US LLC invoicing: a EUR invoice example, VAT and USD payments

Prepare an invoice your customer can approve: seller details, VAT treatment, a worked EUR example, USD settlement, deposits and corrections.

Your client has agreed to the work. The next step should be straightforward: send an invoice they can approve, pay and put through their accounts. A US LLC can invoice in both euros and US dollars. The useful questions are who supplies the work, what the customer is buying and how the agreed balance will be paid.

A well-organised international business does not need to redesign its invoices for every new client. It needs a sound starting point and a clear treatment for each kind of sale. This guide works through invoice details, a European B2B example, a USD payment against a EUR price, deposits and corrections.

Which name and address belong on the invoice?

When the LLC contracts with the customer and supplies the work, use its full legal name as the seller. Your trading brand and logo can appear alongside it. They should not leave the customer guessing which company they have hired.

Keep the function of each address clear. A Registered Agent address serves a company-registration purpose; it does not automatically describe the office where you work. A US LLC may be operated from another country. Use the appropriate address under the invoicing rules that apply, without presenting a registered address as a staffed workplace.

The EIN is the company's federal tax identifier. It is not a European VAT number or the owner's ITIN or SSN. An invoice is also not an identity-verification pack: attaching the owner's passport is not a normal part of billing for a sale. Where a customer's finance team needs separate tax documentation, establish what is appropriate and provide it through a suitable channel.

The information a useful LLC invoice contains

The following is a working checklist, not a claim that every field is legally compulsory in every country. Your transaction and the applicable invoicing regime determine the formal requirements.

“Services” rarely helps a customer approve a bill. “September strategic advisory” or the named project deliverable is much easier to match to an accepted proposal. Include the covered period for a subscription and the relevant stage for a project billed in phases.

The European Commission's VAT invoicing guidance sets out invoice particulars, reverse-charge wording and references for correcting documents. Apply those requirements in their proper context, rather than treating them as one worldwide rule for US companies.

Establish the customer's status before deciding VAT

Bill the contracting customer, not automatically the employee whose card is used. A business email alone does not prove that a purchase is made in a business capacity. Confirm the legal name, billing address, country and relevant VAT identification. Ask for a purchase-order number if their finance team requires one.

VIES checks EU VAT numbers. An invalid result can reflect pending registration or a number not yet activated for intra-EU transactions; it does not automatically establish that the buyer is a private consumer. Resolve the discrepancy with the customer and retain the relevant verification without collecting unrelated personal information.

For general-rule B2B services supplied from outside the EU to an EU-established business, the customer usually accounts for VAT through reverse charge. The parties' actual establishments and the nature of the service matter. Property-related services, events and other exceptions need their own treatment. Our guide to reverse charge on a US LLC invoice explains that decision in more detail.

Do not use “exempt” as shorthand for customer-accounted VAT. Consumer sales are a separate question. Electronically supplied B2C services may be taxable where the consumer belongs; a supplier with neither its business establishment nor a fixed establishment in the EU can consider non-Union OSS. Live professional advice does not become an automated electronic service merely because the meeting takes place online.

Worked example: a EUR invoice to a European business

Hypothetical example: an LLC established outside the EU, with no EU fixed establishment, provides ordinary business consultancy to a VAT-taxable French company receiving the service in France. No exception to the general B2B rule applies. The agreed fee is 2,500 EUR.

Invoice INV-2026-014 is issued on 30 September 2026 for that month's services, with payment due on 15 October 2026. A real invoice would show the verified legal names, addresses and relevant tax identifiers. There is no reason to invent an EIN or copy another company's VAT number while preparing a template.

Under these assumptions, the LLC does not charge VAT to the customer and the invoice states “Reverse charge”. The customer accounts for the applicable tax. The 2,500 EUR is the amount payable to the LLC; it does not mean the transaction has no tax treatment.

Check the buyer's preferred invoice language and purchase-order reference before sending. Translation can help approval without changing the legal seller or currency. If the customer, establishment or type of service differs, revisit the tax treatment before reusing the example.

Invoice in EUR, receive USD: keep the amounts distinct

You can agree a price in EUR and accept payment in USD. Set the exchange-rate source, the time at which the rate is fixed and who bears fees. A rough converted display does not, by itself, settle what the customer owes.

