Ireland e-invoicing rules for software teams

Phase One starts on 1 November 2028

Ireland is introducing mandatory eInvoicing in phases. Revenue's Phase One press release says that from 1 November 2028, VAT-registered large corporates must issue eInvoices for domestic business-to-business transactions. Those businesses must also report a subset of relevant data to Revenue.

Who is in scope in Phase One

Phase One covers large corporates. A business counts as in scope if it is VAT-registered, its tax affairs are managed by Revenue's Large Corporates Division, and it is established in Ireland or has a fixed establishment there. Revenue says it will confirm each in-scope business by letter.

If you are not sure whether a customer is a large corporate, do not guess. Wait for Revenue's letter or ask the business directly.

Every business must be able to receive

From the same date, 1 November 2028, every business in Ireland must be able to receive structured eInvoices. Receiving is a separate build from issuing, so plan both.

Format

In-scope businesses must issue eInvoices in a structured electronic format, such as XML, that conforms to the EN 16931 standard. PDFs and scanned paper do not qualify.

What to do now

• Check whether your invoice data model can produce structured XML that follows EN 16931.
• Decide which of your customers may be in Phase One, so you can prepare for a letter from Revenue.
• Plan the reporting data you would need to send to Revenue for large corporate customers.
• Make your receiving path ready before 2028.

Next step

Review the developer documentation to plan your Irish integration.