Last updated: November 2026. This page is a summary for freelancers, not legal or tax advice. Dates and rules change, so check the official source for your country and ask your accountant before you act.
Between 2026 and 2030, many European countries are making structured e-invoices mandatory between businesses. A PDF sent by email will stop being a valid invoice in more and more cases. This page lists, country by country, what changes, when, and who is covered, with a focus on freelancers and sole traders.
The short version
- Most mandates are domestic. They apply to businesses established in the country, not automatically to a freelancer who bills a client there from abroad.
- The format and the channel differ by country. Belgium uses the Peppol network, and Luxembourg already uses it for public procurement. Germany accepts XRechnung or ZUGFeRD files without a central platform. France uses accredited platforms. Poland uses its national KSeF system.
- The EU-wide rule for cross-border B2B invoices is planned for 1 July 2030.
Country by country
| Country | What changes | When | Who is covered | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Structured e-invoices for domestic B2B | In force since 1 January 2026. Penalties applied from 1 April 2026 after a three-month tolerance period. | VAT-registered businesses established in Belgium, including freelancers and part-time self-employed. Some VAT-exempt professions are not covered. | Peppol network, Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 |
| Luxembourg | Public sector: already mandatory. Domestic B2B: a bill is proposed. | Public sector: for all suppliers since 18 March 2023. Domestic B2B (bill no. 8815, not yet law): receiving from 1 January 2028, issuing from 1 July 2028 for large and medium businesses and from 1 January 2029 for everyone. | Businesses established in Luxembourg. No obligation for consumer invoices is proposed. | Peppol, already used for public procurement |
| Croatia | Fiscalisation 2.0, B2B e-invoicing | 1 January 2026. Businesses not registered for VAT: 1 January 2027. | Businesses established in Croatia | Peppol, with real-time fiscalisation |
| Poland | National e-invoicing system KSeF | Large taxpayers February 2026, others April 2026. Micro-enterprises with monthly sales up to PLN 10,000: January 2027. | Businesses established in Poland | National KSeF platform |
| France | E-invoicing and e-reporting | September 2026: every business must be able to receive, and large and mid-size companies issue. September 2027: everyone issues. | Businesses established in France | Accredited platforms, with a public directory |
| Germany | B2B e-invoicing | Receiving since January 2025. Issuing from January 2027 above EUR 800,000 turnover, and for everyone from January 2028. | Businesses established in Germany | XRechnung or ZUGFeRD (EN 16931), no central platform required |
| Spain | VERI*FACTU and B2B e-invoicing | Sources differ. VERI*FACTU in January 2027. B2B e-invoicing phased from October 2027 for large companies to October 2028 for others. | Businesses established in Spain | National rules, to be confirmed |
| Greece | myDATA e-invoicing | All businesses from October 2026 | Businesses established in Greece | myDATA platform |
| Italy | Already in force | Since 2019 | Businesses established in Italy | SdI platform, FatturaPA format |
Also on the radar: the Netherlands (public sector today), Norway (B2B sending proposed for January 2028), Slovakia and Denmark. Check the current status before relying on any of these.
Luxembourg: what applies to a freelancer
- Today: invoices to public sector buyers must be structured e-invoices, sent through Peppol or through MyGuichet.lu. This has applied to suppliers of every size since 18 March 2023. There is no general obligation between businesses yet.
- Proposed: bill no. 8815 would make e-invoicing mandatory for domestic B2B transactions between businesses established in Luxembourg. As proposed, all businesses would have to be able to receive from 1 January 2028, large and medium businesses would issue from 1 July 2028, and everyone from 1 January 2029, reusing the Peppol network. It is a bill, not a law, so the dates can still change.
- What to do now: nothing is required before the bill passes, but choosing an access point and getting a Peppol identifier early means you can receive invoices on time. Check the official portal for the current status.
- If you bill clients in Belgium: for now, a Luxembourg freelancer without a Belgian VAT registration has no Peppol obligation toward Belgian clients, because the Belgian mandate covers businesses established in Belgium.
I invoice from another country. Does this apply to me?
For several of these mandates, the answer is not automatically. The rules for Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Poland and Slovakia exclude VAT registrations without an establishment in the country, while Hungary, Romania and Portugal include them. In Belgium, a foreign business without a Belgian VAT registration is outside the 2026 mandate.
In practice, a client in a mandating country may still ask a foreign supplier for a compliant invoice, because its own systems expect one. When that happens, the question to ask the client is which format and channel it accepts. The EU-wide rule for cross-border B2B invoices is planned for 1 July 2030.
What a freelancer can do now
- Find out which rule covers you. It depends on where your business is established and where your client is.
- Ask your accountant which channel they expect, since they often receive your invoices.
- Know your format and channel. In Belgium that means an access point on the Peppol network and an identifier. In Germany, a structured file. In France, an accredited platform.
- Prepare to receive. In Belgium, even a freelancer who only bills consumers needs to be able to receive invoices from suppliers.
- Keep your records. Retention rules vary by country, so check yours.
Where Flowara fits
Flowara is a freelance app for Mac and Windows: projects, time tracking and invoicing in one place, with Peppol e-invoicing. It sends Peppol invoices (Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, UBL 2.1) through your own Invoro access point account, and Peppol sending is included in the free version. It is relevant where Peppol is the channel, such as Belgium. It does not produce XRechnung, ZUGFeRD or Factur-X files, it does not connect to KSeF or to French accredited platforms, and it currently sends invoices without receiving them. If your country uses another channel, check what your invoicing tool supports before you rely on it.
Official sources
These are the official pages for each country. Check them for the current status before you act.
- Belgium: efacture.belgium.be, the federal e-invoicing site run by FPS BOSA, FPS Finance and FPS Economy
- Luxembourg: efacturation.public.lu, the government e-invoicing portal, and bill no. 8815 at the Chamber of Deputies
- France: impots.gouv.fr, the e-invoicing reform page
- Germany: Federal Ministry of Finance, e-invoicing FAQ (in German)
- Poland: ksef.podatki.gov.pl, the Ministry of Finance KSeF site
- EU: Directive (EU) 2025/516, VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA)