The normal case for freelancers
You supply a service to a business in another EU country. The place of supply shifts to the customer's country, so you charge no German VAT and the customer accounts for it locally. That is reverse charge, and it covers most of what freelancers do: consulting, software, design, marketing, translation.
What has to be on the invoice
- No VAT rate, no VAT amount.
- The mandatory note: „Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers“. In practice „Reverse charge“ next to it is common and accepted.
- Both VAT IDs – yours and your customer's. Not optional.
- Everything else from the mandatory field list.
The direction people forget: you as the buyer
Reverse charge is not only something you write on invoices. It also happens to you every time you buy a service from a business abroad – hosting, a design tool, an ad platform, a stock photo subscription.
In that case you owe the German VAT on that purchase and declare it. If you are fully VAT-registered, you deduct it in the same breath and the net effect is zero.
If you are a Kleinunternehmer, it is not zero. You owe the VAT and may not deduct it. A 30 € monthly tool suddenly costs 35.70 €, and the tax office expects a declaration. This surprises people every year.
Customers outside the EU
For business customers in a third country – Switzerland, the UK, the USA – the supply is generally not taxable in Germany. You invoice net and say so. But the destination country may have its own rules, and „it worked last time“ is not a legal basis.
Private customers abroad
Different rules again: for services to private individuals the place of supply is often still Germany, so German VAT applies. Reverse charge does not exist towards private customers – it requires a business on the other side.
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Write an invoice – freeCommon questions
Do I need a VAT ID as a Kleinunternehmer?
For reverse charge within the EU, yes. Requesting one does not change your Kleinunternehmer status.
What if my customer has no VAT ID?
Then they are probably not acting as a business, and reverse charge does not apply – German VAT does. Ask before you invoice, not after.
Does reverse charge apply to goods as well?
Goods moving to another EU country follow a different rule – the intra-Community supply, which is VAT-exempt with its own mandatory note. Reverse charge as described here is the services case.
Do I have to report these sales anywhere?
Yes. Intra-EU services under reverse charge go into the Zusammenfassende Meldung (EC Sales List), separately from your VAT return.
Legal basis
This page refers to the following German provisions so you can look them up yourself. It is information, not legal advice for your individual case.
- § 14 UStG – issuing invoices and mandatory content (German VAT Act)
- § 19 UStG – small business rule
- Directive 2014/55/EU – European standard EN 16931 for electronic invoicing