How to invoice a foreign client from a Polish JDG in 2026

A practical guide to invoices for EU and non-EU businesses or consumers: Polish VAT, reverse charge, VAT-UE, currency and bookkeeping evidence.

A client in Berlin, London or New York does not automatically receive an invoice without Polish VAT. Before choosing the VAT treatment, determine whether you sell goods or services, whether the client is a business or consumer, and where the place of supply is. This guide focuses on services sold by a Polish JDG.

Start with the client and the service

Ask an EU business for its VAT number and verify it in VIES. For a non-EU business, keep evidence that it is genuinely in business. A foreign billing address alone is not enough. Property, events, transport and digital services for consumers are among the areas with special rules.

The usual B2B service rule

For many B2B services, the place of supply is where the client is established. The Polish invoice then carries no Polish VAT and the client normally accounts for the tax. Include the relevant identification numbers and the wording “reverse charge”. Do not describe this automatically as a 0% rate or a VAT exemption.

EU clients and VAT-UE

Before supplying a typical B2B service to an EU taxpayer, you may need VAT-UE registration through VAT-R, even if your JDG uses the Polish small-business VAT exemption. Report the service in the recapitulative statement when the conditions apply, and retain the VIES check.

Consumers and exceptions change the answer

For B2C services, the general rule often points to the supplier’s country, but the exceptions are extensive. Digital services, property, event admission and transport can follow different rules. Never infer the client’s tax status from an email domain.

Currency, exchange rates and your records

You may invoice in a foreign currency. For Polish PIT, revenue is generally translated using the NBP average rate from the last business day before the revenue date. VAT has its own conversion rules. Give your accountant the contract, invoice, performance date, client-status evidence, VIES result and payment details.

What the invoice does not decide

The client’s address does not determine your tax residence or social-security system. If you physically work outside Poland, review tax residence and ZUS with the A1 certificate separately. Our broader guide covers goods, WDT, WNT and imported services.

Official sources

Want to issue your first foreign-client invoice correctly?

Oxyok handles Polish JDG accounting in English and Polish. Before posting an invoice, we check that we have the facts needed for the VAT and income-tax treatment. The Polish JDG hub for foreign founders connects this checklist with registration, residency and A1.

See English-speaking JDG accounting from PLN 49 + VAT a month or email [email protected].

Important: This is general information. The outcome depends on the service, customer status, country and circumstances of the transaction.