Holiday Rental Invoice: Sample, Template and Mandatory Details for Hosts and Guests

By Daniel Schulz, residir GmbH · Last updated: 14 October 2026

For amounts over €250 gross, a holiday rental invoice in Germany must contain all the mandatory details under Section 14(4) UStG (the German VAT Act), including the tax number, a sequential invoice number, the period of service and VAT shown separately at 7 and 19 per cent. Up to €250, a small-amount invoice (Kleinbetragsrechnung) is sufficient, and small businesses (Kleinunternehmer) do not show any VAT. You will find a sample to copy further down as a table.

This guide is for hosts who need to write an invoice for a holiday apartment and for guests who need an invoice for their travel expense claim. Our author Daniel Schulz has looked after more than 80,000 guest stays in eight years with serviced apartments and knows the typical queries from business customers. The information is correct as of October 2026. This article is a general overview and not tax advice.

In this article:

• Mandatory details under Section 14 UStG
• Small-amount invoices up to €250
• VAT: 7% or 19%
• Invoices without VAT as a small business
• Sample and template to copy
• Writing an invoice in six steps
• Invoices for business travellers
• Invoices for platform bookings
• Common mistakes
• Record keeping
• Conclusion
• FAQ

Case	What must be on the invoice	Legal basis
Invoice over €250 gross	All mandatory details, VAT shown separately by rate	Section 14(4) UStG
Small-amount invoice up to €250 gross	Host, date, service, gross amount, tax rate	Section 33 UStDV
Small business	No VAT, note on the tax exemption	Section 19 UStG, Section 34a UStDV
Accommodation incl. linen and cleaning	7% VAT	Section 12(2) no. 11 UStG
Parking, drinks, wellness	19% VAT, shown separately	Section 12(2) no. 11 sentence 2 UStG

Holiday rental invoice: mandatory details under Section 14 UStG

An invoice for a letting is a record for both sides: the host documents their income, the guest or their company the expense. For a company to be able to deduct input VAT, an invoice for a holiday apartment stay over €250 gross must contain all the details required by Section 14(4) UStG. If one is missing, the guest’s accounts department will usually ask for a correction.

1. Full name and address of the host and of the invoice recipient
2. The host’s tax number (Steuernummer) or VAT identification number (USt-IdNr.)
3. Date of issue
4. Sequential invoice number, used only once
5. Type and scope of the service, e.g. “Letting of holiday apartment, 2 rooms, Musterstraße 5”
6. Time of the service, i.e. arrival and departure dates
7. Net amount broken down by tax rate, plus any discounts agreed in advance
8. Tax rate and tax amount, or a note on a tax exemption

The period of service is often forgotten, yet it is crucial for the travel expense claim: it is the only way to match the invoice to a specific trip. For business customers booking for their company, the invoice must be issued within six months of the service (Section 14(2) UStG).

Private holiday rental invoices: what private hosts need to know

Anyone who lets a holiday apartment regularly is generally an entrepreneur (Unternehmer) for VAT purposes, even without registering a business. For private hosts, the mandatory details therefore do not change. If you let your holiday apartment privately and need to write an invoice, you often only have the choice between standard taxation at 7 per cent or the small business rule described below. How the income is treated for income tax is explained in our guide to holiday rental tax in Germany.

How to set up the letting as a whole, from the permit to registration, is covered in our guide to renting out a holiday apartment.

Small-amount invoices up to €250

For short stays, Section 33 UStDV (the German VAT Implementing Regulation) greatly simplifies the invoice. If the total is no more than €250 gross, these details are sufficient:

• Name and address of the host
• Date of issue
• Quantity and type of service, e.g. “2 nights holiday apartment, 10–12/03/2026”
• Gross amount, i.e. net amount and tax as a single sum
• Tax rate, e.g. “incl. 7% VAT”, or a note on a tax exemption

The guest’s name and address, the tax number and an invoice number are not required on a small-amount invoice. Many hosts still assign a number because it makes their own records easier to manage.

