From 1 January 2027, VAT payers must issue domestic invoices as structured data and send them through a delivery service, which also passes the same data on to the tax office. Let's look at who this affects, who it doesn't, and what can be prepared this year.
Most companies today invoice electronically – they create a PDF and send it by email. The law does recognise this as an electronic invoice, you just need the customer's consent for it. From 2027, the word e-invoice will start being used for something completely different.
An e-invoice is a data file that a computer can process on its own, without anyone having to look at it. Not a picture of the invoice, but its content in a precisely defined structure – the same European standard used by all the countries that switched to e-invoicing before us. And one more difference: for an e-invoice, no one will need to ask the customer anymore.
The obligation to issue e-invoices is narrower than people say. The obligation to receive them, on the other hand, is broader – and that's exactly what surprises companies who think it doesn't apply to them.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| A VAT payer invoices a Slovak company or a sole trader | Must issue an e‑invoice |
| A non-VAT-registered business invoices a company | Doesn't have to issue one, but must be able to receive one |
| Sale to a private individual | Doesn't apply |
| An e-kasa receipt up to EUR 400, a document up to EUR 100 | Doesn't apply |
| Supply exempt from tax | Doesn't apply |
| Invoice sent abroad | Not until July 2030 |
An e-invoice usually isn't sent directly to the customer. It goes through a delivery service – a company that must be registered on the financial administration's list. You may only send it another way if the customer agrees. In practice, you choose and pay for the service in a similar way to how you pay for accounting software.
The same service also sends the invoice data to the tax office. The supplier reports it within five days of issuing, the customer within five days of receiving – so both report the same invoice. The delivery service does the sending for you, but failing to comply carries a fine of up to EUR 10,000, and up to EUR 100,000 for a repeat offence.
2026 is deliberately a transition year: the system is running, but nothing is mandatory yet. Whoever tries it now won't have to deal with it in January alongside the year-end closing.
The only question that matters: can your invoicing software issue an invoice in the standardised format and hand it over to a delivery service? If it can't, switching software in December is a bad idea.
The list of registered providers is kept by the financial administration and is public. You don't have to decide right away, but it makes sense to already have at least two candidates in mind and know the price.
Until now, a typo in the customer's address was something you could survive. In the standardised format, an invoice is either correct or it doesn't get delivered at all. Going through your address book now is boring but cheap work.
An e-invoice must be kept for ten years from the end of the year it relates to. Not on a hard drive in the office – think about where those files will actually be.
The form changes, not the content. The invoice must contain exactly what it contains today, and the deadline for issuing it stays at fifteen days. A summary invoice for the month also stays, it will just be electronic.
The biggest change isn't technical – it's that a mistake shows up immediately. Until now, a discrepancy was found in the VAT control statement or in an audit two years later. From 2027, the supplier and the customer see the same invoice in the same week – and any difference is visible right away. For a company that keeps its records in order, this is actually good news.
Tell us what you invoice and to whom. We'll tell you whether the obligation from January 2027 will affect you and what you need to prepare – with no obligation.
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