

Who can issue a small-value invoice?

Any business can. The format fits best for high-volume, small-ticket sectors:

• Retail (bakeries, pharmacies, kiosks, boutiques)
• Hospitality (cafés, restaurants, take-aways, delivery)
• Services with low tickets (taxi, hairdressing, laundry, small repairs)
• Freelancers billing small material costs or short engagements

If you run a UG or GmbH and currently issue full invoices for every under-€250 sale, switching to the simplified form is pure admin savings. For broader rules around GmbH invoicing, see our guide on writing invoices as a GmbH.

Free invoice template (PDF, Word & Excel)

Legally compliant with all mandatory fields under §14 UStG, three formats, ready to use.

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When you CANNOT use it

Four scenarios force you to issue a full invoice even below €250:

1. Cross-border distance sales with special EU rules (§ 3c UStG)
2. Intra-community supplies to businesses in another EU country
3. Reverse charge transactions under § 13b UStG (e.g. construction services)
4. Other cases where the recipient is liable for the VAT

The common thread: as soon as the customer owes the VAT or a cross-border B2B supply is involved, the invoice has to be clearly attributable – which requires recipient details and the VAT ID. For the cross-border B2B detail, see our EU B2B invoicing guide.

Special case: hospitality receipts

A restaurant or café receipt can be a Kleinbetragsrechnung as long as it stays below €250 gross. But if you want to deduct the hospitality as a business expense, the tax office demands extra details that go well beyond § 33 UStDV: the occasion, the names of the attendees, the date and place. You add these by hand or on a supplementary voucher.

Above €250 gross the simplification no longer applies: the hospitality receipt must additionally carry your name as the host and a sequential invoice number. And if the restaurant uses an electronic till, only a machine-generated, TSE-secured receipt is accepted – a handwritten slip is no longer enough at till-based businesses.

Special case: travel tickets

Travel tickets – rail, bus or flight – are their own simplified invoice type under § 34 UStDV. They count as a proper invoice even when no VAT rate is printed on them. If the ticket shows no percentage, the reduced 7% rate applies to domestic local passenger transport. For input VAT deduction the ticket is enough on its own – no additional document required.

Input VAT deduction from a small-value invoice

Your customer can deduct input VAT – but only if the VAT rate is shown explicitly. “VAT included” isn't enough; the invoice has to say ‘19%’ or ‘7%’.

If multiple VAT rates apply (e.g. a restaurant bill with 7% on food and 19% on drinks), the amounts must be split by rate.

A common trap: writing the customer's name on a Kleinbetragsrechnung but writing it incorrectly (wrong legal form, missing address). A half-filled customer block can void the customer's VAT deduction. Either leave it out completely or get it right in full.

Kleinbetragsrechnung as a Kleinunternehmer

Under the Kleinunternehmer scheme (§ 19 UStG) you don't charge VAT. Instead of a VAT rate, the invoice needs a note such as:

Gemäß § 19 UStG wird keine Umsatzsteuer erhoben. (No VAT charged in accordance with § 19 UStG.)

That satisfies the “tax-exemption note” requirement from § 33 UStDV. Your customer cannot deduct input VAT from a Kleinunternehmer invoice.

E-invoicing and small-value invoices in 2026

Germany's B2B e-invoicing obligation has been in force since 1 January 2025 (mandatory receipt); structured outbound e-invoices will be phased in from 2027/2028. Small-value invoices up to €250 are explicitly exempt (§ 33 UStDV combined with § 14 UStG). They can stay paper receipts or PDFs.

Capturing small receipts digitally still makes sense for GoBD-compliant retention (eight years). With Norman's free invoicing tool you can issue Kleinbetragsrechnungen as easily as full invoices – and they flow straight into your EÜR or double-entry books.

Fixing errors

For a standard invoice you'd issue a Stornorechnung. For a small-value receipt, a new corrected receipt is often enough – as long as the change is well documented. The full procedure lives in our guide on cancelling and correcting invoices in Germany.

Frequently asked questions

Is the €250 limit gross or net?

Gross. The €250 is VAT included. At 19% VAT you can therefore bill up to €210.08 net, at 7% up to €233.64 net.

Do I have to issue a small-value invoice?

No, the simplified form is an option, not an obligation. You can still issue a full invoice under § 14 UStG for small amounts – for example if your business customer specifically asks for one.

Does a small-value invoice need an invoice number?

No. The sequential invoice number is one of the fields you may explicitly drop on a small-value invoice. An internal reference number is still useful for your own bookkeeping.

Can I split a bill into several small-value invoices to stay under €250?

No. Related supplies may not be artificially split into several receipts below €250. What matters is the single economic transaction – splitting it is treated as abuse of tax structuring by the tax office.

Does the small-value limit also apply to credit notes (Gutschriften)?

Yes. When the recipient bills under the self-billing procedure, the same limits and simplifications apply as for a normal invoice.

Conclusion

The Kleinbetragsrechnung is a useful shortcut when you handle a lot of small transactions: fewer required fields, no customer name needed, no separate net and VAT split. Memorise the five mandatory items from § 33 UStDV and the four exceptions (EU B2B, reverse charge, distance sales, intra-community supplies). And remember: even with the simplified form, the 8-year GoBD retention rule still applies.