Receipt instead of an invoice?

When paying in cash, guests often ask for a receipt (Quittung). A free pre-printed receipt pad from a stationery shop, however, only confirms that money changed hands. For the travel expense claim, what counts is the invoice with the details listed above. The simplest approach is an invoice marked “Amount received in cash on …”, so that one document covers both.

VAT on the invoice: 7% or 19%

Under Section 12(2) no. 11 UStG, the short-term letting of living and sleeping accommodation to guests qualifies for the reduced rate of 7 per cent. This also applies to services directly related to the accommodation, even if charged separately: bed linen, towels, electricity and cleaning of the flat (section 12.16(4) UStAE, the VAT Application Decree). A separately itemised final cleaning fee is therefore normally also shown at 7 per cent on the invoice.

How guests view the final cleaning fee and what they still have to do themselves is described in our guide to the holiday rental cleaning fee. What matters for the invoice: the fee is part of the total price and appears as a separate line item with its tax rate.

What is charged at 19 per cent

Services that do not directly serve the letting are excluded from the reduced rate (the requirement to split, Aufteilungsgebot, Section 12(2) no. 11 sentence 2 UStG). The tax authorities name, among others:

• Parking space: 19 per cent, even if it belongs to the flat and is charged separately.
• Drinks, for example from a minibar or a welcome pack: 19 per cent.
• Wellness, bike hire, transfers, laundry service for clothing: generally 19 per cent.
• Breakfast: since 1 January 2026, food served as part of restaurant and catering services has been permanently subject to 7 per cent (Section 12(2) no. 15 UStG); drinks remain at 19 per cent.

For guests this means that a correct invoice with such extras shows two tax rates side by side. If a holiday apartment only offers the flat itself with linen and cleaning, a single tax rate of 7 per cent is sufficient.

Small businesses: holiday rental invoices without VAT

Many private hosts fall under the small business rule (Kleinunternehmerregelung) in Section 19 UStG. Since 1 January 2025, the following applies: total turnover must not have exceeded €25,000 in the previous year and must not exceed €100,000 in the current year. If the €100,000 threshold is exceeded in the current year, the rule ends with the very transaction that breaks the threshold.

Small businesses issue invoices without VAT. Under Section 34a UStDV, the invoice requires the name and address of host and guest, the tax number or VAT ID, date of issue, type of service, the total amount and a note on the tax exemption, for example: “In accordance with Section 19 UStG, no VAT is charged.”

A common mistake: small businesses write “incl. 7% VAT” on the invoice because a template from the internet says so. Anyone who shows VAT owes it to the tax office under Section 14c UStG, even if they are actually exempt. For business guests, an invoice without VAT is not a problem; they simply cannot deduct any input VAT.

Holiday rental invoice sample: a template to copy

The following sample holiday rental invoice shows a standard invoice with two tax rates. All names, numbers and amounts are example values. Transfer the fields into your word processor or invoicing software and replace the values with your own.

Field	Example	Mandatory
Host	Max Mustermann, Musterstraße 1, 12345 Musterstadt	yes
Invoice recipient	Beispiel GmbH, Beispielweg 2, 54321 Beispielstadt, guest: Erika Beispiel	yes
Tax number	123/456/78901	yes
Invoice date	20/11/2026	yes
Invoice number	2026-014	yes, sequential
Service	Letting of holiday apartment “Am Fluss”, 2 rooms, Musterstraße 5, 12345 Musterstadt	yes
Period of service	16/11/2026 to 20/11/2026, 4 nights	yes
Accommodation	4 × €110.00 = €440.00 net, 7%	yes
Final cleaning	€60.00 net, 7%	yes, if charged
Parking space	4 × €15.00 = €60.00 net, 19%	yes, if charged
VAT	7% on €500.00 = €35.00; 19% on €60.00 = €11.40	yes
Total amount	€606.40 gross	customary
Payment	“Amount received on 16/11/2026” or bank details and payment terms	no

With this template, you can write a holiday rental invoice in a few minutes. For a private letting invoice as a small business, only three lines of the template change:

Field	Change compared with the sample	Example
Accommodation, final cleaning, parking space	Gross amounts only, no tax rate	€440.00 / €60.00 / €60.00
VAT	Omitted	–
Note	State the tax exemption	“In accordance with Section 19 UStG, no VAT is charged.”

