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EU VAT Invoice Template: Article 226 Fields, Reverse Charge and OSS

This layout follows the EU-wide baseline: Article 226 of the VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC), which lists the details a VAT invoice needs in every Member State. They include a sequential number, both parties' names and addresses, your VAT number and, for reverse-charge or intra-Community supplies, your customer's VAT number. The invoice also shows the date of supply, the taxable amount per rate, the unit price excluding VAT, the rate and the VAT due. The download's line table has a VAT rate and net amount on every line, plus fields for the mentions Article 226 requires in special cases, such as "Reverse charge" or the exemption that applies. It is a starting point, not a national invoice. Each Member State adds its own rules on deadlines, language, commercial-law details and e-invoicing. In Italy, and in Poland for most businesses, a domestic invoice must be a structured e-invoice sent through a government system, so a PDF built from this layout is not valid there. Use the country template or guide for the Member State where you are registered. The layout downloads as an editable HTML file.

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Download the HTML file to edit its fields, then print or save as PDF. Totals are entered manually.

What This Template Includes

  • Supplier VAT identification number
  • Customer VAT identification number (reverse charge or intra-Community supply)
  • Date of supply or payment on account, if different from the invoice date
  • "Reverse charge" mention when the customer is liable for the VAT
  • Exemption reference, such as Article 138 of Directive 2006/112/EC
  • "Self-billing", "Cash accounting" or margin scheme mention, where it applies
  • Tax representative's VAT number, full name and address (if you use one)

How to Create Your EU VAT Invoice

  1. 01

    Describe your work

    Type a plain English description of the services you provided, the client, and the amount.

  2. 02

    AI generates your invoice

    InvoiceQuickly's AI drafts the client, line items, dates, and totals for you to review before saving.

  3. 03

    Review, download, and send

    Check every detail, download the PDF, or use Pro to email the PDF directly to your client.

Recommended Payment Terms

Under the EU Late Payment Directive (2011/7/EU), as summarised by the EU's Your Europe portal, business customers must pay within 60 days unless a longer term is expressly agreed in the contract and is not grossly unfair to you, and public authorities generally within 30 days. If they pay late, you can claim interest of at least the European Central Bank reference rate plus 8 percentage points and a minimum of €40 in recovery compensation. Each Member State writes these rules into national law, and some go further. France, for example, requires the late-payment penalty rate and the €40 recovery fee to appear on business invoices. State your payment term and bank details (IBAN and BIC) on the invoice.

Need help writing payment terms? Read our guide to invoice payment terms for best practices and templates.

Tax Information

Each Member State sets its own VAT rates. The Directive sets the invoice content and the rules for cross-border supplies. Reverse charge: when you supply business services to a customer in another Member State, the place of supply is where the customer is established (Article 44), and the customer pays the VAT if you are not established in that Member State (Article 196). Your invoice charges no VAT, shows both VAT numbers and carries the words "Reverse charge" (Article 226(11a)), and must be issued by the 15th day of the month after the supply (Article 222). Intra-Community supply of goods: goods sent to a VAT-registered business in another Member State are exempt under Article 138, so the invoice cites the exemption (Article 226(11)), and the exemption depends on listing the sale in your recapitulative statement. Sales to consumers: since 1 July 2021, once your cross-border sales to EU consumers of goods (distance sales) and of certain services exceed €10,000 a year, the VAT of the customer's Member State applies, and the One Stop Shop (OSS) lets you declare it quarterly through one Member State. InvoiceQuickly invoices in EUR, but it applies one tax percentage per invoice, copies saved tax IDs to new invoice PDFs and adds no reverse-charge or exemption wording; type those into the notes.

Industry context (2026)

The EU adopted the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package on 11 March 2025, and it entered into force on 14 April 2025. Since then, Member States can introduce mandatory domestic e-invoicing under certain conditions. From 1 July 2030, digital reporting requirements based on e-invoices apply, mainly to cross-border B2B supplies, and national real-time reporting systems must be aligned with the EU system by 1 January 2035 (European Commission, ViDA page). Many countries are moving first. Italy routes every domestic invoice through the Sistema di Interscambio. Poland made KSeF mandatory from 1 February 2026 for the largest businesses and 1 April 2026 for others. Germany has required every business to be able to receive e-invoices since 1 January 2025, and domestic B2B invoices must be e-invoices from 2028. France requires all businesses to receive e-invoices from 1 September 2026, with small and medium businesses issuing them from 1 September 2027. Spain and Ireland have set dates in 2027 and 2028.

