From 1 January 2027, invoices between Slovak companies and sole traders will travel differently: not as a PDF by e-mail, but as an electronic invoice sent through a certified intermediary and copied to the tax authority at the same time. The adverts promise it is simple: connect to a "digital postman" (digitálny poštár) and you are done. We spent several months in the rules while building a solution for our clients, and this is what we found: connecting really is simple, invoicing correctly is not. Below: who is affected, the deadlines, what to do before the end of the year, and where people get it wrong most often.
In brief
- VAT payers must issue e-invoices to Slovak companies and sole traders from 1 January 2027 (§ 85o (2) of the VAT Act).
- Every company and sole trader in Slovakia must be able to receive e-invoices, even if they are not VAT payers (§ 71 (5)).
- A PDF by e-mail is not an e-invoice. An e-invoice is a data file in a prescribed format that travels through the postman.
- The tax authority gets the data of every invoice within 5 days. The fine for wrong data is up to 10 000 €, and up to 100 000 € for repeat offences.
- Parliament is discussing six months without fines, until 30 June 2027, but the amendment has not been passed yet. You must be able to receive invoices from 1 January in any case.
Who is affected
There are two duties: to issue and to receive. VAT payers must issue. Almost everyone doing business in Slovakia must receive.
| Who you are | Issue e-invoices | Receive e-invoices |
|---|---|---|
| VAT payer | Yes, from 1 Jan 2027 | Yes |
| Not a payer, but you have a VAT ID (e.g. for services from the EU) | No, until 30 Jun 2030 | Yes |
| Not a VAT payer — sole trader or s.r.o. | No, until 30 Jun 2030 | Yes |
| Non-profit organisation | No | Yes |
| Private individual | — | No |
Even a VAT payer does not always need an e-invoice. It is not required (§ 85o (2) and (3) of the VAT Act):
- for private individuals;
- for foreign customers with no company or establishment in Slovakia, until 30 June 2030;
- for supplies exempt from VAT under § 28–43 and § 47: for example renting property without VAT, selling goods to a company in another EU country, exports;
- if you issued an eKasa receipt of up to 400 € or a simplified invoice of up to 100 € (§ 74 (3)).
An e-invoice is also needed when you receive an advance payment, more on that below.
The amendment now in parliament contains one more exception: a non-payer who only rents out their property may not have to sign up with a postman. For now it is only a proposal.
Deadlines: 1 January, not March
The start is 1 January 2027 (§ 85o (1) and (2) of the VAT Act). As of 5 November 2026 that date has not moved: at the Financial Administration's conference on 4 November nobody spoke of a postponement.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2027 | E-invoices between Slovak businesses become mandatory |
| 1 Jan – 30 Jun 2027 | Possibly no fines, if parliament passes the amendment |
| 1 Jul 2030 | Next stage: e-invoices also for customers in other EU countries |
What about the "grace period until March"?
In summer 2026 the Ministry of Finance proposed three months without fines, until 31 March 2027. That is where the talk of March comes from. A different version went to parliament: six months, until 30 June 2027. According to TASR, on 6 October MPs moved the amendment to its second reading; it has not been finally passed.
If it passes, in the first half-year there will be no fines for issuing an e-invoice late or for some errors in the data reporting.
The tax authority sees everything at once
When an e-invoice goes through the postman, its data is sent to the tax authority automatically (§ 85o (9)–(11) of the VAT Act).
- You sent an invoice: the data goes by itself, no later than 5 days after issue. Your job is to make sure the invoice really went out and the data in it is correct.
- You received an invoice and you are a VAT payer: your postman reports that to the tax authority within 5 days as well. The amendment in parliament proposes to drop this second duty.
- Keep e-invoices for 10 years after the end of the year they relate to (§ 85o (15)).
The fine is up to 10 000 €, and up to 100 000 € for repeat offences (§ 85o (12) and (13)). It is not for the invoice itself but for the data at the tax authority: not delivered, late, incomplete or wrong.
There is no fine if the error is an obvious mistake and you corrected it. Or if the postman had an outage, you can prove it and you sent the data right after it was fixed (§ 85o (14)).
What to do before 1 January
Step 1 · Work out what applies to you.
Step 2 · Choose a postman.
Step 3 · Check your invoicing software.
