Hungary VAT invoice requirements
Every Hungarian számla issued with invoicing software is reported to the tax authority NAV the moment it is issued, including invoices to consumers. VAT is always stated in forint, and the standard rate of 27% is the highest in the EU.
Last checked Sources
What an invoice in Hungary 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. Hungary adds:
- Buyer's Hungarian tax number
- A Hungarian-established seller must show the first 8 digits of a Hungarian VAT-registered buyer's tax number, whatever the VAT amount. Under domestic reverse charge the buyer's full 11-digit tax number is required (also for foreign sellers registered in Hungary). [2]
- Buyer name and address always
- The buyer's name and address are mandatory even when the buyer is a private individual. [2]
- VAT in forint
- The VAT charged must be shown in HUF even if the price is in a foreign currency (except on invoices for supplies not made in Hungary). [2]
- Fixed wordings
- "fordított adózás" (reverse charge), "pénzforgalmi elszámolás" (cash accounting), "önszámlázás" (self-billing), and "különbözet szerinti szabályozás – ..." for the margin schemes. [2]
- Fiscal representative
- If a fiscal representative is used: its name, address and tax number. [2]
VAT rates in Hungary
On a simplified invoice the rate is shown as the tax fraction of the gross price: 21.26% for 27%, 15.25% for 18%, 4.76% for 5%. An invoice shows the taxable amount and the VAT for each rate it uses [2].
| Rate | Applies to (examples) |
|---|---|
| 27% | Standard rate: everything without a lower rate |
| 18% | Reduced rate |
| 5% | Reduced rate |
Issuing and keeping invoices
- Language
- An invoice may be issued in Hungarian or any other living language. In a tax audit the issuer can be required to provide a certified Hungarian translation at its own cost if the facts cannot be established otherwise. A receipt (nyugta) may be issued only in Hungarian. [2]
- Currency
- The price may be in any currency, but VAT must be stated in HUF. Use a Hungarian bank's selling rate, or the MNB or ECB rate if that choice was notified to NAV in advance (MNB and ECB cannot both be chosen). As a rule, the rate valid on the tax point applies. [2]
- When to issue
- If paid at the latest on supply: immediately, at the latest at supply. If paid after supply and VAT is charged: within 8 days of supply. Exempt intra-EU supplies of goods and cross-border reverse-charge B2B services: by the 15th of the month after supply. [2]
- Simplified invoice (egyszerűsített adattartalmú számla)
- Allowed for advance-payment invoices and for sales paid at the latest on supply (both only if the data is in HUF), and for invoices with a gross total of HUF 25,000 or less (the HUF equivalent of EUR 100), except intra-EU supplies and distance sales. It shows the gross price and the tax fraction (21.26%, 15.25% or 4.76%) instead of net amount, rate and VAT amount. [2]
E-invoicing in Hungary
Hungary has no structured B2B e-invoicing mandate, but it collects invoice data in real time: the Online Számla system receives every invoice issued under Hungarian rules. A PDF sent by e-mail counts as an electronic invoice.
- 4 January 2021
Real-time reporting to NAV (Online Számla) of every invoice, B2C and foreign buyers included
Invoices from invoicing software must be reported to NAV immediately on issue, without human intervention. Pre-printed paper invoices: by the next calendar day if VAT is HUF 500,000 or more, otherwise within 4 calendar days. Supplies declared through an OSS scheme registered outside Hungary, intra-EU acquisitions and imports are out of scope. [3]
In force
- 1 September 2026
Reporting of receipts not issued on an online cash register
From 1 September 2026, receipts not issued with an online or e-cash register must also be reported on NAV's electronic platform. [2]
In force
Good to know for Shopify sellers
Selling into Hungary 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 [4].
- A sale to a private person paid at the latest on supply, under HUF 900,000 including VAT, needs no invoice unless the buyer asks; a receipt is issued instead. Distance sales declared under OSS need an invoice only if the buyer asks. [2]
- Invoicing software must send every invoice's data to NAV online; software that cannot do this may not be used for invoices in scope of reporting. [2]
- An e-mailed PDF counts as an electronic invoice. It needs the buyer's consent, which can be implied, e.g. by paying the invoice. [2]
Make an invoice for Hungary
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 report invoices to NAV's Online Számla system. A seller issuing invoices under Hungarian rules needs invoicing software that reports each invoice to NAV.
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.
- NAV information booklet 27: Tájékoztató a közösségi adószámról (published 2026-01-29)
- NAV information booklet 18: A számla, nyugta kibocsátásának alapvető szabályai (published 2026-03-02)
- NAV: A számlakibocsátók számlaadat-szolgáltatásának 2021. január 4-től hatályos szabályai
- EUR-Lex: Council Directive (EU) 2017/2455, Article 219a on which member state's invoicing rules apply