Invoicing as a German Kleinunternehmer (§19 UStG)

What the Kleinunternehmerregelung actually changes

Under §19 UStG, a business whose turnover stays below the statutory limits can choose not to charge Umsatzsteuer. Following a reform that took effect on 1 January 2025, the thresholds are commonly stated as €25,000 for the previous calendar year and €100,000 for the current one, replacing the older €22,000 / €50,000 figures — and the current-year limit now bites during the year rather than from the following one. Thresholds and their mechanics do change, so confirm the current figures with your Finanzamt or a Steuerberater before relying on them.

The effect on the document itself is simple. Your quoted price is the final price. There is no net / VAT / gross block at the bottom, no tax-rate column and no tax total — just line items, a sum, and the sentence explaining the exemption.

The mandatory fields on a German invoice

§14 Abs. 4 UStG sets out what an invoice must contain. For a Kleinunternehmer that comes down to seven things plus the exemption note:

1. The full name and address of your business and of your client — the legal entity and its registered address, not a trading nickname. 2. Your Steuernummer or your USt-IdNr. One of the two is enough. Most Kleinunternehmer quote the Steuernummer issued by their Finanzamt, because they have never applied for a VAT ID. 3. The Ausstellungsdatum — the date the invoice was issued. 4. A fortlaufende Rechnungsnummer: unique, issued once only, and following a recognisable sequence. Separate series (for example 2026-A-001 and 2026-B-001) are permitted. Unexplained gaps are not automatically fatal, but they invite questions in a Betriebsprüfung, so keep the numbering systematic. 5. The quantity and handelsübliche Bezeichnung of the goods, or the type and scope of the service. "Beratung" alone is thin; "12 Std. Webentwicklung, Projekt Relaunch Shop" is defensible. 6. The Zeitpunkt der Lieferung oder sonstigen Leistung — when the supply happened. This is a separate requirement from the invoice date. If they coincide, say so explicitly: "Leistungsdatum entspricht Rechnungsdatum." 7. The Entgelt — the amount due.

In place of the tax rate and tax amount, you give the reference to the exemption.

The exemption sentence, and where to put it

The standard wording is:

**"Gemäß § 19 UStG wird keine Umsatzsteuer berechnet."**

A common variant reads "Im ausgewiesenen Rechnungsbetrag ist gemäß § 19 UStG keine Umsatzsteuer enthalten." The law requires a reference to the applicable exemption rather than one fixed phrase, but the standard sentence is unambiguous and universally recognised, so there is little reason to be creative. Place it directly beneath the total, where a VAT breakdown would otherwise sit.

One thing to avoid: do not show a "0 % USt" or "USt 0,00 €" row. It suggests you are a VAT-registered business applying a zero rate, which is a different thing entirely. More seriously, VAT stated on an invoice when none was due can become payable to the Finanzamt under §14c UStG. If you invoice English-speaking clients, keep the German sentence and add a plain translation next to it — the German original is what counts.

Small invoices, records and the e-invoicing shift

For invoices up to €250 gross, §33 UStDV allows a Kleinbetragsrechnung with a reduced field set: your details, the date, the description and the amount. You still need the §19 reference. Below that threshold you can drop the client's address and the invoice number, though many people keep numbering everything anyway for their own bookkeeping.

Keep a copy of every invoice you issue. The retention period has traditionally been ten years; a 2025 reform shortened it to eight years for certain accounting vouchers, so check which applies to your documents.

Separately, German domestic B2B e-invoicing is being phased in. Since 1 January 2025 businesses must be able to *receive* structured electronic invoices (XRechnung or ZUGFeRD). The obligation to *issue* them phases in from 2027 and 2028 depending on turnover, and Kleinunternehmer are currently exempted from issuing structured formats — a PDF still counts as a "sonstige Rechnung". The receiving obligation applies to you regardless, so make sure you can accept and archive an XML attachment. This area is moving quickly; verify the current position before the next deadline.

Producing the invoice in Crossbill

Crossbill has a Kleinunternehmer preset that switches off the tax block, adds the §19 UStG sentence beneath the total, and gives you fields for your Steuernummer, the Leistungsdatum and a sequential Rechnungsnummer. It runs entirely in your browser — your client list and invoice data never leave your device — and PDF export is unlimited on the free tier. It produces PDFs rather than XRechnung XML, which is fine for a Kleinunternehmer today but worth noting if your status changes.

This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Thresholds, retention periods and e-invoicing deadlines change, and your own situation may differ. Check anything that matters with your Finanzamt or a Steuerberater.