Estonia VAT invoice requirements

An Estonian arve has to be issued fast: within 7 calendar days of the supply. Since 1 July 2025 the standard rate is 24%, and a business registered as an e-invoice recipient can demand a structured e-invoice.

Last checked November 2026Sources

Invoice: arve
VAT number: EE + 9 digits KMKR number [1]
Standard VAT rate: 24% [2]
Simplified invoice: Only transport and machines, up to €160 [4]
Keep invoices: 7 years [3]
E-invoicing: B2B right to an e-invoice since July 2025

What an invoice in Estonia 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. Estonia adds:

VAT amount in euros: The VAT payable must be indicated in euros (VAT Act § 37(7)). [3]
Buyer's VAT number for intra-EU supplies: Only a valid buyer VAT number on the invoice lets an intra-EU supply be zero-rated; without it the supply is taxed as domestic. [3]
Legal references (VAT Act § 37(8)): Exempt, zero-rated and intra-EU supplies and special schemes need a reference to the VAT Act or the VAT Directive; for exemption and 0% this may be replaced by another clear and unambiguous note. Exports of goods need no reference. [3]
Reverse charge wording: Write "reverse charge" whenever the supply is subject to reverse charge, even if it is exempt or zero-rated. [3]
Tax representative: If a foreign business appointed a tax representative: the representative's VAT number, name, address and a reference to § 20(6) of the VAT Act or Article 204 of Directive 2006/112/EC. [3]

VAT rates in Estonia

The standard rate is 24% from 1 July 2025. Press publications were 5% from 1 August 2022 to 31 December 2024 and are 9% again from 1 January 2025. Transitional rules let cash-accounting businesses keep the old 9% accommodation rate (and 5% press rate) for supplies invoiced before 2025, until 31 December 2026. An invoice shows the taxable amount and the VAT for each rate it uses [2].

VAT rates in Estonia
Rate	Applies to (examples)
24%	Standard rate: everything without a lower rate
13%	Accommodation, or accommodation with breakfast (since 1 January 2025; previously 9%)
9%	Books and educational literature (print and electronic); medicinal products and certain medical devices for disabled persons; press publications (print and electronic)
0%	Exports and intra-EU supplies, among others

Issuing and keeping invoices

Currency: The VAT amount must be shown in euros. [3]
When to issue: Within 7 calendar days of dispatch or making goods available or providing the service (or of receiving an advance payment). Intra-EU supplies of goods and general-rule services to EU businesses: by the 15th day of the month following the supply (VAT Act § 37). [3]
Simplified invoice (lihtsustatud arve): Allowed only for passenger transport and invoices printed by parking meters, automated petrol stations and similar machines, when the amount does not exceed €160 excluding VAT. Contents: issue date, issuer's name and VAT number, description of goods or services, taxable amount and VAT payable; the buyer adds its own name and VAT number. A shop cash-register receipt (including self-checkout) is not a simplified invoice. [4]
Keeping invoices: VAT Act: keep copies of issued and received invoices in chronological order for 7 years from their issue or receipt, in their original form (electronic invoices electronically). Accounting Act: source documents for 7 years after the end of the financial year. [3]

E-invoicing in Estonia

Estonia does not make every invoice electronic. A business buyer registered in the e-Business Register can require an e-invoice, and real-time VAT reporting is being tested. There is no B2C mandate.

1 July 2019
B2G: invoices to public sector buyers
Public sector entities are registered e-invoice recipients and may now accept other forms by exception. [5]
In force
1 July 2025
B2B: a buyer registered as an e-invoice recipient can demand an e-invoice
Accounting Act § 7¹(7). About 18,000 companies are registered as recipients. Both the Estonian standard (EVS 923:2014) and the European (Peppol) standard are allowed. [6]
In force
2027
VAT real-time reporting based on transaction data (XBRL GL)
In test phase; invoice-format neutral. [5]
Planned

Good to know for Shopify sellers

Selling into Estonia 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].

Before invoicing an Estonian business, check whether it is registered as an e-invoice recipient in the e-Business Register; if so it can demand an e-invoice. [6]
The 7-day issue deadline is short: invoices are due within 7 calendar days of dispatch, not at month end. [3]
Simplified invoices are not available to ordinary shops (online or offline); they are limited to passenger transport and vending-type machines up to €160. [4]

Make an invoice for Estonia

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).

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.

Invoice rules in the other EU countries

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