One example invoice for every ZUGFeRD profile, XRechnung in both syntaxes, the common special cases, and deliberately broken files for testing. All free, all fictitious, all validated.
Every file below was generated and validated with the tools on this site; the parties, IBANs and figures are fictitious. Use the samples to test imports into DATEV, Lexware or your ERP, to try validators and viewers, or to see what a correct file looks like before you build your own. Each card offers the download plus two shortcuts that load the file straight into the validator or the viewer.
The same invoice in every ZUGFeRD profile
All six files carry the invoice RE-2026-0815 from Muster & Soehne GmbH: IT consulting, two scanners, five books, 19% and 7% VAT, SEPA credit transfer. Only the declared profile differs, so opening two files side by side shows exactly which fields each profile carries. Unsure which profile to use? The format guide explains the ladder.
MINIMUM
PDF/A-3
Header data only: parties, totals, payment. No line items; MINIMUM is a booking aid, not a complete invoice, and the PDF page remains the legally decisive layer.
BASIC WL
PDF/A-3
Also line-free, but with fuller payment and tax detail than MINIMUM. Like MINIMUM, a booking aid for accounts-payable workflows rather than a full e-invoice.
BASIC
PDF/A-3
The smallest complete e-invoice: line items included, core fields only. This file deliberately omits what BASIC cannot carry, such as the item description or a BIC.
EN 16931 (the recommended default)
PDF/A-3
A complete German B2B invoice: three line items, 19% and 7% VAT, SEPA payment data. The profile DATEV, Lexware and tax advisors expect.
EXTENDED
PDF/A-3
Everything EN 16931 carries, declared with the EXTENDED guideline for industry extensions beyond the European norm. Rarely needed; use it only when a partner demands it.
XRECHNUNG (reference profile)
PDF/A-3
The authority invoice RE-2026-0901 with Leitweg-ID, packaged as a hybrid ZUGFeRD PDF. The pure-XML XRechnung files below carry the same invoice.
XRechnung: the same invoice in CII and UBL
XRechnung is one rule set in two interchangeable syntaxes. Both files carry the same authority invoice RE-2026-0901, including the Leitweg-ID 04011000-1234512345-06; only the XML vocabulary differs. The XRechnung format guide covers the rules behind them.
Credit note, correction, reverse charge, Kleinunternehmer
Four situations that keep coming up in rejections and support questions, each as a complete, valid file.
Credit note (type code 381)
PDF/A-3
A credit note (BT-3 = 381) referencing the preceding invoice, including the service period. Useful for testing how your system books corrections.
Corrected invoice (type code 384)
PDF/A-3
A corrected invoice (BT-3 = 384) that references the original RE-2026-0815 and restates it with one scanner instead of two. Whole chains of checks hang on this type code.
Reverse charge
PDF/A-3
Consulting for a French business customer: VAT category AE, zero rate, and the mandatory note that the recipient owes the VAT (reverse charge).
Kleinunternehmer (Section 19 UStG)
PDF/A-3
An invoice without VAT under the small-business scheme: category E with the Section 19 UStG exemption text, and a tax number in place of a VAT ID.
Deliberately broken files
Each of these files breaks exactly one thing, which makes it a precise test case for validators, import routines and error handling. The validator names the exact rule on every one.
XRechnung without Leitweg-ID
XML (CII)
The valid XRechnung with the Leitweg-ID removed: it fails exactly rule BR-DE-15, the most common reason an XRechnung bounces. Test your validators and rejection handling with it.
ZUGFeRD with wrong totals
PDF/A-3
The EN 16931 invoice with a tampered grand total: the PDF page and the XML no longer agree, and validation fails rule BR-CO-15. Since 2025 the XML is the binding layer, which is exactly what this file demonstrates.
PDF without embedded XML
PDF
Looks exactly like the sample invoice, but carries no XML at all. Since 1 January 2025 such a PDF no longer counts as an e-invoice; the validator reports the missing attachment.