A German organiser can no longer refuse to receive an electronic invoice: since 1 January 2025, every business established in Germany has had to be able to receive one, according to the Bundesfinanzministerium's FAQ. Issuing one is a different date, and it depends on what you bill. The box office, by contrast, is almost entirely exempt: a ticket sold to an individual isn't a transaction between businesses.
Since when is E-Rechnung mandatory in Germany?
The obligation to issue has two dates, 2027 and 2028, and a narrow definition of what counts as an electronic invoice. §14 Abs. 1 UStG defines it as «eine Rechnung, die in einem strukturierten elektronischen Format ausgestellt, übermittelt und empfangen wird» and that allows electronic processing. The format has to comply with the European electronic invoicing standard and its syntax list, EN 16931. A PDF attached to an email isn't an E-Rechnung: it's what the law calls a «sonstige Rechnung».
The same §14 Abs. 2 UStG sets the scope. The invoice is issued within six months of the supply and has to be electronic when it's supplied «für eine Leistung an einen anderen Unternehmer für dessen Unternehmen» and both supplier and recipient are established in Germany. In other words: domestic B2B.
The timeline is set out in §27 Abs. 38 UStG, the transitional provision introduced by the Wachstumschancengesetz for transactions carried out after 31 December 2024.
| Transaction carried out | Who can still invoice on paper or PDF | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Until 31 December 2026 | Any issuer | On paper, or in a non-compliant electronic format with the recipient's consent |
| From 1 January to 31 December 2027 | Only those whose Gesamtumsatz didn't exceed €800,000 in the previous year | Threshold under §19 Abs. 2 UStG, measured against 2026 |
| From 1 January to 31 December 2027 | Those using EDI | Electronic data interchange under Recommendation 94/820/EC |
| From 1 January 2028 | No one, in domestic B2B | §14 Abs. 2 UStG applies with no transitional exception |
The administrative criteria aren't in the law itself, but in two Bundesfinanzministerium letters: one dated 15 October 2024 and one dated 15 October 2025, which the ministry itself cites in its FAQ as the reference for the details. The second amended the Umsatzsteuer-Anwendungserlass a year after the first.
Does the electronic invoice requirement affect tickets sold to the public?
Almost never, and it's worth knowing why before buying software. The obligation is B2B: the ministry sums it up by saying the rules «gelten nicht bei Rechnungen an Endverbraucher». A ticket sold to an individual attendee doesn't fall within it, no matter how you send it by email.
There are three further exceptions that exempt the box office, and the Bundesfinanzministerium itself lists them:
| Case | Legal basis | What it means for an event |
|---|---|---|
| Small-amount invoice | §33 UStDV, up to €250 gross | An €80 ticket bought by a business doesn't need an E-Rechnung |
| Kleinunternehmer supplies | §34a UStDV | If you're a Kleinunternehmer, you're not required to issue one |
| Invoices to legal entities that aren't businesses | BMF criterion | A non-economic association or a non-business public entity |
| Tickets that double as invoices | §34 UStDV | Applies to transport, not event tickets |
§33 UStDV is the practical piece. Up to a total of €250, the invoice only needs four things: the supplier's full name and address, the issue date, the quantity and type of what was supplied, and the consideration with the tax amount «in einer Summe» plus the rate applied. There's no need to identify the buyer. Above €250 — a season pass, a VIP package, a corporate ticket — a full invoice is required with the ten details set out in §14 Abs. 4 UStG, and that's where the electronic obligation kicks in when the customer is a German business.
The Kleinunternehmer rules have new thresholds. §19 Abs. 1 UStG requires that the previous year's Gesamtumsatz didn't exceed €25,000 and that the current year's doesn't exceed €100,000. §34a UStDV adds that their invoice «kann abweichend von § 14 Absatz 2 Satz 2 des Gesetzes immer als sonstige Rechnung» be transmitted. It exempts from issuing, not from receiving: the inbox still has to be ready.
There's a consumer-law detail that crosses over here. §312g Abs. 2 Nr. 9 BGB excludes the right of withdrawal in leisure service contracts «wenn der Vertrag für die Erbringung einen spezifischen Termin oder Zeitraum vorsieht». A dated ticket doesn't come with fourteen days for returns in Germany; anything you offer beyond that is your returns policy, not a legal obligation.
What VAT rate applies to tickets in Germany: 7% or 19%?
