Invoices to eBay buyers: when required and what to show

In brief

• Duty: towards other businesses for their business and towards legal persons that are not businesses; six months to issue it (section 14(2) sentence 2 nos. 1 and 2 UStG), for an intra-EU supply the 15th day of the following month (section 14a(3) UStG).
• Private buyers: you may issue an invoice (section 14(2) sentence 1 UStG); section 14(2) UStG names a duty for them only for supplies connected with land; duties in special cases are in section 14a UStG.
• eBay function: Send invoice in Seller Hub Pro or My eBay, according to the help page up to 30 days after the listing ends and as long as the buyer has not completed checkout.
• Content: the mandatory details are in section 14(4) UStG, including the invoice number, tax rate and tax amount; for invoices up to 250 euros fewer details are enough (section 33 UStDV).
• Small business (Kleinunternehmer): your turnover is exempt (section 19(1) sentence 1 UStG); the invoice therefore looks different.

When do you have to issue an invoice?

Under section 14(2) sentence 1 UStG you are entitled to issue an invoice when you make a supply of goods or services. In the following cases you are obliged to issue an invoice within six months of the supply, unless the supply is exempt under section 4 nos. 8 to 29 UStG:

1. for a supply to another business for its business,
2. for a supply to a legal person that is not a business,
3. for a taxable supply of work or other service connected with land, to a recipient other than those in nos. 1 and 2.

For eBay that means: if a business buys from you for its operations, you must issue an invoice, even if it does not ask. If a private person buys goods, section 14(2) UStG names no duty to invoice; if they ask for an invoice, you can issue one. You cannot always see whether a buyer buys as a business; where in doubt, issuing the invoice is the simpler route.

What does Send invoice do on eBay?

eBay's help page names three occasions: the buyer buys several items and you combine them into one purchase, you change shipping costs or the shipping method (according to eBay at the buyer's request), or a buyer has not paid for an auction item and you want to remind them. More than 30 days after the listing ended, or after the buyer has completed checkout, you can no longer send an invoice. The help page does not describe which details this document contains. Whether it covers the mandatory details of section 14(4) UStG completely is therefore something you check yourself against the list below.

This is how it works according to eBay's help page:

1. In Seller Hub Pro open Orders (Bestellungen) and choose Not yet paid (Noch nicht bezahlt). In My eBay open Bestellungen.
2. Under Actions (Aktionen) choose Send invoice (Rechnung senden).
3. Make the changes you need, for example to shipping costs and payment methods.
4. Choose Send invoice.

For several purchases by one buyer, choose the arrow under Steps (Schritte) and then Send payment information (Zahlungsinformationen senden), remove the tick from items that should not be on the invoice, adjust the shipping costs and send the invoice. According to eBay, a discount on the invoice cannot exceed the shipping costs shown.

What must the invoice show?

Section 14(4) UStG requires, among other things:

• the full name and full address of you and the recipient,
• your tax number or your VAT identification number,
• the date of issue and a unique consecutive invoice number,
• the quantity and type of the goods delivered,
• the date of delivery,
• the amount broken down by tax rates,
• the tax rate and the tax amount, or, in case of an exemption, a note that an exemption applies.

All points, examples and special cases are in Invoice mandatory details under section 14 UStG.

Three special cases:

• Small business (Kleinunternehmer): if you are established in Germany, your turnover is exempt under section 19(1) sentence 1 UStG if your total turnover did not exceed 25,000 euros in the previous year and does not exceed 100,000 euros in the current year; this does not apply if you have waived it under section 19(3) UStG. What the invoice then looks like is shown in Writing a small business invoice.
• Margin scheme: if you sell used goods under the margin scheme, eBay and the margin scheme explains what applies to the invoice.
• Small-amount invoice: if the invoice total does not exceed 250 euros, section 33 UStDV only requires your full name and address, the date of issue, the quantity and type of goods, and the consideration and tax amount as one sum with the tax rate or a note on an exemption. This does not apply to distance sales (section 3c UStG) or intra-EU supplies (section 6a UStG). You may always send such an invoice as an other invoice, not as an e-invoice, even to businesses (section 33 sentence 4 UStDV).

Invoices to business customers as e-invoices

For a supply to another business, the invoice must be issued as an e-invoice under section 14(2) sentence 2 no. 1 UStG if you and the recipient are both established in Germany. An e-invoice is an invoice in a structured electronic format that allows electronic processing (section 14(1) UStG). A transition schedule with exceptions applies to this duty; the dates and limits are in E-invoices for online sellers.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the invoice for business customers. The duty exists even if nobody asks.
• Treating eBay's payment request as the invoice. Check that all details from section 14(4) UStG are on it.
• Showing VAT as a small business. Your turnover is exempt.
• Using an invoice number twice. The number must be unique.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT creates e-invoices in the ZUGFeRD and XRechnung formats. You upload your eBay CSV reports, and VAT GPT breaks the VAT down for Germany and the EU (OSS). From it you prepare your VAT return and EÜR; with VAT GPT Pro you send them through ELSTER. VAT GPT is the tax software for Amazon and eBay sellers in Germany: your OSS return first, then VAT, EÜR, trade tax and income tax, calculated and filed in one place. There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro. Try for free now

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to send every eBay buyer an invoice? The law names the duty for other businesses (for their business) and for legal persons that are not businesses. For private individuals you can issue an invoice on request.

By when must the invoice be issued? Within six months of the supply (section 14(2) sentence 2 UStG); for an intra-EU supply by the 15th day of the following month (section 14a(3) UStG).

How long can I send an invoice on eBay? According to eBay's help page, no longer once more than 30 days have passed since the listing ended or the buyer has completed checkout.

What is on a small business invoice? No VAT, because the turnover is exempt. The details are in the linked article.

Do I need an e-invoice? For supplies to businesses established in Germany the duty applies under the transition schedule; private individuals are not affected, because the e-invoice duty in section 14(2) sentence 2 no. 1 UStG covers supplies to businesses.

Read next

• Invoice mandatory details under section 14 UStG
• Writing a small business invoice
• eBay and the margin scheme
• E-invoices for online sellers
• Showing VAT on Amazon invoices

Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.

Sources

• eBay help: Sending invoices to buyers
• Section 14 UStG
• Section 14a UStG
• Section 19 UStG
• Section 33 UStDV