Templates from the internet: Word, Excel, PDF

If you search for a “holiday rental invoice template PDF”, you will find countless files, many of them undated. The same goes for searches for a Word invoice template or an Excel invoice spreadsheet. Check any third-party file against the mandatory details above before you use it.

Especially with offers of a “free pre-printed invoice” or “free invoice download”, the small business variant or the split by tax rate is often missing. A free invoice template from the internet is only as good as its last update. Saving a completed holiday rental invoice as a PDF, on the other hand, makes sense: that way the document can no longer be changed by accident.

We have deliberately published our holiday rental invoice template as text here: you can copy it free of charge and recreate it in any program. It also works as a private letting invoice template if you use the small business lines from the second table.

Writing a holiday rental invoice in six steps

1. Clarify your tax status: standard taxation or small business? This determines whether you show VAT.
2. Ask for the invoice recipient: private individual or company; for companies, the exact name and address.
3. Set a numbering sequence: for example the year plus a running number, with no gaps or duplicates.
4. Separate the line items: accommodation, final cleaning, extras, each with the correct tax rate.
5. Check and send: tick off the mandatory details and send as a PDF by email.
6. File it: archive the invoice together with the payment received.

From two or three flats upwards, software that assigns invoice numbers automatically and generates the invoice directly from the booking is worthwhile. For a single holiday apartment, a well-maintained template is enough.

Deposits, cancellations and corrections

For a deposit, an advance payment invoice is sufficient at first; the final invoice deducts the amount already paid. If a guest cancels, hosts charge the agreed cancellation fees; the rules that apply are set out in our guide to holiday rental cancellation. How cancellation fees are to be treated for VAT purposes is something hosts should clarify with their tax adviser.

If an invoice is wrong, do not write a new one with the same number. Issue a correction or cancellation invoice referring to the original number, followed by a new invoice.

Invoices for business travellers and companies

For guests on business trips, the invoice is often more important than the price. The travel expense claim requires a document that matches the trip, and the company wants to deduct input VAT if it is entitled to do so. If you are looking for one of the holiday apartments in Munich for a business trip, clarify the invoicing question before booking.

• Invoice recipient: the employer with full company name and address, plus the name of the travelling employee.
• VAT: shown separately at 7 and 19 per cent, so that the accounts department can record input VAT correctly.
• Breakfast and extras: show separately, because meals on the invoice can reduce the employee’s meal allowance (Verpflegungspauschale).
• Period: arrival and departure must match the travel dates.

Trade fairs are a common case: if you book accommodation near Messe Munich for a stand team, you often need a combined invoice for several people or one invoice per employee. Tell the host in advance which option your accounts department expects.

E-invoices for business customers

Since 1 January 2025, businesses in Germany must be able to receive electronic invoices (E-Rechnung). The obligation to issue e-invoices to other businesses is being phased in: from 2027 for businesses with a previous-year turnover of more than €800,000, and from 2028 for all. Small-amount invoices up to €250 and invoices from small businesses are exempt. A PDF sent by email does not count as an e-invoice within the meaning of the law.

For longer stays, for example for tradespeople and project teams, many hosts invoice weekly or monthly. How such accommodation works in Munich is shown on our page about workers’ accommodation in Munich.

Invoices for bookings via a platform

When booking through a portal, guests first receive a booking or payment confirmation. As a rule, this is not an invoice for the accommodation. The platform only invoices its own service fee; the invoice for the holiday apartment itself must be issued by the host.

Only a host who does not fall under the small business rule can issue an invoice showing VAT. If you as a guest need such an invoice, ask before booking and give the invoice recipient straight away. Hosts should state in their listing whether they issue invoices with VAT.