7% for concert and theatre tickets, 19% for almost everything else you sell on the day. §12 Abs. 2 Nr. 7 letter a) UStG reduces the rate for «die Eintrittsberechtigung für Theater, Konzerte und Museen, sowie die den Theatervorführungen und Konzerten vergleichbaren Darbietungen ausübender Künstler». Abs. 1 sets the general rate: «Die Steuer beträgt für jeden steuerpflichtigen Umsatz 19 Prozent der Bemessungsgrundlage».
| What you charge for | Rate | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Concert, theatre or museum ticket | 7% | §12 Abs. 2 Nr. 7 a) UStG |
| Comparable live artist performance | 7% | §12 Abs. 2 Nr. 7 a) UStG |
| Ticket to a techno or house event with a DJ | 7% if the music is the event's purpose | BFH, V R 17/17, 23 July 2020 |
| Beer or soft drink at the bar | 19% | §12 Abs. 1 UStG |
| Merchandise | 19% | §12 Abs. 1 UStG |
| Sponsorship with advertising consideration | 19% | §12 Abs. 1 UStG |
| Performance by a certified theatre or orchestra | Exempt | §4 Nr. 20 b) UStG |
The ruling deserves its own line because it resolved the question that generates the most queries among venues. The Bundesfinanzhof ruled in its decision V R 17/17, of 23 July 2020 that revenue from techno and house concert tickets is subject to the reduced rate when those musical performances constitute the event's own purpose and the other services are of such subordinate importance that they don't alter its character. The court also accepted that weekly DJ performances can have the character of a concert. The test isn't the genre: it's what the main draw of the night is.
The exemption under §4 Nr. 20 UStG is the most widely misunderstood. Letter a) exempts the revenue of theatres, orchestras, chamber ensembles, choirs, museums and other institutions of public-law legal entities, and that of equivalent private institutions when the competent Land authority certifies that they fulfil the same cultural functions. Letter b) extends the exemption to «die Veranstaltung von Theatervorführungen und Konzerten durch andere Unternehmer, wenn die Darbietungen von den unter Buchstabe a bezeichneten Theatern, Orchestern, Kammermusikensembles oder Chören erbracht werden». Our reading, not the text's: a private promoter is only exempt if the performer falls under letter a), and that depends on a Land certification that has to be requested and kept on file.
What format does your platform need to accept: XRechnung or ZUGFeRD?
The two the ministry cites. Its FAQ accepts XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1 onwards, with the caveat of the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles, because they don't contain all the data required by EN 16931. §14 Abs. 1 UStG also allows another format agreed between the parties if the required data can be correctly extracted from it, and EDI remains valid until the end of 2027 under §27 Abs. 38 UStG.
What doesn't change is the content. §14 Abs. 4 UStG keeps the same ten long-standing details: full name and address of both parties, the supplier's tax number or VAT ID, issue date, unique invoice number, quantity and type of what was supplied or the scope of the service, the time of supply, the consideration broken down by rate, the tax rate and amount, and references to retention or to «Gutschrift» where applicable. An E-Rechnung is the same content in a container a machine can read.
A different rule governs the storefront. §3 PAngV requires anyone offering services to consumers to state the total price, and its paragraph 3 adds that «wird ein Preis aufgegliedert, ist der Gesamtpreis hervorzuheben». If you break down booking fees, the total has to stand out over the breakdown. It's the German equivalent of what you already know from selling tickets online, and it's checked at the checkout, not in the accounts.
What does German law require of your box office till?
It doesn't require you to have a till: it requires you to lock down whichever one you have. §146a AO starts with anyone who records transactions «mit Hilfe eines elektronischen Aufzeichnungssystems» and requires each transaction to be captured «einzeln, vollständig, richtig, zeitgerecht und geordnet» and the system to be protected with «eine zertifizierte technische Sicherheitseinrichtung» — the TSE — made up of a security module, a storage medium and a uniform digital interface. Paragraph 2 requires a receipt to be issued to anyone involved in the transaction «in unmittelbarem zeitlichem Zusammenhang mit dem Geschäftsvorfall». The TSE requirement for till systems has been in force since 1 January 2020, according to the Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern.
Since 2025 there's also a new obligation that's easy to overlook: notifying the system to the Finanzamt. §146a Abs. 4 AO requires doing so «innerhalb eines Monats nach Anschaffung oder Außerbetriebnahme», with name, tax number, type of security device, serial number and dates. Hessen's tax authority sets out the list of affected devices — PC tills, tablet or app tills, electronic cash registers — and the channels: the ELSTER form, uploading an XML, or the ERiC interface. For systems acquired before 1 July 2025, the deadline was 31 July 2025; for later ones, one month.
A word of caution about what isn't yet law. The Bundesfinanzministerium has published, on its legislative projects page, a Referentenentwurf on a mandatory cash register requirement dated August 2026. We haven't been able to extract the text from the PDF, so we won't give thresholds or dates for that proposal here: what's currently in force remains §146a AO, which only applies to anyone using an electronic system. If you're organising in Germany in 2027, that bill is the first thing worth checking before buying new box-office equipment.
