--- title: "Subcontractor Invoice in Germany: § 13b UStG and Checklist | Emig" description: "Installation subcontractor invoice in Germany: mandatory details under § 14 UStG, reverse charge under § 13b, certificate USt 1 TG, e-invoicing from 2027." image: https://emig-ladenbau.de/hubfs/website-2026/moebelmontage-ladenbau-einbau.jpg --- [![Emig Ladenbau](https://emig-ladenbau.de/hubfs/website-2026/emig-logo-header.png)](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/) [Home](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/) [What we install](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/#what) [How we work](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/#how) [Blog](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/blog) [Request a project](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/#contact) [Installation partners](https://emig-ladenbau.de/bewerben) [DE](https://emig-ladenbau.de/)·[FR](https://emig-ladenbau.de/fr/) [Home](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/) / [Blog](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/blog) # Subcontractor Invoice in Germany: § 13b UStG and Checklist Oct 19, 2026 · Manuel Emig ![Furniture installation and fit-out in retail — symbolic image](https://emig-ladenbau.de/hubfs/website-2026/moebelmontage-ladenbau-einbau.jpg) The short answer An invoice from an installation subcontractor needs the mandatory details under § 14 UStG (Umsatzsteuergesetz, the German VAT Act) — full addresses, tax number, invoice number, description of the work, period of performance, net amount. The decisive point, however, is VAT: if you carry out construction work for a client who carries out construction work himself, the reverse-charge procedure under § 13b UStG applies. In that case you invoice **without VAT** and put the note „Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" (VAT payable by the recipient) on the invoice. Anyone who gets this wrong is liable — in both directions. *This article offers guidance from installation practice. It is not legal or tax advice. For your own case, your tax adviser is the person to ask.* ## The mandatory details under § 14 UStG Without them the invoice is not a proper invoice — and your client gets no input tax deduction. In practice that means the invoice comes back and you wait another two weeks for your money. Every invoice must show: - **Full name and address** of you and of the client - **Your tax number (Steuernummer) or VAT identification number (USt-IdNr.)** - **Date of issue** - **Consecutive, unique invoice number** - **Description of the work** — type and scope, specific - **Period or date of performance** (not the same as the invoice date!) - **Net amount**, broken down by tax rate - **VAT amount and rate** — or the reference to the tax exemption or the reverse-charge procedure - Agreed **reductions** such as early-payment discount or rebate For small-amount invoices up to 250 euros gross, simplified details are sufficient. For installation contracts this is rarely relevant. ## The point where it gets expensive: § 13b UStG This is the rule that is regularly overlooked in shopfitting and installation. **Normal case:** You issue an invoice with 19 % VAT, pay it over to the tax office (Finanzamt), the customer deducts input tax. **Construction-work case:** If you carry out construction work for a client who **himself carries out construction work on a sustained basis**, the tax liability is reversed. The client then owes the VAT, not you. Consequence for your invoice: - **Do not show VAT.** Net amount, tax €0.00. - **Add the note:** „Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers gemäß § 13b UStG." (VAT payable by the recipient under § 13b UStG.) This is **not optional.** If the conditions are met, it must be invoiced this way. Anyone who shows VAT regardless has shown it without entitlement — and has to pay it over in addition, as long as the invoice is not corrected. ### How do you know whether it applies? It is not enough that you carry out construction work. The **client** must himself carry out construction work on a sustained basis — as a rule of thumb: at least 10 % of his total turnover. You cannot guess that. So in practice the rule is: **Ask the client for the certificate USt 1 TG.** It is issued by the tax office, is valid for a maximum of three years and confirms that he is to be classified as a provider of construction work. With this certificate on file, you issue the net invoice without risk. **Without this certificate, the risk is yours.** If it later turns out that you should not have invoiced without VAT, you are liable for the tax not paid over — and have to try to recover it from the client under civil law. If he is insolvent, you are left with the bill. **The exemption certificate under § 48b EStG (Freistellungsbescheinigung, Einkommensteuergesetz — the German Income Tax Act) is not sufficient for this.** These are two different documents for two different purposes: § 48b concerns the construction withholding tax (Bauabzugsteuer), § 13b concerns VAT. Anyone who mixes them up invoices incorrectly. ### And what is construction work? Anything that serves the construction, repair, maintenance, alteration or removal of structures. Permanently installed store fixtures generally fall under this. A free-standing piece of furniture that is only delivered and put in place, rather not. With mixed contracts, what matters is what characterises the contract. If delivery and installation are clearly separable, they are invoiced separately. **If in doubt:** Agree it with the client before you write the invoice, and ask your tax adviser. If both sides consistently assume reverse charge and the tax is correctly accounted for, this is not objected to in borderline cases. ## As a small business Anyone using the small-business scheme under § 19 UStG (Kleinunternehmerregelung) shows no VAT and