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Belgium VAT invoice requirements

Since 1 January 2026 a Belgian business invoicing another Belgian business sends a structured e-invoice through the Peppol network; a PDF no longer counts. Invoices to consumers and to businesses not established in Belgium stay outside that rule.

Last checked Sources

Invoice
facture factuur in Dutch
VAT number
BE + 10 digits numéro de TVA [1]
Standard VAT rate
21% [2]
Keep invoices
7 years [3]
E-invoicing
B2B Peppol e-invoices mandatory since 2026

What an invoice in Belgium must show

Every EU VAT invoice carries the details of Article 226 of the VAT Directive: number, dates, both parties, VAT numbers, goods or services, taxable amount per rate, rate and VAT. The overview lists them. Belgium adds:

This page lists only the EU-wide fields for Belgium; Belgian additions are set out in Royal Decree No. 1 under the Belgian VAT Code, published by the federal tax administration (FPS Finance). Before you rely on this page, check the invoicing rules of the Belgian VAT Code on the FPS Finance site or with your accountant.

VAT rates in Belgium

Belgium has two reduced rates, 6% and 12%; 12% is also its parking rate. The goods and services covered by each rate are listed in the Belgian VAT Code's tables. An invoice shows the taxable amount and the VAT for each rate it uses [2].

VAT rates in Belgium
RateApplies to (examples)
21%Standard rate: everything without a lower rate
12%Reduced rate
6%Reduced rate
0%Zero rate

Issuing and keeping invoices

Keeping invoices
Keep invoices for 7 years from 1 January of the year after their issue date (some property-related invoices 15 or 25 years). Storage must guarantee authenticity and integrity; keeping the original XML is recommended. [3]

E-invoicing in Belgium

Belgium went straight to a broad B2B mandate on 1 January 2026, without real-time reporting at first. Reporting of invoice data to the tax administration is planned for 2028 but is not yet law.

  1. 1 January 2026

    B2B: Belgian businesses issue and receive structured e-invoices via Peppol

    Structured invoices are sent via the Peppol network, in principle in Peppol-BIS format (another EN 16931-compliant format only if both parties agree). A PDF by e-mail or via a platform is no longer enough. Applies to invoices issued from 1 Jan 2026 even for earlier transactions. Small businesses under the VAT franchise are included. [4]

    In force

  2. 1 January 2026

    Who is outside the B2B obligation

    Not covered: invoices to private customers (B2C), businesses not established in Belgium without a fixed establishment (even if VAT-registered there), businesses making only Article 44 exempt supplies, bankrupt businesses. Flat-rate (forfait) taxpayers are exempt from sending only, until 1 Jan 2028 at the latest. Businesses selling only to consumers must still be able to receive e-invoices. [5]

    In force

  3. 1 January 2026

    Fallback when the customer cannot receive e-invoices

    If the customer cannot technically receive e-invoices, the supplier may issue a paper or PDF/Word invoice; the customer must arrange to receive e-invoices without delay. [6]

    In force

  4. 2028 (provisional)

    E-reporting of domestic B2B invoice data

    In the federal coalition agreement with timing 2028, not yet transposed into Belgian law. In the 2026 phase invoice data is not sent to the government. [7]

    Planned

  5. By 1 July 2030

    Intra-EU B2B e-invoicing and reporting (ViDA)

    Belgium will implement reporting for intra-Community transactions by 1 July 2030 at the latest. [7]

    Planned

  6. Contracts published since 1 March 2024

    B2G: public contracts

    E-invoicing compulsory for public contracts generally of €3,000 or more excluding VAT; federal authorities apply it below €3,000 too. [8]

    In force

Good to know for Shopify sellers

Selling into Belgium from another EU country? An invoice follows the rules of the country where the supply takes place. If you report your sales to consumers through the One Stop Shop (OSS), the rules of your OSS country apply instead, and when a business customer pays the VAT under the reverse charge, your own country's rules apply [11].

  • The small-business VAT franchise (turnover threshold €25,000) does not exempt a business from the structured B2B e-invoice obligation. [9]
  • Shopify sellers selling only to consumers do not have to send Peppol invoices to them, but must be able to receive structured e-invoices from their own Belgian suppliers. [10]
  • Foreign sellers that are VAT-registered in Belgium without a Belgian fixed establishment are outside the e-invoice obligation. [6]

Make an invoice for Belgium

For a one-off sale, the free invoice generator lays out seller, buyer, VAT per line and the reverse charge note in your browser and saves a PDF. Add the national details listed above yourself.

For every Shopify order, Paperly: Invoice Order Printer builds the invoice from the order with the totals Shopify recorded, numbers invoices without gaps in your own series, issues a credit note for each refund that refers to the invoice, and keeps issued invoices unchanged for 10 years. When you enter your VAT number, the PDF carries Factur-X / ZUGFeRD XML (EN 16931).

Paperly does not send invoices through Peppol. A business established in Belgium that invoices other Belgian businesses sends those e-invoices through a Peppol access point.

Open the invoice generator Install Paperly on Shopify

Sources

Every fact on this page links to one of these pages, published by the national tax authority, the official law gazette or the European Commission. Last checked November 2026.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and your case may differ: check the tax authority’s current guidance or ask an accountant before you rely on it.

  1. Aufbau der Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer in den EU-Mitgliedstaaten (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, Germany)
  2. VAT rules and rates (European Commission, Your Europe, last checked 13 Jul 2026)
  3. How do I keep invoices received via electronic invoicing? (einvoice.belgium.be, 8 Apr 2026)
  4. General questions about electronic invoicing (einvoice.belgium.be)
  5. Pour qui la facturation électronique deviendra-t-elle obligatoire ? (efacture.belgium.be, 9 Oct 2024)
  6. E-facturation : mesures en matière de TVA à partir du 1er janvier 2026 (efacture.belgium.be, 19 Dec 2025)
  7. General questions about e-reporting (einvoice.belgium.be)
  8. From when is e-invoicing mandatory? (einvoice.belgium.be, FPS BOSA / FPS Finance)
  9. General questions on the B2B obligation (einvoice.belgium.be)
  10. Structured electronic invoices between companies are compulsory since 2026 (einvoice.belgium.be, 18 Sep 2024)
  11. EUR-Lex: Council Directive (EU) 2017/2455, Article 219a on which member state's invoicing rules apply

Invoice rules in the other EU countries

The EU baseline every country starts from is on the overview page.