What does GEMA charge for a festival, and what happens if you don't send the setlist?
A percentage of ticket revenue, with minimums based on capacity, and a 10% surcharge if you don't declare the works performed. GEMA explains on its festivals page that it applies the U-K tariff to all music festivals, regardless of genre, and that notification must always be made in advance, with full details — setlists, ticket revenue and attendee numbers — within 21 working days of the day before the festival starts. The percentages published on that page, accessed on 2 October 2026, are 5.75% of revenue up to 2,000 people, 7.60% up to 15,000 and 8.00% above 15,000, with minimums of €25.10 up to 150 attendees, €50.20 up to 300, and €25.10 for each additional 150.
The surcharge has its own page. On Musikfolgennachberechnung, GEMA warns that it needs the list of works performed «spätestens sechs Wochen nach jeder Veranstaltung» and that, if it doesn't arrive on time, «berechnen wir zusätzlich 10 % der GEMA Vergütung». It isn't an administrative fine: the body records it as a damages invoice. At a medium-sized festival, six weeks of forgetting is worth more than the ticketing software. The division of roles is reminiscent of rights management in Spain with SGAE, AGEDI and AIE, though the percentages and deadlines aren't alike.
Who pays the Künstlersozialabgabe for a concert?
The organiser, by the very nature of the role, and from the first euro. §24 Abs. 1 KSVG makes subject to the Künstlersozialabgabe, in its number 2, «Theater (ausgenommen Filmtheater), Orchester, Chöre und vergleichbare Unternehmen» and, in its number 3, «Theater-, Konzert- und Gastspieldirektionen sowie sonstige Unternehmen, deren wesentlicher Zweck darauf gerichtet ist, für die Aufführung oder Darbietung künstlerischer oder publizistischer Werke oder Leistungen zu sorgen». A promoter falls under that number 3 by the very definition of its purpose.
Abs. 2 is a different matter, and it's worth not confusing the two. It covers businesses that hire artists for their own advertising or that earn income from their works without being a promoter, with two safety valves: annual fees have to exceed €1,000, and up to three events a year are excluded. A company that puts on its annual party isn't in the same box as someone who makes a living from programming.
The rate is falling in 2026. The Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales announced on 24 July 2025 that the Abgabesatz drops to 4.9% in 2026, down from the current 5.0%, and the Künstlersozialkasse itself publishes both figures in its table. The deadline is the one set by §27 KSVG: declaring the sum of the previous year's fees «spätestens bis zum 31. März des Folgejahres», with monthly advance payments due within ten days of the following month, calculated on a twelfth of the previous year's base, and not required below €40.
What do you withhold when you hire a foreign artist?
15%, and you're the one who pays it in. §50a Abs. 1 Nr. 1 EStG collects the withholding tax at source on income earned «durch im Inland ausgeübte künstlerische, sportliche, artistische, unterhaltende oder ähnliche Darbietungen» by persons with limited tax liability. The rate is 15% of gross income. There's a floor: «Bei Einkünften im Sinne des Absatzes 1 Nummer 1 wird ein Steuerabzug nicht erhoben, wenn die Einnahmen je Darbietung 250 Euro nicht übersteigen».
The procedure is quarterly. Withholding tax deducted in a calendar quarter is declared and paid to the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern by the tenth day of the month following the quarter. Two consequences for a festival budget: the fee you negotiate net isn't what you actually pay, and the payment deadline doesn't coincide with the event date, so the withheld money has to still be there when it's time to pay it.
| Payment by the organiser | What applies | When |
|---|---|---|
| Fee to a self-employed German artist | Künstlersozialabgabe, 4.9% in 2026 | Annual return by 31 March; monthly advance payments |
| Fee to a non-resident artist | 15% withholding under §50a EStG | To the BZSt, by the 10th of the month following the quarter |
| Music at the festival | GEMA's U-K tariff | Prior notification; setlist within six weeks |
| Invoice to another German business | E-Rechnung in EN 16931 format | 2027 or 2028 depending on Gesamtumsatz |
And Futura Tickets — what should you demand from the platform?
Futura Tickets is a Spanish SaaS ticketing platform for professional organisers, with sales and access control in 9 languages and across 11 country domains. Futura Tickets charges no monthly fee, €0 a month, and signing up costs €0, with no setup cost or lock-in. With Futura Tickets, the attendee database belongs 100% to the organiser: emails and phone numbers are handed over in full, in compliance with the GDPR, which is what lets you reconcile sales with invoices without asking anyone for anything. On the E-Rechnung, the right question to ask any provider — including us — is in writing and in three parts: what document is given to the attendee and whether it meets §33 UStDV, what structured format is exported for B2B invoices, and whether the box-office system has a TSE when used in Germany. Commercial terms are on the pricing page.