Worked example

Lena Fischer, a VAT-registered designer in Berlin, designs a brand identity for Atelier Rive SAS in Lyon in October (an illustrative example). Lines: logo and identity design, 1 project at €2,400.00; brand guidelines, 12 hours at €50.00 = €600.00. Net total €3,000.00. Because this is a business service supplied to a customer established in France, the place of supply is France (Article 44) and Atelier Rive accounts for the VAT (Article 196). VAT rate 0, VAT €0.00, total due €3,000.00. The invoice shows Lena's German VAT number, Atelier Rive's French VAT number (checked in VIES), the words "Reverse charge" and the October supply date, and goes out by 15 November (Article 222). In InvoiceQuickly she would choose EUR, set tax to 0% and type both VAT numbers and "Reverse charge" into the notes. A contrast: Lena also sells downloadable design templates to consumers across the EU. Once those cross-border consumer sales pass €10,000 in a year, each sale carries the VAT of the buyer's country, declared quarterly through the One Stop Shop.

Common mistakes to avoid

Zero-rating without the customer's VAT number

Reverse charge and the Article 138 exemption depend on the customer being a VAT-identified business. Without a valid number on the invoice, you may owe your own country's VAT.

Leaving out the "Reverse charge" or exemption wording

Article 226 requires the mention when the customer is liable for the VAT, and a reference to the exemption for exempt supplies. A 0% line with no explanation is incomplete.

Forgetting the recapitulative statement

For intra-Community supplies of goods, Article 138(1a) makes the exemption depend on reporting the sale correctly in your recapitulative statement.

Treating Article 226 as the whole rulebook

National law adds deadlines, language rules, commercial-law mentions and e-invoicing mandates. Read your Member State's guide before relying on the EU baseline.

Sending a PDF where e-invoicing is mandatory

In Italy a domestic invoice must go through the SdI, and in Poland most businesses must issue through KSeF. A PDF sent any other way is not a valid invoice there.

Invoicing Tips

  • 1Check your customer's VAT number in the European Commission's VIES on-the-Web service before you zero-rate a sale. The Article 138 exemption requires the customer to be identified for VAT in another Member State and to have given you that number.
  • 2Write the mention exactly as the Directive puts it, "Reverse charge", in the language of the invoice. Many businesses add the local wording too (for example "Autoliquidation" in French).
  • 3Keep one sequential number series, or several series that each run in sequence. Article 226 allows numbering based on one or more series as long as each number identifies one invoice.
  • 4Show the taxable amount and VAT for each rate separately when one invoice mixes rates. The download has a rate and net amount column on every line for this.
  • 5Check whether your Member State already requires e-invoices before you send a PDF. Use the country templates and guides linked below.

Related Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an official EU invoice template?

No. The VAT Directive lists the details an invoice must contain in Article 226 but does not prescribe a layout. Any layout works if it carries those details plus your Member State's own requirements, unless your country requires a structured e-invoice.

What must an EU VAT invoice include?

Article 226 requires the issue date, a unique sequential number, your VAT number, the customer's VAT number for reverse-charge and intra-Community supplies, both parties' full names and addresses, the quantity and nature of goods or extent and nature of services, the date of supply if different, the taxable amount per rate, the unit price excluding VAT and any discounts, the VAT rate and the VAT amount, plus special mentions such as "Reverse charge" where they apply.

How do I write a reverse-charge invoice in the EU?

Charge 0 VAT, show your VAT number and your customer's, add the words "Reverse charge" and issue the invoice by the 15th day of the month after the supply. The customer then accounts for the VAT in their own Member State. Check that the customer is a business and validate its VAT number first.

Is e-invoicing mandatory in the EU?

Not EU-wide yet; it depends on the Member State. Italy and Poland already require domestic e-invoices through national systems, and Germany, France, Spain and Ireland are phasing in domestic B2B e-invoicing between 2025 and 2030. Under the VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package, digital reporting for cross-border B2B supplies, based on e-invoices, starts on 1 July 2030.

When do I charge the VAT of my customer's country?

For sales of goods and certain services to consumers in other Member States, once your total of such sales across the EU exceeds €10,000 a year (if you are established in only one Member State). Above that, you charge the customer's Member State VAT and can declare it through the One Stop Shop instead of registering in each country.

Can I create EU invoices with InvoiceQuickly?

Where a PDF invoice is still valid, yes, with manual additions. Choose EUR, set the tax rate, and type your VAT number, the customer's VAT number and any "Reverse charge" or exemption wording into the notes. InvoiceQuickly supports one tax rate per invoice, copies saved business and client tax IDs to new invoice PDFs in a dedicated field and produces no e-invoice formats such as Peppol, XRechnung, Factur-X, FatturaPA or KSeF.