instead puts the reference to the scheme on the invoice. Two things to note nonetheless: The **construction withholding tax under § 48 EStG also applies to small businesses** — so you need the exemption certificate as well. And small businesses are exempt from the obligation to **issue** e-invoices, but not from the obligation to **receive** them. ## E-invoicing: what applies from when The position you need to know: - **Since 1 January 2025:** Every business must be able to **receive** e-invoices (E-Rechnung, the structured electronic invoice required in Germany). Without exception, including sole traders, including small businesses. An e-mail inbox is sufficient as a minimum. - **2026:** For **sending** to business customers, paper and PDF are still permitted. - **From 1 January 2027:** Businesses with over €800,000 turnover in the previous year must issue e-invoices. - **From 1 January 2028:** All other businesses too — regardless of turnover. Small businesses remain the exception. Important: **A PDF is not an e-invoice.** An e-invoice is a structured format under EN 16931 — in Germany XRechnung (pure XML) or ZUGFeRD (PDF with embedded XML). Anyone sending PDFs today still has time, but should not leave the subject until 2027. ## What decides payment in practice The mandatory details make the invoice valid. The attachments make it **payable**. A client who checks twenty installation invoices a month pays first the ones he does not have to question. Enclose: - **Signed timesheets** or the measurement, depending on what was agreed - **Acceptance report** or proof of work from the site - **Photo documentation**, if agreed - The client's order number or purchase order number — **always**, otherwise the invoice ends up in the clarification pile - For additional work: the written instruction, not „that was what we discussed" And: Write the invoice promptly. An invoice that arrives six weeks after the installation is checked by someone who no longer remembers anything. ## What a correct invoice looks like (example) ``` [Company, street, postcode town] [Telephone · e-mail · tax number / VAT ID no.] To: [Client, street, postcode town] Invoice no. 2026-042 Invoice date: [DD.MM.YYYY] Order / purchase order number: [client's no.] Period of performance: [period of performance] Place of performance: [store, street, postcode town] Item Service Qty Unit Total 1 Installation of store fixtures to plan, store [town], per order of [date] 38.0 hrs [ ] € [ ] € 2 Removal of existing fixtures 6.0 hrs [ ] € [ ] € 3 Travel to and from site 1 lump sum [ ] € [ ] € Net amount: [ ] € VAT: €0.00 Invoice total: [ ] € Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers gemäß § 13b Abs. 2 Nr. 4 UStG. (VAT payable by the recipient under § 13b (2) no. 4 UStG.) Die Umsatzsteuer ist vom Leistungsempfänger zu berechnen, anzumelden und abzuführen. (The VAT is to be calculated, declared and paid by the recipient.) Payable within 30 days without deduction. Attachments: timesheets (signed), acceptance report dated [DD.MM.YYYY] Bank details: [IBAN] · [BIC] · [bank] ``` For the case **without** § 13b: show VAT with rate and amount and delete the note. As a small business: no VAT, but the reference to § 19 UStG instead. ## Checklist: before the invoice goes out - Full addresses of invoice issuer and recipient - Your own tax number or VAT ID no. - Consecutive, unique invoice number - Date of issue **and** period of performance (not the same thing) - Description of the work that the checker can match up - Place of performance — for roll-outs: which [store](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/) - The client's order or purchase order number - **§ 13b checked?** Client's certificate USt 1 TG on file → net invoice, tax €0.00, note „Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers gemäß § 13b Abs. 2 Nr. 4 UStG" - No § 13b? → show VAT with rate and amount - Small business? → no VAT, reference to § 19 UStG - Payment term stated - Attachments enclosed: signed timesheets, acceptance report, photos if applicable - For additional work: written instruction enclosed - Invoice written promptly — not six weeks after the installation ## FAQ Do I have to show VAT as an installation subcontractor? Not if you carry out construction work for a client who himself carries out construction work on a sustained basis. Then § 13b UStG applies: invoice without VAT, with the note „Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" (VAT payable by the recipient). The condition is that the client is to be classified as a provider of construction work — evidenced by the certificate USt 1 TG. What is the difference between the certificate USt 1 TG and the exemption certificate under § 48b EStG? Two different documents. The exemption certificate under § 48b EStG prevents the client from withholding 15 % construction withholding tax — it concerns income tax. The certificate USt 1 TG evidences that the client is a provider of construction work for VAT purposes, and is the basis for the invoice without VAT under § 13b UStG. Do I have to write e-invoices from 2026? Receive: yes, since 2025 — without exception. Issue: not yet in 2026. From 1 January 2027 the obligation applies to businesses with over €800,000 turnover in the previous year, from 1 January 2028 to all others. Small businesses remain exempt from issuing. A PDF is not an e-invoice — that requires XRechnung or ZUGFeRD. Why is my invoice not being paid? In practice mostly because of missing evidence: no order or purchase order number, no signed timesheets, no acceptance report, or a description of the work that the checker cannot match up. Anyone who sends the attachments along gets paid faster. More on this: [Installation abroad](https://emig-ladenbau.de/en/). Register — with your trade, region, team size and availability. If a job fits, we will get in touch. 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