Checklist before selling in Germany
Seven checks. None of them need anything new to be published.
Work out your E-Rechnung date. Check your 2026 Gesamtumsatz. If it exceeded €800,000, your obligation to issue starts on 1 January 2027; if not, 1 January 2028. Receiving has already been mandatory since 2025, and that includes having an inbox that accepts XRechnung and ZUGFeRD.
Separate box office from B2B billing. Tickets sold to individuals are out. Sponsorship, venue hire, co-production and services to other German businesses are in. They're two separate streams, and it's worth keeping them separate in your accounts too.
Check the €250 threshold. Any ticket or pass above that amount no longer fits within §33 UStDV and needs a full invoice. List the products that exceed it before you open sales.
Document why you apply the 7% rate. Keep the poster, the line-up and the terms of the artist contract. If the event isn't clearly a concert, the BFH's test in V R 17/17 is whether the music is the night's own purpose, and that's proved with paperwork.
Request the Land certification if you're going to apply §4 Nr. 20. The exemption under letter b) depends on the performer falling under letter a). Without a certificate, don't apply it.
Put GEMA in your calendar twice. Once before the event to notify it, and again within the following six weeks for the setlist. The second reminder is worth 10% of the invoice.
Set aside the withholdings. The 15% under §50a EStG for non-resident artists and the 4.9% Künstlersozialabgabe aren't costs you discover when closing the books: they're money you've already collected at the box office that isn't yours. The same cash discipline that any well-run bar POS system demands.
If you're coming from Spain, the mental model is similar to VeriFactu and event invoicing, with one fundamental difference: here the issue isn't how your software signs each invoice, but what format it travels in and to whom. And the VAT-rate split doesn't carry over either: what a general percentage resolves for Spanish VAT on tickets is decided in Germany by §12, §4 Nr. 20 and a 2020 ruling.
Sources
- §14 UStG: Ausstellung von Rechnungen, definition of elektronische Rechnung and the B2B obligation (Gesetze im Internet)
- §27 Abs. 38 UStG: transitional regime for electronic invoicing and the €800,000 threshold (Gesetze im Internet)
- §12 UStG: general 19% rate and reduced 7% rate for theatre, concert and museum tickets (Gesetze im Internet)
- §4 Nr. 20 UStG: exemption for theatres, orchestras, museums and the organisers of their performances (Gesetze im Internet)
- §19 UStG: Kleinunternehmer thresholds, €25,000 and €100,000 (Gesetze im Internet)
- §33 UStDV: Kleinbetragsrechnung up to €250 and its minimum details (Gesetze im Internet)
- §34a UStDV: Kleinunternehmer invoices and their transmission as sonstige Rechnung (Gesetze im Internet)
- §146a AO: electronic recording system, TSE, Belegausgabepflicht and notification to the Finanzamt (Gesetze im Internet)
- §312g BGB: right of withdrawal and its exclusion for leisure services with a fixed date (Gesetze im Internet)
- §3 PAngV: obligation to state the total price and highlight it when broken down (Gesetze im Internet)
- §50a EStG: 15% withholding tax at source on non-resident performances and the €250 floor (Gesetze im Internet)
- §24 KSVG: businesses liable for the Künstlersozialabgabe, including Konzertdirektionen (Gesetze im Internet)
- §27 KSVG: annual return by 31 March and monthly advance payments (Gesetze im Internet)
- Bundesfinanzministerium: FAQ on mandatory E-Rechnung from 1 January 2025
- Bundesfinanzministerium: letter of 15 October 2025 on mandatory E-Rechnung and the amendment to the Umsatzsteuer-Anwendungserlass (PDF)
- Bundesfinanzministerium: Referentenentwurf on a mandatory cash register requirement, August 2026 (PDF)
- Bundesfinanzhof: ruling V R 17/17, of 23 July 2020, reduced rate for techno and house concerts
- GEMA: how to announce a festival, the U-K tariff, percentages and minimums
- GEMA: Musikfolgennachberechnung, the six-week deadline and the 10% surcharge
- BMAS: the Künstlersozialabgabe drops to 4.9% in 2026 (press release of 24 July 2025)
- Künstlersozialkasse: current Abgabesatz and the reporting procedure for businesses
- Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern: electronic till systems and the TSE requirement since 2020
- Finanzamt Hessen: obligation to notify till systems, deadlines and ELSTER channels