In principle, an entrepreneur can claim the VAT invoiced to him for supplies or services received as input tax. The prerequisite for this is, among other things, that the entrepreneur providing the service hands over a properly issued invoice to the recipient of the service within the meaning of Section 14 of the German Turnover Tax Act (UStG). One of the obligatory details is when the corresponding delivery or service was provided to the recipient of the service.

In practice, this obligation has often been met by including the phrase "The date of performance corresponds to the invoice date" as a standard sentence in the invoice. However, this practice made it difficult for the tax office to determine whether the date of performance actually corresponds to the invoice date or whether the date of performance is missing for other reasons.

The Federal Fiscal Court therefore ruled in its decision of December 17, 2008, that the indication of the date of performance is an explicit requirement. This also applies in cases where the invoice date corresponds to the date of performance. If this information is missing, the tax office may deny the input tax deduction.

Note: The specific date of performance must be noted on the invoices to be issued.
Please note in this context: The date of performance does not have to be indicated for small-value invoices up to €150.00.

If this rule applies to you, you can deactivate the sentence in the invoice.Click on "Options" at the top right and then on "Company profile". Then open the "Payment type settings" tab. At the bottom you will see the option "Show delivery date".