Mandatory invoice details in Luxembourg: the full list

Short version. In Luxembourg, an invoice above €100 including VAT must carry the issuer's full identification (company name, legal form, registered office, RCS number, business permit number), a unique sequential number, the issue date, the VAT number, the nature and quantity supplied, and the net price and VAT broken down by rate. Below €100 including VAT, five details are enough. An incomplete invoice puts your customer's VAT deduction at risk.

Most invoice templates circulating in Luxembourg come from France or Belgium, and they systematically omit two distinctly Luxembourgish items: the business permit number and the exact wording about the trade register. Here is the full list, as it follows from the VAT Law of 12 February 1979 and the Commercial Code.

Invoices above €100 including VAT

The full regime applies as soon as the invoice exceeds 100 euros including all taxes. It must then show the following.

Identification of the supplier

• the company or business name;
• the legal form (SARL, SA, SARL-S, civil company, and so on);
• the precise address of the registered office;
• the words "Registre de commerce et des sociétés, Luxembourg" or the initials "R.C.S. Luxembourg", followed by the registration number. Cooperative companies are exempt;
• the business permit number (autorisation d'établissement);
• for craftspeople and sole traders: their trade and their business permit number.

Transaction and VAT details

• the issue date;
• a sequential number, based on one or more series, uniquely identifying the invoice;
• the VAT identification number under which the supply was made;
• the full name and address of the supplier and of the taxable customer or non-taxable legal person;
• the date of supply or completion of the service, or the date a payment on account was made, where that date is determined and differs from the issue date;
• the quantity and nature of the goods, or the extent and nature of the services, with the elements needed to determine the applicable rate;
• the net price and other elements of the taxable amount, broken down by rate where several rates apply;
• the rates and amount of tax due, likewise broken down by rate;
• where relevant, the reason why the transaction is not subject to VAT.

The breakdown by rate deserves a word. A construction business invoicing works at 3 % and supplies at 17 % on the same document must show two separate taxable amounts and two separate tax amounts, otherwise the invoice is not compliant. We cover that case in our guide to the 3 % housing VAT rate in Luxembourg.

Invoices of €100 including VAT or less

Below that threshold, an invoice may be limited to five items: the issue date, the supplier's name and address, the quantity and nature of what was supplied, the price including tax, and the amount of VAT payable or the data allowing it to be calculated. In practice, this covers receipts and small notes.

The complementary wordings everyone forgets

Depending on the case, the invoice must also carry one of the following phrases. They are not decorative: leaving them out exposes your customer to a refused deduction.

Invoicing without VAT within the EU

To invoice a business established in another Member State without VAT, three reflexes apply: check the validity of the customer's VAT number beforehand in the European Commission's VIES database, print and keep the result page evidencing the number and the date of the check, then quote that valid number on the invoice. The proof of the check is what saves you in an audit. The full mechanism is set out in our article on intra-EU VAT in Luxembourg.

When must the invoice be issued?

Between businesses, the invoice must be issued no later than the 15th day of the month following the supply, or following the month in which the transactions took place in the case of periodic invoicing. Where a payment on account is received, the invoice comes no later than that payment. Nothing prevents issuing earlier.

With a consumer, the rule changes: to be able to claim statutory late payment interest, the trader must issue the invoice within the month of receipt of the goods, completion of the works or performance of the service, and must state expressly on the invoice that it intends to claim that interest where applicable. Without that wording, late payment interest becomes considerably harder to obtain. We set out how recovery works in our article on handling unpaid invoices under Luxembourg law.

One last point of form: the invoice must be drawn up in two copies, one for each party, and the taxable person must keep a copy of every invoice issued.

Paper, electronic, Peppol

A compliant invoice can travel on paper or, subject to the recipient's acceptance, electronically. The notable exception concerns public procurement and concession contracts: save for exceptions, all economic operators must issue and transmit compliant electronic invoices. If you work with a municipality, a ministry or a public body, this is not optional. We described the framework and the Peppol channel in our piece on e-invoicing in Luxembourg.

The trap nobody explains: the accepted invoice

Between traders, the existence of a contract can be proven by an accepted invoice, and acceptance can be tacit. An invoice paid without reservation is accepted. An invoice received and left without reaction is accepted too, once the time needed to read it and check its content has passed. In the absence of a statutory rule, Luxembourg courts generally apply a presumption of acceptance after four to eight weeks.

The consequence is concrete. You receive a questionable supplier invoice, you set it aside to discuss later, and two months on your challenge arrives too late. The presumption can be rebutted, but you then have to show that you protested in good time or that your silence has another explanation. Better to challenge in writing, precisely, on receipt. This principle applies only between traders, never towards a final consumer.

What this means inside your management software

A compliant Luxembourg invoice is not a question of layout, it is a question of configuration. In practice, three settings resolve 90 % of non-compliance: enter the RCS number and the business permit number once and for all in the invoice template footer, create a continuous numbering sequence with no gaps, and attach each product or service to the right VAT rate so the breakdown happens by itself. The rest follows. This is exactly the kind of setup we put in place when a client file starts, because it saves correcting a hundred invoices later.

Frequently asked questions

What details are mandatory on a Luxembourg invoice?

Above €100 including VAT: company name, legal form, registered office, RCS number, business permit number, issue date, unique sequential number, VAT number, customer details, date of the transaction, nature and quantity, net price and VAT broken down by rate, and the reason for exemption where relevant.

Is the business permit number really required?

Yes. It is a Luxembourg specificity that foreign invoice templates almost always leave out. It applies to companies as well as to craftspeople and sole traders, who must also state their trade.

What is the deadline to issue an invoice in Luxembourg?

Between businesses, no later than the 15th day of the month following the supply or the service, or on receipt of a payment on account. With a consumer, within the month of receipt of the goods or completion of the works in order to be able to claim late payment interest.

Can an invoice be sent by email?

Yes, subject to the recipient's acceptance. Under a public procurement or concession contract, a compliant electronic invoice is however mandatory, save for exceptions.

What is the risk of an incomplete invoice?

The first risk falls on your customer, whose VAT deduction can be challenged. The second is commercial: a non-compliant invoice is easier to dispute and gets paid later.

Further reading

• Accounting firm in Luxembourg: the complete guide for an SME
• What an accounting firm costs in Luxembourg: fixed fee, hourly rates and hidden extras
• Luxembourg VAT returns: filing frequency, eCDF and deadlines
• E-invoicing in Luxembourg: obligations, Peppol and Odoo
• The standard chart of accounts in Luxembourg (PCN 2020): a guide

Why Advena?

We keep the books of Luxembourg SMEs on a flat fee, from €325 per month, all in: day-to-day bookkeeping, VAT and eCDF filing, annual accounts and RCS filing, payroll, a monthly review with a named account manager and permanent access to your books in real time. We also configure the software you invoice from, which makes compliance automatic rather than declarative. Nothing is ever billed outside the monthly fee.

Information up to date as at 21 July 2026, based on the Guichet.lu invoice page, the amended Law of 12 February 1979 on value added tax and the Commercial Code. This article informs and does not constitute legal advice.