Step 4 · Collect the DIČ of all your Slovak customers.
Step 5 · Agree with your accountant
Step 6 · Rethink advance payments
Why it is not as simple as they promise
The postman delivers the invoice and reports the data to the tax authority. But you are responsible for what the invoice says (§ 72 (7)). These are the situations we ran into ourselves while building our solution.
1. The customer has no DIČ yet
The company has just been set up and has no DIČ yet. Without a DIČ the e-invoice cannot be sent, and the deadline is running. We asked the Financial Administration in writing. Their answer of 14 October 2026: you do not need to resend the invoice later when the DIČ arrives. You must issue the e-invoice on time and hand it to the customer another way, with their consent.
2. A PDF by e-mail is no longer a way out
An e-invoice is not a picture of an invoice but a data file. You may attach a PDF, but it does not count as the invoice. Sending an e-invoice other than through the postman is allowed only with the recipient's consent (§ 85o (2)).
3. The tax treatment on every line
It used to be enough to state the VAT rate. Now every line of the invoice must say which case it is: standard rate, exemption, reverse charge, EU supply, export and so on. Get it wrong and either the network rejects the invoice or wrong data goes to the tax authority.
4. Some lines cannot be mixed
If part of the invoice is outside the scope of VAT altogether, the technical rules of the format will not let you combine it with other lines. What used to be one invoice will have to become two.
5. Advance payments
A pro forma is not a tax document and does not go through the postman. But once the customer pays, a real e-invoice for that payment is due within 15 days (§ 85o (6)). And in the final invoice the advance must be offset correctly, and how depends on what you issued before.
6. A summary invoice covers one month only
Do you issue one invoice for several deliveries? From 2027 it may cover deliveries of one calendar month only and must be issued within 15 days after the month ends (§ 85o (7)). Quarterly summary invoices are a thing of the past.
7. You cannot simply delete a mistake
A sent e-invoice is already with the tax authority. It can only be corrected with a correction invoice (dobropis or ťarchopis) that refers to the original, through the same postman (§ 85o (5)). Wrong customer? You need a credit note for the full amount and a new invoice.
8. Receiving takes skill too
If the supplier left out your VAT ID, the data about the received invoice will not reach the tax authority. If the postman has an outage, you need evidence. Without checks you will only find out during a tax audit.
Test yourself: three questions
- Are you a VAT payer?
- Do you invoice companies or sole traders in Slovakia?
- Do you have a company or a trade licence in Slovakia?
| Answers | What you need from 1 January |
|---|---|
| Yes / yes / yes | Issue and receive e-invoices |
| Yes / no / yes | No duty to issue (your customers are private individuals or abroad), but you must receive |
| No / either / yes | No duty to issue until 30 Jun 2030, but you must receive, so you need a postman |
| Either / either / no | This does not directly concern you |
In one of the first three rows? Go through your situation with your accountant before December.
What TI Capital is preparing
We are building our own e-invoicing solution for current and new clients: invoices right in our client portal, already connected to a certified postman.
The main difference is detailed guidance. You see it while filling in the invoice, not after sending it, when you learn about the mistake:
- whether this customer needs an e-invoice and why;
- which tax treatment is chosen on each line, in plain words, no codes;
- what to do if the customer has no DIČ;
- what does not add up in the invoice and how to fix it;
- by what date a correction invoice must be issued.
The decision stays with you: we advise, we do not decide for you. And everything that can be automated runs by itself:
- we take care of the connection to the postman;
- received invoices go straight to your accountant;
- we check that the data reached the tax authority and warn you if something did not go out;
- all invoices are stored for 10 years, as the law requires.
Want to be among the first? Write to us and we will go through your situation before 1 January.
Sources
- § 71, § 74, § 76a and § 85o of Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on value added tax, as in force from 1 January 2027 (amendment No. 385/2025 Coll.)
- Finančná správa — eFaktúra and FAQ 9/DPH/2025/IM as of 4 November 2026
- Written reply of the Financial Administration to TI Capital's enquiry, 14 October 2026
- TASR / oPeniazoch.sk, 6 October 2026 — amendment in second reading
- podnikajte.sk, 22 June 2026 — first version of the amendment, until 31 March 2027
- Autora, 4 November 2026 — Financial Administration conference "eFaktúra 2027"