Hungary's e-invoice rules: reporting is mandatory, exchange is not (yet)
Hungary was an early mover: every domestic B2B invoice has been reported to the tax authority, NAV, through Online Számla since 2020. That is reporting, not a structured e-invoice exchange mandate. Below: what sources agree on, where they disagree, and how to test a file before it goes to a customer.
The timeline (as vendor guides report it)
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| Jul 2018 | NAV Online Számla real-time invoice data reporting starts for invoices above a value threshold. |
| Jul 2020 | Reporting covers all domestic B2B invoices regardless of value. |
| 2025 to 2026 | Sector rules for B2B electricity, gas and water supplies to non-consumers. Sources give 1 Jul 2025 for the first two and differ on water (one says January 2026). |
| About 2028 to 2029 | A ViDA-aligned B2B model is reported as being planned (consultation closed early 2026; pilot about 2028, mandate about 2029). Unconfirmed. |
Where sources disagree: the sector-rule dates and the archiving period (one guide says 5 years, another 8). These are compliance-vendor guides, not the decrees. Confirm with NAV (nav.gov.hu). A summary, not tax advice.
What gets sent, and how
Invoicing software sends NAV an XML report of each invoice through the Online Számla interface, in NAV's own schema rather than UBL or CII. The invoice itself still goes to the customer in whatever form you agree (PDF, UBL or CII). So the practical risk is a report that disagrees with the invoice: totals that do not add up, or a wrong tax number.
What this checker does and does not cover
It applies EN 16931 (and the Peppol BIS 3.0 rules, if you tick the option) to JSON, UBL, CII and Factur-X files. It does not build or validate the NAV XML report. Treat a clean result as "the invoice is internally consistent and passes the European rules", not "NAV will accept the report".
Test a file before you send it
Open the checker, drop your XML, and read the findings. It flags arithmetic that does not add up, a missing tax reason on a 0% or exempt line, missing mandatory fields, and VAT, IBAN and BIC typos, each with a rule ID and a fix (the rule reference). No account, nothing uploaded.
No invoice yet? The e-invoice creator turns a form into UBL or CII XML and checks it. Other countries: all side by side, Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, Croatia, Spain, Israel Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Greece, Australia, Ireland, Bulgaria, Portugal, Slovakia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Austria, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Serbia, Czech Republic, the UK, the UAE, India, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, or the EU e-invoicing mandate checker.
Common questions
Is e-invoicing mandatory in Hungary?
Hungary has had mandatory real-time reporting of invoice data to the tax authority (NAV Online Számla) since July 2018, covering all domestic B2B invoices regardless of value since July 2020. That is reporting, not a requirement to exchange structured e-invoices. Compliance-vendor guides say there is no general structured B2B e-invoice mandate in 2026, with narrow sector rules (for example electricity, gas and water supplies to non-consumers) whose dates the sources give differently. Confirm with NAV. This is a summary, not advice.
What format does NAV Online Számla use?
NAV takes invoice data as XML through its Online Számla interface, using NAV's own schema rather than UBL or CII. Most invoicing software sends the report for you. This checker reads JSON, UBL, CII and Factur-X PDFs against EN 16931; it does not build or validate the NAV report.
Is a Hungarian structured B2B mandate coming?
Vendor guides report a public consultation on an EU ViDA-aligned model that closed in early 2026, with a pilot around 2028 and a full mandate around 2029. These are secondary sources and plans can change, so treat the dates as unconfirmed and check NAV.
How do I check an invoice before sending it to a Hungarian customer?
Drop the file into the checker. It tests EN 16931 arithmetic, the tax breakdown, mandatory fields, and VAT, IBAN and BIC typos, each with a rule ID and a fix. Nothing is uploaded when you use the page. It is an offline observation, not NAV's acceptance and not legal advice.
Open the E-invoice Preflight checker to validate your own invoice file.
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