XRechnung or ZUGFeRD? The difference and who gets which format

The difference in two sentences

An XRechnung is an XML file and nothing else. A ZUGFeRD invoice is a PDF with the same kind of XML file inside it.

Both follow the European standard EN 16931 for their content. That makes both an e-invoice under § 14(1) sentence 6 no. 1 UStG (German), and the tax authorities name both as permitted formats (section 14.1(12) to (14) UStAE, German). So the choice between XRechnung and ZUGFeRD comes down to the recipient: who gets the invoice and how they process it.

XRechnung and ZUGFeRD compared

People often miss the last row. In a hybrid format, the data in the structured part is the leading part, and where the two differ, it takes precedence over the image file (section 14.4(3) UStAE, German). A ZUGFeRD invoice whose PDF shows something different from its XML is read by the XML. Worth knowing if you put PDF and XML together by hand.

Who requires an XRechnung

XRechnung comes from public procurement. Suppliers to the German federal government have to invoice electronically (§ 3(1) ERechV, German), in principle using the XRechnung standard. The ordinance allows other standards that meet EN 16931 (§ 4(1) ERechV, German). The mandatory details include the contracting authority's Leitweg-ID (§ 5(1) no. 1 ERechV, German), which goes into the buyer reference field (BT-10) of the XRechnung.

You submit the invoice through an invoice receipt portal. Since September 2025 the federal administration has received e-invoices through one central platform, OZG-RE, which absorbed the former ZRE. You can upload a file, send via Peppol or email, or type the invoice into a form in the portal (E-Rechnung Bund, submission channels, German). Federal states and municipalities have their own rules and in some cases their own portals.

In practice: as soon as a contracting authority gives you a Leitweg-ID, XRechnung is the safe choice. Whether the portal also accepts ZUGFeRD depends on the portal, so ask before you rely on it.

Between businesses, both count

Since 1 January 2025, invoices between businesses based in Germany generally have to be e-invoices. Transition periods for sending run until the end of 2027 (§ 27(38) UStG, German); the details are on the page about the e-invoicing mandate. The law does not prescribe a format. It only requires EN 16931, or an agreed format from which the mandatory details can be extracted without loss (§ 14(1) sentence 6 UStG, German).

The tax authorities put it plainly: which permitted format is used is a civil-law question for the contracting parties to settle between themselves (section 14.1(12) sentence 5 UStAE, German). You may send a business customer an XRechnung, and you may send them a ZUGFeRD invoice. Both meet the obligation.

In B2B, ZUGFeRD often wins for a simple reason. The customer's accounting software reads the XML automatically, and anyone who just wants to check the invoice opens it like any other PDF. An XRechnung, on the other hand, arrives as an unreadable file for recipients without suitable software. All businesses have had to be able to receive e-invoices since 2025, but that does not mean everyone has a convenient viewer.

The ZUGFeRD XRECHNUNG profile

ZUGFeRD has several profiles, which set how much data the XML contains. MINIMUM and BASIC-WL are not enough for an e-invoice because, among other things, they lack the individual invoice lines (section 14.1(14) UStAE, German). BASIC, EN 16931 and EXTENDED are. There is also an XRECHNUNG profile: the embedded XML then follows KoSIT's German XRechnung rules, including the mandatory buyer reference.

This profile bridges the two. The recipient gets a readable PDF, and the XML inside meets the stricter XRechnung rules. Whether a public portal accepts such a file is still a question for the contracting authority. Many portals expect the plain XML file.

Which format to send to whom

For an online shop or a SaaS business this usually means ZUGFeRD as the default for everyone, and XRechnung only for the few public-sector customers. E-invoices are not required for consumers (§ 14(2) sentence 2 no. 1 UStG, German), but a ZUGFeRD PDF does no harm because the customer reads it like any other PDF. More on this on the page about e-invoices to consumers.

How Rechnungskit picks the format

Rechnungskit creates every invoice as ZUGFeRD 2.5 in the EN 16931 profile: a PDF/A-3 with embedded XML, checked against the standard and the mandatory details of § 14(4) UStG before it is issued. You do not need to set anything for this. Each invoice in the app shows its format and offers the PDF and the XML as separate downloads.

If you add a Leitweg-ID to a customer, their future invoices are created as XRechnung 3.0 automatically. The customer gets the XML file attached to the invoice email, plus a PDF they can read. All other customers stay on ZUGFeRD, and invoices already issued do not change. XRechnung requires a phone number for the seller (rule BR-DE-6). If it is missing from your settings, Rechnungskit holds the invoice as a task instead of issuing it incomplete.

There is one limit: Rechnungskit is not connected to Peppol and does not submit anything to public portals. You upload the XML file in the buyer's portal or send it the way the buyer specifies. How the formats fit together in the product is shown on the e-invoicing feature page.