For hosts: the platform’s commission is an expense that appears on the platform’s invoice to you. It does not appear on the invoice to the guest; what counts there is the price the guest pays for the accommodation.

Common mistakes on the invoice

• Missing period of service: the invoice date alone is not enough; arrival and departure belong on the document.
• One tax rate for everything: charging a parking space or drinks at 7 per cent is wrong; they belong at 19 per cent.
• VAT as a small business: leads to a tax liability under Section 14c UStG.
• Duplicate or skipping invoice numbers: the first thing noticed in a tax audit.
• Wrong recipient: if a company books, it belongs on the invoice, not just the guest’s name.
• Missing tax number: mandatory for invoices over €250, including for small businesses.
• Invoice changed after the fact: the old file is overwritten instead of issuing a correction or cancellation invoice.

From Daniel Schulz’s experience: most queries from business customers are not about the amounts, but about the invoice recipient and the period. Asking for both before arrival saves corrections later.

Record keeping: how long to keep invoices

Under Section 14b UStG, hosts keep invoices issued and received for eight years. The Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz IV) shortened the period from ten to eight years from 2025. It begins at the end of the calendar year in which the invoice was issued, so an invoice from November 2026 may be destroyed at the earliest at the beginning of 2035.

Invoices received electronically must be kept electronically; a printout is not sufficient. Guests travelling privately have no obligation to keep records. If you submit the invoice to your company, the obligation passes to your employer, but you should keep a copy until you have been reimbursed.

Guests who stay longer, for example for a project lasting several months, collect a lot of receipts. A monthly statement instead of a weekly invoice makes filing easier for both sides.

Conclusion

A correct holiday rental invoice separates accommodation at 7 per cent from extras at 19 per cent, includes all the mandatory details under Section 14 UStG for amounts over €250 and shows no VAT if you are a small business; with the template above and a clean numbering sequence, it takes just a few minutes to write; companies looking for predictable monthly invoices for longer projects will find a boarding house in Munich in Lehel from autumn 2027.

Frequently asked questions about holiday rental invoices

What must a holiday rental invoice include?

For invoices over €250 gross, Section 14(4) UStG requires, among other things, the name and address of host and recipient, the tax number or VAT ID, invoice date, a sequential invoice number, type of service, period of service, the net amount broken down by tax rate, and the tax rate and tax amount. Shortened requirements apply to small amounts and small businesses.

How much VAT applies to a stay in a holiday apartment?

Short-term letting of a holiday apartment is subject to the reduced rate of 7 per cent, which also covers directly related services such as bed linen, towels and cleaning. Services such as a parking space or drinks are charged at 19 per cent and must be shown separately on the invoice. As of October 2026.

What does a holiday rental invoice look like for a small business?

Small businesses do not show VAT. The invoice contains the name and address of both parties, the tax number, date, service, total amount and a note on the small business tax exemption under Section 19 UStG.

What is a small-amount invoice?

An invoice of up to €250 gross. Under Section 33 UStDV, the host’s name and address, date of issue, type and scope of the service, the gross amount and the tax rate are sufficient. The guest’s name and an invoice number are then not required.

Do I have to write an invoice as a private host?

For a business customer booking the accommodation for their company, you must issue an invoice within six months. For private guests, there is generally no such obligation, but a proper invoice or receipt is good service and helps if questions arise.

Who should the invoice be addressed to for a business trip?

To the employer, with company name and address, plus the name of the travelling employee. This allows the company to book the costs as travel expenses and, if entitled, deduct input VAT. Ideally, clarify the invoice recipient when booking.

How long do I have to keep invoices for a holiday apartment?

Under Section 14b UStG, hosts keep invoices for eight years, counted from the end of the year in which the invoice was issued. This period has applied since 2025; previously it was ten years.

Will I get an invoice if I book via a platform?

The platform usually only issues a payment confirmation and an invoice for its own service fee. The invoice for the accommodation comes from the host. If you need an invoice showing VAT, ask before booking.