If your business issues B2B invoices in Estonia, two different layers of rules apply, and which one governs your invoice depends on a single fact: whether the seller is VAT-registered. Every invoice, regardless of that status, has to meet the bare minimum set out in the Accounting Act: the transaction date, a clear description of what was sold, and the figures (quantity, price, amount). Once the seller is registered for VAT, section 37 of the VAT Act adds ten further mandatory fields, including the buyer's VAT number (their VAT registration number, the VAT identification number used on cross-border sales) and the VAT amount stated in euros. Estonian law does not prescribe one official invoice template; what matters is the content, not the layout or a signature.
Where do you start: transaction type or invoice template?
Before you start checking individual fields, answer three questions: is the seller VAT-registered, is the buyer a business or a private person, and does the transaction stay inside Estonia or cross a border? If the seller isn't VAT-registered, the Accounting Act minimum for a source document is enough on its own. Once the seller is VAT-registered, the VAT Act's stricter list kicks in, and cross-border transactions bring extra notes on top of that.
What's the floor for every B2B invoice: time, content, amount, parties?
Regardless of the seller's VAT status, every B2B invoice has to contain at least four things below section 7 of the Accounting Act: the date the transaction took place, a clear description of its economic substance, the figures (quantity, price, amount), and, if the buyer is himself subject to accounting obligations, a public-sector accounting entity, or a foreign legal person, an invoice number plus details identifying both parties.
There is no mandatory invoice template. A signature is not a required field either, and that includes self-billing, where the buyer issues the invoice instead of the seller. The seller is free to accept an invoice without a signature, as the Estonian Tax and Customs Board explains.
What ten extra fields apply once the seller is VAT-registered?
Once the seller is registered for VAT, section 37(7) of the VAT Act adds ten fields:
- The invoice's sequence number and date of issue
- The seller's name, address and VAT number
- The buyer's name and address
- The buyer's VAT number, if the tax liability shifts to the buyer
- The name or description of the goods or service
- The quantity of goods or the scope of the service
- The date of delivery, service, or advance payment, if it differs from the invoice date
- The net price and any discount not already included in the price
- The taxable amount broken down by VAT rate, and the rate applied
- The VAT payable, stated in euros
Points 4 and 7 only apply when their condition is met. They're also the two that most often get left off invoices even when they should be there.
When does an invoice need an extra tax reference or note?
Four situations need something beyond the standard fields:
- Zero-rated EU goods sales. When you sell goods to a VAT-registered buyer in another member state, the invoice needs that buyer's valid VAT number in their own country. Only a valid number gives you the right to treat the sale as a zero-rated intra-Community supply. Leave it off, and the turnover has to be declared and taxed as a domestic sale instead.
- VAT-exempt turnover needs a reference to the VAT Act or the EU VAT Directive, or another clear, unambiguous note explaining the exemption.
- EU B2B services, say an Estonian company billing a Latvian client with a Latvian VAT number, require the buyer's VAT number on the invoice.
- Reverse charge, where the tax liability shifts to the buyer, requires a direct note that says exactly that: reverse charge applies.
Check the buyer's VAT number is actually valid the register before you send the invoice. It's the only way to be sure the 0% rate will hold up.
When can you issue a simplified invoice, and what's the deadline for issuing one at all?
A simplified invoice, up to €160 excluding VAT, may only be issued for passenger transport services, or as a receipt from a parking meter, a self-service fuel pump, a payment terminal or a similar device. A regular shop receipt, including one from a self-checkout, does not qualify. A shop can always issue a proper, full invoice instead.
The general rule: issue the invoice within seven calendar days of dispatching the goods, making them available, or providing the service. For advance payments, those seven days run from when the payment lands. For intra-Community supplies of goods and certain cross-border services, the invoice can be issued as late as the 15th of the month following the transaction.
If an invoice you've already sent needs correcting, don't just rewrite it. Under section 37(4) of the VAT Act, a document that amends the original invoice and refers back to it also counts as an invoice, which is how a credit note works in practice. Issue a new document that references the original invoice number.
What's the difference between a PDF invoice and an e-invoice, and how long do you have to keep them?
A PDF invoice and an e-invoice are not the same thing. A PDF is essentially a picture of an invoice; an e-invoice is a machine-readable file. Under section 7¹(7) of the Accounting Act, an e-invoice is presumed to meet the requirements if it complies with the European standard for e-invoicing, EN 16931-1. Since 1 July 2025, an accounting entity registered in the business register as an e-invoice recipient can require the seller to send an e-invoice, and any e-invoice that meets EN 16931-1 is automatically treated as compliant.
That doesn't add up to a general e-invoicing requirement for domestic B2B invoices in Estonia in 2026. The cross-border digital reporting requirement under the EU's ViDA package, short for VAT in the Digital Age, only reaches B2B transactions starting 1 July 2030.
Before you send anything, a 60-second check is enough: invoice number and date, buyer's name and VAT number, delivery date if it differs from the invoice date, VAT stated in euros, and the right tax reference or note. Keep both issued and received invoices for seven years from the end of the financial year in which the transaction was recorded based on the source document.
FAQ
What are the minimum requirements for every B2B invoice in Estonia in 2026?
Every B2B invoice must include at least the time of the transaction, a description of the economic content, and figures (quantity, price, amount). If the buyer is an accounting entity, the invoice number and details of the parties are added. No mandatory invoice form or signature is required.
When must the buyer's VAT number be indicated on the invoice?
The buyer's VAT number must be provided whenever the buyer incurs a tax liability - for example, in cross-border EU transactions. Without a valid VAT number, 0% cannot apply VAT.
What is the 160 euro rule and when can a simplified invoice be issued?
Simplified invoices of up to 160 euros may only be issued for passenger transport, as a parking meter or automatic gas station receipt. This does not include a store cashier's receipt.
When does the e-invoice obligation come into effect in Estonian B2B?
The domestic B2B e-invoicing obligation has not yet entered into force in 2026. The cross-border digital reporting requirement of the ViDA package will come into force from 1 July 2030.