Archive e-invoices digitally under GoBD rules — printing them is not enough

Structured e-invoices must be stored in their original electronic form under Germany's GoBD rules, unchanged and machine-readable, for the statutory retention period. A printed copy of an XRechnung does not satisfy the requirement. Most accounting tools handle this automatically once configured. UPDATE (19 Aug 2026), watch only: Germany has announced an action plan against tax and financial crime that signals a future near-real-time VAT reporting system built on the e-invoice, a LONGER retention period for accounting documents than today, and a requirement to hold tax-relevant data on mirror servers inside Germany. These are policy intentions only — there is no draft legislation, no date and no technical detail yet, so nothing to do today. Keeping your e-invoices properly archived now is the best preparation. WATCH (16 July 2026): the Federal Finance Ministry and the Federal Justice Ministry jointly presented a 26-point action plan against tax and financial crime, built explicitly on the e-invoicing rollout. Three items are worth knowing about: a real-time VAT reporting system, extending record retention from 10 to 15 years, and mirroring tax-relevant data on servers located in Germany. These are policy proposals only — there is no draft legislation, no start date and no technical detail. Nothing changes about your archiving obligations today. But if you are choosing an archiving tool right now, it is worth asking the vendor whether it could handle a 15-year retention period.

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