Croatia VAT invoice requirements
Since 1 January 2026 a Croatian business fiscalizes every invoice to a consumer, whatever the payment method, and issues structured e-invoices (eRačun) to other Croatian businesses. A račun to a consumer carries the codes the tax authority returns.
Last checked Sources
What an invoice in Croatia 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. Croatia adds:
- B2C fiscalization data
- B2C invoices must show the time of issue (hour and minute), the operator label, the payment method, the JIR (unique invoice identifier returned by the Tax Administration), the ZKI (issuer's protection code) and a QR code. [3]
- Reverse-charge statement
- On a reverse-charge invoice, state that the VAT liability is transferred under Article 17(1) of the VAT Act (prijenos porezne obveze). [4]
- OIB and VAT ID
- The taxable person must show its OIB on the invoice. For intra-EU transactions, the VAT IDs of supplier and buyer are required. [4]
VAT rates in Croatia
An invoice shows the taxable amount and the VAT for each rate it uses [2].
| Rate | Applies to (examples) |
|---|---|
| 25% | Standard rate: everything without a lower rate |
| 13% | Reduced rate |
| 5% | Reduced rate |
Issuing and keeping invoices
- Keeping invoices
- Business books, accounting documents and records of daily cash turnover are kept for 10 years from the start of the limitation period, unless a special rule sets a longer period (General Tax Act Art. 85(18), consolidated text up to NN 114/22). [5]
E-invoicing in Croatia
Croatia moved both channels at once in 2026: consumer invoices are fiscalized for every payment method, and VAT-registered businesses established in Croatia exchange structured eRačun invoices that are fiscalized too. Smaller businesses outside VAT follow in 2027.
- 1 January 2026
B2C fiscalization of every payment method
Since 1 January 2026, B2C invoices must be fiscalized for every payment method: cash, cards, transfer to a bank account and other methods (before 2026 only cash-type payments). Each invoice is sent to the Tax Administration in real time and gets a JIR. Intra-EU distance sales to consumers (place of supply in another Member State) are not fiscalized in Croatia. [3]
In force
- 1 January 2026
Mandatory eRačun for domestic B2B and B2G, fiscalized (Fiskalizacija 2.0)
VAT-registered businesses must issue and receive eRačun from 1 January 2026, as XML/UBL following the EU standard with the Croatian extension. The issuer fiscalizes at the moment of issue; the recipient within 5 working days of receipt. Rejected eRačuns are reported by the 20th of the following month. Not issuing an eRačun when required is the most serious offence under Art. 71 of the Fiscalization Act. [6]
In force
- 1 January 2026
Businesses outside VAT: receiving eRačun
They must receive eRačun and fiscalize received ones from 2026. [6]
In force
- 1 January 2027
Businesses outside VAT: issuing eRačun
From 1 January 2027 they must also issue and fiscalize eRačun. In 2026 they may still issue paper invoices for B2B sales paid by card or cash. [6]
Planned
Good to know for Shopify sellers
Selling into Croatia 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 [7].
- A seller registered for VAT in Croatia without a seat, residence or habitual residence there is not obliged to issue or fiscalize eRačun. Branches of foreign companies and foreign companies with only a Croatian VAT ID are not treated as eRačun issuers or recipients. [6]
- Sales to buyers established abroad are not domestic transactions, so no eRačun is required for them. [6]
- A Croatian-established online shop must fiscalize every consumer sale since 2026, including card and bank-transfer payments, and print the JIR, ZKI and QR code on the receipt. [3]
Make an invoice for Croatia
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 fiscalize invoices or send eRačun. A business established in Croatia fiscalizes its consumer invoices and exchanges eRačun through fiscalization-ready software.
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.
- Porezna uprava: Obavijest u vezi PDV identifikacijskog broja (22 May 2013)
- VAT rules and rates (Your Europe, European Union)
- Porezna uprava: Fiskalizacija računa u krajnjoj potrošnji - B2C poslovanje (updated 7 Oct 2026)
- Porezna uprava: FAQ izdavanje računa i knjigovodstvena dokumentacija
- Opći porezni zakon, consolidated text (Porezna uprava)
- Porezna uprava: Izdavatelji i primatelji eRačuna te obveza izdavanja eRačuna (updated 17 Apr 2026)
- EUR-Lex: Council Directive (EU) 2017/2455, Article 219a on which member state's invoicing rules apply