For the example, use a hypothetical rate of 1 EUR = 1.10 USD. The customer agrees to pay 2,750 USD to settle the 2,500 EUR invoice. Assume a processing fee of 30 USD borne by the LLC:

The issued invoice remains 2,500 EUR. The 30 USD difference is the assumed fee, not an outstanding customer balance if those terms were agreed. The bank credit is not the company's profit either. These numbers are not a current exchange quote or a provider's published fee.

Commercial conversion and tax conversion have different purposes. The IRS explains foreign-currency translation: where USD is the functional currency, the treatment considers when an item is received, paid or accrued. Invoicing in EUR does not mean you can freely choose EUR as the functional currency for US income tax.

Choose a payment route the customer can actually use

An LLC can maintain different accounts for different jobs: EUR receipts, US domestic payments or particular supplier relationships. Provide the receiving details that belong to the correct account, beneficiary and currency.

For SEPA, confirm the EUR details. For ACH, use US account details enabled for that payment type. Do not assume that every account accepts every kind of domestic or international wire. Check the institution's instructions, accepted currency and receiving charges before passing details to the customer.

A payment link makes paying easier, but does not automatically replace an invoice. A receipt records payment; a processor payout may combine several sales. These documents serve different purposes. Confirm changed bank instructions through a known channel before asking someone to transfer money.

Deposits, instalments and unpaid invoices

Agree what is payable before work begins and what becomes due at delivery. A proposal or proforma presents commercial terms; it is not, on its own, evidence of a final invoice or a completed payment.

A 1,000 EUR payment against a 2,500 EUR invoice leaves 1,500 EUR outstanding. Do not issue a second 2,500 EUR sales invoice to describe that balance. Where the transaction requires separate deposit and final invoices, identify amounts already invoiced and their connection to the contract. Advance payments can have their own tax timing under the applicable rules.

The IRS's Publication 538 distinguishes cash and accrual accounting. An unpaid invoice does not always mean there is no taxable income. Nor should it simply disappear from the records because payment is outstanding. Commercial follow-up and the accounting method must explain the same sale.

Corrections, refunds and a usable invoice archive

Preserve the invoice that was issued and make the appropriate correction with a clear reference to the original. A refund, a later discount and a disputed payment do not necessarily have the same tax meaning.

Updating a customer's address for future business should not silently rewrite previous invoices. Keep the contract, invoice, evidence of supply, payment, fees and any correcting document together. Where one bank transfer pays several invoices, record the allocation to each. Our monthly LLC bookkeeping guide develops the recordkeeping routine.

For US sales, review the product, state and nexus separately. The state where the LLC was formed does not settle the tax treatment of every sale. See the specialist guide to sales tax for SaaS and ecommerce for that analysis.

Questions about invoicing through a US LLC

Can a US LLC issue invoices in euros?

Yes. You can agree prices and issue invoices in EUR. Arrange a compatible collection method and distinguish the invoice currency from bank settlement and the applicable tax conversion.

Should the invoice show the EIN or my ITIN?

The EIN identifies the business; the ITIN identifies an individual. Use the identifier relevant to the transaction. Neither replaces a VAT number where VAT identification is required.

Are all US LLC invoices to Europe free of VAT?

There is no single treatment for every sale. Reverse charge may apply in the B2B situation described here; consumers, special services and physical goods require their own analysis.

Does a payment link count as an invoice?

Not automatically. Check which document is issued, who is shown as the seller and whether the required billing information is present. Payment capability and a valid invoice are separate matters.

How should I record a partial payment?

Apply the receipt to the original invoice and keep the remaining balance visible. Receiving 1,000 EUR against a 2,500 EUR invoice leaves 1,500 EUR due, without creating another sale.

Can I change an invoice I have already sent?

Use the applicable correction procedure and preserve the original version. The customer should be able to identify what changed and which invoice the correction relates to.

Can I invoice a European customer in English?

English may work commercially, but check the applicable requirements and the customer's needs. Translation does not change the supplier, amounts or underlying tax treatment.

Prepare your LLC's invoicing with Exentax

At Exentax, we start with what your LLC sells, who buys it and how you receive payment. Our team helps establish the commercial details, payment instructions and treatment relevant to your transactions, so your invoicing is useful in day-to-day business.

Bring a contract or sample invoice and the markets you serve. We work from your actual activity to organise banking, currencies and records, and support you as the business develops.

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