E-invoices for German clubs and associations (Verein)
Whether your German club or association (Verein) has to issue e-invoices does not depend on its legal form but on what the money is paid for. Membership fees and donations: never. Sponsorship, catering or renting the hall to companies: soon, yes — unless the Verein is a small business. Here is what applies to which area, and how to create the invoice, free of charge until 31 December 2026.
- Fees and donations: no invoice
- Receiving: since 2025
- Issuing: from 2027 or 2028
- Free until 31.12.2026
The four areas — and what applies to each
For German VAT, a Verein is not a business only in its non-profit core (the “ideeller Bereich”). As soon as it supplies goods or services for payment, it is a business — even without intending to make a profit and even if it only serves its members (§ 2(1) UStG). The e-invoicing obligation follows exactly this line:
| Area | Typical income | VAT | E-invoice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-profit core (ideeller Bereich) | Genuine membership fees, donations, grants | outside the scope of VAT | no — there is no supply, so there is no invoice |
| Asset management (Vermögensverwaltung) | Letting rooms and space | within scope; letting usually exempt under § 4 No. 12 | only if the Verein has opted to tax (§ 9 UStG) |
| Purpose-related operation (Zweckbetrieb) | Admission fees, participant fees for courses | within scope; often 7% or exempt | yes, if taxable and billed to a business |
| Commercial operation (wirtschaftlicher Geschäftsbetrieb) | Club fair, catering, advertising, sponsorship with a service in return | within scope, usually 19% | yes, when billed to businesses |
A membership fee is “genuine” only if it covers the shared interests of all members. If a member pays for a special service that benefits only them, that is consideration for a supply — and within the scope of VAT.
When your Verein must issue e-invoices
An e-invoice is mandatory when all five of these apply:
- The recipient is a business in Germany. There is no e-invoicing obligation towards private individuals — including members paying privately.
- The supply is taxable. Supplies exempt under § 4 Nos. 8 to 29 UStG — such as letting, participant fees for courses of non-profit bodies, youth welfare — carry no invoicing obligation and therefore no e-invoicing obligation. Exception: if exempt and taxable supplies are on the same invoice, the obligation covers the whole invoice.
- The Verein is not a small business (see below).
- The amount is above €250 gross. Below that, any invoice form is allowed.
- The deadline has arrived: from 1 January 2027 if the previous year’s total turnover exceeded €800,000, otherwise from 1 January 2028. Until then you may keep issuing paper invoices, and PDF invoices with the recipient’s consent.
The €800,000 refers to total turnover under § 19(2) UStG — membership fees, donations and most exempt supplies do not count. The vast majority of clubs therefore fall under the 2028 date.
Small-business Verein: no obligation to issue
A Verein can also be a small business under § 19 UStG: total turnover of no more than €25,000 in the previous year and no more than €100,000 in the current year. It then never has to issue e-invoices, not even from 2028 — the exemption in § 34a UStDV has no end date.
Only what the Verein earns as a business counts. An example based on the explanation of the Bavarian Ministry of Finance: in 2025 a club receives €8,000 in donations and fees and €28,000 from its club fair. Only the €28,000 counts — that is above €25,000, so in 2026 the club is no longer a small business. More on the scheme: e-invoices for small businesses.
Receiving e-invoices
If your Verein is active in one of the three business areas, it has had to be able to accept e-invoices for purchases in that area since 1 January 2025 — even as a small business, and even if its only turnover is exempt, such as letting. If a purchase is used for both the non-profit and the business area, the e-invoice applies as well.
A Verein that is active only in its non-profit core does not have to receive e-invoices. For purchases made solely for the non-profit area, a paper or PDF invoice remains sufficient.
An email inbox is enough to receive them. The file is kept as it arrived, for eight years — see Archiving e-invoices. Whether an incoming file is in order is shown by the validator, free and without signing up.
Six typical cases
The Verein actively advertises for the sponsor — a taxable supply to a business. From the deadline, the invoice must be an e-invoice. If the sponsor is merely mentioned without special emphasis, there is no supply.
Commercial operation, 19%. Above €250 gross, an e-invoice from the deadline.
Usually exempt under § 4 No. 12 — no e-invoicing obligation. If the Verein has opted to tax, it applies after all.
Genuine membership fee, non-profit core: no invoice, no e-invoice. Even if the member is a company.
Advertising for a company is a commercial operation. Above €250 gross, an e-invoice from the deadline — unless the Verein is a small business.
Spectators pay as private individuals: no e-invoicing obligation. And receipts up to €250 gross may be issued in any form anyway.
An e-invoice for your Verein in four steps
With email or a Google account, no payment details. One login for the club is enough.
Name, address, tax number or VAT ID, bank details, logo — once, and they appear on every invoice.
Recipient, line items, VAT rate 19% or 7%. For a small-business Verein there is the § 19 UStG exemption with a pre-filled note.
The ZUGFeRD file — a PDF with embedded XML — downloads. The validator shows whether it meets the rules.
To be straightforward: E-Rechnung Pro is not club-management software. There is no member administration, no fee collection and no donation receipts, and you send the invoice to the recipient by email yourself. It creates e-invoices and checks incoming ones — exactly for the few invoices to companies that clubs usually deal with.
What it costs
Free and without limits until 31 December 2026. After that, the Free plan includes 10 documents a month and 10 checks a day — usually enough for a club’s sponsorship and letting invoices. On the Free plan and during the beta, the invoice footer carries a small “Erstellt mit zugferd.randomstar.org”. All plans on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Does every Verein have to be able to receive e-invoices from 2025?
Only a Verein that is active as a business — in asset management, a purpose-related operation or a commercial operation — and only for purchases in that area. A Verein active only in its non-profit core does not. An email inbox is enough.
Does a non-profit (gemeinnützig) Verein have to issue e-invoices?
Non-profit status alone does not exempt it. What matters is whether there is a taxable supply to a business above €250 and whether the Verein is a small business. If so, the obligation applies from 1 January 2028 at the latest.
Do membership fees need an e-invoice?
No. Genuine membership fees are not payment for a supply, so there is no invoicing obligation. Fees for special services to individual members are different — those are within the scope of VAT.
And donations?
No. Donations belong to the non-profit core. A donation receipt (Zuwendungsbestätigung) is not an invoice and is not covered by the e-invoicing obligation.
Does the obligation apply to our sponsorship invoices?
Yes, if the Verein provides an advertising service to the sponsor, is not a small business and the amount exceeds €250 gross — from 2028, or from 2027 with total turnover above €800,000.
Our Verein lets out its hall. Do we need e-invoices?
Not for exempt letting. You still have to be able to receive e-invoices for that area. And if the Verein has opted to charge VAT, the letting is taxable — and the obligation to issue applies too.
How is total turnover counted for the €800,000?
As for the small-business threshold under § 19(2) UStG: all of the Verein’s supplies within the scope of VAT, minus certain exempt supplies such as those under § 4 Nos. 12 and 22. Fees and donations do not count.
Is this free for clubs?
Without limits until 31 December 2026, then 10 documents a month on the Free plan. Checking incoming invoices is free and requires no sign-up.
Your club’s first e-invoice
Create an account, enter the club’s details, fill in the invoice to your sponsor — the ZUGFeRD file downloads. Free until 31.12.2026.