Try free

Invoicing guide

Invoicing brands: what has to be on it.

A collaboration is done when the invoice is right. If a mandatory detail is missing, the brand cannot deduct the input VAT and will not pay. If it shows VAT you may not charge, you owe it anyway. Here is what German law requires, each with its reference.

As of 1 November 2026 · 18 sources

Try free for 30 days Sign in

No payment details to startNo cut of your earningsServers in Germany

Invoice template for creators: three examples

The same job, three tax cases. Every line is a mandatory detail, followed by its rule. Names and amounts are made up.

Kleinunternehmer

Brand in Germany, you are a Kleinunternehmer

You apply § 19 UStG: no VAT, but the note. The fee appears as one sum.

From First Last, Musterstraße 1, 12345 Musterstadt § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 1 UStG
Tax number 12/345/67890 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 2 UStG
To Beispiel GmbH, Beispielweg 2, 10115 Berlin § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 1 UStG
Invoice no. 2026-0007 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 4 UStG
Invoice date 3 November 2026 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 3 UStG
Service 1 short video (60 s) for the brand's TikTok channel, usage rights 6 months § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 5 UStG
Service period October 2026 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 6 UStG, § 31 Abs. 4 UStDV
Total €800.00 § 34a Satz 1 Nr. 4 UStDV
Note Steuerbefreiung für Kleinunternehmer nach § 19 UStG (VAT exemption for small businesses). No VAT is charged. § 34a Satz 1 Nr. 5 UStDV
Payable by 17 November 2026 to IBAN DE00 0000 0000 0000 0000 00

Regular VAT

Brand in Germany, with VAT

You are not a Kleinunternehmer: net amount, rate, tax amount. From 2028 only as an e-invoice to German businesses.

From First Last, Musterstraße 1, 12345 Musterstadt § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 1 UStG
VAT id DE000000000 (or tax number) § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 2 UStG
To Beispiel GmbH, Beispielweg 2, 10115 Berlin § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 1 UStG
Invoice no. 2026-0008 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 4 UStG
Invoice date 3 November 2026 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 3 UStG
Service 1 short video (60 s) for the brand's TikTok channel, usage rights 6 months § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 5 UStG
Service period October 2026 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 6 UStG
Net €800.00 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 7 UStG
VAT 19 % €152.00 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 8 UStG
Total €952.00
Payable by 17 November 2026 to IBAN DE00 0000 0000 0000 0000 00

Reverse charge

Brand in another EU country

The brand owes the tax in its country. No German VAT, both VAT ids, the note, issued by the 15th of the following month.

From First Last, Musterstraße 1, 12345 Musterstadt § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 1 UStG
Your VAT id DE000000000 § 14a Abs. 1 Satz 1 UStG
To Voorbeeld B.V., Voorbeeldstraat 3, 1012 AB Amsterdam, Netherlands § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 1 UStG
Brand's VAT id NL000000000B00 § 14a Abs. 1 Satz 1 UStG
Invoice no. 2026-0009 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 4 UStG
Invoice date 3 November 2026 (by the 15th of the following month) § 14a Abs. 1 Satz 2 UStG
Service 1 short video (60 s) for the brand's TikTok channel, usage rights 6 months § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 5 UStG
Service period October 2026 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 6 UStG
Total €800.00 § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 7 UStG
Note Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers (Reverse charge). Place of supply with the recipient under § 3a Abs. 2 UStG. § 14a Abs. 1 Satz 1 UStG
Payable by 17 November 2026 to IBAN DE00 0000 0000 0000 0000 00

The examples show the mandatory details under § 14 Abs. 4 UStG, § 14a UStG and § 34a UStDV. What applies to your case is for your tax adviser. Sources

Affliq writes the invoice from the deal, with the right case.

Try free for 30 days

The basic rules.

Four sentences from the German VAT act.

Brands always get an invoice.

For a service to another business you must issue an invoice, within six months. A video, a post or a story for a brand is such a service.1

The mandatory details are in the law.

Names and addresses, tax number or VAT id, date, invoice number, the service, when, the net amount, VAT rate and VAT amount or a note on the exemption. If one is missing, the invoice is not in order.2

Wrong VAT is still owed.

If you show VAT although you may not as a Kleinunternehmer, you owe that amount to the tax office. The same goes for showing too much VAT.3

Keep it for eight years.

You keep a copy of every invoice you issue for eight years, counted from the end of the year you issued it.4

Depending on the case.

Who you are and where the brand sits decide what else goes on the invoice.

As a Kleinunternehmer

No VAT, but a note that the small business exemption applies (§ 19 UStG), and the fee as one sum. The rule asks for no invoice number; it is still sensible to use one.5

Brand elsewhere in the EU

The service counts as rendered where the brand runs its business. The brand owes the VAT: you invoice without VAT, with the words „Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers“ (reverse charge) and both VAT ids, by the 15th of the following month.6

Brand outside the EU

Here too the place of the service is the brand's business, so not Germany. The invoice carries no German VAT.7

Up to €250, less is enough

For a total of up to €250, your name and address, the date, the service, the gross amount and the VAT rate suffice. This does not apply to reverse charge invoices.8

The brand writes a self-billing invoice

If agreed beforehand, the brand may bill your service itself. The document must say „Gutschrift“. If you object to it, it no longer counts as an invoice.9

Month instead of day

As the time of the service, the calendar month you rendered it in may stand. If a detail is missing, you correct it with a document that clearly refers to the invoice.10

E-invoicing: what changes for creators.

Since 2025 an e-invoice is only an invoice in a structured format a program can read (§ 14 Abs. 1 Satz 3 UStG). A PDF by email is no longer an e-invoice. XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 meet the requirements, except the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles (BMF, questions and answers on e-invoicing, October 2026).

If you and the brand are both in Germany, you must issue an e-invoice (§ 14 Abs. 2 Satz 2 Nr. 1 UStG). There is a transition: for services until the end of 2026 you may still send paper or a PDF, for services in 2027 too if your total turnover the year before was at most €800,000 (§ 27 Abs. 38 UStG). From 2028 the e-invoice to German brands is mandatory.

Kleinunternehmer may keep sending paper or PDF (§ 34a Satz 4 UStDV), as may anyone for invoices up to €250 (§ 33 Satz 4 UStDV). But you must be able to receive e-invoices since 2025, as a Kleinunternehmer too; an email inbox is enough (BMF, questions and answers on e-invoicing). For brands abroad there is no German e-invoicing duty.

If the brand does not pay, it is in default at the latest 30 days after the due date and receipt of the invoice (§ 286 Abs. 3 BGB). Then you are owed default interest of nine percentage points above the base rate and a flat €40 (§ 288 Abs. 2 und 5 BGB). If you get a product besides the fee, it is part of the consideration too; see the guide on samples. Affliq writes the invoice from the deal: a sequential number, the matching tax case with the right note, a PDF with an embedded ZUGFeRD e-invoice and XRechnung, sending by email and a dunning letter with interest and the flat fee if the brand does not pay.

Affliq records and does the maths, it does not advise. How things are taxed is your tax adviser's call.

Frequently asked questions

What has to be on an invoice to a brand?

Your name and address, the brand's, your tax number or VAT id, the issue date, a unique invoice number, what you did, when, the net amount, VAT rate and VAT amount or a note on the exemption.2

Do I have to send an e-invoice as a creator?

To a brand in Germany yes, but only after a transition: for services until the end of 2026 a PDF or paper still works, in 2027 too with at most €800,000 turnover the year before. As a Kleinunternehmer you are exempt.11

I am a Kleinunternehmer. What goes on the invoice?

No VAT, but the fee as one sum with a note that the small business exemption applies to the service (§ 19 UStG). Plus both names and addresses, your tax number, the date and the service.5

What if I add 19 % as a Kleinunternehmer?

Then you owe the VAT shown to the tax office, although you were not allowed to charge it. It can only be corrected once the brand has not deducted the input VAT or has paid it back, and only on application to the tax office.12

The brand is in the Netherlands. With or without VAT?

Without. The brand owes the VAT in its country. Your invoice carries the words „Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers“ and, unless you are a Kleinunternehmer, your VAT id and the brand's. You must issue it by the 15th of the following month.6

Do I need a VAT id as a Kleinunternehmer for brands elsewhere in the EU?

It need not be on a Kleinunternehmer's invoice; the duty to show both numbers does not apply to them. Whether you apply for one anyway, for example because the brand asks for it, is a question for your tax adviser.13

When does the brand have to pay?

What you agreed. At the latest 30 days after the due date and receipt of the invoice it is in default. From then you may claim default interest of nine percentage points above the base rate and a flat €40.14

The agency booked me, not the brand. Who gets the invoice?

The one you render the service for, usually your contract partner. The invoice names their full name and address as the recipient. If the contract is with the agency, the invoice goes to the agency.15

Sources

Statutes and administrative guidance, as of 1 November 2026. Tax law changes: the current statutory text always prevails, and what applies to you is for your tax adviser to say.

  1. § 14 Abs. 2 Satz 2 Nr. 1 UStG§ 14 UStG – Issuing invoices
  2. § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 UStG§ 14 UStG – Issuing invoices
  3. § 14c UStG§ 14c UStG – Incorrect or unauthorised VAT shown
  4. § 14b Abs. 1 UStG§ 14b UStG – Retention of invoices
  5. § 34a UStDV§ 34a UStDV – Invoices of small businesses
  6. § 14a Abs. 1 UStG§ 14a UStG – Additional invoicing duties in special cases
  7. § 3a Abs. 2 UStG§ 3a UStG – Place of services
  8. § 33 UStDV§ 33 UStDV – Invoices for small amounts
  9. § 14 Abs. 2 Satz 5 und 6 UStG§ 14 UStG – Issuing invoices
  10. § 31 Abs. 4 und 5 UStDV§ 31 UStDV – Details in the invoice
  11. § 27 Abs. 38 UStG§ 27 UStG – General transitional provisions
  12. § 14c Abs. 2 UStG§ 14c UStG – Incorrect or unauthorised VAT shown
  13. § 19 Abs. 1 Satz 2 UStG§ 19 UStG – Small businesses
  14. § 286 Abs. 3 BGB§ 286 BGB – Default of the debtor
  15. § 14 Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 1 UStG§ 14 UStG – Issuing invoices

Further sources

More from Affliq

Reverse charge invoices

Brand or agency abroad: place of supply, the invoice wording in German and English, VAT ids, Zusammenfassende Meldung, third countries and Kleinunternehmer, with the sections behind it.

Impressum for influencers

Who needs one, what goes in, where it belongs on TikTok and Instagram and what you can do about your address, with sections and sources.

All guides

14 guides on tax, free samples, platforms and invoices, sorted by topic.

Every invoice complete, from the deal.

Join the list: Affliq writes the invoice with the right tax case, as PDF and e-invoice, and reminds you when the brand does not pay.

Try free for 30 days