How to write a reverse charge invoice

When you sell services to a VAT-registered business in another EU country, you don’t charge VAT. Your client accounts for it in their own country instead, and your invoice has to say so. That is the reverse charge, and getting the wording right is most of the job.

When it applies

Three things have to be true. You are VAT-registered in an EU country, your client is a VAT-registered business in a different EU country, and you are selling services. If your client is a private person, or in the same country as you, charge VAT as normal.

What the invoice must show

The wording, country by country

This is what the generator prints when you pick the reverse-charge setup. Where your country’s invoices are in its own language, the official local wording comes first, followed by the English, so your client can read it too.

Your countryPrinted on the invoice
AustriaÜbergang der Steuerschuld auf den Leistungsempfänger / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
BelgiumBtw verlegd / Autoliquidation / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
CyprusReverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
Czech RepublicDaň odvede zákazník / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
DenmarkOmvendt betalingspligt / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
FinlandKäännetty verovelvollisuus / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
FranceAutoliquidation / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
GermanySteuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
IrelandReverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
ItalyInversione contabile / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
LuxembourgAutoliquidation / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
MaltaReverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
NetherlandsBtw verlegd / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
PolandOdwrotne obciążenie / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
PortugalAutoliquidação / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
SpainInversión del sujeto pasivo / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).
SwedenOmvänd betalningsskyldighet / Reverse charge (Article 196, Directive 2006/112/EC).

Making one

  1. Open your country’s generator from the table above.
  2. In the tax menu, pick EU business client, services (reverse charge).
  3. Add your client’s VAT number to their details, then download the PDF.

Not VAT-registered at all? Then the reverse charge isn’t for you, and you print your exemption instead. See invoicing without VAT.

Try it with Germany

Every EU country page has the same setup in its tax menu.

Questions about the reverse charge

Can’t find your answer? Email [email protected].

Does the reverse charge apply to private customers?
No. It only applies when your client is a VAT-registered business. Services to consumers in other EU countries are usually taxed where you are, or under the One Stop Shop rules for digital services.
How do I check my client’s VAT number?
Use the European Commission’s free VIES service. Check the number before you invoice and keep a record of the result, because an invalid number means you should have charged VAT.
Is it the same for goods?
Not quite. Goods sent to a business in another EU country are an intra-Community supply, which is exempt under a different article and needs its own wording and proof of transport. This page covers services.
What about clients in the UK, Switzerland or Norway?
They are outside the EU, so this wording doesn’t apply. Services you sell to a business there are usually outside the scope of your own VAT, and the invoice simply shows no VAT with a short note saying why.
Is there anything to file afterwards?
Yes. Most EU countries want reverse-charge sales listed in your VAT return and in the EC Sales List (the recapitulative statement), usually monthly or quarterly.