Small-amount invoices up to 250 euros in Germany: what must be on them

In short: A Kleinbetragsrechnung (small-amount invoice) is an invoice of up to 250 euros gross for which § 33 UStDV requires only four details: the seller's name and address, the issue date, the quantity and type of goods or services, and the gross amount with the VAT rate. The buyer's name and address, a tax number and an invoice number are not needed. A normal till receipt usually meets this and is enough for input VAT deduction.

If you are self-employed in Germany you pay small amounts almost every day: office supplies for 34.90 euros, a reference book for 59 euros, fuel for 82 euros. Should you ask for a full invoice in your name every time? No. These cases are covered by the small-amount invoice, and the rules are shorter than most people think.

This article shows which details a small-amount invoice must contain, when a till receipt is enough for VAT deduction, where the 250-euro limit catches people out, and how to keep the receipts so they are still readable when the auditor comes.

What is a Kleinbetragsrechnung?

A Kleinbetragsrechnung is an invoice whose total does not exceed 250 euros. This means the gross amount, including VAT. The limit is set in § 33 of the Umsatzsteuer-Durchführungsverordnung (UStDV, the German VAT implementing regulation) and has applied since 2017; before that it was 150 euros.

The purpose is practical. In a shop, a restaurant or at a petrol station it would be impossible to issue a full invoice under § 14 (4) UStG with name, address, tax number and sequential number for every customer. So small amounts may be billed with fewer details, and the buyer may still deduct the VAT.

The distinction from other documents matters: a Quittung (receipt) only confirms that payment was received, an invoice demands payment and shows VAT. A till receipt can be both at once. More on that in Receipt vs. invoice vs. till slip: what is the difference?.

Which details must a small-amount invoice contain?

Under § 33 UStDV exactly four details are mandatory:

1. Full name and full address of the supplying business (the seller)
2. Issue date
3. Quantity and type of the goods delivered, or the scope and type of the service
4. Payment and VAT in one sum (the gross amount) plus the applicable VAT rate (7 or 19 percent) or a note that the supply is VAT-exempt

Not required: the buyer's name and address, the seller's tax number or VAT ID, an invoice number, the delivery date and a separate net amount. These may of course appear, but their absence does not invalidate the invoice.

An example of a sufficient till receipt:

How to read the abbreviations on German till receipts, such as "A" and "B" for the VAT rates, is explained in How to read a receipt.

Is a till receipt enough for VAT deduction in Germany?

Yes, if it contains the four mandatory details and the gross amount does not exceed 250 euros. You can then claim the VAT it contains as input tax, provided you are entitled to deduct input VAT and the purchase is for business purposes. You calculate the VAT out of the gross amount: for 118.90 euros at 19 percent that is 18.98 euros.

Typical pitfalls where the deduction fails anyway:

• The receipt only says "Diverses" (miscellaneous) or "Artikel" instead of an identifiable item. The type of supply is then missing.
• The VAT rate is missing entirely. Some handwritten receipts and receipt pads show only the gross amount.
• The receipt has faded and the amount is no longer legible. Thermal paper often lasts only a few years, much less in sunlight or heat.
• The document is just the card terminal slip. It shows the amount but neither the goods nor the VAT rate.

There is only one cure for fading: scan early. With Belego you photograph the receipt the same day, the app saves it as a PDF and reads amount, date and merchant. Whatever it cannot read with confidence stays blank and you add it by hand. The receipt then remains legible after eight years.

Where does the 250-euro limit catch people out?

The limit applies to the total of the invoice, not per item. If you buy materials for 310 euros at the hardware store, that is not a small-amount invoice even if no single item exceeds 250 euros. You then need a full invoice with your name and address, otherwise there is no input VAT deduction.

In practice: from around 200 euros at the till, pause and think about whether the total will pass 250 euros. Larger retailers print an invoice with the customer's address on request, often right at the service desk. At petrol stations and restaurants it pays to ask before paying. Splitting one purchase into two receipts to stay under the limit is not a clean solution; the tax office can treat it as a single transaction.

Further exceptions: the simplification does not apply to intra-Community supplies (§ 6a UStG), reverse-charge cases (§ 13b UStG) or certain distance sales (§ 3c UStG). A full invoice is always required there.

What if the receipt is missing or incomplete?

If a receipt is missing altogether, you can write an Eigenbeleg (self-made receipt) for income tax purposes, but that is not enough for VAT deduction. How it works is covered in The Eigenbeleg. If only one detail is missing from a receipt, such as the VAT rate, ask the merchant for a corrected invoice. Many till systems can reprint a receipt as an invoice afterwards.

For filing: small-amount invoices are accounting vouchers and must be kept for eight years in Germany. A scan is fine if the rules on GoBD-compliant replacement scanning are followed. Sorted by month, with file names made of date, merchant and amount, your tax advisor will find them without asking. Which expenses are deductible at all is covered in the overview of business expenses and receipts.

Note: This article is general guidance, not tax advice. The law, official guidance and the information you receive from your tax office or tax advisor (Steuerberater) take precedence.

Frequently asked questions

Does the small-amount invoice rule apply to small businesses under § 19 UStG?

Small businesses exempt from VAT under § 19 UStG (Kleinunternehmer) may issue small-amount invoices but do not show VAT; they note the exemption instead. As buyers, Kleinunternehmer have no input VAT deduction, so for them a small-amount invoice only serves as proof of a business expense. They still need the four mandatory details for the tax office to accept the expense.

Does my name have to be on a small-amount invoice?

No. The recipient's name and address are not among the mandatory details in § 33 UStDV. That is exactly the advantage: an anonymous till receipt from the supermarket or petrol station is enough. Only above 250 euros gross does the invoice need your name and address.

How long do I have to keep small-amount invoices?

As accounting vouchers they fall under the eight-year retention period of § 147 AO, which has applied in Germany since 2025. The period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the receipt was issued. A receipt from March 2026 must therefore be available until the end of 2034, on paper or as a GoBD-compliant scan.

What about a restaurant bill over 250 euros?

Then you need a full invoice with your name and address, in addition to the hospitality details (occasion, participants). Up to 250 euros the machine-printed hospitality receipt from the restaurant is sufficient, supplemented by the occasion and participants, which you note on the receipt or on an attached sheet.